Via PM from redmetrix (we like to keep this kind of thing on the public board rather than via PM's):





It's not as daunting as your initial probe made it appear.

It may interest you to know that this has been done. Ironically, by me. I converted my 95 SLE(SC) with parts from a 92 SSEi. I wanted both of my cars to sound the same.

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=15686&p=164651&hilit=SLEeper+gain#p164651

In a nutshell, you may very well need the wiring diagrams for BOTH your car and the donor car. You will also need:
1. Speakers (rear only, plus grilles including tweeters)
2. Amp (as much wiring from the harness as possible when you cut it from the car)
3. Bass gain control and bezel (including the harness)
4. Wire
5. Splices/soldering iron/gun

You WILL have to enlarge the rear deck cutouts for the donor speakers. They will not fit your 6x9 openings. The wiring is quite simple after you get the diagrams. The head unit feeds front and rear inputs into the amp (yes, BOTH), then passes the left and right speaker signals un-modified out to the main speakers, PLUS an amplified bass L and R to the sub coils of the dual voice-coil setup.

Power for the amp should NOT come from the power antenna circuit or you won't have amplified bass with CD/Cassette or otherwise.

Other than cutting the rear deck, My wiring only took about 30 minutes, but I had the factory service manuals for both years (and they were surprisingly different, so you WILL need them).

I can't dig through the circuits for you, as I'm in the middle of hosting a meet, and I don't know what year you're getting your parts from, as well as the fact that I don't have a 96 FSM (I have 93 and 95).

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Click here for mod list for both cars
93 SSEi, 95 SLE (supercharged) 97 Buick LeSabre Limited
PontiacDad at WCBF '04: Cruise control? That's like surrendering!
Comprehensive guide to troubleshooting, rebuilding, and modifying Eaton Superchargers

I will be getting parts from a 1992 car since I have a 92 SSE and a 92 SSEi available at the wrecker I go to, both cars have the 8 speaker system. I do not have a 92 FSM on hand, but I may be able to get by without it.

Went to the wrecker today and picked up an amp from a 92 SSE along with a fair amount of wiring. I learned A LOT by checking out how the system is wired in the 92. I was able to identify 14 of the 17 wires that connect to the amp; (for example: front speaker inputs, rear speaker inputs, left and right subwoofer outputs, and gain control wires) Two wires that I did not identify are a solid black and solid orange wire (I believe the black is ground and the orange is power possibly?, although not sure if the orange wire is constant 12V from the battery or just goes to 12V when the ignition is switched on). The third wire I am refering to is the pink one; I found that the antenna trigger, the pink wire that comes out of the radio, actually spices into two wires; one goes to the amp, the other to the antenna. Does this pink wire activate the amp when the radio is switched on, or does this pink wire actually provide power to the amp?; I would have to believe that this pink wire triggers the amp to turn on just as it triggers the power antenna to go up.

Another thing I noticed is how each wire of the speaker outputs from the radio splice into two wires each, one goes to the amp, the other to the speakers. I have a picture of this below showing the front speaker wiring between the radio connector and the amp. This splicing just happened to stay in tact when I cut the harness from the car although the rear speaker wires did not. Are the rear speaker wires spliced in the same fashion, with one wire going to the amp, the other to the speaker?, I would sure assume so, but not completely sure.



The only other thing I had concern about was the 4 wires that connect to the gain slider. I put a picture below, the red and violet wires go between the amp and slider, But the other two wires are a black and gray, not sure what to connect these to. I believe they are for illumination of the gain slider, which it would not be entirly nessesary to have the slider light up but would be nice to have connected.



For now I just want to familiarize myself with the wiring of the system. Not sure when I'll actually go ahead and do the install, I've got more parts to get.

_________________
Chris
97 SLE with L67 (1 of 354!) * 90 Grand Prix SE * 1992 SSEi * 99 Buick Regal * 2006 Chevy Uplander

Absolutely go ahead with the install. Matching wires is the only hard part. 92 and 93 are the same, so I can help you later when I flip through my Factory Service Manuals.

_________________

Click here for mod list for both cars
93 SSEi, 95 SLE (supercharged) 97 Buick LeSabre Limited
PontiacDad at WCBF '04: Cruise control? That's like surrendering!
Comprehensive guide to troubleshooting, rebuilding, and modifying Eaton Superchargers

On that slider, the other two wires are for illumination.

