How to correctly prepare an aftermarket radio wiring harness
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- Опубликовано: 30 июл 2024
- This video shows you the correct way to prepare an aftermarket wiring harness for use when installing an aftermarket stereo in your car. IF you're going to spend $100s of dollars on a new radio, make sure you prepare it correctly.
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Yes, it worked, thank you! My first soldering experience, as well as DIY Stereo installation!! To be honest, the soldering was the easiest part for me (though it was lengthy), what was extensive was the research, and putting my dash frame back into place (and connecting everything again).
being a professional installer I solder and tape with 3m +55
Makes it go faster when you have 10+ cars to work on in one day.
BUT... this is by far the best tutorial video I've seen on RUclips. for someone showing the masses how to do a radio harness properly, this video definitely shows you how.
Thanks for the video. I'm in the process of of upgrading the stereo in my pickup and after watching your video, I decided to follow your lead. It took me a while to get it done the way you did since I don't do these type things often but I am glad to have found your video. Keep up the good work and thanks again!
Thank you for this post! I followed your directions, soldered for the first time and heat-shrink-ed as you said and my radio works great! I put an aftermarket radio in my 03 Explorer and your other Explorer video helped also! Thanks again! Please keep posting!
I used your tutorial last night installing my new $600 Kenwood. Worked like a charm. Than you for taking the time to make this video!
Thank you! I felt like an old friend standing in your garage with you showin' me the ropes (wires). A close up of the first connection would be helpful for me. (the wire twisting and soldering)
Thanks for the video! I followed everything you did and my radio works perfectly :)
cant tell you thanks enough for your video, i never new you shouldn't use electric tape to connect the wires and i learned what to do with the wires you don't use, keep the vid's coming..
peace..420
We have used good quality electrical tape in our Garage for over 40 years, and had no issues.
Thank you for the video. I have added it to my CarPC playlist. Much appreciated.
Excellent to learn from a real craftsman. Thank you.
Thanks for the video - worked perfectly for my install
he's a very angry man about certain things. I like him. Reminds me of me.
Great instruction video! Thank you very much.
Very informative video! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome video! I'm impressed because I've been doing it a long time too. The only difference is that I use what's called a Western Union splice (inline) and I don't usually solder, but other than that the same. I am currently working on putting in this 2 din aftermarket TV combo job stereo I got from China, and I have wires left over on the harness. I should have bought a standard brand, but I wanted a TV so I got spaghetti, I think I'm going to do Western Union plus solder and mesh both our methods. I think if you look up Western Union splice you will see, It's stronger than pushing the wires together. Thanks!
Good job, good idea with the box. Thx
Absolutely loved the cardboard box idea....thanks!
Thank you, helped perfectly.
Awesome!! Always SOLDER!!!
I'm not a big safety nut or anything, but recommend wearing safety glasses when soldering. it's something that's been beat into my head since I was young, as my mom told me my grandfather lost an eye soldering.
is that right?
all excellent advice
Thanks for uploading this, very helpful. On my new aftermarket stereo the black grounding wire does not have a clip. Should I mate it to the black wire on my wire harness or strip it and connect it to a metal surface inside my car?
great job! something did not know but now I do thanks man
oh btw dont know if you've heard of it or not, but instead of using a cardboard box, theres these things called "helping hands". most helpful thing i ever bought for soldering. you can get one on amazon for like $5
Great Job!!!
One method you could use for good and easy conductivity, which you have already mentioned, are the crimps with heat shrink; just drop a bead of solder inside as well. It's clean and it adds more strength. also, you want to make sure you don't have oily hands when working with the wires. All this will help against oxidation with the wires in the long run.
overall good video. thank you
Good video thanks
Thank You sir nice job!
Thanks for the feedback. I'm a mechanic first, filmmaker second, so I'm always looking for ways to improve my videos.
Thanks for tips
My wife is like some sort of random easter egg. If you watch closely she randomly pops up somewhere in almost all of the videos. Sometimes she realizes and sneaks away, other times she's totally oblivious to the fact. I get a big chuckle out of it.
Great video. If I may make one suggestion, it would be to use a lineman's splice and then follow the great instructional video here and solder/seal.
