I'm about to lose it. Spent 3 hours on this. (Spent probably 10+ hours on this) SOLVD

[TridenT]

Just trying to install the freaking car stereo receiver! HOLY WTF. Ok, getting it all apart, not so bad I guess... but not buying the little harness thing for the wires or whatever. Holy shit, bad idea guys. Only reason I didn't do it is because I didn't want to wait around to get one. I wanted to install the stereo TONIGHT.

Hey, guess what? APPARENTLY ALL INFORMATION ONLINE, EVEN THE CAR MANUFACTURERS MANUAL ITSELF, IS WRONG.

So, I'm freaking lost. I have a 2000 Honda Civic EX Coupe. I bought a JVC KD-R530. Ignition wire? Wtf? Does that go to the '12v switching wire'? Or does that go to something else? I mean I cannot even get the fucking thing to POWER ON. IT WON'T EVEN DO THAT. WHY?!!?!? And everyone says different shit for EVERY WIRE. Do I listen to the three other resources everyone is saying, "use" or do I look at the damn manual? OMFG

I tried all the different cables... apparently I am just massively screwed. I don't know.



EDIT:

Spoiler

Second fuse box, bitches. I was confused for a long time as to why the WHT/BLU wire was not hot AT ALL. It never would be. I was like, "This makes no fucking sense. I don't see where the WHT/BLU constant power/whatever type of fuse could be in the fuse box. So I guess it doesn't have one or just is included with the ACC/red/yellow one. OK... FUCK YOU TOO" Then later I looked at a schematic because I wanted to check to see for sure to see how this fucking contraption worked. Hey, what do you know... WHT/BLU has its own fuse. But it's not in the fuse box I looked at... It was in the engine bay fuse box. Yep... I totally forgot about that fuse box, but mainly I forgot because I didn't think it would ever be out there. Replaced the fuse and wired it all back up correctly and... There you have it. Stereo works great now.

 

[janas19]

Fail.

 

[pcgeek11]

My god how much was the Harness adapter. Was it worth the savings? Go back and get the adapter harness and be done with it, before you melt your car.

 

[TridenT]

My god how much was the Harness adapter. Was it worth the savings? Go back and get the adapter harness and be done with it, before you melt your car.

It's not even possible now. I already cut the wires and all that shit.

 

[pcgeek11]

It's not even possible now. I already cut the wires and all that shit.

Smooth move there Ex-lax...

You need to reconnect them ( butt splices, solder & heat shrink ... and then get the harness.

I just hope you aren't twisting the wires together and taping them.

You aren't are you?

 

[exdeath]

Ugh lesson learned on patience here. Never cut stuff like that on modern cars. The connections are far too complex and numerous on modern cars to butcher up into a mess of spaghetti by hand. Right tool for the job, always; the adapter harness/pigtail in this case.

Better get real familiar with the head unit pinout, your car, and have a multimeter now.

For power there will be two: standby power for memory, and power from the ignition switch "ON" that provides the main power only when the key is ON or ACC.

To save some time of going over vehicle wiring diagrams, you might want to try and dig up a pinout of your OEM head unit and correlate the wires that way, using your cut connector to map wire colors to their functions.

How many wires total? Can't be that many if it's just a OEM Honda stereo with no NAV or HVAC or anything.

 

[TridenT]

Ugh lesson learned on patience here. Never cut stuff like that on modern cars. The connections are far too complex and numerous on modern cars to butcher up into a mess of spaghetti by hand. Right tool for the job, always; the adapter harness/pigtail in this case.

Better get real familiar with the head unit pinout, your car, and have a multimeter now.

For power there will be two: standby power for memory, and power from the ignition switch "ON" that provides the main power only when the key is ON or ACC.

To save some time of going over vehicle wiring diagrams, you might want to try and dig up a pinout of your OEM head unit and correlate the wires that way, using your cut connector to map wire colors to their functions.

I'm trying to follow this one: http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/1388/alreadyt.jpg It actually is the exact way my connector that I severed is. I don't understand why the radio isn't working right now though... I've connected the cables correctly I thought.

 

[exdeath]

So use a test light or meter. Verify that YEL/RED is only hot with key on and WHT/BLU is hot at all times.

YEL/RED is your ACC/"ignition" power source. WHT/BLU is your "constant 12v" power source.

Then find out which wires on your new stereo are main power (connect to YEL/RED) and memory/standby (WHT/BLU).

Then connect BLK to new stereo's GND and it will power on.

Do you have a pinout of the new stereo?

 

[TridenT]

So use a test light or meter. Verify that YEL/RED is only hot with key on and WHT/BLU is hot at all times.

Then find out which wires on your new stereo are main power (connect to YEL/RED) and memory/standby (WHT/BLU).

Then connect BLK to new stereo's GND and it will power on.

Yeah, I want to, but unfortunately I don't have anything like that. I've tried basically what you've said already. I think it's very suspicious of my actions and just hates me.

I swear to god I'm going to test everything and then it's just going to a DOA unit or some shit.

