car stereo installation methods

amplifier wiring


Opening after the factory radio has been removed.

  • Most vehicles require a custom installation kit (the black plastic bezel) when installing a DIN sized radio. I suggest using Metra for an exact fit.
  • Always use an after market adaptor harness that plugs directly into the factory harness, then wire up your radio to the after market harness. Avoid cutting wires at all costs. Twist and tape method is fine if you are careful, but crimp connectors are preferred.
  • Each new radio is supplied with a metal sleeve. Without this sleeve your unit will not mount properly. Insert the sleeve into the opening and bend out the tabs found inside the sleeve until the sleeve is secured to the bezel.
  • Some vehicles require an adaptor for the antenna.
  • After all your connections are made, plug in your radio and slide inside the metal sleeve.

Troubleshooting

A good technique for troubleshooting is, assume nothing! Test everything. Start with fuses, all of them.

Radio does not power on with the key.

You need a test light or a meter. I am making the assumption that your radio worked until now. If you just installed it, follow the proper radio installation tips to double check your work.

  1. Blown fuse. Most vehicles have two fuse boxes, one typically is under the hood.
  2. If this is an aftermarket radio, some have inline fuses at the wiring harness behind the radio.
  3. Your radio is dead. Very unlikely, but your radio can just die. Unless you own a Chrysler and the radio is factory.
    • If the radio is aftermarket, make sure the installation is proper.

My newly installed CD Player skips.

Assuming the unit is not faulty, it is most likely that the radio is not securely fastened.

  • Your radio should not move at all.
  • On some vehicles back braces are required and are typically supplied with the radio.

Installing a remote wire with a factory head unit.

Thanks to technological advances, devices are available that use your speaker output as a power source to create a remote wire application. If you don't want to spend the money, connect the wire to the back of the radio to a switched source (the wire that turns on with the key).

I purchased a used radio and the plug for it is missing

Typical of used radio purchases. If it's a Kenwood, Pioneer or some other popular brand, it is common to find these on ebay. Try the manufacture, if you dare, or buy a new radio from the store. No, Best Buy does not carry these plugs.

My radio says 'bluetooth,' but I can't connect to it

Having bluetooth ready head unit means it can be used thru the radio, but a bluetooth adapter must be still purchased and installed.

I hard-wired my head unit and it does not work at night.

When testing for power wires at the factory radio location, there are typically 3 wires that register power.

  • Constant power -- is on all the time.
  • Switched power -- comes on only with the key.
  • Dimmer wire -- comes on with lights. When the lights are off, it acts as a ground. You probably connected your ground here. At night, you turn on your lights, this wire supplies power, which goes to your ground on the radio, and the radio turns off as there is no flow of current.

My music shuts off when I play a CD.

If you have an amplifier installed, the remote wire is connected to the antenna power wire at the radio instead of the amp turn on wire. I just connect all the blue and blue/white wires together.