I asked about the rear speaker wiring a week or so ago on my 1987 Syncro
Westy and received a lot of help. I have since installed the stereo, so I
thought I would report this for the archive.

The rear speakers did *not* share the same ground. Although the Bentley
diagram clearly indicated that they did not, there were some who warned me
that the diagram was wrong. I tested for continuity before installing just
to be certain. There was no continuity, so I went ahead.

The speaker colors were exactly as Bentley diagrammed. I had to make one
decision -- to connect the radio's continuous power wire and accessory wire
to the same hot wire from the van. As there is no accessory position in the
ignition, I needed to connect the accessory wire to the hot lead and I had
to connect the continuous power wire to is as well, I believe, in order to
maintain the memory in the radio. I don't know what it will draw to keep the
memory fresh, so it will be interesting to see if this has any effect on the
battery.

The radio has a detachable face, but I'm not sure if removing it will also
remove the power draw. I plan to do so if the van will be parked for any
length of time.

Also, for the record, I bought a cheap JVC - the KD-SX990 - because I did
not want to change the original speakers (which aren't good) and couldn't
see spending much on the head unit without getting better speakers. I
selected this one because it had a simple auxiliary-in jack for my iPod, the
CD player played MP3s, and JVC was offering a $30 rebate. I listened to a
bunch of cheap ones (< $175) at a Circuit City before selecting this one,
the best (to my ear) of a not spectacular lot.

Everything fit in the dash without modifying a thing, although a PO had had
an aftermarket stereo in the van and she may have already messed with the
bracket near the firewall and the opening - but it did not appear as if
major surgery were needed even if she bent things around a bit.

Regards,

Tim Beidel
South Portland, ME
1987 Syncro Westfalia