My '86 CS wagon has the Premium Sound, with AM/FM/cassette. Lately, the amplifier has been popping, but only intermittently, and happens whether the volume is high or low. Plus, as with most FoMoCo factory units of the day, the LED dial indicator is in-op, so tuning a station is pure guesswork. I've got three aftermarket car stereos that I can choose from in the shop, and all would need the adapter to the factory amp to work. I want to either bypass the factory amp, or add my own amp and remove the factory unit with that and one of the three headunits I have available. Having not crawled around the car, my understanding is that the factory PS amp is under the front seat. Are the factory speakers compatible with an aftermarket amp and/or headunit? What is their resistance, and how are they grounded? I'd like to do this, but I'm not too crazy about the job if I have to rewire everything in the process. Contorting under dashboards these days hurts like hell! I have two Sony Xplode AM/FM/CD units and a Pioneer AF/FM/CD to pick from. All work great and have their factory plug-ins intact. Ideas???
Are you sure it's that and not just a bad speaker? 1 bad speaker with a short(internally) can send that thru the whole system.
If you have the "4 Channel" premium sound system then you'll need to re-wire the whole speaker system. There are only six speaker wires going to the amplifier which then amplifies and splits the signal to go to the laft and right rear speakers, the left I/P and left door speaker, and the right I/P and right door speaker. If it is the "2 Channel" System, then the head unit powers the rear speakers directly, and the front speakers are controlled by the amp. This means that it would be a simple "bypass" the amplifier wiring job and you'd be able to leave the rest of the factory wiring alone. This is what I gather at least from looking at All Data's wiring schematics for your car.
I'll take a look at that. The big reason I'm looking to replace the head unit, especially, is that the display is inoperative. Plus the tape quit functioning last night, so I acn't plug in my MP3 tape adapter for my phone into the stereo now.
As far as I know, the amp is behind/under the back seat. Also, there were two different systems that used the Premium Sounds System speakers. There was a High Level Sound System that was even more expensive and complex. Personally, I would bite the bullet and use new wires and start from scratch. Also, the old speakers were, for their time, extremely good, but that was before they had the polypropylene cones. After nearly 30 years, the paper cones will be getting brittle. The speakers are likely a very high impedance set, and making them work with a new head unit could be almost impossible.
Mike makes an excellent point and I think he has given you the better solution. I personally would rewire it if I were doing this for myself, but I was giving an option only because I know that for some people wiring is less pleasant than having root canal with no anesthesia.
Yep! Argo and Mike are both right. My system is from a 1986 Cougar, except I scored the premium sound speakers for the doors, from a 1975 Lincoln Mark 5, and the rear side panel speakers from a 1989 Lincoln - poly cone mounts. Same impedence as the amp can handle. I had to replace the dash speakers with some new ones from Future Shop, also poly. If you're gonna switch to a non-ford head unit, and amp, you should ignore the ford wiring. Otherwise, get a copy of the Ford Electrical, Vacuum Troubleshooting Manual (EVTM) from some EBAY vendor, to have all the diagrams. I haven't wired in the AMP yet and it sounds like a concert hall. (Can't find the stock underdash switch)
I was looking at things last night. I'm figuring a complete replace and rewire will actully be the easiest route to take on this. I have the replacement head unit, a spare Pioneer amp, and the 6x9 rear cargo area speakers. Just need wiring and two fronts. There is a wiring adapter that allows the use of the aftermarket head unit and plugs into the factory PS wiring harness, but with the strong possibility of having the same problems in this instance, a complete replacement seems to be the easiest and most sensible solution. Thanks for the ideas, guys!
Keep in mind, you have the option of using the 6 speaker system that Ford used with the Premium and High Level sound systems. You have the mounts in the doors, and you will have mounts on the outboard corners of the dash, too.
