Clarion M508 Stereo Install in 87 Grand Wagoneer (Part 1 of 3)

[TimGee]

Hello all,

With the help of Sirrus here I was able to successfully install a new stereo and speakers in my 1987 Grand Wagoneer so I thought I'd walk through the process.

Here's a link to the Polk speakers:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_107DB522/ ... B-522.html

Be sure to get the speaker harness with them. Crutchfield will ask during check out for your car and they included Jeep harnesses for free when I purchased but here's a link to them just in case:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_120721002 ... rness.html

Here's a link to the stereo:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_020M508/Clarion-M508.html

Here's the car side wiring harnesses. There's one 8-pin female for the speakers and one 8-pin male (6 pins used) for the power. The metal pin is for the antenna.

Jeep Plugs2.jpg

I was able to use the old cradle from the OEM stereo. Be sure to center the front part of the cradle as it can tip up or down. It needs to be straight for the stereo to sit right.

Old Harness on new stereo 2a.jpg

Old cradle on new stereo2.jpg

This is the included new stereo harness:

New Stereo harness2.jpg

This needs to be wired to compatible 8-pins that you can find here:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_120701000 ... rness.html

At first I tried to use the old 8-pins from the old stereo but the wire was very brittle and when I tried to strip it 1/2 the time the copper wires broke off leaving just a few stands. I felt it was better to start new.

The Clarion has RCA outs as well as connectors for power. It's a lot of wire to stuff behind the stereo once installed:

New Stereo Back2.jpg

[TimGee]

I maxed out on attaching picts so I started a new thread:

I ended up cutting all of the wires on the new stereo except for the antenna input since I was using the harness:

Cables crimped2.jpg

Here is the old wiring diagram for the OEM stereo:

Old Stereo Wiring Diag2.jpg

Here's the new stereo wiring diagram:

New Stereo Diagram2.jpg

The speakers are simple to wire but things get a bit more confusing with the power harness so here's the diagram for the new 8-pin harnesses:

New Harness Diagram2.jpg

I found that most of the power harness connections were the same. Yellow to yellow, Red to red, Black to black, Blue to blue and Orange/White (stereo) to Orange (power harness). I ignored the blue/white wire on the stereo harness and ignored the orange/white (Dimmer) wire on the power harness. This is a marine stereo so it unfortunately doesn't have dimmer capability.

[TimGee]

Here's a pict of the completed harness. I reused the fuse from the old stereo to protect the switched power lead. That's why there's a small section of purple wire on the red lead:

harness complete2.jpg

Here's the harness installed:

Harness installed2.jpg

And here's the stereo installed in the Jeep.

Stereo installed2.jpg

[tp1443]

Thank you for this post, it's very helpful.
The Crutchfield site is directing me towards 6.5 inch speakers, when I enter the info on my 88 GW. But your link goes to 5.25 inch speakers. Pls can I confirm you did use the 5.25 polks and they were an OK fit? Any brackets or adaption needed in the door?
Thank you,
Tom

[TimGee]

Thank you for this post, it's very helpful.
The Crutchfield site is directing me towards 6.5 inch speakers, when I enter the info on my 88 GW. But your link goes to 5.25 inch speakers. Pls can I confirm you did use the 5.25 polks and they were an OK fit? Any brackets or adaption needed in the door?
Thank you,
Tom

Hey Tom,

I just went into my Crutchfield account and confirmed that these are the speakers I purchased for this project:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_107DB522/ ... B-522.html

The speakers fit just fine from what I remember. Don't forget the speaker harness which they give you for free.

(Metra 72-1002 Speaker Wiring Harness)