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Tue Sep 19, 2006 12:32 pm

Hi y'all.

I have recently purchased a Sapphire II radio :-D and am installing it in my '65 sedan. The only installation instructions I have are for the Sapphire I. The Sapphire II being the AM/FM version. The radio as received has had all the leads cut short. There are three leads coming out from the side. One of these is brown, the other two are black. I am assuming at this point that one of the black leads is 6V input and that the other is 6V to the dial light. The brown lead I assume goes to the speaker though I had thought that it would have two leads to the speaker. Does it use ground for the other speaker lead? There are also two leads cut short coming from under the frount plate0tuner assembly. I am thinking that these go to the rear speaker. It might make sense for them to use two leads to the rear speaker to ensure a good connection. Does it sound like I have these figured out correctly??? Also, regarding the rear speaker. What would have been a typical mounting location for the rear speaker?

Thanks in advance,

Paula :D :D

Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:24 pm

I don't know the exact answer but here are some threads that may help:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=175828
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=171529

I would also directly ask dstefun either via PM or ask him to come respond in this thread (better).

There are also a bunch of radio manuals here on the site
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/radios.php

Tue Sep 19, 2006 3:19 pm

Thanks Everett,

I've got an email into dstefun now. I read the posts that you suggested and they seem to reinforce my thinking.

I've got copies of the installation guide for a Sapphire I and I have a copy of the Photofacts for a sapphire II. They don't quite answer my questions and I want to be pretty certain before I apply any power. (I also still have a bad wire from the antenna that appears to have gotten hot and brittle. I will also be replacing that before I power it up)

Again thanks,

Paula :bug_blue:

Wed Sep 20, 2006 12:44 am

Paula, you are correct about the black and brown wires on the side, but not about the fader wires on the front. The two black wires on either a Sapphire I or II are for 6V power and 6V dial light. The power lead should have an inline fuse holder in it, 2 amp for most Sapphire I's and 5 amp for a Sapphire II.

The brown wire on a Sapphire I is for the speaker, with the other speaker terminal grounded. The ground can be at the speaker itself or you can run a ground wire back to the rear mounting bolt on the radio case.

Speaker wiring on a Sapphire II is a little strange because of the built-in fader control. The original Bendix front speaker had one female terminal and a double male terminal, and the front/rear fader control is grounded internally. The fader controls the ground connection for both speakers, rather than controlling the normal speaker output line.

If you only have one speaker and don't use the fader control, then you can wire a Sapphire II speaker just like a Sapphire I. The brown wire from the side of the radio goes to one of the terminals on the front speaker and the other speaker terminal is grounded. The speaker can also be grounded through the fader but since your fader wires have been cut, it’s easier just to ground the second speaker terminal.

If you have front and rear speakers and want to use the fader control, then the brown wire from the side of the radio connects to one of the terminals on the front speaker, and the other front speaker terminal connects to one of the brown wires coming from the fader at the front of radio. You have to run 2 wires to the rear speaker but don’t ground either one at the speaker. One wire from the rear speaker connects to the same terminal on the front speaker with the brown wire from the side of the radio, and the second wire connects to the other fader control wire that isn’t connected yet. If you use the fader, remember do NOT ground anything at either speaker.

The rear speaker wire from the fader (on the radio) was originally brown with a yellow tracer. It really doesn’t make any difference which fader wire you use for front or rear – if you get them reversed the knob action will just be reversed. i.e. instead of turning the knob to the left for front speaker, you’ll turn the knob to the right for front.

Hope that helps!
-Dave

Wed Sep 20, 2006 5:10 am

You have brought light and sound into the heart of a happy little bug. Thanks Dave.

Cheers,

Paula

Wed Sep 20, 2006 9:38 am

You're welcome, Paula, I'm always glad to be helpful. Good luck on the radio. I've never understood why people cut the wires short on radios since they all just unplug.

Did you see the Sapphire II brochure in the Archives? They show up on ebay periodically. It's really not much of a brochure but it does have a cool picture on the front. "Happiness on wheels."
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/lit/sapphireii.php

Mon Sep 25, 2006 5:12 pm

I got out the one I got awhile back and printed out the wiring info on this
topic.Last time I tried it was wired correct,but I only picked up 1 am and
2 fm stations,and they sounded like crap.This time I fooled around with
the antenna plug,man what a difference that got alot more.Sound
wise,it sounded really decent next time I play around with I'll use 2 spe-
akers.does anyone know more about tuning the antenna like was in the
manual?

Tue Sep 26, 2006 12:39 am

nreslifer01 wrote: does anyone know more about tuning the antenna like was in the manual?

You're right, antenna tuning will usually make a HUGE difference on how well the radio works. :-)

It's really easy - first find the antenna trimmer - it's almost always near the antenna cable socket on the radio. On a Sapphire II it's on the back and has a 1/4" hex knob attached to it. On Sapphire I's, III's, V's it can be on the back or side depending on year and model. The I's sometimes have a round knurlled shaft to turn, but can usually be adjusted with a small flat screwdriver too. Newer radios (68 & up) can usually be adjusted from the front of the dash, through a small hole in the faceplate.

