[wsad]

I'm thinking about replacing the old Becker radio in my 1980 300D with a (Gasp!) CD player. I just wanted to check here first to see if anyone knows the wiring scheme for the Becker radio, like which wires are which. Also, if anyone has any tips, that would be great.

 

[lietuviai]

Best thing is to check the connector with a test light with the ignition off and in the ...

Best thing is to check the connector with a test light with the ignition off and in the accessories position. There are four prongs in the main plug, one stays hot all the time, another one shows hot in the accessories position and one more lights up when you turn on the lights. I don't remember which are which at this time. I don't have a suggestion for the speaker wires since I have not checked those yet. Does your have a separate fader adjustment on your center console?

 

[wsad]

I do have the fader

You mean the fader by the window switches? I have one there. I'm not sure about the main plug you mentioned. All I remember when I took out the radio was a few single wires and two plugs that each had two wires. Maybe I have a different radio.....

 

[lietuviai]

Yes that's the one. As far as the radio is concerned it may be due to we have different ye...

Yes that's the one. As far as the radio is concerned it may be due to we have different year models. I didn't think that there should be much difference between years but then again there may be. Your best bet then is to use a test light to see which wires are hot at what times you turn your key. The two plugs are for your speakers which run to your fader. You have a couple of choices regarding the speakers. You can hook up the front speaker leads from your new radio to the fader wires (you will need to know which ones are + & - which I don't know at this time)or you can run new wires to your speakers and hook them up directly to your front and rear leads of your new radio and ignore the fader switch since the new radio already has one of its own. I would suggest the second way because you should upgrade your speakers as well.

 

[KamiL]

RE: Yes that's the one. As far as the radio is concerned it may be due to we have different ye...

how do you by-pass the fader ??? how do i just run the wires directly to the speakers ??

thanks

 

[wsad]

RE: Yes that's the one. As far as the radio is concerned it may be due to we have different ye...

Well, what I did was just buy new speaker wire (you can get it cheap from RadioShack), and run it from the CD player's wires, behind the console, then through the dash in the front to the speakers, and then under the carpet, behind the back seat, then under the rear deck to those speakers.

 

[jdc1244]

Red is live/ignition, brown is ground, if memory serves – as noted above test with a test lamp unless you have a lot of fuses! When I installed my CD I just abandoned the Becker harness and cut everything out down to bare wires. I ran a live wire from the battery for the memory presets and the clock. I used the origional wires (already had new speakers) and just connected the leads per the CD manufacture’s instructions. Once you start laying wire you’ll see how well built these cars are![:0]