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So I took my radio out to get it repaired and I'm dumb and didn't label the connections, or take a picture, for the rear speaker connections. I diligently put everything in a bag and labeled it, but apparently what I must have thought was obvious is not. 🙄 Help!?!?!

I know the white wire that comes from the radio connects to the red wire that goes to the rear speaker volume control along with the rest of those wires in the same harness. But I don't know where the wire is that connects to the green wire. And I have this little screw that I thought was for the ground that is part of the rear speaker harness, but can't find where it goes either. 🤔

This is a 53 Cavalier with a wonderbar radio and the optional rear speaker. If you can give me some help, other than suggesting I should have labeled everything 😆, it would be greatly appreciated!

Attach file:

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  Rear Speaker Harness.jpg (92.88 KB)


  Screw.jpg (104.79 KB)

Check pages 9 and 10 in the accessories section of the 51-4 service manual. The instructions for adding a rear seat speaker are given as well as a wiring diagram for the rear speaker switch assy. Not sure on the screw unless it is covered somewhere in the instructions.

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Thank you, I looked but didn't find this!

I would guess the screw grounds the harness shield like you said. Sure it's not a tapped hole right on the speaker somewhere?

I'm pretty sure the bare braided lead is supposed to go to a good body ground.

The other two wires go to the speaker voice coil. They should be color coded.

The speaker will work whichever way the two insulated wires are connected, but only one way is correct.


Hooking them up backward will cause the speakers to operate out of phase, which will cause poor low frequncy response.



Most speaker frames bolt into place, and the bolts or screws need to be snug, but not too tight. Excess tightness or bolting the speaker to an uneven surface can distort the speaker's frame and cause the voice coil to rub, which will cause serious distortion of the sound.

Most speaker installations have some sort of gasket around the outside of the speaker rim. If this is missing or damaged, low freqeuncy response will suffer.

Got it! The "missing" wire was inside the radio, someone had changed it back to be a single speaker system, but I have no idea why. I redid the wiring and now the fader and rear speaker are working again, and working wunderbar!