How to wire up your new head unit.

[Adam]

Things needed:
new head unit (obviously)
instructions would help but are not necessary
both Philips and flat blade screwdriver
red or blue double end connectors(depending on wire size/guage)
wire cutters/crimpers/strippers
good electrical tape or duct tape
circuit test pencil
old head unit handy but not necessary
pen/marker

1. Un-screw any necessary screws to get the old head unit out and unplug the old head unit, but keep it close by as you may need it.

2. Check out the colour of wires that you have, if they are same as below then skip step 3

3. If they aren't the same then you need to determine which is which by using test pencil (tp) and battery.

a. First work out your positive battery wire, to do this you turn the car to the off position, connect the alligator clip end of your tp to an earth on the car (a metal bracket or the like), connect the other end to each metal contact on the old plug in the car, when the light lights up you have found the positive battery wire once found cut it off old plug and tape end with masking tape and label it with marker(being carefully not to touch any metal with this wire not taped up)

b. Next you work out the negative battery wire, to do this you connect the alligator clip to the positive wire you have just found, connect the other end up to each metal contact on the old plug in the car, once again, the tp will light up when the correct wire is found, cut and tape up as stated above also remembering to label it.

c. Lastly to find the ignition wire, turn the ignition till its just before starting the car, connect the alligator end of the tp to the negative/ground wire, connect the other end of the tp to each metal contact in the old plug in the car, once again, the tp will light up when the correct wire is found, cut and tape up as stated above also remembering to label it. Turn car back to off position.

d. (Optional antennae wire) To find this I trace back to the source but there is probably an easier way that I’m not aware of.

4. Find two similar wires (in a 4 speaker car there should be 8 wires 4 lots of 2) connect AAA battery to two similar wires$$$ and if crackling heard tape together and label speaker position.

5. Crimp together each corresponding wires together starting with positive, then ignition then negative so if u see sparks u can pull negative off strait away. (If electric antennae fitted connect after ignition)

6. Connect speaker wires temporarily together and tape around each join. Turn ignition till its just before starting the car, turn your new head unit on, check whether all speakers work, if so turn radio off and crimp speaker
Wires together.

7.tape all wires together neatly, and screw everything back in. then crank the tunes!


General wiring colours.
Fat chunky black=antennae (obvious once seen)
Earth=black
Constant battery=yellow
Ignition=red
White=electric antennae (optional)

$$$=Two wires of the same colour but one with a white or black stripe is generally your speaker wires.

To check if the two wires are speaker wires, get an AAA battery and connect it to both wires, if u here a crackle in one speaker, then the wires are from that speaker.

Check the old headset for these colour wires as this will save you a lot of time in finding out each wires purpose

There sometimes maybe more wires left over that aren’t necessary, tape the ends of these wires up then tape it to your main bundle of wires for neatness.

i do not take responsibility for any damage caused, this way has worked for me for 8 out of 8 head units I have installed so I don’t see why it wont work for you.

[martin]

While you are at it, while checking to see which speaker is which, check which way the cone of the speaker bounces when you tap the wires on to the battery. You will get the best cleanest sound if they all jump out the same way. Theoretically it dosnt make a whole lot of differenece which way, just make sure they are the same. Doing this is called testing the polarity.

[gemie chick]

For better clarity and more reliability on high power head units I find it is better to solder connections..If you have a soldering iron handy..
Greg

[Shark]

actually soldering the connections is the only way to do it. If you can pull each wire and the connection comes apart, then its not connected properly.
Just run a good amount of solder on each wire end, then melt the two connections togeather, let it set, then run some insulation tape around the connection. Believe me it's worth the trouble!

[TF Jemini]

i have just removed the original AM radio from my 82 TF gemini and want to install my new JVC CD receiver but i can't work out the connections.

i was using a test pencil to work out the positive wire(you've gotta start somewhere) and with the ignition in the off position the TP did not light up. this tells me that none of the old connections went straight to the battery...doesn't it.

then in the acc position one of the wires lit up the TP. this is obviously the positive wire. so i then connected the alligator clip bit of the TP onto this wire i have just found to try and find the negative wire. TWO WIRES lit up the TP!!!!!!!! wat does this mean. which one is which. HELP!!!

[wharfie]

When you tested with the test pencil with the ignition off did u connect the alligator clip to anything?

[TF Jemini]

yes the alligator clip was connected to a ground(the cars chassis). i have figured it out though....the old radio did not have a clock or any presets, therefore it didn't require a constant power supply.

the positive ignition wire i found was plain blue, in this the same in all TF gemini's or does it differ?

[PinkBitz]

The earth is obviously black. does your car have a black wire. if so, then that is the earth. all speaker negatives wire up to this wire as well. my positive wire in my tf is blue 2. with the ignition on, use the blue wire and touch it to bare metal (an earth) and see if it sparks. this is a real dodgy way to find out, but it works. For the constant power, you can wire it to the battery positive (with a fuse). or the alternator, either way works fine.

[Poida]

Most late model car audio units are high powered mosfet units.

NEVER wire the negative speaker wires as a common wire or connect them to the car chassis as a common earth.
Instant voided warranty!!!

First step is to read the installation instructions that come with your new audio unit and read them again till you can visualise the install as it is written on the paper.

Keep reading till it becomes that clear to you.

If you still can't understand the instructions, seek professional help. It may cost you a few $ but that new $480 CD player is not much use if you stuff it.
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[Poida]

Earth is NOT always BLACK.

There is NO standardised wiring colour code in the car audio industry.

That said there is no standardised wiring colour code in the car manufacturing industry also.

It is expected that Black should be negative and red should be positive but there is no hard fast rule. Each car or audio manufacturer has their own method of determining colour coding

Lets face it... If all wiring were as easy as wiring a trailer plug, wiring up an EFI conversion would be a snap wouldn't it!!
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[Racegem]

Black in the trailer industry is actually reverse lights!
Out of a headunit however, most new one are going to an ISO standard of colour coding, but this will never match the colours in the vehicles.

[Poida]

I read Martin's comment about polarity.

He is on the right track by what he says but there area couple of points needing further clarificaton.

Use only a 1.5V dry cell battery to test polarity, NOT your 12V car battery.

It does matter that it's correctly polarised.

When you connect the speaker in the test circuit note if the cone is driven out away from the magnet or in toward the magnet. It is correctly wired when the cone is driven away from the magnet. Now note the wire that is connected to the [+] on the battery and mark the terminal it connects to on the speaker [+] also.


If it's incorrect the speakers voice coil could get damaged when it bottoms out on the magnet. It also effects the speakers ability to reproduce sounds correctly. It will lack bass punch if the speaker is driven inwards instead of out.
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I try to tackle one day at a time, but often several days attack me at once.



(The views I present are my own and NOT necessarily of the administrators or other members of this site.)

[HOTHOUSE GREEN GEMI]

when connecting you wires befor soldering place sat a 50mm peice if heat shink (get it from dick smiths or any electrical place ) over the wire first solder away then pull up the heat shrink and use a lighter and shrink it
this will stop the wire from shorting on the body

[HOTHOUSE GREEN GEMI]

when connecting you wires befor soldering place sat a 50mm peice if heat shink (get it from dick smiths or any electrical place ) over the wire first solder away then pull up the heat shrink and use a lighter and shrink it
this will stop the wire from shorting on the body

[ninjagarth]

poida is completely correct i work at the F#1 status dealer for alpine in victoria only 1 and it is essential that the cone moves out when taped on battery cause as he said if it goes in it will atterly destroy them also seal them properly.

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