Notices
1987 - 1996 F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks 1987 - 1996 Ford F-150, F-250, F-350 and larger pickups - including the 1997 heavy-duty F250/F350+ trucks
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:

need help installing radio please!

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
  #1  
Old 06-16-2010, 01:29 PM
powerstroker100's Avatar
powerstroker100
powerstroker100 is offline
Posting Guru
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 2,234
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
need help installing radio please!

Hey guys I have a 1992 volvo cassette/amfm radio from a 940 turbo and want to switch it with the radio in my truck, its just a am/fm radio in the right now, I've never changed a radio before how do I go about doing this? and will the wires for the ford radio match up with the volvo
 
  #2  
Old 06-16-2010, 01:43 PM
khadma's Avatar
khadma
khadma is offline
Carpenter Local 745

Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: on da beach
Posts: 5,793
Likes: 0
Received 7 Likes on 6 Posts
First I would make sure what each wire from the Volvo stereo is - pos, ground, speakers - Rt frt, Lft frt, etc.

I know that stereo is not a plug and play for your truck.

Removing(cutting) the harness connector off of the stock truck stereo might be something to consider. Do not cut off the harness connector on the truck side.

One more thing - is the stereo size the correct size for the truck? You may need some kind of adapter to fit that stereo to the truck.

Anything is possible, but it may take some fabrication and alot of patience.

I am sure we can help you complete your project.
 
  #3  
Old 06-16-2010, 02:08 PM
slhf150's Avatar
slhf150
slhf150 is offline
Senior User
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: SF Bay area
Posts: 160
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I've done this many times, but never on a ford truck.

What you want to do is fab up a custom harness adapter. First, you need a plug to fit into the stock truck wiring harness. (You may be able to cut the old one off the factory radio - but that won't work if the harness plugs direcly into pins on the radio itself - in that case you'll need to order a Ford-Truck specific wiring kit from someone like crutchfield.com)

Then, match up the wires on that plug with wires on the new radio, and crimp them on one by one.

Then plug in your new radio.

The "matching up the wires" is the hard part. An aftermarket stereo will come with a wiring diagram. With an old radio obtained from a different vehicle, you'll have to do a little reasearch to find out what its pinouts are.
 
  #4  
Old 06-16-2010, 02:10 PM
slhf150's Avatar
slhf150
slhf150 is offline
Senior User
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: SF Bay area
Posts: 160
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
PS: You'll be tempted to just cut the plug off the factory wiring harness and start splicing and taping wires. Don't do it.
 
  #5  
Old 06-16-2010, 03:18 PM
powerstroker100's Avatar
powerstroker100
powerstroker100 is offline
Posting Guru
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 2,234
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
okay guys so I cut the plastic around the volvo radio and it will fit perfectly there actually both the exact same size,now heres the thing on the volvo radio there is no wires but there are harness adapters and I highly doubt that ford has the same harness for there radios as some foreign car do I need to find some harness that will fit and then splice it to the factory connecter wires?
 
  #6  
Old 06-16-2010, 04:03 PM
slhf150's Avatar
slhf150
slhf150 is offline
Senior User
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: SF Bay area
Posts: 160
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by powerstroker100
okay guys so I cut the plastic around the volvo radio and it will fit perfectly there actually both the exact same size,now heres the thing on the volvo radio there is no wires but there are harness adapters and I highly doubt that ford has the same harness for there radios as some foreign car do I need to find some harness that will fit and then splice it to the factory connecter wires?
That'd be my advice. Cut one out of a comparable car at a junkyard.
 
  #7  
Old 06-16-2010, 04:11 PM
slhf150's Avatar
slhf150
slhf150 is offline
Senior User
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: SF Bay area
Posts: 160
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
And then this:

Ford F-Series Harness

Is the car end of the custom harness you'll build up.

The magic is figuring out which wires to connect.

To find out, (i think) you can go on crutchfield.com and find the installation info for both the f-truck and the volvo, and print out the sheets to get the wire pinouts. Then you'll know which to connect to what.

I'm pretty sure you can just print out that info without buying anything.
 
  #8  
Old 06-16-2010, 04:30 PM
quicklook2's Avatar
quicklook2
quicklook2 is offline
Post Fiend
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Lakewood, Ohio
Posts: 11,289
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
that sounds like a lot of work just to listen to cassettes.
 
  #9  
Old 06-16-2010, 04:34 PM
slhf150's Avatar
slhf150
slhf150 is offline
Senior User
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: SF Bay area
Posts: 160
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Ha! There's a reason I haven't changed out the AM/FM radio in my F150.
 
  #10  
Old 06-16-2010, 04:49 PM
danr1's Avatar
danr1
danr1 is offline
Lead Driver
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Sand Lake, MI
Posts: 5,670
Received 10 Likes on 10 Posts
Originally Posted by quicklook2
that sounds like a lot of work just to listen to cassettes.
Yea that and just the thought of "listen to cassettes" now days just makes me cringe......
 
  #11  
Old 06-16-2010, 05:06 PM
slhf150's Avatar
slhf150
slhf150 is offline
Senior User
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: SF Bay area
Posts: 160
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Really, by the time they're this old, the cassette player's probably not doing such a great job of playing tapes.

You can get some pretty nice decent units from crutchfield for around a hundred fifty bucks or so, and then you'd get the install kit for free, and then the harness you'd need to make would be complete documented. No research into old volvo wire outs required.
 
  #12  
Old 06-16-2010, 05:06 PM
Hitokori's Avatar
Hitokori
Hitokori is offline
Posting Guru
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,244
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
....whats a cassette?

lmfao j/k im not that young......
 
  #13  
Old 06-16-2010, 09:27 PM
powerstroker100's Avatar
powerstroker100
powerstroker100 is offline
Posting Guru
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Upstate NY
Posts: 2,234
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
yeah I think I'll buy a new cd player to put in I guess this is going to turn into more work than I hoped lol thanks for your help guys let you know what type of stereo I pick up
 
  #14  
Old 06-16-2010, 09:31 PM
khadma's Avatar
khadma
khadma is offline
Carpenter Local 745

Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: on da beach
Posts: 5,793
Likes: 0
Received 7 Likes on 6 Posts
Originally Posted by powerstroker100
yeah I think I'll buy a new cd player to put in I guess this is going to turn into more work than I hoped lol thanks for your help guys let you know what type of stereo I pick up
Donʻt forget to buy the Ford adapter, it will keep you from hacking the
truckʻs wire harness and makes removing the new unit easier.
 
  #15  
Old 06-17-2010, 02:33 AM
93MARKIII's Avatar
93MARKIII
93MARKIII is offline
Senior User
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Fayetteville, NC
Posts: 459
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
i have a ford am/fm/cassette player out of my '93 f150.....if anyone wants it, just pay the shipping and its yours......
 


Quick Reply: need help installing radio please!



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:00 PM.