I have been tring to install an aftermarket cd player in my Mark and would like to retain the factory amp. I got the Scosche wiring harness, got all that junk hooked up, except for the 1 red wire that was bolted to the back of the factory stereo. I'm pretty sure that it is just a ground, but when I ground it I get no sound, but if I leave it disconnected to anything, I get power and sound, but it will cut out when turned up a littlle loud. I have no idea what to do with the red wire, I know it is a common ground system, and I think I used this on my 20th back when I was in high school http://www.scosche.com/products/sfID1/151/sfID2/159/productID/999 (http://"http://www.scosche.com/products/sfID1/151/sfID2/159/productID/999") and I got it working with that, I just don't remember what I did with the red wire that was bolted to the back of the factory radio..... Would I connect that to the black wire coming out of the scosche interface in the link?
I didnt use any contraption like that when I hooked up my aftermarket deck in my Mark 7 But my car was an 88 I think the wiring is different .
So I dont think I can help .
Did you have the red wire bolted to the back of the stock radio?
Nope , the 84-87 is a common ground system the later ones are not
sorry
Just a thought , did you try reducing the gain on your adapter thingy
Ah, I did not know that. Well, I bought the interface anyhow, we will se how it goes...
I was trying to install it without the adapter, I have the adapter now, hooking up wires as I type ;)
There is an audio section on that other forum I told you about
You may find some help there
Didn't find much there for an 87 mark....
I know there is a non factory amp connector in thunderbirds and cougars - but I can't seem to find one for the Mark..... That would be the way to go LOL
Do you have the big JBL amp? If so I have a harness to by pass it that you can have
I'm really not sure, I know it has premium sound, but don't know if it's the JBL system or not. Do you have a part number or link to where I can see what the bypass look like?
this is the bypass unit
And that hooks up to the amp?
no it by-passes the factory JBL amp
Where does it plug in? Or does it plug into the speaker harness inside the dash to bypass the amp?
In the trunk , at the amp .
Ah I see.... And that would make the factory amp pretty much obsloete and I wouldn't have to worry about the red wire that was hooked up to the back of the stock radio (which I found out was the ground for the factory amp)
Exactly But I only have the one for the JBL amp
that looks like this
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1991-Lincoln-Mark-VII-LSC-Factory-JBL-Amplifier-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem230a71b98cQQitemZ150499080588QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories
I justtook a look in my trunk and although I couldn't tell what my factory amp looked like, it dosen't look like the JBL in the link you posted
Well that will not work then , dang
Yea, that sucks. I may just run new wiring to all the speakers and only use the stock harness for power, seems like that may be the way to go
I'm afraid you may be correct , that seems to be how most people have worked around the common ground system