I bought a double din stereo im trying to figure out the wire harness wire color. I have a 2006 mega cab the harness has 2 plugs trying to figure out what each wire is for.

 

Moving to the correct section.

 

Check out these two sites for help

www.facebook.com/CosmicCreationsAlbanyGA
www.the12volt.com

 

Do yourself a favor and purchase a wiring harness... it will plug right in and then you just need to match the colors to your aftermarket stereo... much easier... and allows you yo take the stereo out if you ever want to sell your truck...

 

2006 uses the CANBUS system. You cannot simply wire an aftermarket radio into the stock wiring. Part of the computer system resides in the stock radio. You will need a module/harness. If you have (and plan to use) the factory amplifier, or your truck came from the factory with navigation, you will need a instead.

 

Yes you can... you just lose a whole bunch of functions...... like the radio staying on until you open a door and some other stuff... you can google the other features that go through the CAN-BUS system...

 

No, you can't, simply. I didn't say it couldn't be done.

Of course it can be done, a radio is a pretty simple electrical system, but it is not a simple plug-in procedure like pre-CANBUS vehicles were, and you would be required to use circuits not meant for the radio system to accomplish the task. Not to mention the functionality you lose that was previously controlled by the radio (door chime, auto-off timer, etc). Is it worth it? Depends on how cheap you want to be, how much your time is worth and how proficient you are with wiring.

 

Trust me, all you need is 12v switched/constant, ground and speaker wires. It can be done but as said, of you want to keep all of your functions, then buy the high priced harness.

Its just a radio, unplugging it isnt going to make the truck stop running

 

I've installed hundreds of stereos in all kinds of cars ranging from Porches to old beat up Oldsmobiles...

You said "You cannot simply wire an aftermarket radio into the stock wiring."

I said you absolutely can... I'll clarify some more:

You CAN SIMPLY wire an aftermarket stereo to the OEM wiring without any issues, and if you do that YES you WILL lose some features like door-chimes, auto-timer, etc.

Some people really don't care about those features which is why companies like Directed Electronics/Metra and other brands make simple harnesses for cheap bastards like that...

I'm an Expert MECP certified technician and all through college I worked installing stereos, remote starts, speakers, subs/amps, I've even installed random things like turbo timers, interior/exterior lighting, and many many more things trust me when I tell you that it CAN be done.