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2005 GXP - White Gold Pearl, no mods...yet.
2000 SSEi - Resurrection in progress. Built L67 w/L32 fuel rail, ported heads, and cam. Camaro front brake system, GXP cluster, and much more in planning.

I need clarification on what the orange wire on the amplifier connector is for. The orange wire is pin number 12 on the A side of the connector. Would this orange wire happen to be the power wire?

If this is the power wire, does it serve the same purpose as the ignition wire on the radio (where it turns on when the key is put in either the ON or Accessory position?) In this case I should be able to connect this orange wire to the ignition wire on the radio.

And the black wire which is pin 9 on the A side of the connector, this is ground correct? If so I should be able to safely tie it to the ground of the radio, right?

_________________
Chris
97 SLE with L67 (1 of 354!) * 90 Grand Prix SE * 1992 SSEi * 99 Buick Regal * 2006 Chevy Uplander

I'll let you know when I get home to my manuals in about an hour.

_________________

Click here for mod list for both cars
93 SSEi, 95 SLE (supercharged) 97 Buick LeSabre Limited
PontiacDad at WCBF '04: Cruise control? That's like surrendering!
Comprehensive guide to troubleshooting, rebuilding, and modifying Eaton Superchargers

Thanks Bill, that would be great

_________________
Chris
97 SLE with L67 (1 of 354!) * 90 Grand Prix SE * 1992 SSEi * 99 Buick Regal * 2006 Chevy Uplander

A little later than expected due to WCBF wrap-up and work calling me constantly since I snuck out a bit ago:

For the parts taken from the 92 (per my 93 FSM's)....



Gain control - Red is gain input to the amp, pin 7. Purple is gain input to the amp, pin 20. Black is ground (anywhere). Grey is the feed for interior lamp dimming, so run that to the factory radio harness wire for the same purpose.

AMP - Black is ground pin 4 (anywhere). Orange is battery input (always on, not ACC), pin 1. Pink wire (pin 8) goes to the power antenna wire on the factory radio harness.


Is that what you're after?

_________________

Click here for mod list for both cars
93 SSEi, 95 SLE (supercharged) 97 Buick LeSabre Limited
PontiacDad at WCBF '04: Cruise control? That's like surrendering!
Comprehensive guide to troubleshooting, rebuilding, and modifying Eaton Superchargers

Yes, this is what I was after.

Gain control - so I run the grey wire to the "DIM" pin on the radio harness (pin 3).

Amp - Orange is battery input, just as orange is on the radio harness.

That's what I needed to know, really appreciate the help guys. It was't too bad afterall figuring out the wiring.

_________________
Chris
97 SLE with L67 (1 of 354!) * 90 Grand Prix SE * 1992 SSEi * 99 Buick Regal * 2006 Chevy Uplander

Go for it. I have to tell you that after I converted my 95 to sound more like my 93, it was worth every minute.

_________________

Click here for mod list for both cars
93 SSEi, 95 SLE (supercharged) 97 Buick LeSabre Limited
PontiacDad at WCBF '04: Cruise control? That's like surrendering!
Comprehensive guide to troubleshooting, rebuilding, and modifying Eaton Superchargers

The conversion should give me a bit more punch and a bit more clarity, which is what I am looking for.

_________________
Chris
97 SLE with L67 (1 of 354!) * 90 Grand Prix SE * 1992 SSEi * 99 Buick Regal * 2006 Chevy Uplander

With an aftermarket HU, it's even better. Anyone without the budget for better aftermarket sound, with or without an aftermarket HU, should do this. The cost is minimal, the sound quality is a HUGE improvement over the standard non-SSEi sound. I'm actually surprised others haven't done this like I did until now.

_________________

Click here for mod list for both cars
93 SSEi, 95 SLE (supercharged) 97 Buick LeSabre Limited
PontiacDad at WCBF '04: Cruise control? That's like surrendering!
Comprehensive guide to troubleshooting, rebuilding, and modifying Eaton Superchargers

I will be keeping the factory CD player with 7 band EQ. I really wanted to have a car with this system in it, it was either convert this car or sell it and find an SSE that has it.

_________________
Chris
97 SLE with L67 (1 of 354!) * 90 Grand Prix SE * 1992 SSEi * 99 Buick Regal * 2006 Chevy Uplander