Expert: Cleggsan - 9/10/2008

Question
QUESTION: I bought a Kenwood KDC-2022 stereo for my 1993 Subaru Legacy Wagon, and I know I need a wiring harness to hook it up properly, but I am also hearing a lot about radio adapters, and I was wondering whether I would need to purchase one of these as well to make the radio work when I install the deck. Also, do you recommend buying a dash kit for fitting the aftermarket deck in the radio slot?

ANSWER: Yes, I highly recommend you acquire the proper wiring harness.  You can do it without a harness, but using one makes it so much easier if the radio has to come out for any reason.  Here are the connections for your 1993 Subaru Legacy:

Radio Constant Wire 12V+: Blue/Yellow
Radio Switched Wire 12V+: Yellow/Red
Radio Ground Wire: Black
Radio Illumination Wire: Green
Radio Dimmer Wire: n/a
Front Speakers Size: 6 1/2″
Front Speakers Location: Doors
Left Front Speaker Wire (+): Brown/White
Left Front Speaker Wire (-): Green/Black
Right Front Speaker Wire (+): Red/Yellow
Right Front Speaker Wire (-): White/Black
Rear Speakers Size: 6 1/2″
Rear Speakers Location: Rear Doors
Left Rear Speaker Wire (+): White/Red
Left Rear Speaker Wire (-): Red/Green
Right Rear Speaker Wire (+): Blue/Green
Right Rear Speaker Wire (-): Red

You can purchase a wiring harness from crutchfield.com or installer.com or from ebay at:

http://cgi.ebay.com/1992-1993-1994-Subaru-Legacy-Radio-Wiring-Harness_W0QQitemZ2

for about $5.00.  Or from Crutchfield at around $13.00.

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?i=120701780

If you need a mounting bracket to fit the Kenwood properly into the space you can check at installer.com for such hardware.

http://www.installer.com/kits/index.php

and go down to the Subaru section.

You must make sure the Kenwood is securely mounted as car environments are severe.  Vibration, heat, cold are natural enemies of electronic products. You can't do much about the heat and cold, but you should secure the radio unit the best you can so that it does not move around in the mounts; it must be rigidly secured to the dash chassis.

Hope this helps you with the installation.
C



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: And about the antenna adapter?

Answer
If you have a powered antenna you will find the connection chart on your Kenwood manual page 17.

If in-windshield style antenna you will need a cable adapter to convert the wiring to the regular car antenna connector that plugs into the back of the Kenwood.

There are a few different antenna connections made by Subaru during that period so you will have to decide which adapter you need by looking at the present antenna configuration and the connector required by the Kenwood.

http://stores.ebay.com/kali-koncepts_Antenna-Adapter_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ5010

The above has many examples you can choose from.

C