Stereo question

[775stepside]

Just wondering if I just need an adapter for my stereo? What should I need Ito hook up? There's cables and a **** job done wires everywhere for who knows what they had connected

[Pop's C-10]

if that's alll you got you would need tha harnes that plugs into tha gray plug on tha deck & then one that plugs into your factory harnes

[speedygonzales]

You order 2 items. One is the harness that fits your vehicle and has pig tails coming off the connector. The other is the harness that fits the radio you have and it too has pigtails. They come with wiring instructions to tell you which wires to connect together from both adapter harnesses.

http://www.scosche.com/car-audio/ins...on/harness?p=2 This is just an example page not nec your vehicle.

BestBuy carries them. Or you can just order them. Scosche has the most to choose from.

[775stepside]

Ok I'll have to look again but I was having trouble finding the factory harness thats why I got confused as to how they had it hooked up

[UKNOWME]

What are those wires with the connects crimped on? I'm guessing they butchered the factory harness and direct wired a radio at one time.

[775stepside]

I have no idea,there are speaker wires also in there and there is wiring for. Switch that they put for who knows what. I hate HATE messing with electrical stuff.

[UKNOWME]

Maybe it would be worth letting a local stereo shop look at it.

[Kudzupatch]

If the factory harness has not be mutilated you can get what you need from Crutchfield. I have installed a couple of stereos and they are great resource! I got the harness connectors and excellent instructions on how to install my stereo and all new speakers.

[775stepside]

Na I can figure it out, I hate shops of any sort touching my cars unless I have to like getting it Aligned lol.

[RayInAlaska]

Originally Posted by 775stepside

Na I can figure it out, I hate shops of any sort touching my cars unless I have to like getting it Aligned lol.

When you buy a radio/receiver from Crutchfield, the harnesses you will need for the radio to connect to the wire harness in your truck will be provided free of charge. It also comes with step-by-step instructions, and if you have any trouble you can call on the telephone and they take care of you.

By looking at the photo of your radio, I can see that the harness is missing. One end of the harness is connected to the radio, and the other to the harness in the truck.

[Kudzupatch]

That reminded me of a problem I had with an install on my Suburban. It had the factory 6 speaker stereo. Every speaker in it was shot! I ended up ordering new head unit, subwoofer, 6 speakers, the works.

I know how to install most everything but the instructions were excellent. I got it all in place and turned it on, everything sounded good. Then I realized the middle speakers were not working. Did some trouble shooting and I couldn't figure out why.

Finally gave up and called Crutchfield. Was very impressed with the fellow I talked to and after a few questions he realized I knew something and that it probably wasn't something obvious. He pulled up schematics and after a couple of minutes he found that my Suburban came with a amp under the drivers seat that powered the middle speakers. That connection was not included in the instructions. Spliced that wire in the harness as they said and everything was good.

My few dealing with them have been nothing but positive.

[RayInAlaska]

My experiences with Crutchfield have been good, too. Besides that, shipment is free, and their return policies are second to none. But I have only returned a flat screen TV that was broken in transit, and believe it or not on its way to Alaska where I live. Even large items like that are shipped free of charge.

I have purchased an installed numerous head units and speakers from Crutchfield through the years. A couple of years ago I needed some help ID some speaker wires on my son's car, and it took a few second on the telephone for the Crutchfield person to tell me the color code for the wires.
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Now, in relation to the wire harness Crutchfield provides, one still has to do a little lead splicing. But instead of crimp-splicing I always solder the wires along a few strips of heat-shrink material over the strands. I learned soldering and electronics in the military taking care of aircraft, and this skill has been quite handy ever since.

[775stepside]

Soldering is by far the best way to go about it instead of crimping wires. Hopefully in a couple weeks I'll get into this issue but for now I'm waiting for my front end parts to arrive as im replacing everything

[dragginmetal]

Originally Posted by Pop's C-10

if that's alll you got you would need tha harnes that plugs into tha gray plug on tha deck & then one that plugs into your factory harnes

This is right.
The harness for the gray plug should have came with the "Duel" brand CD player. It's not supposed to be aftermarket. It only fits that radio. Probly have to get it from "Duel" or maybe ebay. The other plug for the factory harness in the truck can be bought from many places. AutoZone, just about any autopart store that sell radios or even Wal-Mart.

[El conquistador]

if the factory connector has been cut out (and that appears to be the case) you just need the Dual connector. You'll have to check the wiring color diagram to see what's what and connect the Dual wires to those. The other connector (to connect to the factory plug) will do you no good if the factory connector is no longer there.

Doing it that way is easy enough. Other than retaining the factory connector, the only advantage to using the adapter harness is that you can do all the soldering on your workbench and not in the truck. It's the same amount of connections either way, you will just be soldering to the individual factory wires in the truck dash.

[775stepside]

Yea the factory connectors where cut out

[775stepside]

Can I get the dual connector at crutch field?

