Radio Help!
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Radio Help!
I recently purchased a 1980 F-250 in fantastic condition but it only had the plane jane AM radio in it. I picked up a similar radio at the junkyard out of an 84, AM/FM with the long ***** like mine has and the wiring intact. I thought it would be just a matter of taking one out and throwing the other one in, except the am radio in my truck only has 4 wires coming out of it. 2 black ones which go to the speaker in the dash. A black one and a blue with a red stripe which plug into a yellow one and blue/red. I'm pretty sure this is all original, what would i have to do to connect my radio. Any help would be much appreciated!
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2004
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From: Northern California
Which AM/FM radio did you get.
AM/FM mono?
or
AM/FM stereo?
If you got the stereo radio, you will need the speaker harness and the rubber conduit for the doors. You will also need some speakers.
If you got the AM/FM mono radio, you wont need the door speaker wiring.
No matter what radio you got, you will need to do something with the connectors. This is because the 1984 radio has different connectors to the 1980-1981. They changed the connectors in 1982, so it's not simple plug it in and play. You will have to modify the wiring slightly to get it to work with your trucks wiring.
AM/FM mono?
or
AM/FM stereo?
If you got the stereo radio, you will need the speaker harness and the rubber conduit for the doors. You will also need some speakers.
If you got the AM/FM mono radio, you wont need the door speaker wiring.
No matter what radio you got, you will need to do something with the connectors. This is because the 1984 radio has different connectors to the 1980-1981. They changed the connectors in 1982, so it's not simple plug it in and play. You will have to modify the wiring slightly to get it to work with your trucks wiring.
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its the AM/FM stereo. You're saying this wont work with the single speaker under the dash? thats unfortunate, i just want some FM radio. would you happen to know what the wires on the '84 radio are for? one harness has white/green, orange, black, pink/green and pink/blue. the other harness has orange, blue/red, and yellow/black.
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From: Denver Metro Area, CO
Down behind the dash face on the RH side near the ashtray and HVAC controls should be some connectors for optional accessories.
81-F-150-Explorer will correct me here if I'm wrong.
Green/yellow-stripe = always-on power for radio memories & clocks
Light blue/red-stripe = switched, dimmable backlighting
Your existing radio connection should have:
Yellow/black-hash - Switched, fused power for the radio
Black - ground
Ignore any orange wire coming from the radio, that was sometimes used when the radio was installed in cars with power antennas.
All the pink & green stuff is for the speakers.
Yes, you should get the connectors from the JY for the speaker wires, maybe get the wires themselves, too, if they're in good shape.
I did something like you're doing with my 1981:
81-F-150-Explorer will correct me here if I'm wrong.
Green/yellow-stripe = always-on power for radio memories & clocks
Light blue/red-stripe = switched, dimmable backlighting
Your existing radio connection should have:
Yellow/black-hash - Switched, fused power for the radio
Black - ground
Ignore any orange wire coming from the radio, that was sometimes used when the radio was installed in cars with power antennas.
All the pink & green stuff is for the speakers.
Yes, you should get the connectors from the JY for the speaker wires, maybe get the wires themselves, too, if they're in good shape.
I did something like you're doing with my 1981:
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Thats perfect! The second pic shows exactly what I need, THANKS! My setup is very similar. I'm assuming that the wires coming from the back right side of the radio are for speakers? would there be any way to connect these to my dash speaker or will i have to put in door speakers?
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From: Denver Metro Area, CO
There are two connectors; one is for power & lighting, the other is exclusively for speakers (has lots of pink & green as I recall).
I installed this radio:
It is NOT designed to operate with only one speaker and I won't recommend you attach only one speaker to a stereo radio designed for 2 - 4 speakers.
BTW here's mine in its final form (when the dash pad & bezel are installed):
The red backlighting was a different project, I think it's in the Sticky under a thread about white-faced gauges.
I installed this radio:
It is NOT designed to operate with only one speaker and I won't recommend you attach only one speaker to a stereo radio designed for 2 - 4 speakers.
BTW here's mine in its final form (when the dash pad & bezel are installed):
The red backlighting was a different project, I think it's in the Sticky under a thread about white-faced gauges.
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alright, this might be more of a project than i had anticipated lol. Thanks for the great info, i like the look of that red backlight. Hope to get some pics up soon
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The reason for not using one speaker only has to do with the amplifier expecting at least two 8-ohm (or more) speakers.
I have no idea of the power capabilities of these old stereos and I'd be afraid of burning something out.
What you might be able to do, though, is hook up one speaker to the left (or right) input wires, then use the balance control to "shut off" the unattached speaker.
No guarantee for how long that would work, though.
I have no idea of the power capabilities of these old stereos and I'd be afraid of burning something out.
What you might be able to do, though, is hook up one speaker to the left (or right) input wires, then use the balance control to "shut off" the unattached speaker.
No guarantee for how long that would work, though.
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The output IC's used when I repaired my radio my AM/FM radio were rated at 10 watts per chan. They were original part #AE920-8 and cross to NTE #1288. Most of these older radios can be repaired by replacing the capacitors and/or the audio output IC's.
I always cut the power to the radio when hooking up speakers, especially when doing it with an older radio that has hard to get parts.
I always cut the power to the radio when hooking up speakers, especially when doing it with an older radio that has hard to get parts.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2004
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From: Northern California
Originally Posted by CTUBUTIS
Ignore any orange wire coming from the radio, that was sometimes used when the radio was installed in cars with power antennas.
All the pink & green stuff is for the speakers.
All the pink & green stuff is for the speakers.
The Orange solid wire is for the power antenna, not used.
Originally Posted by 2002_F250
Would there be any way to connect these to my dash speaker or will i have to put in door speakers?
There is something called ohm impedence mismatch, and this could destroy the dash speaker, or the amp components in the radio. In this case, you would have to hook all the speaker channels up to a single speaker so the radio amp won't take the hit (so to speak). This is why the rear channels loop to the front when they are not used so the amp wont be damaged. The pickup stereo speakers are designed to take the extra load of the front and rear channels combined. This is fine running two or four speakers. However it could overload the single speaker in the dash having at least twice the normal output going to it.
Here is a web page that will help to explain, or to confuse depending on your point of view.
Series Parallel Speaker Impedance