Greetings, all! I am the proud owner of an '87 244 DL (136K) with the factory CR-4123 radio installed. It's a good enough unit, and I have absolutely no desire to replace it with an aftermarket one. That would make my question moot, and my solution that much easier. I noted that the factory box has settings for balance and fade (which , for the uninitiated is the front-to-back balance). However, the car has speakers only in the front doors, which, I suppose, was the company's way of saving a few bucks in the presentation. I would like to install some speakers in the rear deck and be able to use the dedicated rear fader from the radio. However, pulling the unit provides no clue whatsoever as to the wires that the rears should be attached to. Calls to the dealer, who is usually pretty good about these things, got me nowhere. It seens that the schematic for that radio isn't around anymore. Query: Does anyone know which color wires are the rear left, rear right and rear ground (if any) on that particular unit? Has anyone done the hookup? I can't help but think that there is an open harness lurking in there somewhere that I missed. Any clue would be appreciated!

In a nutshell you are SOL without the HA-4111 or HA 2115 Aux Amp.

In the design Volvo's OEM'er (usually Clarion, Mitsbishi or Alpine) used a system whereby the rear speaker output is only available via the amp. When the Amp is connected to the DIN connector the fader is enabled, a basic short design, and the rear speaker preamp is directed to the amp (in the case of the HA 2115 15x2 amp-rear speaker only boost) or all speaker pre amps are directed to the amp (HA 4111 4x20 amp).

In the base radio head unit there exists only a small output amp for the front speakers, so that is why there are no rear speaker output wires.

No internal amp or the rears so no rear speakers.

In the previous design, the Delco sized lower dash units, there existed a fader that connected to the main 9 pin connector and split the signal and controlled fade via a knob on the switch panel. Alas this will not interface with the later DIN chassis units.

The solution is to troll the boneyards and locate an amp...

I may have one in my Jesus Box of "what'll I do with this..." parts. I'll take a peek this weekend and get back to you...

/// Fade is on one of the controls? The fact that fade is on the unit does not mean that you have the amp to actually accomplish that.

There is a web site called install.com? I can't remember. But previous posts have said they used it to correctly identify harness wires. Howard Sams online is the authority for schematics and service material. They sell books for auto radios and CBs, rather than service folders. This can be expensive if you only want information on one radio. They are bundled by year not model.

If you do not get information on install.com(?) in this thread, repost and ask for it in the heading.

Most likely the harness is buried under the carpet, provided that it actually exists. Judging by the model # of your head unit, it is a 2-channel unit. So an external amp would be needed to power the rear channel speakers. My CR-712 unit had the amp behind the glovebox.

If your car is a DL, it had the two speakers. On the GL's they added the amp for the rear speakers. You should be able to find the appropraite amplifer for your head unit for pretty cheap.

Have you replaced the front door speakers yet? If not, I would do that first. You will wind up with a very un-balanced sound by installing new rears and retaining the crappy old fronts. Then you can decide whether or not the rear speakers are even necessary.

According to Crutchfield diagram the rear speakers are on a seperate connector for the radio. It's a four pin connector with the following leads.

Right Rear + = Violet

Right Rear - = Violet/Black

Left Rear + = Green

Left Rear - = Green/Black

If you need a copy of the complete diagram, drop me an E-Mail and I will send it you. Good luck.

Mario

Mario: Thanx ever so much for the info. Now I can take the thing apart and know what I'm looking for. I'm hoping that another external amp won't be required, as was suggested by some of the other replies I've had. I'll know soon enough, I guess. Again, I appreciate your looking this up for me.