[El conquistador]

I don't think Crutchfield, but I saw some on ebay. You need to check the model number on the head unit to make sure you get the right one.

[speedygonzales]

If you are referring to a dual connector as one that has the mate to the factory harness on one end and the proper connector to the radio on the other end then you are wasting your time. If they are even available any more, they probably have the wrong wire colors with them. And if that's the case, you won't be able to match them up to the harness you have. They most certainly won't have the wiring diagram with them because they would have been made to simply plug in.

I had told you about the Scosche made harnesses. That is predominantly the way they are made now. It would be very difficult for harnesses to be made with every combination of both end connectors on them.

The nice thing about those harnesses is they come with instructions and true (vehicle harness colors). You may need to buy both pieces to get the right colors and instructions but they will work.

When you buy the connectors at crutchfield and others like I mentioned before like BestBuy. The 2 piece harnesses are what you get.

[dragginmetal]

Originally Posted by 775stepside

Soldering is by far the best way to go about it instead of crimping wires. Hopefully in a couple weeks I'll get into this issue but for now I'm waiting for my front end parts to arrive as im replacing everything

Originally Posted by El conquistador

if the factory connector has been cut out (and that appears to be the case) you just need the Dual connector. You'll have to check the wiring color diagram to see what's what and connect the Dual wires to those. The other connector (to connect to the factory plug) will do you no good if the factory connector is no longer there.

Doing it that way is easy enough. Other than retaining the factory connector, the only advantage to using the adapter harness is that you can do all the soldering on your workbench and not in the truck. It's the same amount of connections either way, you will just be soldering to the individual factory wires in the truck dash.

There's a downfall to soldering the headunit direct to the factory harness....What if you need/want to replace the headunit? You have to cut the wires and do it all over again. IMO you need to get the stock gm plug. Then install the head unit. At the very least use some kind of Male/Female connectors, Bullet,Quick-Connectors, or regular like what's hanging out the dash now. When it comes to Headunits...soldering plugs to plugs is fine, but plugs to factory harness not so much.

[dragginmetal]

Originally Posted by speedygonzales

If you are referring to a dual connector as one that has the mate to the factory harness on one end and the proper connector to the radio on the other end then you are wasting your time. If they are even available any more, they probably have the wrong wire colors with them. And if that's the case, you won't be able to match them up to the harness you have. They most certainly won't have the wiring diagram with them because they would have been made to simply plug in.

I had told you about the Scosche made harnesses. That is predominantly the way they are made now. It would be very difficult for harnesses to be made with every combination of both end connectors on them.

The nice thing about those harnesses is they come with instructions and true (vehicle harness colors). You may need to buy both pieces to get the right colors and instructions but they will work.

When you buy the connectors at crutchfield and others like I mentioned before like BestBuy. The 2 piece harnesses are what you get.

Dual is the brand of head unit he has. Not the connector style.

[El conquistador]

Originally Posted by dragginmetal

There's a downfall to soldering the headunit direct to the factory harness....What if you need/want to replace the headunit? You have to cut the wires and do it all over again. IMO you need to get the stock gm plug. Then install the head unit. At the very least use some kind of Male/Female connectors, Bullet,Quick-Connectors, or regular like what's hanging out the dash now. When it comes to Headunits...soldering plugs to plugs is fine, but plugs to factory harness not so much.

He no longer has the factory plug on the harness to hook up to. He will either need to find a factory plug, connect that back in, then get the Dual and the adapter harness. Much easier at this time to just connect the Dual harness to the factory wires. The wiring schematic is readily available online. Just need the year of the truck.

[dragginmetal]

Originally Posted by El conquistador

He no longer has the factory plug on the harness to hook up to. He will either need to find a factory plug, connect that back in, then get the Dual and the adapter harness. Much easier at this time to just connect the Dual harness to the factory wires. The wiring schematic is readily available online. Just need the year of the truck.

"Stock gm plug" was referring to "factory plug on the harness". There's 8 speaker wires and at least 5 for the head unit. Ever tried to solder 13+ wires in a 4x6" hole. It's not fun. Been there, done that and have the burn scars to prove it.


I have all the wiring schematic. He just need to tell me which ones he wants and ill post them.

[El conquistador]

Originally Posted by dragginmetal

"Stock gm plug" was referring to "factory plug on the harness". There's 8 speaker wires and at least 5 for the head unit. Ever tried to solder 13+ wires in a 4x6" hole. It's not fun. Been there, done that and have the burn scars to prove it.

Yep, and he's going to be doing the same thing to solder back in a factory plug (again, the plug has been cut out). I have used crimp connectors when it was too tight.

[dragginmetal]

I would put new pins on the wires. Then put them in the correct slot in the gm plugs.
I think we're just gonna have to agree to disagree on this one. Every tech has their on way they like to do things.