I was excited to tackle this project. After taking the Mac out of the glovebox, the radio doesn’t power on. I’m not surprised to find things unplugged but I need help knowing where to plug them back in

Bear with me, I’ll number my questions.

1) this looks like it must power the radio, what does the plug circled in red go into??
EDIT- this is the iPod connector cable…but no box. Great…


2) these 2 wires circled in green are cut is that a problem?


3) this wire I marked in orange leads nowhere but is cut. I assume I can remove it and it was to power something with the computer before?

EDIT : removed


4) this red one with the light blue clip circled in orange, not sure where its supposed to go in anywhere

EDIT : found the other end tucked under the steering wheel



5) when it’s all said and done this piece for the Bluetooth module looks like it clips on this side and gets locked down


6) somehow this side fits in to the opposing clip even though nothing looks to line up

 

I cleaned it up. I found where this blue connector attached (logged under the steering wheel column). Removed the random cut wire and the iPod connector.

The Bluetooth dongle connected fine. I still have 2 cleanly cut wires I’m not sure if that is from factory for an option I don’t have.

Radio doesnt power on with the Bluetooth. Took that off and connected wires directly to the radio. No power, replaced a blown fuse (F10), still no power to the radio.

Any suggestions what to try next??





Last random wire that connects to the car battery in the engine.

 

Unfortunately, I think I would have to physically sit down with that mess and a wiring diagram to make sense of it all.

Your first image also looks like the OEM aux input to me instead of the iPod interface. The end of the aux input cable is threaded to take a nut so that it can mount in a panel. It should connect to a standard 3.5 mm TRS patch cable.

I will say that those cut wires are in non-factory connectors. The light blue spade connector also doesn’t look familiar to me.

 

Really appreciate the reply. I’m not knowledgeable on this at all. The code on the label suggests it was for an iPod but the end looks pretty standard aux plug. There was a monitor installed and connected to the Mac so makes sense that is what it was from. It was plugged into ‘C’ on the guide below which suggests monitor.

The light blue spade connector I attached
to a black cable that originates from under the steering column. It was the only other spade connector I could find and it wasn’t connected to anything. Maybe I should disconnect it and try following only the factory cables?

Do you think it would be safe to follow this pin out guide? Unplug the battery. Follow the wires by color to the designated slots. If it’s not on the pin out I should unplug it, or in the wrong slot put it in the right slot. Plug it in and see what I get? If it doesn’t work I’m destined to
go to an audio shop. I’d prefer not to take the dash apart A bunch of times. I think I broke a clip behind the airbag panel rushing to put it back together so I could pick my kid up from
school…the panel fits fine but that is the stuff that really bothers me).

 

That pinout looks correct. The wire colors for the speakers don't match the diagram that I have for some reason (no idea whether the one I have or yours is correct, but it shouldn't matter), but the pinouts are still right. Everything else should be fine.

Plug C was used for a few different things. I know that the CD changer and the aux input plugged in there. The iPod interface connected to the big plug, if memory serves. Not sure about how the nav system or bluetooth were integrated.

You shouldn't need to take the airbag panel off to get to the radio (or at least it isn't necessary in facelift cars). In mine I can just drop the downtubes down and then lean them to the side without messing with the dash.

 

Thanks again!
I’ll give it a shot and follow the pin out, remove the other junk and cross my fingers.

The down tubes were ok to remove but needed to pull up the panel around the speedometer and I’m grabbing at the corner it lifted the airbag panel and I heard a little pop and something fall. I’m way too ocd for that. Took a lot of restraint not to try and take it off to see what it was. I wasn’t sure if it’s one of the clips that is intended to come off like on the fenders or something more like a clip from the mirror caps that are just weak…

 

I went back in at lunch today and took out any wires that weren’t in the pin out. None were directly connected to the back of the radio. Still no luck. I guess I need someone to put a meter to the lines to make sure they are getting power? The 2 cables (#14 &15) that are spliced with whatever splitter/junction box have a second wire that is attached that leads into the steering column. The main part of the wire follows the rest into the abyss that is behind the stack.

I marked off the line drawing below with the wires by color that fill each slot. Maybe that will be helpful for anyone who can offer guidance. I’m officially over my head.






I removed the red wire with the light blue connector which was connected to a black wire and a ground that was screwed into the dash (you can see the screw in the background)


The pink/blue wire is what the red was was feeding off so I wrapped the part where the casing was broken with electrical tape.

 

You know, you may be right, and some of that wiring may be for a retrofit option. I don’t remember if the driving lights would use those circuits or not. Does the car have any additional gauges that would need power and to know when the headlights are on?

It would be good to verify if the radio is actually getting power using a multimeter. I assume you’ve pressed the volume **** already.

 

I do have driving lights. I have never turned them on though. Hopefully not what the red wire was for

There are no other gauges. I have pressed the ****, reset the battery, held the ****. Flatline. I’m going to a shop Tuesday, I have no multimeter.

this is what I started with…

 

@deepgrey
I went to an audio shop today. Checked all the grounds. There was no power getting to the radio since a 5 amp fuse was blown. Still doesn’t work! He said it’s possible the head unit is blown. Any idea how I can check if that’s the case or is there a hard reset that is required?

For what it’s worth, you were spot on with the spliced connections to the radio. The are for the rally lights.

 

Whoops. Sorry, not sure how I missed your ping. I don’t think there’s anything to reset in these head units, but I’ve never looked deeply into it.

I wonder if there’s anything else on that circuit that would have caused the fuse to blow, or if it was the head unit that did it. I’d have to pull up a wiring diagram.

I thought I remembered something in the driving light installation like that. I keep meaning to install mine one day.

 

I’m glad I didn’t need to install the lights. I would have been fine to have them outside the car and not wired, I doubt I will ever turn them on.

I took it to a shop who checked all the wires, they said the head unit should be the culprit. I ended up buying a replacement on eBay. Not how I wanted to spend my money but they aren’t crazy expensive. It hasn’t arrived yet, but I’m hopeful that is the fix (praying I don’t find out later it’s not, or it’s the amp or something else).

Seems like I may need a new key fob receiver too. Charming cars but they age as gracefully as a chain smoking alcoholic. One fix at a time, I’ll get there.

 

I had planned to install mine when I was doing a lot of driving at night on Georgia backroads. The stock halogens leave a bit to be desired.

I expect that the head unit would turn on even if the amp was a problem. I want to say that @Here2Go replaced his head unit at some point fairly recently, so he might have some other thoughts about dead ones.

Yeah. Keeping these cars going as they age is concerning me. Though I think I should have the ability to key mine going, my ‘67 is far easier to troubleshoot.

 

I’m hoping the new head unit turns on when it arrives. All of the wires are live so that’s a start but I’d lIke to see some signs of life.

I have so many parts on the car that have been update/upgrade, and most of the major issues are well documented I hope to find my way to the bottom of the rabbit hole. I have such low mileage and really love it, I’m not sure I’d get any more enjoyment for anything comparably priced. The buy in is cheap but the repairs add up when you hire a wrench. The nice thing about a 20+ year old car is that many end up in junk yards so some parts are cheap, the bad thing is others are NLA or very expensive. In a few years they should start to appreciate. I have no intention of selling mine bht at least I won’t feel like I’m backwards and upside down.

 

@deepgrey
i bought 2 head units (long story). I tried one from a 2008 r52, plugged in the Bluetooth module, rewired the speaker for my phone with the proper adapter. Boom. Everything works, except for the Rennline phone mount.

Really appreciate you stepping up with guidance. Not sure I would have had the confidence to tackle this one without a soundboard.

 

I’m glad it worked out! Happy to help.