Common ground stereo system

Blk92Notchback · Apr 15, 2005

I am trying to put a CD player in my car and after buying the installation kit and harness, I made the connections but couldn't get any noise out of the system. After testing the head unit itself, I found out that Ford uses a common ground speaker system. Is there any way around this besides running new wires to every speaker location?

HISSIN50 · Apr 15, 2005

i had no issues when using a harness adapter.
some decks do require having the antenna hooked up (and the antenna can act as a ground if ground is insufficient).

not really helpful to ya though. sorry.

88_GT_5_oh · Apr 15, 2005

i also had no problems using the adapter, are you sure everythingis hooked up right?

Blk92Notchback · Apr 15, 2005

Factory amp in front of head unit

After a lot of research, I finally found that there is a factory amp in front of the stock head unit. I guess I'll be running all new wires to every speaker location.

srothfuss · Apr 15, 2005

Instead of running new wires you could go to www.crutchfield.com and ask one of their reps for the wiring adaptors that will let you by-pass the factory amp without splicing / hacking into your stock setups. They are probably the best place for all of your audio needs.

squeeeg · Apr 15, 2005

Recheck all your connections. Those harnesses are made to just connect up and have everything work.

HISSIN50 · Apr 15, 2005

oh yeah, forgot about the factory amps (i dont have one). i do think that if one uses a non-amp harness, nothing makes it to the speakers (i have read that on here, IIRC). was a harness made for factory amp systems used?

good luck.

LoudToy958 · Apr 15, 2005

Assuming you made all the right connections, you just need to hook up the Blue wire with a white stripe or the blue wire(amp turn on or power antenna) coming off the deck to the amp turn on wire in the car. If you are using a wire harness, it the wire should be the same color. Blue, or blue w/white.

Sounds like all you missed. Hopefully you used the right harness, and this is all you need to do. Good Luck, LT

89MustangGX · Apr 15, 2005

LoudToy958 said:
Sounds like all you missed. Hopefully you used the right harness, and this is all you need to do. Good Luck, LT

I don't know if I'd say that...I think I see lots of right answers.

Unless your car is a late-92 it will have the amp behind (in front of) the head unit. The plugs that go into the amp are the same as the ones that plug into the head unit. Simply remove the amp and the wiring harness that goes between it and the head unit, and plug your new head unit into the wiring that is left. That's how i've done all of mine before and it works without having to do any rewiring of anything at all.

If you have a late-92 the amp will be under the passenger seat and you will need a harness adapter so you can run the wiring from your new head unit to the wiring under there IIRC. I have not done one of these.

LoudToy958 · Apr 16, 2005

89MustangGX said:
I don't know if I'd say that...I think I see lots of right answers.

Unless your car is a late-92 it will have the amp behind (in front of) the head unit. The plugs that go into the amp are the same as the ones that plug into the head unit. Simply remove the amp and the wiring harness that goes between it and the head unit, and plug your new head unit into the wiring that is left. That's how i've done all of mine before and it works without having to do any rewiring of anything at all.

If you have a late-92 the amp will be under the passenger seat and you will need a harness adapter so you can run the wiring from your new head unit to the wiring under there IIRC. I have not done one of these.

Good call, didn't think of that. That is a good way to bypass the amps. Which I deffinetly recommend. Newer head units sound much better without the factory amp IMO. The above here is great info. Ford hasn't used common ground stereos since the early 80s I believe. So I don't think thats an issue. Look around for the amp. Both places are listed above. I love stangnet. Always someone out there with more information.

Common ground stereo system

Blk92Notchback

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HISSIN50

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88_GT_5_oh

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Blk92Notchback

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srothfuss

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squeeeg

HISSIN50

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LoudToy958

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89MustangGX

I have nothing productive to add!

LoudToy958

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