Rear speakers not going :(

**samael** · 08-10-2005, 07:37 AM

Hi all

I just purchased a 1992 Honda Accord, but the rear speakers dont seem to be going. They are there, I checked

Swivling the 'fad' knob to the rear merely turns off the front 2 speakers, the 'balance' knob works as expected.
I should mention that everything looks factory, the headunit has Honda all over it, the speaker covers are origanal, and the screws around the dash were so tight that I am sure no one has removed them since 1992

So anyway I thought I would do some troubleshooting, see if I cant figure out whats going on. After about 2 hours trying to figure out how to remove the head unit, and another 45 minutes, upside down, actually removing the thing (who would've thought 2 bolts would be so hard to remove O_o) I was ready to start troubleshooting.

So I unplug the headunit from the big fat plug with a bunch of wires coming out of it, open the boot to find out what colour the wires on the rear speakers are, then whip out my multimetre.

Heres where the questions start :

A: Whats the plug thing called? The one that plugs into the headunit, and has a bunch of wire coming out, power, aux, speakers etc....

B: Does anyone know a resource that will inform me of the meaning of the colours of the wires? I can't seem to conjure up a search string that will coax the information out of google, but I dont know the name of the big fat plug thing, which may be half my problem.... I can guess which wires are the speakers, given that I can easily see the rear speakers wires.

C: The left and right wires come from the speakers, disappear into the car, and reappear shethed in black tape stuff, entering the big fat headunit plug. If I was to put my multimetre into ohmmetre mode, what would I expect to see when I put the contacts across the end of the wires? I didnt see a value for the speakers I was testing, that is, the value stayed at 1, which is the value that the metre reads when the contacts are not touching anything. I figure that the whole circuit is a bunch of wire, and a coil going around a magnet, so that means I should get some resistance, correct?

D: What am I going to if, for some reason, the speaker wires dont make a whole circuit? The headunit is fine and the wires are bung? What I mean is how am I going to track down where the wires run through the car? Is there a common way that this is done, or are all car different so just because your car routes the wire through the roof doesnt mean mine will?

I am not afraid of hard work, but I would prefer to work a bit smarter. Blugening my head against the bottom of the steering column, and the underside of the glove box was necessary, because car stereo removal instructions on the internet seem to be as rare as hens teeth. Also, it is winter here in NZ and daylight hours after work are minimal

I am perfectly happy with the factory stereo (that must be blasphemous to some members

), and I dont believe in paying someone to do something that I am perfectly able to do myself, espescially when there is learning involved. Thats why I didnt just buy a new one, and have it professionally installed.... Although with every 2 cm twist of my socket set wrench thingy while my head was stuck under the brake pedal, I was wishing I had >8)
My previous cars have all been "drive them into the ground" models, so I just ripped and cut away with reckless abandon when installing audio equipment. If it didnt fall out, and it all worked, then that was fine with me

**Enforcer** · 08-10-2005, 08:10 AM

A. Normally called ISO connectors if it is standard. Although you may have a Honda OEM connector to ISO adapter.

B. Red +ACC, Yellow +12V, Black (-) Ground, Multicoloured pairs usually with a stripe on one are the speakers. Orange switched +12V (ie when the unit is on it switches 12V normally for automatic aeriel, Blue is usually a muting lead for handsfree car kit etc.

C. resistance should be about 4 ohms for normal car speakers but can be anywhere between 2 and 8.

D. The wires would normally go either down one side or through the middle. However some cars have slightly false floors and the cable runs are under that. You will just have to trace them. Try asking same question on a Honda forum, there will be someone there who has the same car and will have done it.

**samael** · 08-10-2005, 08:14 AM

Originally Posted by Enforcer

A. Normally called ISO connectors if it is standard. Although you may have a Honda OEM connector to ISO adapter.

B. Red +ACC, Yellow +12V, Black (-) Ground, Multicoloured pairs usually with a stripe on one are the speakers. Orange switched +12V (ie when the unit is on it switches 12V normally for automatic aeriel, Blue is usually a muting lead for handsfree car kit etc.

Excelent, thanks

Originally Posted by Enforcer

C. resistance should be about 4 ohms for normal car speakers but can be anywhere between 2 and 8.

Coolies!

