[pigbuggy]

searching around, one would be hard pressed to find a whole lot of stuff on how to install and configure a new head unit. so as my first write up, and the first modification to the pigbuggy, here it is...

there are a couple ways you could go about doing this. since i was doing this completly on random advice and tid bits, it took a while, and with any project, I ran into a few glitches. nonetheless, it was pretty straight foward, and in taking my time, and researching carefully, i didnt have to go back and redo anything. it should also be noted, that these steps could be a little different depending on the year of your truck, and what kind of head unit you go with. so, keep that in mind.

Cruiser was a 1996
Head unit was a Double Din, Kenwood DPX 301.

You'll need a few things to start:
a wiring harness is a must have.

you will probably get some kind of harness with the head unit, and most likely, one end will plug into the back of the unit, and the other end will be a mess of wires that you will need to crimp or solder to the new wiring harness.

don't try to rip into the factory wiring harness, because you will most likely kick yourself if you do. i'm quite sure it would take a lot of time, be very confusing, and pretty much leave you SOL if you screw it up. rather, buy one from circuit city or someplace else, and it will clip into 2 separate connections on the factory harness. depending on what is on the other end of your new harness, you may not have to crimp or solder at all.

here is the link to the wiring harness that i got. it didn't match my head unit so i ended up cutting it. i think it matches to pioneer or jensen. that being said, check the back of your new Head unit to see what the male end of the harness will look like. count the pins and look at the shape of it. do this before you order, so you know what to get.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Metra...oductDetail.do

if you cant find one that fits your new head unit, don't waste your money thinking you'll just cut off the one side. go to the site below, and you can buy one for $10 less, and you can just crimp or solder it onto the harness that came with your head unit. unless of course, you like the wiring to be easy, and uncluttered. in which case, for an extra $10 or $20 they have new wiring harnesses that will plug into the factory harness and plug into the back of your new head unit. no soldering, no crimping, nothing to go wrong, just plug it in and go. i would highly recommend it.

http://www.installer.com/wires/

other things of necessity:
Phillips head screwdriver
flat head screwdriver
wire cutters (if you plan on soldering or crimping.)
wire strippers (if you plan on soldering or crimping.)
wire connectors(...yet again.)
flashlight
i used 10 or so styrofoam cups to keep the screws organized.

I started by taking the screws out from under the ash tray, and removed the useless cubby trey thing to take out 2 more screws behind that.

before i completely took off the control panel, I turned the ignition (dont turn on the car) pressed the brake, and moved the shifter back to D. this will made taking off the panel a little easier. the right side of the panel came out fine, but i had to run the flat head screw driver across the top of the left side, gently prying on the driver to release it.

there are be 3 plugs across the top of the back of the panel. I unhooked those, and worked my way down to the climate control plugs. took those out, and went to the cigarette lighter and removed those two plugs. the last two didn't really need to come out, so i just let the panel rest on the seat with the last 2 wires connected. you should have enough room to do what you need to do.

there are 4 Phillips screws on the old head unit. i took those out and gently removed the unit until i could access the wires in back. unhooked the wiring harness and then used the pliers to remove the other cable (it's black, round, and connects to the antenna) the head unit was now free.


I was able to reuse the brackets from the original HU. just unscrew them from the old, and put it back on the new.
now, next was cutting and crimping the wires. I ended up ordering the wrong part, so i had to cut the plug i didn't need off. there are a lot of wires by using both of the harnesses, so i would recommend cutting off an inch or so of wire from each harness just so you have enough room for the head unit, and so it isn't so crowded. *if all you need to do is connect your new harness to the factory harness and the back of your HU, cut off the blue wire. i believe that is an antenna control and could really screw things up.


I started by stripping the ends of the wires. the cables were color coded so matching them wasn't too difficult. i had 3 wires i didn't use. a mute wire (brown), the blue antenna wire (cut this wire from both wiring harnesses.) and a blue and white wire for an external amp. (i didn't have one) matched the wires from the HU harness to the wires of my new harness and twisted the ends together.

i then took the wire connectors and screwed those on. I came up with a jumbled mess like this, but it worked. for anybody needing to connect the wires like this, i would recommend using butt connectors, instead of wire nuts, or if you really know what your doing, i guess you could solder and heat shrink your connections. whatever works best.

