Stereo & Music

The Radio

When I got a hold of the gray Saab, it still had the complete factory 900 Turbo system installed. If you are familiar with this system, it consists of a Clarion tape deck, graphical EQ with spectrum analyzer and a set of mid-grade speakers. The problem with the system was that the head unit was completely dead. So for about three weeks, I drove around with an old Panasonic boom box in the back seat- not a very appealing option. It was then that I decided to see what I had laying around the house that could replace it.

When I had my old Pontiac, I had installed a Pioneer KEH-M5500 head unit with a Pioneer EQ-6500 passive EQ to replace the stock Delco stereo. When I trashed the car, I had salvaged the system and stuck it away in my storeroom with all my spare computer parts (about four servers worth). I pulled them out, dusted them off, tested them, found them OK and set them aside to use.

I went through my collection of spare stereo parts (I have got to stop hoarding), and found I had a pair of two new-in-box Pioneer amplifiers, models GM-22 (2 channel/35w) & GM-44 (4 channel/35w) amplifiers I got when the Wiz went out of business, so those were added to the list. I purchased a Pioneer M300 CD changer on ebay, and installed it in the trunk. I completed the system a pair of Boston Acoustics ProSeries 4.5's and a pair of Pioneer 6"x9" speakers that I had used in the the '85. I connected all of this with three pair 5m Monster Cable interconnect cables and speakerwire and I had myself a very nice, usable stereo.

Later I threw in a set of Boston Acoustic 10" subwoofers in a pair of custom acoustically tuned boxes I built to round the system out.

By the way, If you hadn't noticed, I like Pioneer Car Audio and Boston Acoustic Mobile.

The Stereo

With a new old "basic" stereo system installed, I took my time to plan on a more powerful and expandable system. I had to assemble a backbone for this new system, so the first thing I did was go to my local junkyard.

"Junkyard?" you ask? Yes, the local junk yard.

You see, I did not want to damage the existing, working stereo wiring. In the yard I found an '87 900s that had been trashed, and I pulled the entire stereo wiring, amp and head unit out as well as the center console. I put the other components aside and started to work on the main part I needed- the power harness. I took the harness, cut out the unnecessary wires so that I had the four I needed left- the constant hot, the switched hot, the power antenna lead and dimmer circuit. For informational purposes, the power extension-cord was phased out after '88, so if you are looking to do this yourself, check the model year of the junker you set your sights on.

Fig S-1:
Saab Stereo Wiring (click on for a full size image):

With the harness prepared, I started working on the rest of the power distribution system. I made a list and went down to a couple of local stereo retailers picked up the following items:

• 2 ANL main fuse holders;
• 1 4 position fused distribution block;
• 1 Battery Clamp Negative;
• 1 Battery Clamp Posative;
• 30 ft of 4-guage wire in red and white;
• 30 ft of 8-guage wire in red, white, blue and orange;
• 1 spool each of 14-guage stranded wire in red, white, blue, black and yellow;
• 12 4-guage wire managment clips;
• 12 8-guage wire managment clips;
• 3 4-position, gold-plated barrier strips;
• a pack of .325 male and female blade connectors;
• 2 30-amp relays.

To install a complete aftermarket stereo, it is recommended you run an independant power system directly from the battery. You do this to keep noise and other issues out of the power loop. If you have ever heard an underlying hum, hiss or whine through your car stereo's speakers, that is 'noise.' I am working on a project disecting the procedures for doing this. When finished, you can find it on Projects page.

Fig S-2:
Stereo Power Wiring:

The relays are used to keep the power lines separate from the main wiring system of the car. There are two switched lines you want to deal with on a stereo install, the ingnition switched line and the radio switched line. The ignition line is obvious, when ever the car's ignition is put into the ACC position it will cause the line to go live. The radio switched line turns on the various accessories connected to the system when the head unit is turned on. Instead of connecting the directly to the cars harness, you hook up the power lines so that when the power is turned on, the relay closes the circuit from the battery to feed the "clean" power to your system. In addition, when there are multiple accessories attatched to the stereo's switched line, there may not be enough juice to turn them all on. By wiring in a relay and using the main power line, you will not have the issue of not enough power to turn on your accessories.

Fig S-3:
Wiring for Relays:

Warning

There are several items you need to watch when running new power lines in your car. Here is a general list:

• When replaceing the battery terminals, please take the time to check the condition of the wires. After you strip the wires, if there is any corrosion in the braiding, remove the corroded section until there is only clean copper.
• If the insulation is cracked, flaking or melted or if the corrosion goes more than 4-5 inches (10-12.5 cm) in to the braid, replace the wire.
• Always use the same guage or better when running new wire.
• When installing larger terminals, ensure that all terminals are properly crimped and sealed with self-sealing heat shrink tubing. 0-8 guage wire usually needs a professional crimping tool. These large crimpers can cause in excess of $600.00 in the U.S., so make freinds with a local stereo install shop.
• When installing smaller terminals, use crimping terminals with self-sealing heat shrink tubing. These are available at most auto parts stores. You usually will need .325 blade terminals and 1/4" diameter rings. For 10-12 guage wire, use the yellow ones; for 14-16 guage wire, use the blue ones. You will rarely need to use 18-22 guage wire, so ignore the red ones. 3M brand is my prefered manufacturer of crimping terminals.

