im new to this website and i have an extremely puzzeling problem...
im trying to install an amp and sub system in my 2000 ram 1500 truck on my own but the stock stereo doesnt have rca inputs... i bought an rca adapter and took the dash apart but i was confronted with 14 wires of different colors. anyone know which ones are the right positive and neg. and the left positive and neg.... truck didnt come with an owners manual so i cant go there.

 

I moved your post to its own thread since it really didn't belong where you put it. I don't know of many factory radios that have RCA jacks on them. Most amplifiers will accept a speaker level input, but I don't know how you will drive that sub with a stock radio. Just isn't designed for it. Why would you spend the money on an amp and sub and then try to use them with the inferior stock radio? Even a cheap head unit will have RCA outputs and sub woofer preamp outputs. If you replace your stock radio you will need an install kit for the harness and it will come with a wiring diagram of all the factory wires and how to hook them up properly to the adapter harness. You could also buy a Haynes or Chilton manual. It will have wiring diagrams in it.

 

^Wiring diagrams are nice, but Ma Chrysler changed color codes year to year. IIRC, the solid color wires are usually your positive, and the matching color with a black chaser on it is usually the negative. This doesn't work all the time, so keep that in mind.

A fool proof method is to pull a speaker, and hook it up to a 9 volt battery. If you can determine which side of the plug makes the speaker push out when hooked to the positive side of the battery, then you found your positive lead.

In all honesty, you aren't going to be real impressed with the over all sound quality when you tap into speaker wire like that. It degrades big time.

 

Don't forget your filler plate as well, and Miami is right. Much easier to go with an aftermarket deck, as it will also allow you to adjust more settings (bass, mids, highs) and make you system perform to its fullest. And just to be honest if you dont know how to wire up a deck you probably shouldent be tackling a whole system on your own. I did my first system with a buddy of mine, he showed me the RIGHT way to wire a system up and I've been fine ever since. Good luck man. P.S. Miami, the deck isent really driving the sub (most are only about 35watt rms) but actually the amp and cap doing the work driving the sub/s. An aftermarket deck would just allow for a much more headache free install as well as a much more cleaner adjustable sound.

 

welcome to df. here's the answer to your question.
http://www.installdr.com/Harnesses/DCP-Wiring.pdf

make sure your sub project will fit into an overall plan for a good sound system and isn't wasted money. you'll probably not be happy with anything that still uses the stock radio.

 

Thanks dhvaughan, exactly what I was looking for. Damn I love this site. I don't like guessing when it comes to wiring.