New Electrical Problem, Radio Works, but NO sound!! AHHHH

[Kdubslugga]

I hate it when something so simple turns into an all day project!! Im putting a CD player in my 88 GT. I couldnt get the Radio to even turn on earlier, but ended up just being a blown fuse. The radio now works, its on but theres no sound coming from any speaker. What does this sound like to you guys? Do i need to reconnect the wires, or am i missing something obvious? I dont wanna screw anything up, i hate electrical crap. Please help me get this stupid radio working right guys!

 

[dastang2]

you probably have your output wires crossed

 

[proxses]

You may have a factory amp that you need to bypass.
Most of the time on a Mustang, you can find another harness deeper in the dash that should work.
The amp should be in the dash somewhere.
How did you do the install? Did you use a plug in harness, or did you cut the wires?

 

[Kdubslugga]

You may have a factory amp that you need to bypass.
Most of the time on a Mustang, you can find another harness deeper in the dash that should work.
The amp should be in the dash somewhere.
How did you do the install? Did you use a plug in harness, or did you cut the wires?

I used a plug in harness that came with the CD player. Whats it mean when i have my output wires crossed? When i plug in the black/gray factory plug into the new harness the radio comes on and when i plug in the all black plug nothin happens, im assuming that the one that controls the sound. Should i try disconnecting the wires attached to the all black plug and see if that works?

 

[proxses]

First off. The colors for the speakers on the radio harness are gray, white, green, and purple. These are not the colors in the Mustang. These are the colors for the wires coming out of the radio. The you have red, yellow, black, and blue. The wires are for 12v switched power, 12v constant power, ground, and power anteana/amp turn on respectively.
For Ford there are two plugs that control the radio. One is gray, the other is black.
I'm not sure if that is what you ment by the black/gray plug vs. the all black plug. This may be the amp bypass I mentioned. But I don't remember what the Mustang wiring is like. I drive a Ranger.
Also, check the car to see if you have an amp. This may be what is causing your problem. As I stated before.
Let me see if I can find more info for you.

 

[proxses]

I just checked tmoss' FAQ page.
Thnis diagram may be of some help:
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/images/mustangFoxLights-Radio_diag.gif

I shows what some of the wire colors are for the radio. Maybe you could cross reference those with the ones I gave you above. Don't rely on those 100%.
Do you have a multimeter? You could use it to see if you have found the speaker wires. Just measure the resistance of the two wires that you think is for a speaker. Speakers normally have a resistance of about 4ohms. Obviously you should end up with 8 wires total.
Oh, if you have a wire crossed, then it is not going where it is supposed to. Like mixing up two speaker wires. This is probably not your problem.
Let me know what happens.

One last thing. What kind of harness did you get. Was it prewired for a Ford to 'whatever kind of radio you have', or did you have to cut and splice anything.

 

[HISSIN50]

the speakers worked before, right?

i know what you are talkin about with the grey vs black connectors (i have those on my 88 GT vert). i will add that i used a connector kit from Wally world (cant think of the brand name), and i checked the schematics and the kit is correct (no typos for me).

are the connectors in the rear of the radio cavity connected (two more connectors like the ones you are hookin up to)? i know those grab the door speakers and maybe more (on mine).

what i might try: grab a spare speaker (preferably old POS speaker that works). use some short wire to hook it up to the wiring harness (so you are not using the stock wiring). see what you get. try this for all the speakers.

just my random thoughts. good luck. it should be something simple.

 

[shorty1993]

ok some radios will run without a ground, but will not play sound, seen that. some have two grounds. check all of those. also i have worked in a stereo shop, never seen the amp in the dash, under the passenger seat. i took mine out 2 months ago when i installed my new equipment. also unless you are adding a amp to the highs (which i did) there should be no reason to bypass the amp. the wires from the radio run to amp then to the speakers, why bother with all the snipping and retying. that is through my experience and have seen many cars that did not follow general rules...good luck also check the antenna connection has to be plugged in

 

[Kdubslugga]

The Cd Player that im trying to install in my 88 GT was 1st Installed in my 90 Ford Ranger by Best Buy!! So the radio setup is the same. The speakers always worked fine before, so i think its something simple i just cant figure it out.

 

[jadedinpa]

did your factory stereo have an equalizer under the radio (instead of the little cubby hole? if it did then you probably have an outboard amp (as previously mentioned). otherwise have the stereo bench-tested to see that it is in fact still functional.

 

[ECU5.0]

hey, this just happend to mine today. it was working fine yesterday and now the stereo turns on but no sound. oh well...i might just ditch it. who needs music when you can listen to the sweet melody of a ford v8

 

[89lxsport50]

What if you unplug the wires from the back of the factory amp, and plug your new stereo into them? This would bypass the amp, if the connectors are the same. Don't know, just a thought.

 

[powershift351]

they make a harness kit for like 8-13 dollars that will solve the factory amp problem. I think Scoshe make it or something like that

 

[Kdubslugga]

Maybe this will help?? I tried putting my factory stereo in and it works, sound and everything!! What the Heck! Theres 2 plugs in the back of the CD PLayer that were not used in my Truck. Theres a Red plug a A White plug that say Line Out Rear on them. Do those do anything?

 

[dastang2]

those are for an aftermarket amp, leave those out if you don't have anything to plug RCA jacks into

 

[jadedinpa]

you either have a factory amp (which needs to be bypassed) or the stereo is toast.

 

[Kdubslugga]

Ok well if the Stereos Toast i dont car because i bought a 3 year warranty, its only been 1 1/2, what and Where is the stock amp and how do i pass it?

 

[Kdubslugga]

I think i found the Amp, its directly behindthe radio, but its so tight in there, i cant see or get to anything, gonna have to try tommorow with some daylight. Bypassing the Amp, should the plugs that i disconnect fit directly into the harness? Major thanks to your guys' cooperation with me.

 

[SilikonBlu]

Sounds like the internal amplifier in your stereo is toast - (your stock stereo started working after you put it back in). Try putting your deck back into your Ranger and see if it works. If it doesn't then your warranty should cover the unit anyhow.

 

[Kdubslugga]

WOOHOO, i bypassed the stock AMP and now i have sound. Thank you so much guys! I appreciate it!!