I have and auxiliary input in the back of my new unit, so i can hook up my mp3 player. i got the necessary input adapter (6ft. long) and then proceeded to devise a plan so no excess wires would show. i ended up taking out the center console, and the one in front of it so i could run the wire underneath those.

after i removed those, and ran the wire underneath, i went up through the bottom of of the center console, through the backside of the middle part, and up through to the very top of the console, following the path of the built in telephone wire. worked out pretty slick.


I then took my mess of wires and hooked up harness to the 2 gray plugs in the factory plug (the white one on the factory harness was not be used) I then pluged the antenna cable into the new head unit, and then finished it off by connecting the wiring harness to the head unit.

I put the head unit in, (didn't screw it in yet) aligned it with the screws, and then sorted out the mess of wires behind the unit so it would fit properly. then i screwed it in and made sure it worked. (make sure you do this before you go and put everything back together, because if it doesnt work, you'll have to take everything apart again.)

then it was just a matter of putting everything back together. started by hooking the plugs back into the control panel, and then the two screws under the ash tray, and behind the pocket.

since most (if not all) new HU's come with built in apms, theres no reason to use the crappy factory amp anymore. so, i removed the glove box, and took a look around.

the amp is the sliver box directly behind the speaker next to the glove box. there were two sets of wires coming out of it, so it was a simple matter of just unplugging them. some people prefer to unscrew the whole thing all together and completely take it out, but i just left it.

screwed in the glove box and then sat back to admire my handiwork.
overall this wasn't at all a very complex job at all. if anything, i hope some find it helpful in sorting things out. thanks for reading.

[zcruiser]

Awesome.

Nice write-up. I've got a crappy head unit and will definitely look at this install.

But.....


Lose the shag! cdan can hook you up with new mats!

[Lka1988]

Good stuff. See if they'll put it in the FAQ

[pigbuggy]

Originally Posted by zcruiser

Lose the shag!

Naaaaaa. shag attracts the ladies......

[Romer]

Excellent write-up I will qoute your first post and put it into the FAQ. Don't move the pictures

[Colorado80]

Glad to see that you got it all taken care of.

[FJason80]

I like you idea of running the aux to the center console. Sweet write up!

[trevdawg]

In my 94 I dont have the cubby hole above the Head Unit, Anyone know where the screws are, or accessible from in the 94?

[knorrena]

Nice work, well accept for the wire nuts. Ya should use something else. Those things are not meant to be in an automotive environment; the vibration will loosen them and potentially fry your sexy little head unit.

Karl

[aim]

Originally Posted by trevdawg

In my 94 I dont have the cubby hole above the Head Unit, Anyone know where the screws are, or accessible from in the 94?

Under the top lip of the dash.

[sjs88]

Nice write-up and good timing since I'm going to be yanking out the 12 yr old unit that doesn't play CD's anymore. I'm going to be putting in the kenwood DPX-501, basically the same unit but w/ a USB input on the face for the IPOD. I will try to get the correct Plug in harness since i don't want the wire nuts or spend my day off soldering.

[eldgenb]

Great install.. I am not sure why everyone is so eager to "bypass the factory amp.." They make a wire harness very similar to above that I bought at car toys that has two pair of RCA Jacks on it instead(meaning your head unit has to have dual outputs to have fader) and I tried it with and without factory amp and not only did ALL of my speakers continue to work but I had more volume and less distortion with the factory amp. Also if you spend a little more money and get a head unit that has 4v or 5v pre outs (your cheaper ones come with 2v) then the input power supplied to the factory amp doubles so you end up with even better volume with less distortion and less heat generated under the dash because your head unit can take it easy..

[mnewell]

Very nice write up. I just did a headunit install in my 97 a couple of weeks ago. While I read up on unplugging the factory amp, I didn't and really can't notice any difference in sound quality. What am I missing here? Why does everyone say to bypass the factory amp?

[pigbuggy]

Originally Posted by mnewell

Very nice write up. I just did a headunit install in my 97 a couple of weeks ago. While I read up on unplugging the factory amp, I didn't and really can't notice any difference in sound quality. What am I missing here? Why does everyone say to bypass the factory amp?

uh.....quite honestly, i have no idea. i just did what everybody else has recommended or did. i really didn't know why either. oh well.