 

[exdeath]

Yeah, I want to, but unfortunately I don't have anything like that. I've tried basically what you've said already. I think it's very suspicious of my actions and just hates me.

I swear to god I'm going to test everything and then it's just going to a DOA unit or some shit.

And you are turning the key on right?

Pinout of new stereo? Do you have at least a pigtail to splice the wires into? The color of the wires on the pigtail can vary if it's a generic pigtail and not Honda color coded. All that matters is the pinout.

How are you connecting your car's wires to the back of the stereo?

Also make sure it's not just lack of display. It's entirely possible it's powering on but no lights or display if there is a mandatory dash/dimmer wire not hooked up.

The connector you linked from the car is extremely basic.

Also make sure you didn't blow a fuse when you snipped the connector off and connected all the wires together through the cutting tool momentarily.

 

[TridenT]

I use the 99-00 version of this: http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/1388/alreadyt.jpg

This is my receiver's wiring: http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/2264/therea.jpg

 

[IcePickFreak]

The diagram you have matches up with Alldata's wiring. Did you check fuses? Make sure to check for any in-line fuses on the new head unit's power wire as well.

Could be you got a bad head unit, but it's more likely that you missed something or mixed something up. Go back over everything one wire at a time.

 

[exdeath]

There is your problem. The colors don't line up already.

On your car diagram. WHT/BLU is your BATTERY wire, but it's yellow in the receiver picture. Your car's RED/YEL is your IGNITION wire shown as red on the receiver side.

RED/YEL from car to RED on receiver and BLK to BLK should be sufficient to power on the receiver with key ON/ACC.

Additionally, "Illumination" may be required to see display, which would be RED or RED/BLK (can't tell which one) from your car to PINK (ORANGE?) on your receiver. Should only be used for the dash dimmer to control the stereo brightness, but it's possible the stereo illumination goes off if there isn't a minimum there.

You need to double check the actual pins and not just assume the wires of the same color go together.

 

[TridenT]

The diagram you have matches up with Alldata's wiring. Did you check fuses? Make sure to check for any in-line fuses on the new head unit's power wire as well.

Could be you got a bad head unit, but it's more likely that you missed something or mixed something up. Go back over everything one wire at a time.

I should only need 4 wires or so to actually get the unit up and running though... at least up and running to get a wire error check!

I think a fuse may be blown or something. I cannot imagine how this is possible otherwise. I don't really have any 10A fuses on hand either. The fuse looked fine in the back, but it's hard to tell.

 

[TridenT]

There is your problem. The colors don't line up already.

On your car diagram. WHT/BLU is your BATTERY wire, but it's yellow in the receiver picture. Your car's RED/YEL is your IGNITION wire shown as red on the receiver side.

RED/YEL from car to RED on receiver and BLK to BLK should be sufficient to power on the receiver with key ON/ACC.

Additionally, "Illumination" may be required to see display, which would be RED or RED/BLK (can't tell which one) from your car to PINK (ORANGE?) on your receiver. Should only be used for the dash dimmer to control the stereo brightness, but it's possible the stereo illumination goes off if there isn't a minimum there.

You need to double check the actual pins and not just assume the wires of the same color go together.

No, I know that the colors don't line up. I never tried to get them to line up. I've been following various wire diagrams this whole time and putting together, '12v battery' to '12v constant' etc.

Anyway, the combinations that should work are:
From car to receiver:
WHT/BLU (12v battery) to YELLOW (12v battery)
YEL/RED (12v switch) to RED(It is red, not pink, just weird how that shows up) (IGNITION)
BLACK (GRND) to BLACK (GRND)
RED (Dash light brightness) to ORANGE(ILLUMINATION)

That should get the fucker just up and running but it doesn't.

 

[exdeath]

Need to know more. Is ORANGE required? If so what does "dash light brightness" (RED) and "lights on signal" (RED/BLK) mean from your car, and which one is appropriate for "ILLUMINATION" to the receiver? One is for dimming, another is for additional button/knob back lighting that only lights up when your car lights are on. Neither should be required for the LCD/clock to light up.

Have you tried hitting the load/eject button or listening for mechanical sounds in case it's on but there is no display? And the face plate connection to the head unit is solid, no "remove me first" stickers or anything in the connector shoe? If you are 100% sure about the red ignition/main pwr and black ground wires going into the receiver, try connecting them directly to the battery under the hood. If that doesn't power it on, the unit is defective.

 

[TridenT]

Need to know more. Is ORANGE required? If so what does "dash light brightness" (RED) and "lights on signal" (RED/BLK) mean from your car, and which one is appropriate for "ILLUMINATION" to the receiver? One is for dimming, another is for additional button/knob back lighting that only lights up when your car lights are on. Neither should be required for the LCD/clock to light up.

Have you tried hitting the load/eject button or listening for mechanical sounds in case it's on but there is no display? And the face plate connection to the head unit is solid, no "remove me first" stickers or anything in the connector shoe? If you are 100% sure about the red ignition/main pwr and black ground wires going into the receiver, try connecting them directly to the battery under the hood. If that doesn't power it on, the unit is defective.

