New Radio

[brassmachine]

I'm kind of stumped on this problem. I recently installed a Pioneer
DEH-1700 CD player in my 1991 Legacy Wagon. I cut off the old
connecters and spliced on the new connector. I did not use several
wires, though. I did not use a red/yellow (which I believe controlled
the backlight brightness, which is no longer necessary), a green/black
(which controlled the power antennae), a solid green wire, and a
blue/yellow wire. I'm not sure what the purpose of those wires was. The
stereo worked fine for a day, but the first time I tried to turn on my
dash lights, I blew a fuse. I found the short and fixed it, but I no
longer get any output from the speakers. The CD player is playing and
I've switched out the actual player with another new one, but no sound
comes out of them. I get a tiny "pop" of static when I turn on the car,
so it sounds like power is going through system, but no sound gets to
the speakers. I tested out the wiring and there is a complete circuit
between the speakers and the plug, but I'm not sure what could be wrong
now. I'm not that knowledgable with car audio, so I'm asking if anyone
know what could cause my speakers to suddenly stop working? Any help
would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bugalugs]

I'm kind of stumped on this problem. I recently installed a Pioneer
DEH-1700 CD player in my 1991 Legacy Wagon. I cut off the old
connecters and spliced on the new connector. I did not use several
wires, though. I did not use a red/yellow (which I believe controlled
the backlight brightness, which is no longer necessary), a green/black
(which controlled the power antennae), a solid green wire, and a
blue/yellow wire. I'm not sure what the purpose of those wires was. The

While not for your radio this list may give you an idea of radio design
thinking

Gray (If available) - Preamp Output - Connect to amplifier input.
Blue - Remote Turn-On - Connect to amplifier or power antenna. Insulate if
not used.
Black - Ground
Red - Accessory - Connect to existing ignition circuit or switched 12 volt
source.
Yellow - Memory - Connect to battery circuit or constant 12 volt source.
Right Front - Gray/Black (-) / Gray (+)
Right Rear - Violet/Black (-) / Violet (+)
Left Front - White/Black (-) / White (+)
Left Rear - Green/Black (-) / Green (+)

This link may be of assistance

http://www.installdr.com/

 

[brassmachine]

Yeah, I think I've got the necessary wires in the right places, I'm
just really confused about the speakers not working. If I hook up a 9v
battery to the speakers through the plug, they pop like it's a good
connection, but when I plug the radio in, no sound comes out.

 

[Coggo]

Yeah, I think I've got the necessary wires in the right places, I'm
just really confused about the speakers not working. If I hook up a 9v
battery to the speakers through the plug, they pop like it's a good
connection, but when I plug the radio in, no sound comes out.

Sad to say, it sounds like you have blown the output stage of the amplifier
somehow - maybe the short circuit put some current into the wrong place.
Might be a job for a radio repairman.

Dave

 

[Michael Pardee]

I'm kind of stumped on this problem. I recently installed a Pioneer
DEH-1700 CD player in my 1991 Legacy Wagon. I cut off the old
connecters and spliced on the new connector. I did not use several
wires, though. I did not use a red/yellow (which I believe controlled
the backlight brightness, which is no longer necessary), a green/black
(which controlled the power antennae), a solid green wire, and a
blue/yellow wire. I'm not sure what the purpose of those wires was. The
stereo worked fine for a day, but the first time I tried to turn on my
dash lights, I blew a fuse. I found the short and fixed it, but I no
longer get any output from the speakers. The CD player is playing and
I've switched out the actual player with another new one, but no sound
comes out of them. I get a tiny "pop" of static when I turn on the car,
so it sounds like power is going through system, but no sound gets to
the speakers. I tested out the wiring and there is a complete circuit
between the speakers and the plug, but I'm not sure what could be wrong
now. I'm not that knowledgable with car audio, so I'm asking if anyone
know what could cause my speakers to suddenly stop working? Any help
would be greatly appreciated.

Check to ensure none of the speaker wires are shorted to ground. Many modern
radios will not tolerate that.

Mike

 

[S]

Hi Brass!

I'm kind of stumped on this problem.

One thing you may wish to check. On the earlier Soobies, the rear
speakers shared a common "-" lead. (Only the rears; fronts had 2 wires
per speaker as normal)
This will definitely cause problems with a newer stereo (they mostly
use a "bridged" amplifier configuration); probably the amplifiers will
interpret that common "-" as a short circuit, and go into a shutdown
mode.
I don't know when Subaru got rid of this (er, um) unusual wiring
arrangement, but it is at least possible that it survived into the
early '90s; the symptoms would seem to point in that direction,
anyway.

Disconnect the rear speakers at the your splice and see if that
doesn't make a difference. If that works, you'll need to run separate
speaker wires to the back.

Let me know if this gets you going again.

ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101