New Stereo - Advice please, how to re-wire?

[Aubrey]

Hi all, I've just bought a replacement head unit for my '97 Chimaera. I've pulled the old original Pioneer out, but the wiring is a real mess, no ISO either and lots of worrying looking black electrical tape

Any ideas where I should start? I've installed a few in my time, but not this bad. Or should I just take it to Carl Baker? I wonder what it might cost to install with him?

The unit I've bought does come with free fitting, but I'm not sure I want a Halfrauds monkey poking around in my car before I'd asked all your opinions. They probably don't come across them everyday!

Thanks very much, Aubrey

This is the current wiring



This is the new head unit, it does have an ISO loom too (not shown).

Edited by Aubrey on Sunday 20th January 20:29

[SS2.]

Aubrey said:

Any ideas where I should start?

Honestly ? Use the free fitting option, even if it is Halfords.

Aside from being experienced (yeah I know, I know), they'll have the correct tools, a multi-meter, proper connectors etc etc and will almost certainly tidy up the existing spaghetti for you.

Edited by SS2. on Sunday 20th January 20:39

[chimalsu]

let halfrauds do it they fitted one for me, not in my tiv,but in my 944,and did a good job.they will wire a new iso con in the car and make life easier in the future,point out thet the veneer is fragile and not to damage it

[Griffit]

FWIW, I think you'll find that Halfords will probably consider this a "non-standard installation" because they can't just plug in a few ready made connectors and fix the new cage in place. That means they'll probably want to charge you for the hassle of sorting out your wiring, maybe £25-£35? It's not that tough a job, though some of the insulation tape covered wires seem to run deep into the dash for some reason, which they probably shouldn't need to. You could entrust it to Halfords but vet the person doing it beforehand. If they look daunted by wires, tape and having to use a multimeter/test light I wouldn't let them near it - they'll either instantly know what to do or not, it's a reasonably simple task!

As the dash veneer is obviously fragile it may be worth looking at your existing cage and the new one. If the new unit is also a Pioneer you'll probably find that they're exactly the same, certainly all the Pioneer head units I've had in the last 10 years haven't been any different, which would negate the need to change the cage and thus jeopardise the veneer.

Edited by Griffit on Sunday 20th January 21:33

[Aubrey]

Hi thanks for that. The new head unit is one of Halfords own 'Ripspeed' jobs with the slidey DVD screen. So the cages will be different. With regards to the dash panel itself. I am planning to replace the dash with a Leven aluminium one in the next few weeks. Will this be do-able with the head unit in? Obviously I will have to remove the head unit, but what about the cage etc? Does this need to come out too? I'm thinking it might be easier to do the dash first?

This is the new unit:

Edited by Aubrey on Sunday 20th January 21:56

[Hoover.]

just had a new head unit put in mine.....

the wiring mess looked just like yours.......

I'll play about with most things, but wiring/elec

I took it to my local indie to install along with a list of other bits n pieces to do.

[T_Pot]

I would not let halfords fit it under any circumstance. my friends son used to work there, and there was no training given to fitters, they were simply asked if they have or could fit one and that was it. ive also heard too many story's about broken parts.


Also, sorry to upset you, but that stereo you bought wont fit your chim, when you open the screen, it will foul with the top left curve of the upper dash, meaning it will at best, be facing down. i know, as i fitted one like it to my chim, and had to sell it

[Ribol]

T_Pot said:

Also, sorry to upset you, but that stereo you bought wont fit your chim, when you open the screen, it will foul with the top left curve of the upper dash, meaning it will at best, be facing down. i know, as i fitted one like it to my chim, and had to sell it

It can still be done:

[T_Pot]

och, sorry not fussed on that spacer panel at all. but fair play for the thinking mate.

[Cider Andy]

The car has the later lighting/heater controls, so I'm presuming it originally had the stereo loom with ISO connectors. In which case, the wiring colours ought to be as follows. nb: there are two green wires, but one will be part of the distinct set of speaker leads, the other part of the distinct set of power leads.

RED: permanent +12V
GREEN: ignition switched +12V
BLACK: ground
RED/WHITE: +12V with vehicle lights on
THIN RED (going into aerial connector): power antenna

Speaker wiring:

Right rear: GREY/RED* and BLACK/GREY
Right front: GREY and GREY/BLACK
Left rear: GREEN/RED and BLACK/GREEN
Left front: GREEN and GREEN/BLACK

• notation: GREY/RED means a predominantly grey wire with a red stripe.

[Ribol]

T_Pot said:

och, sorry not fussed on that spacer panel at all. but fair play for the thinking mate.

Not ideal but nobody has spotted it shouldn't be there so far, so it can't be that obvious to someone not looking for it.

Once polished (solid ally) and then rubbed back down to lose the shine it matches the heater controls/gear knob finish perfectly and more to the point allows me to have the Satnav I wanted

[RumbleBee]

I had the same problem. I chopped off all the old connectors etc and fitted and ISO connector, makes it much tidier and a lot easier if I want to swap out the unit I have fitted. I tested for the 12V perm and switched wires. For the speaker wire I just stuck them all in to the wires that were the closest colour match. Was spot on.

