96 Olds Stereo installation problems

First off, this is the wiring schematic for the 96 olds cutlass ciera;

Car Radio Battery Constant 12v+ Wire: Orange
Car Radio Accessory Switched 12v+ Wire: Yellow
Car Radio Ground Wire: Black
Car Radio Illumination Wire: Gray
Car Stereo Dimmer Wire: Brown
Car Stereo Antenna Trigger Wire: Pink
Car Stereo Amp Trigger Wire: N/A
Car Stereo Amplifier Location: N/A
Car Audio Front Speakers Size: 3 1/2″
Car Audio Front Speakers Location: Dash
Left Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Tan
Left Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Gray
Right Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Light Green
Right Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Dark Green
Car Audio Rear Speakers Size: 6″ x 9″
Car Audio Rear Speakers Location: Rear Deck
Left Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Brown
Left Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Yellow
Right Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Dark Blue
Right Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Light Blue



Now trying to install a Dual XD1222 60 Watt CD receiver into this has been a pain.

First off some of these wires control other things in the vehicle such as power locks, console lights, overhead lights in the interior and trunk.

What I have managed to do is some how get the CD player and all to working, but the odd part is, I have to turn on the headlights to get the sound to come on, I can turn the lights off and it stay on, I can turn the radio off and back on and the sound will come on still, but some loose wires remain and I am only able to get front speakers to working.

Problem has been trying to what color goes where since the colors on the CD player wiring are different than that of the Car wires itself, so matching up colors dont exactly work.

any suggestions?

take the wire you have connected to the

take the wire connected to the car's gray illumination wire and connect it to the car's yellow switched voltage wire.

do you know where the wires on the Dual Stereo go to the wiring on the car? outside of the gray illumination wire?

This should take care of your wiring issues:

This should take care of your wiring issues:

that part was in the manual, its the easy part, the hard part is the speakers and its wiring. Like I said, some of the cars wires control other crap when connected like overhead lights, dash lights, trunk and hood lights, and the sort.

I don't understand. The speaker wire connections are included in the manual and you already have the speaker wire colors for your vehicle. Once you have the speaker wires connected correctly, there are only a few more left. You're not going to use all of those wires with the new radio.

For other wires that the radio cannot control, simply bypass them. This would involve cutting the harnesses and direct wiring the radio, while maintaining the circuit of each non-used wire. Or, you could get an aftermarket harness adapter. Crutchfield usually has them all. But there are other places to get them, probably at a cheaper price also.

If the speaker wiring controls something else, you could direct wire new lengths of speaker wire, which is an involved process requiring panel removal, possible rug lifting, etc.

If none of this helps you, then I still don't understand your issue.

wwepatriot - have you ever wired up a car stereo from scratch like this ?

maybe you need a wire to wire chart ...

nope, this is first time, I think I got everything figured out though, got it all working where I dont have to turn on headlights to get it to working. That gray illumination wire made all the difference.

Well one minor problem is, the radio has no memory like clock, it always resets when turned off. Lights like overhead, trunk, only come on when either the car is on, or engaged where everything works off battery.

Connect "Car Radio Battery Constant 12v+ Wire: Orange" to "5A Fused Yellow Memory" lead from the radio. Or anything connected directly to the battery that is always on even when the car is not running. Make sure it's fused.

Yellow Wire (only 1) is connected to the orange wire, its the only way the Radio powers on in any capacity.

No, that shouldn't be correct. You have two power wires from the car and two power wires from the radio.

Car Yellow Wire to Red Radio Wire.
Car Orange Wire to Yellow Radio Wire.

Try that and report back.

By the way, all this advice is solely based upon your initial post. If the below isn't 100% correct, neither will the advice given.


Car Radio Battery Constant 12v+ Wire: Orange
Car Radio Accessory Switched 12v+ Wire: Yellow
Car Radio Ground Wire: Black
Car Radio Illumination Wire: Gray
Car Stereo Dimmer Wire: Brown
Car Stereo Antenna Trigger Wire: Pink
Car Stereo Amp Trigger Wire: N/A
Car Stereo Amplifier Location: N/A
Car Audio Front Speakers Size: 3 1/2″
Car Audio Front Speakers Location: Dash
Left Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Tan
Left Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Gray
Right Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Light Green
Right Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Dark Green
Car Audio Rear Speakers Size: 6″ x 9″
Car Audio Rear Speakers Location: Rear Deck
Left Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Brown
Left Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Yellow
Right Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Dark Blue
Right Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Light Blue

That is how its currently setup now.