-LL
Great how to, thanks.
I've noticed some of these harness have an inline fuse installed, noticed yours didn't have one and you didn't ad one.
What's your thoughts on them ?
thank you dude!
Awesome. Thanks for educate me. Where can I fine those heat tools? And the heat sink?
That last step of capping off the unused wires is key. It is so easy to ground out on something and get interference or worse, a spark.
lol i hear ya brother. solder all the way. thanks for the vid and GO SOX!
Hello,
I have an opinion to make , I think that many people can repair, refurbish and varnish and change the old electro components, but very little people who can clean the set from all its sides specially from inside in the back because it needs a hard, pacient and very accurate work to clean or wash all the back cabin or consol, some parts with dry soap and some others with chemicals to make the set look like the chain plates after washing in the washing machine , and to turn em into the brand zero now, I hope that you do the same on your sets over you amazing channel , by the way I do mean the vintage radios and audio devices , thanks .
nice lesson video..need help with two wires color.from the stereo harness wire I got dark blue/white wire labeled ILL..and from the adapter harness wire is orange labeled dash Illumination..you think I go and connect the two wires? I'm confuse because of the totally different color..and the color to color rules ...please help..
nice vid
Does anyone know where to finde a wire kit for 2003 ford explorer. Walmart and autozone ones don't fit
I have a ford puma and I am installing a new head unti the harness that comes with the stereo is labelled but the adapter I have bought to connect to it is not any ideas I am a novice by the way
this is my first time wiring a car radio, I have done it like in the video. And I tried to make all the wires the same length. But it kept getting shorter. Is it okay that some of the wires are a little bit longer then others?
Christ, gotta wonder why this is still a thing. I did my first install back in 1970 putting in an 8 track into the dash of my 66 mustang. had to cut the dash up, bolt things in the back of the radio and everything, including soldering the wires. A few years later, doing another, we joked that someday soon every radio would have a standard plug because they all basically have the same connections. Here we are, 45 years later, still the same mess. It's going to take an act of god to get all the manufactureres in one big room, beat them over the head until they all say YES WE WILL ALL USE THE SAME FUCKING PLUG!. Sheesh. This is as stupid as Henry Fucking Ford creating the god damn phillips head screw because he was too cheap to pay robertson a pittance to use the square head screws for a few years until the patent was up. Well, we managed to get the standard shape at least most of the time (except idiot GM felt the need to make a DIN-and-a-HALF radio head).
I own a 2006 Chevy Malibu I'm trying to install an aftermarket stereo since the stock has a cd stuck on it and it make grinding noises. Here is my issue on the stock stereo you can see oil life, trip, gas mileage etc if I install a double din aftermarket stereo is there a way to keep those settings or are there stereos that are compatible with my car?
hi i needed help maybe you can help me i was changing the radio in my 2005 jeep cherokee i both a harness but it came with 2 yellow wires ( 12V Battery ) and 2 black wires ( Ground ) but my new radio only comes with one yellow and one black so my ? is do i connect just one of the wires n cap the other or do i connect all 3 yellow wires together and do i do the same whit the ground
where do I get a larger ant plug in or adapter for my original one
What is your opinion (or anyone's) about the ground wire? Should I just cap off the factory ground and attach HU ground to chassis, or should I connect the two ground wires and attach them to the chassis, or should I just connect the HU ground to the factory ground?
I have a quick question, my head unit only has 12 wires 8 of which are speakers (duhh LOL) then 12v constant yellow, ground black, ign acc red, and amp feed blue/white. My '01 gmc sierra has 15 wires off the harness, long story short previous owner tried to hardwire the unit by cutting the harness off. I have all the speakers hooked up and the power ect ect but the instrument panel feed off the truck (purple/white) has nothing to wire up to, and this leaving me with no dash lights.
what can i doo to get them backk?
It sounds like the purple/white wire coming off the truck harness is likely grounding out. You need to cap off that wire so it has no possibility of grounding.
I'm confused about the ground wire. Do I cut and solder them together or do I solder all three and then ground?
do these parts come with the after market stereo or will I have to purchase them seperate
Thank you for this! I do have a question however. What type of heat shrink tubing do you recommend for the wiring harness? I've done a lot of reading and I'm having a hard time deciding the size ( 3/16, 3/32 etc ) or on the shrink ratio ( 2:1 or 3:1 )
I am also wondering if the tubing should have adhesive such as from 3M.