Dash light brightness sounds like it is for illumination. No idea what lights on signal means for the radio to be honest...

Oh, and my 10A fuse was busted for my car's radio. I replaced it with one of the spare fuses. Still doesn't work though. I checked the one in the stereo and it's fine. I don't fucking get it.

I can test it without orange I guess. I can test it without any connections except ground and whatever.

I've tried all of what you suggested.

 

[IcePickFreak]

No, I know that the colors don't line up. I never tried to get them to line up. I've been following various wire diagrams this whole time and putting together, '12v battery' to '12v constant' etc.

Anyway, the combinations that should work are:
From car to receiver:
WHT/BLU (12v battery) to YELLOW (12v battery)
YEL/RED (12v switch) to RED(It is red, not pink, just weird how that shows up) (IGNITION)
BLACK (GRND) to BLACK (GRND)
RED (Dash light brightness) to ORANGE(ILLUMINATION)

That should get the fucker just up and running but it doesn't.

Looks like the Orange(Illumination) on the new head unit should be hooked to the RED/BLK in your car. I'm guessing the head-unit isn't dim-able, rather it just turns on the back lights so it just needs to know when your lights are on.

Going by the little blurb off to the side on the head-units diagram, it could just be trying to give you the error message but the display is getting an odd voltage (looks like the one your using is a variable voltage for dimming, where as the other is a on/off 2-step voltage signal.) Also, it suggests "resetting" the unit afterwards. Did you try doing that? (However it's done)

 

[TridenT]

Looks like the Orange(Illumination) on the new head unit should be hooked to the RED/BLK in your car. I'm guessing the head-unit isn't dim-able, rather it just turns on the back lights so it just needs to know when your lights are on.

Going by the little blurb off to the side on the head-units diagram, it could just be trying to give you the error message but the display is getting an odd voltage (looks like the one your using is a variable voltage for dimming, where as the other is a on/off 2-step voltage signal.) Also, it suggests "resetting" the unit afterwards. Did you try doing that? (However it's done)

Yeah. Reset it like a fucking thousand times.

The JCV might not be dimmable, but the one that comes with the car is.

 

[exdeath]

"Lights on" just sounds like it's coming from the head lamp switch as a signal to turn on the blue LEDs or whatever beneath the buttons at night. The LCD/VFD should light up with just power and ground.

Sounds like a faulty or fried unit.

 

[TridenT]

"Lights on" just sounds like it's coming from the head lamp switch as a signal to turn on the blue LEDs or whatever beneath the buttons at night. The LCD/VFD should light up with just power and ground.

Sounds like a faulty or fried unit.

I'm very annoyed and so tired after this... 5 hours of this shit. The old head unit had a light that would always blink even when away from the car. That might be what that was for.

 

[TridenT]

Wtf. It turned on when I started joining three or more wires together with the red yellow.

THIS SHIT MAKES NO SENSE. Also, fuse might have been broken. I literally joined the blu/white + red/yellow + the two that are supposed to go with those. (yellow and red?) It was working... like wtf. Then I accidentally made that huge fucktard of a thing touch metal. It went off and I heard a noise. I can't tell if the fuse actually broke. If it did then it did it very quickly and not violently. (Thus a nearly unnoticable break in the circuit)

 

[yottabit]

You can still save yourself if you buy a Haynes manual or something and look at the wiring diagram for your stereo, and there should be a corresponding pinout diagram for the receiver.

You can't just keep crossing things and hoping it will work, there are a few wires that carry voltage, and many of them become grounds.

Also you should have your battery disconnected while you are doing this so you don't fry anything further as you mentioned you already had a scare

 

[bruceb]

Radio Battery wire to car harness White / Blue .. 10

Radio Illumination wire to car harness Red .. 19

Radio Ground Wire to car harness Black .. 20

Radio Ignition Wire to car harness Yellow / Red .. 2

Rear Speaker Left + to car harness Blue / Yellow .. 6
Rear Speaker Left - to car harness Gray / White .. 16

Rear Speaker Right + to car harness Red / Yellow .. 5
Rear Speaker Right - to car harness Brown / White .. 15

Front Speaker Left + to car harness Blue .. 8
Front Speaker Left - to car harness Gray / Black ... 18

Front Speaker Right + to car harness Red / Green .. 7
Front Speaker Right - to car harness Brown / Black .. 17

Note the wire marked Remote on the radio would be the power
control signal to the external amplifier if you use one.

 

[Hellotalkie]

LOL I would never never cut the factory wiring harness. Also I never mess with the dimmer/illum. wire due to the possibility of causing many problems. I tried it once, blew almost every fuse (all electrics stopped working).


The wiring harness could have been bought at any autoparts store, heck even wally world would most likely have yours. You have one of the most commonly driven cars and harness are available every even after hours.

I would start over, re-solder the factory harness back on and get the aftermarket radio harness for attachment.