Chevy Cavalier Stereo Wiring Diagram

Upgrading your Chevy Cavalier stereo is a common upgrade for the sporty coupe. Whether you are installing an aftermarket stereo, or putting back a factory radio this Cavalier stereo wiring diagram can help. When putting in a single or double DIN stereo, you won’t need to waste time hunting for wire colors or tracking down which speaker wires are which.

Professional and amateur car audio installers alike love our Cavalier stereo wiring schematic. Being able to mount your new stereo and connect the radio wires to the Cavalier wiring is half the battle. Make installing your navigation system, MP3 player or aftermarket stereo head unit easy with this guide.

Today I’ll be showing you how to install a stereo in a Cavalier using this comprehensive car audio wiring guide.

This stereo wiring guide will show you which power and ground wires to tap into, along with the polarity of your Cavalier speakers. This guide will also walk you through all the year ranges in which the Cavalier was built. Let’s begin with the first generation Cavalier, spanning from 1981 to 1987.

First Gen Cavalier Stereo Wiring (1981–1987)

The early model Cavaliers featured an old style radio from the factory. Although it’s not a very common car stereo to upgrade, it can be easy to install a new car audio system due to the old school dash.

Radio Constant 12V+ Wire: Orange
Radio Switched 12V+ Wire: Yellow
Radio Ground Wire: Black
Radio Illumination Wire: Gray
Dimmer Wire: Brown
Antenna Trigger Wire: Pink

The front speakers in the Cavalier are mounted in the front dashboard. Upgrading or replacing the front speakers can be fairly difficult depending on what tools you have.
Left Front Speaker Wire (+): Tan
Left Front Speaker Wire (-): Gray
Right Front Speaker Wire (+): Light Green
Right Front Speaker Wire (-): Dark Green
The rear Cavalier speakers are far easier to access and can be upgraded.

Although the later model of this generation featured a mid-production interior revision there’s not much different between the layout of the wires for the Cavalier.

Installing your stereo is made easy with this complete car audio wiring diagram.

Left Rear Speaker Wire (+): Brown
Left Rear Speaker Wire (-): Yellow
Right Rear Speaker Wire (+): Dark Blue
Right Rear Speaker Wire (-): Light Blue

Second Gen Cavalier Stereo Wiring (1988–1994)

The Chevy Cavalier from this year range changed quite a bit from the previous generation. Updating the Chevy stereo and mounting the stereo under the climate controls makes any double DIN install, unless you own an automatic transmission equipped Cavalier.

Car Radio Constant 12v+ Wire: Orange
Car Radio Switched 12v+ Wire: Yellow
Car Radio Ground Wire: Black
Car Radio Illumination Wire: Gray
Car Stereo Dimmer Wire: Brown
Car Stereo Antenna Trigger: Pink

If you plan on installing a navigation or pop up stereo that uses a flip up face, you’ll need the right mounting brackets. The mounting brackets will need to space out the single DIN stereo properly

Left Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Tan
Left Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Gray
Right Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Light Green
Right Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Dark Green

Installing upgraded speakers into this year range of Cavalier is easy to do. The opening in the factory stereo opening is slightly larger than a double DIN size.

You can opt to install a standard dual DIN aftermarket stereo, but you may need a faceplate to eat up some space around the stereo.

In order to install a new stereo or upgraded radio into your Cavalier, you’ll need to remove the factory unit. This is done by lifting up and removing the plastic radio trim.

This allows you to slide in your aftermarket brackets and install whatever you need to. Of course if you are going with a single DIN stereo, use a single DIN pocket to eat up the remaining space.

Left Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Brown
Left Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Yellow
Right Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Dark Blue
Right Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Light Blue

The factory Cavalier radio antenna uses the standard connector and is mounted behind the cigarette lighter.

Third Gen Cavalier Stereo Wiring (1995–2005)

The last Cavalier featured plenty of updates to the interior and a complete overhaul outside the sporty Chevy. One of the major changes when it comes to stereo installs was to the switched power wire, which is no longer supplied to the factory stereo.

Car Radio Battery Constant 12v+ Wire: Orange
Car Radio Ground Wire: Black
Car Radio Illumination Wire: Gray

If you need a switched power wire for your stereo or for your amplifier remote wire, you’ll need to take this from your ignition column.
Left Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Tan
Left Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Gray
Right Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Light Green
Right Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Dark Green

Of course the most welcome change was moving the climate controls under the factory stereo opening. This makes installing a new stereo easy because you don’t run the risk of anything on the radio hitting your heater controls.

Left Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Brown
Left Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Yellow
Right Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Dark Blue
Right Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Light Blue

Much like the previous generation, the opening is slightly larger than a double DIN. Depending on your car audio installation, you may or may not need an install kit to complete the job.

Have any questions about our Cavalier Stereo Wiring guide? Leave us a comment below and let us know!