Originally Posted by Enforcer

D. The wires would normally go either down one side or through the middle. However some cars have slightly false floors and the cable runs are under that. You will just have to trace them. Try asking same question on a Honda forum, there will be someone there who has the same car and will have done it.

True. hondaforums, here I come

**Dragonknell911** · 08-10-2005, 02:28 PM

check here, http://www.hondacivicforum.com/

**Enforcer** · 08-10-2005, 02:46 PM

Hmmm, let's all go to a civic forum when we have an accord.

**accentsound** · 08-10-2005, 07:34 PM

OK is this a 2 door or 4 door and does it have the Bose system?

Any way here are the wiring table for the 1992 3 door coupe

Battery WHT + (+) IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS
Accessory01 YEL + (+) IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS
Ground BLK - (-) RADIO HARNESS
Illumination RED/BLK (+) RADIO HARNESS
PowerAntenna YEL/WHT (+)
RADIO HARNESS FrontLeftSpeakerPos BLU/GRN
FrontLeftSpeakerNeg GRY/BLK
FrontRightSpeakerPos RED/GRN
FrontRightSpeakerNeg BROWN/BLACK
RearLeftSpeakerPos GRY/WHT
RearLeftSpeakerNeg BLU/YEL
RearRightSpeakerPos RED/YEL
RearRightSpeakerNeg BRN/WHT

Amp IF BOSE AT EACH SPK

**accentsound** · 08-10-2005, 07:38 PM

For the 92 Accord 4 door sedan

Battery WHT + (+) IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS
Accessory01 YEL + (+) IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS
Ground BLK - (-) RADIO HARNESS
Illumination RED/BLK (+) RADIO HARNESS
PowerAntenna YEL/WHT (+) RADIO HARNESS
FrontLeftSpeakerPos BLU/GRN
FrontLeftSpeakerNeg GRY/BLK
FrontRightSpeakerPos RED/GRN
FrontRightSpeakerNeg BROWN/BLACK
RearLeftSpeakerPos GRY/WHT
RearLeftSpeakerNeg BLU/YEL
RearRightSpeakerPos RED/YEL
RearRightSpeakerNeg BRN/WHT
Amp IF BOSE AT EACH SPK

**Enforcer** · 08-11-2005, 04:49 AM

Nice of them to use standard colors then

**samael** · 08-11-2005, 08:50 AM

Originally Posted by accentsound

OK is this a 2 door or 4 door

4 door

Originally Posted by accentsound

and does it have the Bose system?

Um, I dunno....

Originally Posted by accentsound

Any way here are the wiring table for the 1992 3 door coupe

Battery WHT + (+) IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS
Accessory01 YEL + (+) IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS
Ground BLK - (-) RADIO HARNESS
Illumination RED/BLK (+) RADIO HARNESS
PowerAntenna YEL/WHT (+)
RADIO HARNESS FrontLeftSpeakerPos BLU/GRN
FrontLeftSpeakerNeg GRY/BLK
FrontRightSpeakerPos RED/GRN
FrontRightSpeakerNeg BROWN/BLACK
RearLeftSpeakerPos GRY/WHT
RearLeftSpeakerNeg BLU/YEL
RearRightSpeakerPos RED/YEL
RearRightSpeakerNeg BRN/WHT

Amp IF BOSE AT EACH SPK

For the 92 Accord 4 door sedan

Battery WHT + (+) IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS
Accessory01 YEL + (+) IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS
Ground BLK - (-) RADIO HARNESS
Illumination RED/BLK (+) RADIO HARNESS
PowerAntenna YEL/WHT (+) RADIO HARNESS
FrontLeftSpeakerPos BLU/GRN
FrontLeftSpeakerNeg GRY/BLK
FrontRightSpeakerPos RED/GRN
FrontRightSpeakerNeg BROWN/BLACK
RearLeftSpeakerPos GRY/WHT
RearLeftSpeakerNeg BLU/YEL
RearRightSpeakerPos RED/YEL
RearRightSpeakerNeg BRN/WHT
Amp IF BOSE AT EACH SPK

Cool thanks, but aren't those two lists identical? I wasnt aware accord came out in a 3 door coupe....

Whats the difference between the 'IGNITION SWITCH HARNESS' and the 'RADIO HARNESS' ? What does that terminology mean?