Thank you
To be honest, the shrink ratio and sizing is only as relevant as "will it shrink down and make a waterproof seal." In regards to adhesives, no. Don't use any adhesives.
What gauge do i get my radio is built-in MOSFET amplifier (16 watts RMS CEA-2006/60 peak x 4 channels)
did anyone else notice the kid screaming in the background? lmao
9:54 top left door lol she was smart not to interrupt you, you woulda put the beat down on her
I have a 04 Eddie Bauer explorer.I put in a double din head unit, everything works perfect, but my factory sub doesn't work..where did I go wrong? There was a solid blue wire left over so I was told to hook it up the the blue and white wires but it doesn't work..any suggestions?
I knew when you trimmed back that harness and you soldered that wire it was gonna get hot enough to shrink the tubing before you could get it over the work ( soldered) area and have to solder again... lol... I’ve done the same thing but on a short piece of wire to work with with once I finished the soldering I went to slide the shrink wrap over and it had already shrunk lol 😂 ...
Do anyone know where is the factory amp located or how to bypass it? I have a 2008 Saturn aura
also if it shorts(it wont il do it properly) wont it just blow the radio fuse?
what are the yellow and red wires connected to?
The absolute best connector is heat shrink with soder built into the connector.
hi there ive installed a sony head deck into my car, but whn i took the old sterio out the wires were alredy cut and they werent all the same colour like normal harnesses u get these days . ive got all the wires connected but my speakers are making a distorted loud noise everytime i turn my key off !! what kan i do i need help please have i connected the cords rong y its making that noise or are my speakers just blown??
This is the harness I use in the later video on how to install a stereo into a 2002 Ford Explorer, but for all intents and purposes is basically the same process I follow for every aftermarket stereo I install.
@Theymightberacing Hi i am looking to install a aftermarket stereo into my 99 mountaineer , very similar to the explorer but my stock radio has the harness connectors not counting the antenna. Knowing this my aftermarket radio comes with one connector. i have purchased the adapter for the oem radio and i do have all 3 . how would i splice together the 3 adapters to the one aftermarket harness? Thank you
is that the wire harness for the 2002 explorer that you posted on the other video ?
What do we do if the old harness has twice the number of wires as the new harness.
I have a question. I have a mustang gt with a shaker 500 so I need to use the blue wire for the subs in the door. I'm confused because the metra wiring harness and the stereo wiring harness both have blue wires. Do I connect the amp turn on wire to the stereo and leave the blue metra wire alone?
What year is the mustang?
So I poked around, not being familiar with the sound system in your specific car. Check this thread on Crutchfield: community.crutchfield.com/car_audio_and_video/f/9/general-car-a-v-discussion/t/5952/mustang-04-conv-mach460-premium-sound-head-unit-replacement#30084
You should buy yourself a good wire stripper if you are so uptight about wire connections....
Do you have to solder the wires ? because I want to fit my after market radio and at a later stage when I want to sell the car I want to fit the original radio back
The point of making this harness is so that you don't modify the existing car wiring. Thanks to that you can put the original stereo back any time.
I solder the wires and use small amounts of electrical heat shrink tape making it look professional. I hate hate hate when people wire up stereos with the wire to wire connectors. They corrode or when vehicle bounces around loose connection over time.. And if yur getting water behind your radio you need to junk the car or get a new windshield. Electrial tape is fine for radio jobs.
Do you know of another way to connect the wires? I know this is the best way, but 'm just afraid of soddering on something and it coming out wrong or damaging the system.
I saw you more emphasizing on how to connect the wires but you did not clearly explain which wire goes with which. I am beginner, so for me it is more important to connect right wire connect with right wire. Also what are the wire did not connected and what did you do with them. Please explain clearly.
SohamAum They are all colour coded and frequently labelled.
Lol same color to the same color lol said that 1st thing
You can use a lighter or a propane torch to shrink the tubing.
Guy seems like he's such a hardass.
