Elementary wiring question. Just want to make sure I have the right idea.

[KickerKid58]

This way, if you ever want to go back to stock, say like to trade it in, it's waaaaayyyy easier.

^^^ this!! wasn't thinking when i put my hu in my old lincoln. ended up loosn a hundo when i went to sell it

[Rev. Wrath]

1999 Monte is a pretty common car, so it should be pretty easy to find at a local stereo shop or even a Best Buy or something. If it were me, I would even postpone the install a couple days to order one in if I had to because I've found that the pin-out charts you find on the Internet/Haynes manuals aren't always right. A 1999 might be different color wires than a 1998 or a 2000. Not trying to dog you or your ability, just saying it might save you a bunch of headaches.

[kickass audio]

I was thinking this when i signed off awhile ago. I would NEVER start slicing and dicing at the stock harness that is in the dash. I have always used an adapter that plugs into the stock harness that is already there in the dash. Those adapters always wire up color for color with the wires that come off the aftermarket radio you are installing. What i did to save money and time was go to Advance Auto Parts and they have a ton of wire harnesses for radios cheap. I bought the one for my 04 envoy at Advance for $9.99 last fall. They are a hell of a lot easier to wire up as you have all the room to do so whereas in the dash you have limited room and finding the wires isnt as easy as you think. Plus the stock wires are NOT labeled in any way at all so you never truly know which wire does what. You are relying on someone else who screwed with it to find out and sometimes it isnt always accurate.

This is what you should need for your car you are installing: http://www.metraonline.com/part/70-1858

To ensure it is take the stock radio out and look at the back of the radio. The plug in the pic should look just like the one on the back of the radio except the one on the radio is a female connector. If they match then buy the metra adapter at your nearest advance automotive store, the number on the bottom right of the package should read "70-1858".

This is directly from advance automotives website: http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_Into-Car-Wire-Harness-Metra_6050220-P_2529_R%7CGRP60023_1380247188____

The price went up just a bit but it is still better than screwing around with the wires behind the dash and fucking something up. Id rather spend $11 than $100 if you ask me.

[G-Rad]

Thanks! Looking at the image, I'm assuming that the adapter converts the harnass to raw tails. The tails matching the aftermarket spacificly..

I know I can't see well, nor am I good at audio installs, so no skin off my back, but again, thanks everyone.

BTW, no one's insulting my inability or ability in any way. I'm very open-minded so I just tell my friends to bring it on, haha.

[n8ball2013]

Reading through this, and it sounds like you are going to cut the factory wiring harness (the one coming from the car). If this is the case, I highly advise against it. It is worth the 10-20 dollars it costs for an adapter. This way, if you ever want to go back to stock, say like to trade it in, it's waaaaayyyy easier. If i mis-read and you are getting an adapter, then carry on. You're doing it right lol.

thank you

[G-Rad]

Went and got everything, only to find out his deck simply doesn't power on. Dirty.. Haha. He's gonna get a new one.

[kickass audio]

Thats not bad, as long as its the same brand you should be able to plug it right into the back of the radio without any problems. I had the same problem before and i got another pioneer radio that actually worked and never re-wired them up, just connected it to the back of the new radio that worked.

To disconnect the harness coming out of the back of your radio, there is a tiny retainer clip that you have to depress in order for it to allow you to pull it straight out. Once you do that just disconnect the harness that came with the new radio that works and compare the colors to make sure they all match up. If they do, make sure the plug connector looks the same. If it does, just drop the new radio in and it should fire up right away.

[G-Rad]

Thanks man. Was already aware on how to detatch the harnass, but it's always nice to know people will take an extra step to help others.

I also tested his Alpine on a 300w PC power supply that I use for that purpose. It just kept tripping the PSU. I wired up my Xplod and it powerd right up. I'm assuming something's wrong somewhere in the wires or at the point of contact.. There's a wiring diagram on the top of the head unit, so I know which is which.

[kickass audio]

Hmm that is odd that it trips the PSU to turn off. When mine did that, i was either overloading it or shorting out the wire on purpose. If anything, see if you can detatch all the wires except the solid yellow (positive), solid black (ground), and the red (accessory turn on) wires. Connect the Yellow one to the yellow wire of your power supply (or just give it +12v of power), connect the solid black wire to the black wire of the power supply (or -12v of power), and connect the solid red wire off the radio to the yellow (positive +12v) wire you hooked up before. As soon as you power on the power supply the radio should turn on and show some life, if it doesnt then something internally is dead on it.

Sorry if you already tried just connecting only those 3 wires, just shooting out things to see if you can revive the radio for your friend.

[G-Rad]

know how to wire up a PSU radio. It powers my xplod just fine, but not the alpine. Looked at the harnass and it appears there's barewire at the contac point on the harnass. I bet, if anything, that will make things really unpleasant...