The antenna trimmer adjustment is always done on the AM band. Per the S-II manual the antenna should be 36 inches in height (fully extended). Tune the radio to a weak station (or just noise) near 1400 on the dial. (If you try to adjust it on a strong station, you won't hear any difference when you do the adjustment.) Adjust the antenna trimmer for maximum volume of the station or the noise. It probably won't take more than 1/2 turn right or left to find the spot you want unless it's way out of adjustment. Then it might take a whole turn one way or the other. If the trimmer doesn't make any difference you can have a bad antenna, bad antenna lead, something wrong with the radio, or you're on a strong station.
-Dave

Sun Nov 18, 2007 7:17 am

Hi all,

I made relive this subject i'm sorry, but i nead answers....
I try to have more information about the connection of my Sapphire II radio.

The twin leads on the right are for speaker i think?

And what is the correct connection for the 2 black and for the brown leads on the left???

Thank i advance for your answers... :wink: .
I'm really sorry for my poor language..... :oops: .

Geoff :D .

Sun Nov 18, 2007 12:35 pm

65so42 wrote:
The twin leads on the right are for speaker i think?
And what is the correct connection for the 2 black and for the brown leads on the left???
Geoff :D .

Your questions have already been answered Geoff, see the posts above, although I don't think Bendix could have made it more confusing.

It all made perfect sense to Bendix in 1962 but it looks like strange speaker wiring since the fader controls speaker ground instead of speaker +.

To keep it short: (facing the radio)
2 black wires on the left ... 6V power (power should have a 5 amp inline fuse) and 6V dial light
Brown wire on the left ... speaker + for both speakers
Twin Brown wires on the right ... speaker ground wires through the fader control

Speaker wiring:
One speaker, NOT using the fader control:
Brown wire from the left, 2nd connection to ground

Two speakers, using the fader control:
Brown wire from the left goes to both speakers. It originally went to the front speaker, then another brown wire coming from the rear speaker connected to the same front speaker terminal in order to connect the + terminal from both speakers together.
2nd connection on both speakers goes to the 2 brown wires on the right, which go to the fader control which provides the ground for both speakers. Do NOT ground either speaker at the speaker as they will be grounded through the fader control.

Good luck!
-Dave

Mon Nov 19, 2007 3:13 pm

dstefun wrote: 65so42 wrote:
The twin leads on the right are for speaker i think?
And what is the correct connection for the 2 black and for the brown leads on the left???
Geoff :D .

Your questions have already been answered Geoff, see the posts above, although I don't think Bendix could have made it more confusing.

It all made perfect sense to Bendix in 1962 but it looks like strange speaker wiring since the fader controls speaker ground instead of speaker +.

To keep it short: (facing the radio)
2 black wires on the left ... 6V power (power should have a 5 amp inline fuse) and 6V dial light
Brown wire on the left ... speaker + for both speakers
Twin Brown wires on the right ... speaker ground wires for both speakers through the fader control

Speaker wiring:
One speaker, NOT using the fader control:
Brown wire from the left, 2nd connection to ground

Two speakers, using the fader control:
Brown wire from the left goes to both speakers.

The brown wire from the left originally went to the front speaker, then another brown wire coming from the rear speaker connected to the same front speaker terminal in order to connect the + terminal from both speakers together. The original front speaker had a dual male + terminal which made this easy.

2nd connection on both speakers goes to the 2 brown wires on the right, which go to the fader control which provides the ground for both speakers. Do NOT ground either speaker at the speaker as they will be grounded through the fader control.

Good luck!
-Dave

Thanks a lot Dave for this very clear answer.

I' dont know that we can have two speakers on a Sapphire Radio...

Now, at work!!!

Geoff :wink:

Sat Apr 11, 2015 9:03 am

I just want to publicly thank "dstefun" for his clear wiring info, as I installed my unrestored Sapphire II AM/FM radio in the dash of my '59 Double-Cab using his directions (for one speaker in-dash in my application), and when I recently hooked up a '6 volt battery and turned on the radio to again test it, it sounds AWESOME!!! Man you are right, Bendix couldn't have made the wiring more confusing, but with your help I'm happy to be rockin' my Sapphire II!

All I've got to do now is fine-tune the antennae (although it currently sounds great on my favorite FM station), and maybe start looking for a cool vintage looking speaker to mount unobtrusively somewhere in the rear compartment of my DC for that bitchin' 6 volt monaural sound!

Bill Bowman

Thu Jan 03, 2019 5:31 am

Back from the dead....

I have a sapphire II in my 60. Currently it’s hooked up with one speaker in the dash and one behind the seat. Trial and error I got it working before I found this thread. My question now is how to wire if I want to add a small amp and better speakers. I am thinking of a line level to RCA converter into a two or even 4 channel amp. It’s been a lot of years since I did stereo install and I’m a bit rusty.

If I wanted to keep fader capability, would I need two converters and an amp with two inputs correct? I may end up just running a single speaker in the stock location and two in the rear. Still mulling it over.

Thoughts?