Brad Howell He's got standards. He doesn't like idiots. I completely understand and respect that. If you're going to do a job do it correctly. If you're incapable of doing it correctly, pay someone qualified to do it for you. If you are both incapable and unable to pay someone to do it, work harder or save up your money until you can afford to pay someone. Or you could just man up and learn how to do things correctly, how to be self reliant.
Or do things your way.
Jodi, I guess you would have a heart attack then if you seen wire nuts or the one time crimp caps.
Kudos on the soldier connections...however, not everyone has a soldier iron or know the proper use of one ending up with wires that are overheated or cold soldier joints. (not good) or putting more soldier on the connection than is needed....more is not always better as it leaves a sloppy unprofessional look and even when you put the Heat Shrink over it you can and will NOT be able to conceal a poor soldier joint, the heat will just cut into a point and then create a place to short out later when a hot wire comes into contact with a metal frame ground. also, it is a art when you strip wires to not get to much coating off at the soldier connection as it leaves the wire flimsy and vulnerable. all that comes with at least months of practice if not years.
I totally agree with you on the electrical tape that is.... the cheap stuff you get at wally world and harbor freight ect as it is primarily plastic with glue, spend a few more dollars and get the real stuff it is made for high heat and if you want to go one better buy some what they call friction tape and you could but some wire loom to enclose in in.
However the bottom line is how much one is willing to spend and the time to get it there.
you did a fine job till you wrapped the wires in a loop then to top it of with a wire tie not so professional how many cars do you run into with that kind of harness, I understand as a 40+ year elect tech why you did it (so you could reuse it in the future for a upgrade and IF you cut them that would not be very cost effective) but trust me it is ugly.
you probably already know that the coating on the wire stretches but the wire itself will not.
I need to remove some heat shrink. Any easy way?
Also - is that a 68 MG?
I use a seam ripper. It's actually as sewing tool, but works well.
And the car behind me is a '69 Austin Healey Sprite, same thing as an MG Midget.
all that sounds expensive any way nice video by the way did any one else heard a creepy scream at about 11:31 i heard it because i was listening with my headset
I have 2005 Chevrolet cobalt and the factory stock radio is a 24 pin harness and I want to replace it for a stereo thats has an aux input and a 16 pin harness , what should I do ???
You get the pigtail for the 2005 Cobalt, and the pigtail for the stereo in question. Then follow the instructions in the video. The Aux input is just a cable, and you'll have to route that to whatever you want to connect to it.
I had a 2006 cobalt and the factory wiring harness did not match any of the suggested metra or pac harnesses. Found out that GM used a harness for a Saturn on my car for some reason so I had to get the metra harness that fits a 2004 Saturn and the harness matched perfectly. Not sure if you will have the same issue but FYI just in case.
I did the same thing, red to red white to white, ect.. then black up to a medal service, hooked up antenna, did power connected everything. radio doesn't even turn on.
It's a '04 grand am SE. Help?
I'll assume that you removed a working stereo, so you have faith that the factory harness is ok. First, check the connections to make sure they are firm (at both the harness and the radio), then is you stubbed of the negative wire, make sure it's contacting a clean surface. Next - double check that the wiring between the two harnesses properly matches up (look for writing that indicates what the wire is for). Validate that the unit is good. Take it somewhere where they can test it (any place that installs car radios or back to where you bought it). providing that all of that is ok, double check your grounds. 9 times out of 10 it's not really grounded correctly.
TheyMightBeRacing
Thanks, turns out the store gave me the wrong wiring harness.
Close ups can do wonders for revealing what's happening....your hands block most of what you've been doing...The master shot is very good as well as you do on camera...just add a close to help folks understand what's happening..
Where did u get the adapter harness
+TwinTip Nation +TheyMightBeRacing
Well... i did mine today with electrical tape... hahah i just wanna know if itll be ok long enough for me to connect them in a more safe way. I taped them up pretty tight.
It should be ok.
Are wiring diagrams different into different cars I'm looking into doing this In a 2004 passat
The wiring itself is basically the same across all cars. The primary difference is the plug on the harness. As long as you get the correct harness pigtail for your car you'll be fine.
ya i was just wondering cause i seen a 2004 jetta video of a head unit install and the guy was putting a red wire to a fish box to the left of the steering wheel…..i wanna buy all the materials and try to do it myself to save money
How about using Tesa tape?
