I picked this van up over the weekend and am slowly sorting out the weirdness of 23 years of half assed fixes. I noticed pretty quickly that the driver's door speaker didn't work. It still didn't work after installing a new stereo. I figure it's dead so I order a new set. Tonight I remove the cover and discover a random connector hanging out of a hole in the door. Sure enough, it leads to the speaker. That would explain why it doesn't work. I have no idea why it was unplugged. Regardless, it needs to be plugged back in to wherever it came from so I can test it and return the new speakers if the old one actually works. With that having been said, I can't figure out where the connector is supposed to plug in within the door. The wire harness that leads into it is short enough that it can't be far away. However my blind groping within the door hasn't revealed anything. My Haynes manual also doesn't seem to cover the audio system other than the dash stereo, or I'm in the wrong section.

 

Haynes and chiltons are pretty much useless when it comes to wiring and such on anything newer than about 1985..... A factory service manual is what you want. (Published by Bishko) You can usually find 'em pretty cheap on amazon/ebay, 30 or 40 bucks for the PDF version. (or cheaper....)

 

Thanks. I like how Bishko only offers instant access on a rental basis and won't just provide you a PDF if you buy it. Instead you can buy a DVD.

Do you know if the DVD contains a PDF or is it going to require me to install some archaic software (assuming I can even find a computer with a disc drive)?

 

No clue on that..... External DVD drives are fairly cheap, though, buying one for a one-time use seems a bit excessive.... Should be downloadable versions on EBay, or Amazon, I would think.... But, they seem to be fun to find......

 

Well in the daylight it was obvious where it needed to plug in. However now I'm thinking that the connector actually wasn't for the speaker. Plugging it in caused the dome lights to come on with the door open which I didn't realize until right then wasn't happening when I opened the driver's side door. Still no driver's side audio. Playing around with the balance and fade I realize there is no rear driver's side audio either.

 

Stock or aftermarket radio? If stock, is it the infinity system? (should say right on the radio.)

 

Currently aftermarket as I just replaced the stock radio (not infinity). The left speakers (driver's side door and rear) didn't work before replacement either. I have no idea what the correct readings are but I went out with multimeter and got about 36mA and 1.5mV from the plug that connects to the speaker. I tried testing the speaker with a AA battery and got no movement so I'm thinking it's dead. New 6x9 speaker set from Crutchfield is supposed to be delivered today so I'll plug that in and see if it works.

 

Well it turned out to just be a dead speaker. The replacement works great. The two dash speakers seem to be dead but whatever. I will swap in the other new speaker into the passenger door this evening and then move that working stock speaker back into the cabin to replace a dead speaker there.

I still have a list of things to do. Maybe I'll start a build log.