My 95 Volvo 850

VTexan · Post by **VTexan** » 22 Jun 2012, 17:45

All--
I bought a great old 850 a couple of months ago, knowing the radio only put out in one speaker, and the audio there was bad. I was counseled that the problem was the radio itself and that I should go to ebay for a replacement. I did so, replacing my SC710 with an SC812. It was pretty disappointed to hook it up and find that of my 8 speakers, sound STILL only comes from one. The sound of that one speaker is far improved from the first radio, but I spent $90 on something that wasn't much of a fix. Seems obvious that what those 2 radios have in common are the connectors and wiring.
I really don't know where to go from here. If anyone has any ideas, I'll sure entertain them. Thanks!

mrwillie · Post by **mrwillie** » 22 Jun 2012, 18:27

Congrats on the purchase!! Well, I was in a similar situation a few months ago and it turns out that one of the PO's( previous owners ) had removed all of the speakers except for the one in the front drivers door and the one in the front passenger door( I have a wagon .... ).

This sounds really obvious, but did you actually pull the speaker covers to see if the speakers are really there?? That's said, even though I have all 8 speakers now, I still only think that I have sound in 2.

Let me know what you find out. Id be curious to know.

-W

VTexan · Post by **VTexan** » 22 Jun 2012, 20:54

I pulled the cover off the driver's side door speaker, and it was there. I think I even checked solder joints (this was about a month ago). I also have seen two of the others that are mounted on the back deck, behind the headrests. I haven't checked the other doors, or the two in the dash, but all the rest are definitely there.
Loving the car...but I keep thinking with 8 speakers, I should probably have a fairly killer stereo.

mrwillie · Post by **mrwillie** » 22 Jun 2012, 22:16

I've got a wagon, so Im hoping that the back ones will be noticable. I pulled a set of tweeters from a 97 v70 b/c I kept putting holes in the tweeters than I found for the 850s. I need to alter the bracket slightly but Im hoping they'll sound fine. I also need to trace the runs for the rest of the speakers. And yes, an 8-speaker system should sound great.

Do you have a copy of the manual? That will come in handy....

Congrats again on the purchase.

VTexan · Post by **VTexan** » 22 Jun 2012, 22:32

Just an online manual. The purchase was really kind of a fluke. I haven't had a Volvo in about 10 years, and had a little savings account I'd been dropping money into. Suddenly I had the yen to look on craigslist to see how expensive a Volvo would be and I found this one for $1800. It's got a few slight body dents, and the hood and trunk paint is oxidized, but near as I can tell, the engine and transmission are outstanding. It had a timing belt change 40K ago. Fingers crossed, it'll be a good one.