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stereo 700 1987

posted by  Justin Volvo on  Wed Feb 19 05:32 CST 2003
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The head unit will present a problem because the stock volvo head unit uses an external amplifier - That is, the head unit does not have speaker outputs like your Sony deck does. The stock head unit has a special cable with DIN connectors on the ends that resemble a PC keyboard or MIDI plug. Since you are putting in a nice head unit, you will want to remove the volvo amplifier. This means wiring your speakers directly from your new deck to the existing wires that connect to the amplifier.

It should be no big deal if you have installed plenty of car stereos before - but it will take awhile.. The way I did it was to use a "hound" (generates an audible signal when hooked up to a speaker) to isolate each pair of speakers at the volvo amplifier. The amp is right under the drivers knees. You can also use a 9v battery, or just hook up your new head unit to a set of test leads and play around until you find which wires go to each speaker. Anyway, the built-in volvo amp has about 11 wires going to it - 2 or 3 for power/remote/ground and 8 for speakers. You will need to figure out which wires connect to each speaker, and then wire these into your new head unit. This is a pain. You have to take 4 lengths of speaker wire and run them from the head unit to where the amp is currently located. Also, be careful to eliminate the power and ground wires from the amplifier (use a volt-meter) otherwise you may inadvertantly apply +12v from the battery to one of your speakers ;)

While you're under there, I'm sure you will want to also run your long RCA cables from your head unit back to the trunk. This is also a time-consuming process, but not difficult. It involves removing lots of trim, pulling up carpet, pulling off the back seat, etc, but there are no big surprises as long as you are used to doing this sort of thing. I highly recommend using 8ga power wire for battery - amp, and make sure this goes through the grommet in the firewall. also make sure to use a nice big fuse with a waterproof case , right next to the battery.

Let me know if you need any more help with this, i have done exactly what you are doing.

-Justin






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