The System

Notes and Eratta

Saab Stereo Configurations

Saab had three levels of stereo systems for their cars. The base, The "S" and the "Turbo". This is what the difference between the levels was:

Table S-1:
Saab Stereo Options by Model

1985-1987

Base	S	Turbo
Head unit only; 4 Channels; Speakers: 2 speakers in the dash; 1979-1985: no speakers in the rear deck; 1986-1994: 2 speakers in the rear deck; Whip-style antenna.	Head unit; Separate Amp in center console; 4 Channels Speakers: 2 speakers in the dash; 2 speakers in the rear deck; Power or whip-style antenna.	Head unit; Graphic EQ w/ Amp in center console; 4 Channels Speakers: 2 speakers in the dash; 2 speakers in the rear deck; Power antenna.
Notes: Over the years, Saab modified the radio configurations. To help me with this list I am trying to locate the audio manuals for the various years. Currently I have the 1986 and the 1992 model years. In 1988 they changed the head unit , eq and amplifiers from ones employing two 9-pin DIN communication cables and a separate power harness to set of units that used a single cambination 9-pin DIN power & communications cable. In 1991 they added an optional CD player.

Saab OEM to Aftermarket Standard Wiring

This chart shows the wiring colors for the Saab OEM system/harness and the corresponding wiring colors for aftermarket stereos.

Table S-2:
Saab OEM Wiring to Aftermarket Stereo Wiring - Power & Switching

Application	OEM Color		Standard Color
Battery / Memory	Gray		Red
Ignition / ACC	Red		Yellow
Ground	Black		Black
Power Antenna	Green		Blue
Amplifier Turn On	N/A		Blue / White
Illumination	Brown / White		Orange
Dimmer	N/A		Orange / White

Table S-3:
Saab OEM Wiring to Aftermarket Stereo Wiring - Speakers

Application	OEM Color		Standard Color
Front / Right + Front / Right -	Red Blue		Gray Gray / Black
Front / Left + Front / Left -	Brown Green		White White / Black
Rear / Right + Rear / Right -	White / Red White / Blue		Purple Purple / Black
Rear / Left + Rear / Left -	White / Brown White / Green		Green Green / Black

Stereo Component Availibility by Year

Table S-4:
Saab Stereo Descriptions

Year	Model	Standard	Options
1986	Base	AM/FM/Tape Head unit: 4 channel 10w per channel Dolby NR B/C Speakers: Dash - 2 4" Full-range Rear - 2 4"x10" Full-range	Separate Amplifier: 4 channel Amp 35w per channel Graphic EQ/Amplifier: 7 channel EQ 4 channel Amp 35w per channel
1986	S	AM/FM/Tape Head unit: 4 channel 10w per channel Dolby NR B/C Separate Amplifier: 4 channel Amp 35w per channel Speakers: Dash - 2 4" Full-range Rear - 2 4"x10" Full-range	Graphic EQ/Amplifier: 7 channel EQ 4 channel Amp 35w per channel
1986	Turbo	AM/FM/Tape Head unit: 4 channel 10w per channel Dolby NR B/C Graphic EQ/Amplifier: 7 channel EQ 4 channel Amp 35w per channel Speakers: Dash - 2 4" Full-range Rear - 2 4"x10" Full-range
1992	Base	AM/FM/Tape Head unit: 4 channel 10w per channel Dolby NR B/C Speakers: Dash - 2 4" Full-range Rear - 2 4"x10" Full-range	Separate Amplifier: 4 channel Amp 35w per channel Graphic EQ/Amplifier: 7 channel EQ 4 channel Amp 35w per channel CD/Graphic EQ/Amplifier: Clarion CD Player 7 channel EQ 4 channel Amp 35w per channel
1992	S	AM/FM/Tape Head unit: 4 channel 10w per channel Dolby NR B/C Separate Amplifier: 4 channel Amp 35w per channel Speakers: Dash - 2 4" Full-range Rear - 2 4"x10" Full-range	Graphic EQ/Amplifier: 7 channel EQ 4 channel Amp 35w per channel CD/Graphic EQ/Amplifier: Clarion CD Player 7 channel EQ 4 channel Amp 35w per channel
1992	Turbo	AM/FM/Tape Head unit: 4 channel 10w per channel Dolby NR B/C Graphic EQ/Amplifier: 7 channel EQ 4 channel Amp 35w per channel Speakers: Dash - 2 4" Mid/Bass Dash - 2 1" Tweeters Rear - 2 4"x10" Full-range	CD/Graphic EQ/Amplifier: Clarion CD Player 7 channel EQ 4 channel Amp 35w per channel

Music

Some of my choices of music:

Pink Floyd's Pulse Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon Pink Floyd's Delicate Sound of Thunder Coldplay's Rush of Blood to the Head

Yes' Fragile Yes' Union Yes' 90125 Eminem's Curtain Call

Click on the album cover for the artists' sites:

Pink Floyd

Coldplay

Eminem

Yes