Dumb question: The factory harness you have there came off the truck first right? Or is that part of an install kit?
+Katie Widener Not a dumb question. The piece that comes with the radio is connected to the second piece which is an adapter. You purchase the adapter separately.
+TheyMightBeRacing I'm preparing to do an install on a 2002 Ford Explorer and I have Wire from my radio that is Orange/White and labeled "Illumination Signal" While I have a Orange wire coming from the Harness that says "Illumination/Dase" should I connect these??
@Theymightberacing *3 wireing harness connectors on the oem unt
Anybody know anything about using ferrules for splicing? I've heard they might be superior to soldering.
Ferrules are mechanically crimped to wire ends to be connected terminal blocks, etc. They are not designed for connecting two wires. Using a ferrule under a clamping situation is superior to solder because solder will cold flow under pressure. The limitation is the quality of the crimp connecting the wire to the ferrule.
TheyMightBeRacing Thank you! I will be using solder and heat shrink.
Hey my, buddy is in second year for an electrician and he used electrical tape for mine. Should I go and redo it your method or go until it doesn't work anymore and then redo it.
Well, if it was my car, I would re-do it. If you do, use a citrus based cleaner to get the adhesive residue off the wires.
I think it's fine IF it's wrapped tightly with multiple layers. Hell my uncle used electrical tape for romex wire in a J-box and that hasn't caused any issues for 15+ years.
Kevin Beam One thing I would like to add is that I twisted the wires together using the x-method and put electrical tape around the wires. The tape is more less insulation.
Kevin Beam That's exactly the false comparison that gets people into trouble. Wire in a junction box is not exposed to huge temperature swings, the elements, etc.
@TheyMightBeRacing im gonna wire my stereo myself prob gonna use shrink wraps or electricall tape since im only gonna use the wiring harness for powering up the stereo because the signal output from the stereo is done thru RCA cables(high quality) that go to the 7 band pre-amp and then to my amplifier so no crap sound.... i spend $650 btw hahahaha but if you use the harness for the connection to the speakers then yes i understand how sound quality might be affected
"Half assedly", then "whole assedly" too funny - killing me… Good sound advice for the folks wiring up vehicles. Subscribed. Take care, Clay
What I can't figure out is if 'whole' is greater than 'half'. Like is it better to do a full assed job than a half assed job? Or is a non assed job the best, and half assed is worse, but whole assed is the worst?
Orion Red What I've always wondered is whose ass are we using for measurement? Because there are many different sizes of ass.
Good video. I also hate to see "pro" installers just crimp on connectors. Did you just blow on the hot solder? : )
So what exactly is wrong with using electrical tape for car stereo wires? You said it's not to be used for that but you didn't really say why.
I've used electrical tape in the last 3 aftermarket stereo installations I did and I've never had a problem.
I've seen cars go up in flames because of electrical tape. It dries out and shakes loose from vibration. In other instances it can melt off due to heat. Then a short occurs. Either the person is lucky and the wiring fries or unlucky and the whole car goes up in flames.
Electrical is not to be used on bare wire. It's not built for the heat. It's supposed to go over the insulation.
So just match the colors and any colors that don't match, tie away?
I had those crimp connectors and they were garbage they wouldn't stay on they kept falling off no matter how tight I made them
I purchased the mounting kit offline through crutchfield and they recommended www.crutchfield.com/p_669PP500/Posi-Products-Car-Stereo-Connectors.html. Now if I can't get access to a solder gun would these be a good or no?
I've not seen these before. Providing they make a good watertight seal, then they should be ok.
I like how Mrs TMBR always makes an uncomfortable cameo in some way.
So, If I don't have a heat-gun can I use a blow-dryer?
As long as it gets hot enough, sure.
You can also use the soldering gun tip to heat the tubing and make it shrink; just make sure you get full coverage (again: using a heat gun is preferred)
Sure hope you tested the wiring to make sure it all works BEFORE heat shrinking and zip tying it all up. Would be a drag if you had to go back and switch some wires if a mistake was made....just sayin'
You don't say what type of solder to use on those