How to Wire a Harness for a Car Stereo

Wiring a harness for a car stereo is a matter of following the color coding.

Various aftermarket car audio accessory companies make harnesses designed to interface with any specific vehicle. These harnesses are created to function properly with any aftermarket radio, and encompasses speaker, power and ground, among others. Attaching the harness when the radio is brand-new and fresh from the box is easier than attempting to do it while in the vehicle, and speeds a mobile radio installation considerably. In addition, it ensures all wires are safely connected and assigned.

Things You'll Need

• Wire harness
• Radio's manual
• Crimp tool
• 16-gauge insulated butt connectors
• 3-inch plastic zip ties

Instructions

1. Look at the rear of the harness' packaging and the radio's manual to match up the color coding and wire descriptions.

2. Pull off the pre-cut insulation ends on both the radio's attached harness and the new vehicle harness. Twist any bare wires down tightly to ease in insertion into the butt connectors.

3. Slide the 16-gauge connectors over the radio's harness, then crimp it using the wire crimper. Slide the matching wires from the new vehicle's harness into the other ends of the connectors, and crimp then firmly as well.

4. Secure the loose connected wires every 3 inches with a 3-inch plastic zip tie. Snip off the ends of the zip ties with the wire-cutting end of the crimp tool.

Tips & Warnings

• If you're installing an amplifier, pay close attention to the blue wires. One is for a power antenna, while the other is the remote lead for the amplifier. Confusing the two will mean the amp only comes on when the radio is in "tuner" mode.

References

• Crutchfield: Car Stereo Installation Guide-Wiring
• Basic Car Audio and Electronics: Car Stereo Installation/Upgrade Primer

Resources

• The Install Dr: Do it Yourself Car Stereo Installation