[Erratic]

Nice job except for the wire nuts . Nice head unit too!

[Sully]

Nice job. x2 on replacing the wire nuts with butt connectors. Any problems getting the mass of wires to fit behind the new HU?

[450 DUDE]

Great write up , and install.



Loose the nuts.
ken

[pigbuggy]

humm. i didn't really know that i would have that big of an issue with my nuts.

maybe i'll replace them and use butt connectors. probably wont solder them. i dont know, i guess the nuts were the only thing i had laying around and it seemed simple and easy. oh well, with that mess of wires, it was all pretty crammed in there (not literally jammed or shoved in there, but it was a tight fit...) the wires should remain stationary for a while until i replace them with butt connectors.

i had to take the mass of wires and rearrange them until they fit, but i found that by rearranging them to the top right of the enclosure, they seemed to fit best up there. thanks for the feedback!

[mnewell]

Originally Posted by pigbuggy

uh.....quite honestly, i have no idea. i just did what everybody else has recommended or did. i really didn't know why either. oh well.

Me neither.

I kept it plugged in cuz I like to be different.

[Colorado80]

I know some of the people on here have a question about the amp bypass. The amp bypass is nothing but using the using the two harness that pigbuggy is plugging his stereo into. Car shops charge anywhere from $50-80 to "plug" the wires into that harness. As far as going behind the dash, you don't need to do that. On my 93 it has both, the amp harness and the non amp'd harness in the dash. The easiest way to tell which the non amp harness is to plug the after market toyota harness on, because it is keyed, it will only fit one way.

Another way you can check if the wires you have are acutally non-amped is to do the speaker "pop" test. The way you do this is make sure you have two wires from the SAME speaker (same colored purple/white/green/gray) and put the wires on a 9v battery. Or if you have a cordless drill handy use the batter from that and press the contacts from the wire to it. One on positive side and one on negative. Remember do this for 2 second max and you will here a slight pop. That is your speaker cone moving.

If it doesn't move, that means that there is an amplifier in the middle and since it is not turned on, it cannot relay the elctrical signal to the speakers.

Hopefully this clarifies the scenario. I will take some pics and post them and hopefully it'll clarify what the heck i am talking about.

[pigbuggy]

so there is no reason to disconnect the factory amp because it's not connected through the new wiring? (i'm asking...i dont know.) since i used the two other plugs in the factory wiring harness, do they not connect to the factory amp?

[supercarrera]

If you use the two grey plugs in the dash you absolutely need to disconnect the two similar grey plugs at the amp. If you look at the wiring diagram, those plugs in the dash also wired to the plugs at the amp.

[Lka1988]

Originally Posted by pigbuggy

so there is no reason to disconnect the factory amp because it's not connected through the new wiring? (i'm asking...i dont know.) since i used the two other plugs in the factory wiring harness, do they not connect to the factory amp?

In a way, it's still connected to the speakers...this is to my understanding.

The stock deck sent a signal to the amp, the amp did it's thing and sent that signal to the speakers.
When you replace the deck with an aftermarket one, there is no more signal going to the amp from the deck, because you use the plugs that Toyota conveniently placed to bypass the amp.

So, since the amp is not sending/receiving any signals, it just sits there, using power.

It's best just to disconnect the amp. Take it out if you want or leave it in, it's up to you, but it's best to just disconnect it.

[Jenny Cruiser]

Man I hate wiring Kenwoods. Is that a JDM double din? It looks like it has the miniDisc slot. Pioneer HUs are much easier to wire using the quick kits.

[Lka1988]

Originally Posted by Jenny Cruiser

Man I hate wiring Kenwoods.

They aren't that bad... I did mine in less than a half hour

[Jenny Cruiser]

A Pioneer would take you less than 5 minutes.

[Lka1988]

Originally Posted by Jenny Cruiser

A Pioneer would take you less than 5 minutes.

Fine, you got me there.
-Hijack-
Still though, that was only my second radio, including un-splicing the old Sony harness and putting the new one on, then getting everything back together.
-end hijack-

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Great thread

Would this be the right one from Installer.com?

70-1761 Toyota/Scion 87-07; Plugs into Car Harness at radio, (Power/4-Speaker);




When I typed in 97 TLC, it came up with the low level type