Wiring a new Stereo.. oh god, need a hand
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Ya this is about my comfort level with electric stuff, It just sounds weird to me that a 6 year old vehicle has a harness to "plug n play" a stock radio, but I gotta jerry rig an aftermarket one in using the same harness. Alfons, I get the 2 power sources, I thought of it as one is memory, the other is the real power for its full operation, which in this case would be the red and yellow, which I believe I connected.
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Ya this is about my comfort level with electric stuff, It just sounds weird to me that a 6 year old vehicle has a harness to "plug n play" a stock radio, but I gotta jerry rig an aftermarket one in using the same harness. Alfons, I get the 2 power sources, I thought of it as one is memory, the other is the real power for its full operation, which in this case would be the red and yellow, which I believe I connected.
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Take that test light and throw it away, or at the very least, keep it far away from the Dakota. Test lights draw a fair bit of current and can potentially damage the sensitive computer controlled circuits that are used in many vehicles for the couple decades or so.
For the Dakota there are two types of radio harness adapters. There is the one you bought that has just wires, and there is another, much more expensive one that has a small module attached to it, to interpret the CAN BUS system in the vehicle and provide a common 12V trigger output, that aftermarket radios use.
The cigarette lighter in the '05 (at least, but I believe all the way to '10) are switched with the ignition key, and it a good place to connect the red accessory wire from the aftermarket radio to. Leave all other connections to the adapter harness.
The reason your Alpine radio has two yellow and two black wires is to provide power for the main radio, and also provide a separate source for the AI link (the changer/processor connector on the back of the radio chassis). Even if I'm not plugging in any accessories to that connection, I still connect the AI link power wires, it's just easy to do while connecting the rest of the wires. I also just tie them together with the other yellow and black wire from the radio, I have not found a reason to actually find a separate source for those wires yet.
For the Dakota there are two types of radio harness adapters. There is the one you bought that has just wires, and there is another, much more expensive one that has a small module attached to it, to interpret the CAN BUS system in the vehicle and provide a common 12V trigger output, that aftermarket radios use.
The cigarette lighter in the '05 (at least, but I believe all the way to '10) are switched with the ignition key, and it a good place to connect the red accessory wire from the aftermarket radio to. Leave all other connections to the adapter harness.
The reason your Alpine radio has two yellow and two black wires is to provide power for the main radio, and also provide a separate source for the AI link (the changer/processor connector on the back of the radio chassis). Even if I'm not plugging in any accessories to that connection, I still connect the AI link power wires, it's just easy to do while connecting the rest of the wires. I also just tie them together with the other yellow and black wire from the radio, I have not found a reason to actually find a separate source for those wires yet.
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It's been years since I did mine (probably the first mod I did back in 2005), but I do recall the one additional step I had to do to get the aftermarket radio to work was: Tap into the cigarette lighter for one of the power wires.
Now, since the cigarette lighter only works with the key in the "accessory" or "on" position, that tells me the one to splice into it was *not* the yellow "constant/battery", but the other one (should be red). Connect all the other wires as normal using the wiring harness, just don't connect the red to the harness...splice it in to the cigarette lighter hot instead. I also never had to run a separate ground.
Now, since the cigarette lighter only works with the key in the "accessory" or "on" position, that tells me the one to splice into it was *not* the yellow "constant/battery", but the other one (should be red). Connect all the other wires as normal using the wiring harness, just don't connect the red to the harness...splice it in to the cigarette lighter hot instead. I also never had to run a separate ground.
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For "today's" radios, you need 2 power sources to make it function the way it was designed to. You will need an "always hot" connection to keep the memory on the radio alive to save things like your clock and favorite station settings, and then you need the other power source that will make the rest of the radio work - this second like is a line that's active after the key is turned to the ON or ACC position. The radio installation guide should show you which wire needs to be "always hot" and which is switchable B+.
The cigarette lighter is normally a good candidate for an "always hot" connection - this isn't the case on all vehicles, my wife's car doesn't work this way, so I'd check the connection with the key OFF.
The other wire can come from any circuit that gives you +12 volts with the key in the ON or ACC positions - this happens to be most of the circuits. For this, you can use one of those "add-a-circuit" attachments that plugs into your fuse box and will hold the original fuse plus a second fuse for the new circuit - these are very simple to use since you don't need to chop up your existing wiring. If you take this route & use different wires for the 2 power feeds & if you have the after market adapter that connects the radio to the OEM radio connector, cut the 2 power wires on the after market adapter and spice the cigarette lighter wire and the new circuit wires there instead of cutting the OEM harness. At some point you might want the OEM harness as-is.
The cigarette lighter is normally a good candidate for an "always hot" connection - this isn't the case on all vehicles, my wife's car doesn't work this way, so I'd check the connection with the key OFF.
The other wire can come from any circuit that gives you +12 volts with the key in the ON or ACC positions - this happens to be most of the circuits. For this, you can use one of those "add-a-circuit" attachments that plugs into your fuse box and will hold the original fuse plus a second fuse for the new circuit - these are very simple to use since you don't need to chop up your existing wiring. If you take this route & use different wires for the 2 power feeds & if you have the after market adapter that connects the radio to the OEM radio connector, cut the 2 power wires on the after market adapter and spice the cigarette lighter wire and the new circuit wires there instead of cutting the OEM harness. At some point you might want the OEM harness as-is.
Cigarrette lighter on my 05 is Ignition not constant, Altho I hear its a simple swap of the fuse to change it.
My 05 had a Constant 12v on the factory harness, But I had to tie the radios Switched power to my Lighter outlet.
atm I dont have a 12v outlet
mine broke the clip that holds it in place and dodge cant find it... and by that I mean what it even is.
Last edited by Reject; Jan 1, 2012 at 01:24 PM.
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IMG_20120101_134337.jpg
so for an 05 dakota.. I need to tap into this visible wire here going to the blue(the power outlet) an attach that to my one Alpine red, rest comes from the harness as instructed? ...and if so, best way to do this?
so for an 05 dakota.. I need to tap into this visible wire here going to the blue(the power outlet) an attach that to my one Alpine red, rest comes from the harness as instructed? ...and if so, best way to do this?
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Can't beat crutchfield.com for taking the guesswork out of replacing the OEM audio equipment with any desired aftermarket system. Their adaptor harnesses and detailed installation instructions, along with expert tech assistance, make them my first choice. Good luck!
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SmackGoneWild, it appears that you've got some help from people with hands-on experience in the Dakota audio world, but if you're still looking for an "always hot" output, you can use one of those "add-a-circuit" devices plugged into the fuse 6 slot in the integrated power module (this is the fuse that protects the radio circuit). Here's a picture of the add-a-circuit unit, you can see the place for both fuses (the one for the original circuit and the one that will protect the new).
Add-a-Circuit-1.jpg
There are quite a few "always hot" points that you can use if you don't want that one - a multi-meter will show you with just a simple test.
Add-a-Circuit-1.jpg
There are quite a few "always hot" points that you can use if you don't want that one - a multi-meter will show you with just a simple test.