I have some pics I will put on here of my new stereo and a secret device. Stay tuned. hehe

 

Has this "secret device" been previously "exposed" on the Howard Stern show?

 

Ha ha classic ^ lol No just something I haven't mentioned to any of you yet. I assure you it is not anything you can't get at the store or whatever. hehe You will see here soon. I need to clean up my Z, vaccum and such. And then I will take new pics of my stereo and stuff. Stay tuned...

 

has anybody fitted anythin larger then 3' under the dash. i've got a spare dash and planning on using it for ideas and templates to try fit something larger like a 4-5' speaker in the dash. thinking atm of cutting the dash and then using a security screen mesh to cover the hole(much like the mesh that comes with most speakers) i was lucky with mine in that it was fitted with an aftermarket stereo (still a tape deck) but they made the surround panel in the same carpeted material that the stock fitment had. all i need to do now is figure why the arial height switch does not work probably the switch and arial is stuffed after 30 years...jeeze they just dont make things like they used to haha

 

well i underwent the task i'd been dreading of ripping my dash out to find out why the hell my fan selector wasnt working and upade my speakers. well removing it all was a peice of ****. 2 hours later everything is out and in nice little labeled bags so i dont forget what is what . 1st task was find out why the hell i couldnt change settings on my fan. After running of a haynes manual from the us and cursing why i couldnt find some parts(and yes i did look on the other side) i started chasing hoses to see if i had a blockage. Followed one hose all the way to the ending bay and...dead end it wasnt connected to anything. so me then has the lightbulb above my head and i started the car, sucked on the hose as hard as i could and watched the servo to which it moved a bit. I was stoked i actually fixed something haha i thought it was going to be a dead end job as my mechanical knowledge wouldnt be deep enough. However if i had undergone this job just for the fan swich i would have been mega pissed. after realising where the hose was supposed to go i thought i may as well upgrade it. can you beleive you cant buy standard hose? i went to at least 4 places. i gave up and bought "performance hose" for $2.50/m figuring i'l just do everything in the engine bay as it's good for atleast an extra 5rwhp

Next on to 30yo speakers, now i know why the front crackled. kinda doesnt function properly when the cone has fallen off So i replaced the standard 4' upfront with 4' and was going to move to a 6' in the rear but ended up getting jaycar 5' rears which i utilised the standard black mounts too. $40 all up for speakers. i was pretty chuffed with myself. So after wiring them in with new wiring and putting the dash back together i hit the last bump which i couldnt get over...the stock wiring harness...wtf?!? i noted the wire colours at the speakers thinking i would see them at the head unit and splice for now...no that would be too easy. At that point i gave up. It's no major issue as i won a head unit on ebay , a kenwood with 4x50w, mp3 &cdrw and a remote, which will be posted monday so hopefully i'l only be without doof doof for a week. i'l post pics up when it's all in but the whole project is costing me under $200 which i'm pretty happy with considering a decent head unit is atleast double that. if anybody wants it i can do up a guide for it as it was easier then i thougt. i only needed a helper for moving the dash in and out for guidance.


btw i have a real appreciation for all you out there that have done ground up rebuilds

 

a good trick for figuring out which wires go to which speaker is to use a battery, like a 9V. touch the wires to the battery, and the speaker will make a little static noise.

 

E is right....again. You can use a battery from a cordless drill, 12volts or less to test the speaker wires. I want to talk about this hose for the fan selector...which one was it? Do you have pics!? My car is having this problem also. It happened in two of my Z's but only after I messed with the radio.

 

The stock speaker wire is not good enough for aftermarket speakers or a new aftermarket head unit. The original wiring uses a common ground which is not a good idea. Go ahead and run all new wires for your new speakers. You'll thank yourself later for avoiding the hassle of dealing with 25 year old wire and insulation and your sound quality will be much improved over stock.

Cheers,
LWW

 

Ok, now you are just plagiarizing my thread man!!

