Aftermarket radio/CD install for '90 Miata?

having gone through this twice (once with my '90 and again with my '94 when my '90 got totalled earlier this year), assuming that you'll be replacing the old stereo with an aftermarket unit yourself:

can be used as a reference n identifying which wire should connect to what.

in general, once you purchase the aftermarket unit you want, go to an auto stereo place, go 'round back, slip a few bucks to one of the installers and explain what kind of mounting hardware you need, including the desire to have some storage space beneath the new unit, he'll likely be able to rig you something out of his used stuff for a fraction of the cost of a mounting kit.

headrest speakers: IIRC, all miatas are wired so as to have a plug underneath each seat where the wiring harness can be connected. wiring harnesses can be purchased or salvaged. a coat hanger should be all you need to run the wire through the seat (there may or may not be a hole in the foam already but you should be able to feel through the foam where the hole is in the frame so as the run the harness down the back of the seat underneath the upholstery - you'll probably want to snip the middle ring that holds the upholstery together in the back)

i'd recommend going with 3.5" speakers vs. any stock or aftermarket plastic box enclosed option. i'm quite pleased with the eclipses i'm using, but to fill out the bottom i also installed a JL stealthbox subwoofer.

the pic found at the following website should give you an idea of how to place a 3.5" in the exisiting space:

but rather than discard the plastic covers (you'll see what i'm talking about once you unzip the upholstery) as the site owner suggests, i trimmed the sides off to make them 2 dimensional and retained them as protection. and any basic aftermarket unit will supply sufficient power to drive them; a crossover and separate amp (an option the site owner has) are superfluous IMO. if anything, i have the fader set slightly biased towards the front (door) (also aftermarket) speakers and elected not to install the door tweeter i thought i'd need). i find the overall frequency response to be quite satisfactory for my listening tastes which are fairly broad.

i hope this has been helpful.

barry

-------- "any words spelled incorrectly are probably typing errors"

miata.net garage, product reviews.

Leon

Barry,

Incorrect about " all Miatas " came with the wiring for "head rest speakers". The "base" model came with no radio or wiring for head rest speakers. They were dealer installed if you ordered them. My '91 came with no radio or wires.

Bruce Bing '03 LS

the seats definitely weren't wired in my '90 but IIRC once i took a seat out for a different reason, i discovered that i *could* have connected the wiring harness to the clip that was there.

from an engineering/manufacturing viewpoint, it wouldn't be that cost effective to withold certain wiring out of an entire bundle, whereas it wouldn't be that big a deal to manfacture seats with and without headrest speakers.

-------- "any words spelled incorrectly are probably typing errors"

My base '96 came with the wiring harness for the headrest speaker from the radio that ended on the floor under the seats. I had to acquire the rest of the wiring and thread it up to the headrest. I also had to gouch out enough foam in the headrest to position the speakers. I don't think they work properly. If I fade to the rear, I have to turn the volume up so much that the front speakers still dominate. I can't really get a balanced sound.

I have a 96.5, so I theoretically do not have the "Jeff Anderson" problem, but maybe I do. Never figured it out.

why? exactly how big are these speakers you're using? the main thing is to keep the foam from pressing on the leads.

i suspect that your wiring is crossed somehow. there's a page at

12volt.com for the wiring for 94-97 to use as a reference, though truth be told, i think they're pretty much the same as the 90-93.

jeff anderson problem?

and we're agreed that the seat may need to be wired (which i referred to as the wiring harness), but that wiring from the stereo to the bottom of the seat should already be there? though what i originally did was run wires from the head unit down the middle under the carpet past the stickshift, etc. and then spliced it all together under the center console. it worked.

-------- "any words spelled incorrectly are probably typing errors"

Well as I said, my '91 did not come with a radio or wires for the seat speakers. The plug for a radio was there, but no other wiring that came back past the dash. When I put in a radio ( non-OEM ) I had to get a plug to match and wire to the radio wires then add rear speaker wire and disconect-plugs. The Clearwater spraker kit came with wires to run down the back of the seats and I needed to add the connecting plugs.

It sounds like the later Miatas came with the wireing in place.

Bruce Bing '03 LS