[Aubrey]

Ah Ribol that was the picture I based my thinking on that my unit would fit. Of course I didn't notice the spacer bit, doh! Can I ask where you got it or had it made? And the cost? I'd love to get this unit fitted. Thanks.

[TheGriffalo]

If the Chimp is the same as the Griff you can buy a Landrover > ISO adapter for about a fiver. The adapter needs the pinouts changing and a small slot cutting in it with a junior hacksaw but it leaves you with an ISO car.

[Griffit]

Aubrey said:

Hi thanks for that. The new head unit is one of Halfords own 'Ripspeed' jobs with the slidey DVD screen. So the cages will be different. With regards to the dash panel itself. I am planning to replace the dash with a Leven aluminium one in the next few weeks. Will this be do-able with the head unit in? Obviously I will have to remove the head unit, but what about the cage etc? Does this need to come out too? I'm thinking it might be easier to do the dash first?

Well if you're planning on changing the dash panel anyway then personally I'd wait until then to fit the stereo. The whole stereo and cage need to come out to do that anyway so may as well do it then. With the dash top off you'll have access to all the wiring and be able to see what other nasties may lie within, it'll also be easier to fit the new ISO connector when you have better access.

Somebody has kindly given you the wiring colours so it should be a reasonably simple job to do as a set of new ISO plugs will also come with a colour code. It'll just be a matter of making the connections by whatever your preferred method is.

I've just removed the entire dashboard in my Griff (instruments and the leather section) using the instructions in the Bible and it was reasoably easy TBH. The Chim is meant to be much easier to do because the dash is in two parts so shouldn't be too daunting. Seems you might be needing a spacer of some sort to complete the installation though....

[Aubrey]

Griffit said:

Well if you're planning on changing the dash panel anyway then personally I'd wait until then to fit the stereo. The whole stereo and cage need to come out to do that anyway so may as well do it then. With the dash top off you'll have access to all the wiring and be able to see what other nasties may lie within, it'll also be easier to fit the new ISO connector when you have better access.

Somebody has kindly given you the wiring colours so it should be a reasonably simple job to do as a set of new ISO plugs will also come with a colour code. It'll just be a matter of making the connections by whatever your preferred method is.

I've just removed the entire dashboard in my Griff (instruments and the leather section) using the instructions in the Bible and it was reasoably easy TBH. The Chim is meant to be much easier to do because the dash is in two parts so shouldn't be too daunting. Seems you might be needing a spacer of some sort to complete the installation though....

Hi, yes I think thats probably the best option. I'm going to order a Leven dash now. Does anyone know where I can get one of those spacers? And how much?

UPDATE: Just spoken to Leven and they don't have any in stock at the moment, going to make some soon, but not for a month!!! Anyone PM me with one for sale? Thanks.

Edited by Aubrey on Monday 21st January 13:03

[Ribol]

Aubrey said:

Ah Ribol that was the picture I based my thinking on that my unit would fit. Of course I didn't notice the spacer bit, doh! Can I ask where you got it or had it made? And the cost? I'd love to get this unit fitted. Thanks.

I fitted the Satnav head unit with the dash top off and flipped it into the correct viewing position.
I then dropped the dash top back into position, lightly resting on the screen and worked out how much it needed to be lifted by to clear.
With my head unit that was 11.0mm, looking at yours it might be less (your screen slides from the middle).
I then bought a section of 12.5mm x 25.0mm solid ally 500mm long, cost £10 IIRC.
I cut it to length and also cut two V's into the back face to clear the studs (plenty of spare thread) that hold the top on.
To make it match the interior ally finish I polished it and then rubbed it down with various grades of W&D until the finish matched.
I positioned it where I felt it looked less obvious and stuck the ally in place with double sided underneath so it stays in place whenever I take the dash top off.

Like I said above, not ideal but I don't have a problem with it visually, most people don't even notice it
The ally came from a small shop in Lea Bridge Road, London but it is a standard size and should not take too much hunting down.

HTH

[Aubrey]

Thanks Ribol, do you have any more pictures of the spacer? Preferably one with the dash top off Is there anything else I should bear in mind? Having looked at your photo I think it looks very smart!! Any other clearance problems? Aubrey

[Ribol]

Aubrey said:

Thanks Ribol, do you have any more pictures of the spacer? Preferably one with the dash top off Is there anything else I should bear in mind? Having looked at your photo I think it looks very smart!! Any other clearance problems? Aubrey

I don't have any pics showing the spacer but it really is very easy to do as per instructions above. I don't know if you have ever had the dash top off before (not hard) but once you can do that the spacer part is a piece of cake.

The only other thing to consider is that depending how much you lift the hood by you might end up with a tiny gap (in only one place, top left) between the inside curve of the hood and the edge of the walnut/ally dash itself. Everywhere else it fits perfectly, on mine it is only visible if you look for it and again I don't have a problem with it.

[Aubrey]

Thanks Ribol, hmm decisions decisions! After a discussion with Carl Baker (very helpful btw!) I agree its not going to fit properly unless I use a spacer, which I think i want to avoid. I think I'll try and fit one of the smaller single DIN units with a build-in screen. I know JVC do these and they look quite smart, hopefully they will fit! If anyone can suggest a good single din head unit with built in screen I'd be grateful, I've seen a few on ebay too. Thanks for all your help.
Aubrey