But the way it was was that it wouldnt power on if the red or yellow was not connected to the orange, both are connected to it. I think theirs another Car Yellow connected to the Orange, Red, and Yellow as well.

Have you checked both fuses? The 5 amp fuse on the radio lead, and the radio fuse in the cars fuse box?

both those fuses function, I blew about 4 of the 10 amp fuses in the cars fuse box trying to get the wiring correct, without the fuse, the Radio does not come on.

yeah, the the fuse on the radio is attached to the yellow wire, and then theirs the radio fuse in the cars fuse box which is a 10 amp.

both are good.

I would assume the car came with the factory harness connections hacked off, if that is the case, find the previous owner and kick him where it really hurts for doing the chop job.

That said, I would save myself a lot of grief and go to a wrecking yard, find a 96 Olds Cutlas Ciera, cut the radio harness out if it and take it back home and play "match the colors" to restore the original harness, then go and get the correct harness adapter kit for the car and wire it (again playing "match the colors") to the Dual, then it becomes Plug N Play.

My 2 cents.

[...] then go and get the correct harness adapter kit for the car and wire it (again playing "match the colors") to the Dual, then it becomes Plug N Play.

If... the head unit area was the only place the circuit was hacked.

This is a pretty straight-up and simple install. There shouldn't be this many problems.

OP, stick a meter across each of the power leads from the car, one at a time, with the car off (no keys) and then again with the car running. What are your readings?

Wait... do you have a meter and know how to use one?

Also, try tracing the power wires under the dash. Visually inspect they are both connected to something; preferably the fuse box.

Can you provide pictures of this install? Your wiring, the rear of the radio, the harness if any?

Another thought... was the radio in there the OEM factory model, or was there something else installed? If someone before you had a different radio, there may already an aftermarket harness attached to the factory harness. Then wire leads.

Pictures and full disclosure would help a lot.

it was the original radio with harness and all in it, but the harness is so oddball, no adapters not even the kits you buy had the correct connections to it. Most likely due to the car being old as it is.

FYI is, the radio is installed and connected and both front and back speakers work, like I said, it keeps no memory of time or anything in it, plus something keeps blowing the 20 amp fuse which powers the cig lighter and other functions like power locks and all.

I did the meter test prior to install to find which ones was hot, I think I came across 2 which was the orange wire, and then a yellow wire, both the orange and yellow wire had to be connected with each other for some reason with the Yellow and Red wire on the Radio in order for it to power on at all, although direct connection of the red wire into the fuse box on the 10A Radio had it powering on.

Its quite confusing.

the wire from the cars harness that gets power all the time goes to the yellow wire on the radio, the car wire that only gets 12V with the key on goes to the red wire on the radio. The orange wire on the radio is for illumination, the blue wire is for the auto antenna and the blue/white wire is for amp turn on. This is pretty much a standard connection and wiring scheme for aftrmarket.

Car Radio Battery Constant 12v+ Wire: Orange GOES TO YELLOW ON RADIO
Car Radio Accessory Switched 12v+ Wire: Yellow GOES TO RED ON RADIO - DOING THESE FIRST 2 RIGHT WILL FIX THE MEMORY PROBLEM
Car Radio Ground Wire: Black GROUND THE BLACK RADIO WIRE TO METAL, NOT THIS WIRE
Car Radio Illumination Wire: Gray GOES TO ORANGE ON THE RADIO
Car Stereo Dimmer Wire: Brown
Car Stereo Antenna Trigger Wire: Pink
Car Stereo Amp Trigger Wire: N/A
Car Stereo Amplifier Location: N/A
Car Audio Front Speakers Size: 3 1/2″
Car Audio Front Speakers Location: Dash
Left Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Tan
Left Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Gray
Right Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Light Green
Right Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Dark Green
Car Audio Rear Speakers Size: 6″ x 9″
Car Audio Rear Speakers Location: Rear Deck
Left Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Brown
Left Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Yellow
Right Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Dark Blue
Right Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Light Blue