Radio Upgrade

[JBOD77]

I searched first and found many things but most are inconclusive. I just received a Pioneer head unit to replace my ailing stock one. I ordered from crutchfield. The wiring harness that they supply is for a VW/Audi. It looks like it fits but it doesn't. The factory grey plug will fit into one of the slots on the harness but I can't seem to get the orange factory plug to fit. Crutchfield assures me that this is the correct harness and the guy on the phone sounded like he knew what a defender was ( called it a super jeep!!). I know a lot of you have done this upgrade and I really don't want to hack apart the stock wires. I know all the pin-outs are listed in the FAQ's but really don't want to hack I just want to plug and play!! Anybody who can help me??

P.S. Merry Christmas !!!! and thanks for any help you can give me!!

[flippedrover]

Hmm.. I have a pioneer installed did it my self with the standard harness that came from pioneer. Granted I soldered the connections so I'm not too sure what plugs you are talking about.

[APaden]

there is no way to do it. the wiring harness you got from vw is the only on that is the closest. it fits some of the wires but not all. I just upgraded mine and had to cut some of the wires. honestly, its not really that big of a deal if you do that. I used to install head units and have done that plenty of times. unfortunately the d90 doesn't give us the option. best of luck and happy holidays!

[JBOD77]

So, let's say I had it installed at a stereo shop instead of doing it myself. They would cut up the factory harness and solder everything together anyway?? Seems like a lot of extra work for something so simple. I can do it either way. Guess I was just looking for the easy way out for once.

[artm]

If you cannot get the correct harness and you have all the plugs going into the head unit there's no need to hack up the stock wiring. Simply strip a bit of insulation of each wire and splice onto it the wiring form the Pioneer. Wrap it up with elctrical tape and cover your stock plug with tape as well. No soldering needed.

Tip: when you're attaching the new wiring to each splice, separate the stock strands in half, feed the new wire through the middle, split the new wire at its end, wrap one end one way and the other the opposite way around the stock wire. Don't simply wrap it all as one "strand" around one way. This way is more secure and will never get loose.

I know you say you don't want to do any work but since you have the schematic the rest is really easy. And you're not hacking up the stock harness. If you ever want to undo it you can - just wrap the spliced areas and tape it up.

Yes, I am sure if you go to a shop and insist they use the correct plug and not touch the stock harness they will certainly do this. I'd rather save that $100 and splice away. If this isn't a DIY job I don;t know what is.

[JBOD77]

since you've mentioned it; is it possible to stick the corresponding wire from the head unit into the actual factory plug?? Is there a crimp on "pin" that I can use for the pioneer harness so I can plug it in strand by strand into the stock harness? It's starting to sound like I'm gonna splice my heart out!!!

[artm]

Sure...the male pins are simple spade type so finding the right size should be a breeze at an auto audio shop. I would also crimp "cover" plugs on them to prevent any shorts and allow for easy pulling off when you need to..

If you're willing to go that far you'd be better off finding the actual correct plug to fit to the factory's plug. Again, visit a good auto audio shop and I'm sure they'll have it - or know where to get it. Nothing like having a pro actually see what you need.

[JBOD77]

I have in the past used a solder-less crimp-on splice connector. you put the 2 wires in the connector and squeeze. A metal plate pierces both wires and the plastic snaps closed around them effectively and securely splicing the 2 wires. Thought they would be great for this application. Any thoughts or opinions??

[artm]

If you're T-ing into the stock wire, as my first suggestion, then this won't be ideal. You'll have to strip the stock wire more, fold it on itself and feed it into oneend of the tube; then feed the Pioneer wire into the other end. This all assumes you want to keep the stock plug intact. If not, then, sure, cut it off and use the crimp tube.

If you don't want to simply wrap the wires through and over eachother, get a splice connector that bites into the stock wire and has a hole, at 90-degrees, to feed the Pioneer wire into (like the conenctor you just noted); then crimp. It's a splitter, keeping the original path and adding another. Heck, you can even get one with teeth at both ends - no crimping!

Stop overengineering this and just do it!

[61rover]

My D110 had a crap aftermarket head unit and half the speakers didn't work. I never liked the OEM Clarion units so I retrofitted a complete Pioneer system from a Disco I. I really liked how it turned out. I mounted the amp on the front inside wall of the cubby box. CD changer went under the passenger seat. I can post pictures if anyone is interested.

[JBOD77]

so when doing my radio upgrade last night I noticed a yellow wire with a violet stripe. It wasn't used when hooking up the new head unit. I had some problems and in the end used the wire to hook up to the wire on the head unit labeled system remote control. Now everything work beautifully. The yellow/purple wire isn't in the FAQ section but without it I didn't get any sound. What's it do? P.S. as far as I know the amp would be in the passenger tool box under the seat. There is no amp in there.

[artm]

If by "no sound" you mean it did not power up then that should be the remote line.It provides 12V when the ignition switch is on the first click. The attached equipment - head unit, amp, equalizer,whatever - uses this to switch itself on.

As for the amp, just follow the factory wires and see where they go. Does your Pioneer have a built-in amp? If not, then the amp is somewhere or you wouldn't have sound.

Finally, you should attach labels to all the wires for future reference. I prefer that to pulling out the schematic.

[JBOD77]

Art, Pioneer unit has its own amp. By no sound I mean no sound. Unit powered up and functioned perfectly but there was no sound. The fix, as instructed by crutchfield, was to connect the system remote control line on the head unit to the yellow/violet wire in the stock harness. BAM! instant sound! I was just curious as to what the hell it does. Apparently you are correct it is the remote line but, there is a solid purple= constant hot, and orange/white= ignition switched. So is it redundant or does it do something else??

[artm]

I have bever seen a unit power up but only output sound once the remote line is active. What's the point of that? Odd...unless...the remote is there for the unit's amp only. If the unit has line-out (probably) then sounds like it 's setup to work in line-out always (typical, of course) and amp-out only by remote - to save power perhaps.

I don't feel like finding the schematic but...

The orange/white looks to be the remote, unless it is a thick wire which would indicate a switched power line. If so, I would use that instead of the constant purple feeding the unit - unless the unit needs constant power to save settings and such.

Lastly, if you want to power the unit all the time - with the ignition off - then you may need to rewire. In this case, you wouldn't use the switched line but the constant line for both power and remote. This way the unit is always getting power and remote.

Heck, at least you're up and running. I assume you simply spliced away.

[JBOD77]

yeah in the end the wiring harness has been hacked.....neatly hacked. Unit does have line-out so you may have something there but I'm not positive either...sounds good though The purple wire is definitely the constant hot. It's much heavier than all the others. I have no interest in running all the time. Ignition switched is fine. I think have those wires backwards b/c it only works w/ engine running or 2nd click not first but I don't care. It was the yellow purple wire that was confusing. It doesn't come up on the schematic and that's what appears to be the remote line b/c when spliced to the remote line on the head unit, everything works. I was just looking to confirm especially since it's not on the schematic. Like you said, at least I'm up and running. Stay tuned tonights project is the Sirius receiver