 

thxone:
i went through my photos and in all the hose is blacked by fan panel or dash mount bar. mines around the wrong way to yours but if you start from your drivers side about 1/3 of the bay accross about 8' down from the hood line you should see the hole in the firewall. if your like mine it wont lead to anything but if it does the other side is also easily accessable. you should have full access to the wire by removing the radio shroud and be able to chase the wire back the firewall. i'l try get some photos tomorrow as you cant miss the hose now it's bright red!

lww:
yeah i definately changed the wire to good quality oxy free wiring. would not do that job again just to change wiring haha

 

So i'm wondering what the wire difference is for the '81 zx radio schematics.
My friend just gave me this bad boy so tell me what you think,




i have NO experience with these (280zx) electronics and i'm just getting her back up and running once i get that last injector from ebay, hopefully tomorrow.

 

Different than what? Stereos are easy to install if you know what you are doing. Just need a +12v power source, accessory, ground, and hook up the speaker wires.

 

Do yourself a favor and run ALL new wires for that Sony...Please, it will be worth your extra time to run new wires TRUST ME run new wires....the word of the day is NEW WIRES. Run a black 2 foot ground wire from behind the radio for the radio and screw it to the metal of the trans hump (this wire will splice to the black ground wire on the radio), run a 14awg wire from the battery to the radio, put a 15-20amp fuse on the wire and put it near that battery (this wire will hook up to the yellow wire on the radio, run a red wire to the fuse panel to a, ignition source (this will go to the red wire on your radio) use speaker wires to splice into the speaker wires on the radio and run one speaker at a time...to avoid confusion, to each speaker location and hide the wires as you go. If you plan to add an amp or amps go ahead and run a blue amp wire to the rear of the car and run some RCA cables also, hide until you need them. BAM!

 

...i want your shorts

 

Well, this is what i've found so far for the CDX-f7700

280zx
Front Right Speaker:
Positive Wire - Blue with Red Stripe
Negative Wire - Blue with Black Stripe (Right common ground wire)
Front Left Speaker:
Positive Wire - Yellow with Red Stripe
Negative Wire - Yellow with Black Stripe (Left common ground wire)
Right Rear Speaker:
Positive Wire - White
Negative Wire - Blue with Black Stripe
Left Rear Speaker:
Positive Wire - Blue-Green with White Stripe (Double-check the factory speaker connection to be sure)
Negative Wire - Yellow with Black Stripe

CD player Wiring

Front Right Speaker:
Gray - positive
Gray/White - negative
Front Left Speaker:
White - Positive
White/black - negative
Right Rear Speaker:
Violet - positive
Violet/black - negative
Left Rear Speaker:
Green - positive
Green/black - negative

Black ground
Yellow power
Red accesory/switched

Now my question is, where are the ground, power and accesory/switched on the car? what colors r they?

 

ok first things first ground is black thats easy, it runs from the back of the unit and when you remove the shroud pop open the emblem badge at the front of your centre console and undo the 2 bolts, you can then pry your console up just enough to remove the bolt that holds down the earthing point. as for your others i cant figure my wiring diagram in my haynes book but easiest thing is do what i did. if you move your radio shroud unit there is a plug that connects the headunit wires back to the loom simply use a power testing tool to find constant and accessory power. off the top of my head i think constant was green with orange and accessories was green with white or yellow

 

ps my colours may be off as there was already an aftermarket unit in mine that i removed but i'm sure you will figure it out

 

Snwy has imagined himself in them many times...


Rod.

 

Is that yellow plug the constant 12v?




there's from the car, and the stereo plugs.

 

Hey guys,

Just caught part of the thread and I thought I would post some pictures of my install.

 

HEY! Where'd your ashtray go? What the hell are you supposed to do with the butts?

P.S.
Very clean install. What are the toggle switches under the EQ for?

 

I used a rotary tool to cut out the ash tray and the cigarette lighter hole,etc. Then I made my own mounting plate and put it all together in the way I wanted it. The switches are for the auxillary lights, amplifier on/off, and power for the shift light.

VernonZ

Here are some pics of the buildup.

 

Hey guys i finally did iT!!! i have a CDX-f7700 Cd/mp3/radio hooked up to my 280zx!!! I"m so exicted it took FOREVER to find the colors, but unfortunately there's only new wires in the rear, but still it works great!
Now i have the works "ex nihilo" :-D

 

lol, looks like something is missing so bad and the technology gap. haha. very nice though.

 

I like it...good job man.