Help: New Radio Install

[Walker]

Just got my new Kenwood single din head unit tonight (ebay). I got the harness's with the kit, but they must be spliced in, not just "plugged" in like I thought.



Here's what parts I got:

-radio with factory plug that goes into the back of the radio. It has loose wires for spkrs. , power, ground, etc... .

-harness kit. It has "two" seperate plugs; between the two of them they have all the wires that also come from the factory plug.



Is there "two" seperate harness ends that go in the back of the stock radio for these harness's to go into?



Will the new head unit mount into the existing "hole" without some sort of adapter? I got a single din "face plate" but nothing behind it to support the radio.



Any help with any part of the install would be much appreciated. (I'm a new radio install virgin)

 

[Blkdawdg]

Where are you?

You should have the wiring adapter that you can get @ any electronics store... ... . that will use the existing factory harness plugs and then you have to solder and heat shrink that to the plug that came with your Kenwood. (Be sure to take your time and make sure that you get the correct wires together)



You should also have a Dodge "kit" that adapts the "hole" for the factory radio to the 1-din size of the Kenwood. There will be nothing that goes behind the radio unless you want to take the extra time to put on some backstrap behind the radio but I wouldn't say that you need to.



BTW, where are you?... ... a possible trip to help could be in my future

 

[Walker]

blkdawdg,

Thanks for the info. and the offer. I'm Texas born and raised (Austin as a matter of fact), but unfortunately I'm stuck here in NM for while longer.



I've got the adapter harness for the stock harness, but there are "two" in the bag. One has 1/2 the wires, the other has the rest of the wires that are on the new radio harness. Are there "two" plug-ins in the back of the stock radio?

 

[BarryG]

Walker:

I just got done replacing my radio a couple weeks ago and yes there is two plugs in the stock radio harness. Just need to connect the harness(es) you got to the harness that came with the radio. Both the radio and the harness kit you recieved should have a wiring diagram just match up the wires (not necessarily by color) and you should be good to go. As mentioned above solder them and use heat shrink tubing for each one. I was at napa the other day and found some solder filled heat shrink connectors. They worked great. All you do with them is strip the wires place inside the tubing and when you heat it to shrink the tubing the solder melts and presto you have a great splice.

 

[Walker]

Thanks a lot Barry. I'm off to NAPA.



... . and, a quick question about the wiring. What connections do you use for the speakers. My new radio has two wires, both a + and - for the Lfront, Rfront, etc... (I guess for two speakers in each location). Since I only have one speaker in each location (doors and rears only), which do I use?

 

[BarryG]

Walker:

The + and - wire are positive and ground. You will need both for a single speaker. Hook up all the wires in the harness kit to the new radio harness at least as many as you can. Like I said there should be a wiring schematic with the radio and the harness kit just match up all the wires. It is a little confusing I know mine were different colors from kit to radio but just take your time and one thing that is nice about it is you can do it on workbench or kitchen table connect everything up then plug it in to your radio and existing harness in the truck instead of trying to do it in the truck.

 

[Mark_Kendrick]

Walker,

Don't hoo up the antenna wire comming from the truck to the antenna wire comming from the radio.



The factory amplifier uses the antenna lead from the stock radio to light up. Aftermarket radios shut off the antenna lead when using tape or CDs. so when you put in a CD the amp shuts off and makes no sound.



Use the amplifier trigger coming from the new radio and hook it to the antenna lead coming from the truck.



If you have any questions call. 918 521 8666



I found this out when I put in my radio. it was a real head scratcher

 

[Walker]

Mark,

On my new radio harness, I have a wire that says "P cont. " It says this is for "when using the optional power amplifier, connect to it's power control terminal". Is this the one you mean to hook up to the factory harness named "power ant. " (on mine); or you said "ant. lead coming from the truck"? These are the only "ant. " wires I have on each harness (no other choices). I thought the only main ant. wire you needed was the single "plug-in" connector that is seperate from the wiring harness (the black male to female adapter). Do I still need to use the other ones?



Also, I have (on the new radio harness) an orange wire with white stripe that says "illum. ". On the factory harness kit I have two orange wires: one says "pos. dimmer" (it has a white stripe), and the other says "illum. " (but is solid orange). Should I go by color scheme and match orange with white stripes, or put the two that say "illum. " together?

 

[MCummings]

Whew,, Now I'm glad I took my truck to a professional Custom installer... .



This is what the guys did for me. . He made a custom "kit" for the EQ,, Looks trick,, but now my truck just SCREAMS,, "STEAL ME"

#ad




Hope you get it worked out,, I can't offer any help here, LOL



MerrickNJr

 

[Mark_Kendrick]

yes, hook the "P cont. " to the factory antenna wire--"power ant. "



and. . put the two that say "illum. " together.



you had it right. After this first one the next one will only take a few minutes. It's a steep learning curve if you're not familiar with the terms used in the instructions. Once you see it . . "I never knew it was that simple!"



Good luck,

Mark

 

[Walker]

Thanks Mark (and others),

You've been a big help. But I've got just one more for ya' (ok, 2). I got a metal face plate (single din) with an equalizer cut out below the radio that I'm gonna use for installing my aux. rocker switches. It's just the face plate only with the cutouts and factory screw tab locations. It has no guts (support of any kind) behind it to hold the radio in place in the dash. I got this idea from another member and he said he can't really remember what's behind the stock radio but his did work. Is there something in behind the dash to "hold" the radio so that I can use my new face plate? I want a good solid mount, and have the single din adapter in case it doesn't work, but I'd like to make it work if I can.



And last one (I promise). The new radio came with some red anodized screws for installing into the radio somehow. I read the instructions but dont really understand what they're for. There's no bracket of really any kind with the radio. Just a sliding mechanism that the radio housing slips into. I'm clueless.

 

[JLEONARD]

I installed a Blaupunkt cd player in my 91 last summer.

I made one call to Crutchfield (800-955-3000 or www.crutchfield.com). They had the adapter plate and wiring harness adapter.

Less that $20 total. The install took 1/2 hour with the right parts. Fits like a glove. Looks great.

Also came with instructions for my specific truck. They were 100% exact down to each and every screw to remove.

The speakers were another story, but I did manage to squeeze a nice pair of 6 x 9s in the door with no cutting.

 

[Mark_Kendrick]

Usually on a kenwood there are two brackets that attach to the side of the radio. . they may already be on the radio. . I don't remember. The brackets latch into the 'can' that the radio slides into. Put the can into the hole in the bracket where the radio goes then bend the tabs until it is securely fixed to the bracket. then slide the radio into the can. . be sure you get it right side up.



The screws are for import cars. they have metal brackets that the radio fits ino and holes that line up w/holes on the radio. . to use them you have to remove the brackets for the can.