I reinstalled my aftermarket radio, having some issues (plugs, buy, battery)

[topher5150]

I bought a 2001 Nissan Xterra earlier this year, and have been having issues with the aftermarket head unit, and subs that came with the car due to the half-arsed installation (wires were literally twisted together and loosely wrapped in electrical tape) So I re connected everything with wire couplings and everything sounds great now except I'm having a few issues, they are as follows

1. The dash won't lite up. It always lit up before I took the head unit out, and there is no hook up in the aftermarket wiring harness for it.

2. I thought the head unit had died on me, and wanted to re install the factory radio so I manually ejected the cd from the unit and now it won't let me put cd's in.

3. The radio completely resets it self every time I turn the car off, all presets etc. are gone. I'm wondering if this has anything to do with the wire in the pic below

This pic is from under the dash on the left side of the steering column.

[Nlambert]

Couple of things that you could check.


1.) Is the 12v constant wire (typically yellow) connected. This is your radio memory. It must also be connected to a power source or it will reset every time you cycle the key.

2.) Did you connect the illumination wire from the head unit? It's typically orange. If so, disconnect it and your dash lights may come back on.


Those two things may correct the issues you're having. Also, make sure you have a good ground. My aftermarket HU gave me fits until I ran a ground wire to the chassis.

[topher5150]

Originally Posted by Nlambert

Couple of things that you could check.


1.) Is the 12v constant wire (typically yellow) connected. This is your radio memory. It must also be connected to a power source or it will reset every time you cycle the key.

2.) Did you connect the illumination wire from the head unit? It's typically orange. If so, disconnect it and your dash lights may come back on.


Those two things may correct the issues you're having. Also, make sure you have a good ground. My aftermarket HU gave me fits until I ran a ground wire to the chassis.

1. I connected the HU yellow (Batt.) wire to the factory red/yellow 12v, and the HU Red acc. to the factory Green/Red wire

2. the after market harness doesn't have a illumination hook up, it's not connected to anything, I'm wondering if there's a blown fuse somewhere

I did run a ground to the dash frame work

[hoffdano]

I suggest you find a copy of the owners manual for the headunit so you know exactly what wire does what.

Every headunit has a wire that needs 12V constant power. That preserves the clock, radio presets, and any other important settings.

There is also usually an illumination wire. This allows the radio lights to dim with with the dash lights.

If the dash lights don't work then I suspect a tap into the car's dash light wire is now "open". A bad splice could cause this.

Don't bother with the functions that work (like speaker connections). Focus on switched power, constant power, and the illumination lead.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by topher5150

1. I connected the HU yellow (Batt.) wire to the factory red/yellow 12v, and the HU Red acc. to the factory Green/Red wire

2. the after market harness doesn't have a illumination hook up, it's not connected to anything, I'm wondering if there's a blown fuse somewhere

I did run a ground to the dash frame work

Your splice on the HU yellow might not be good. Also verify with a voltmeter that the wire is actually 12V with the ignition off.

[Nlambert]

So is there no wiring adapter used? It sounds like the wiring is spliced into the factory wiring. If so that may be a bit more of a headache as it's the wrong way to do it.

The aftermarket harness will have an illumination wire in it. They all do. You may have to figure out the color coding (although every one I've dealt with has been orange, that may not be the case here) but you need to figure out which one it is and remove it.

Did you cut the factory harness or did the original owner?

[MckinneyOwnr]

Originally Posted by Nlambert

So is there no wiring adapter used? It sounds like the wiring is spliced into the factory wiring. If so that may be a bit more of a headache as it's the wrong way to do it.

The aftermarket harness will have an illumination wire in it. They all do. You may have to figure out the color coding (although every one I've dealt with has been orange, that may not be the case here) but you need to figure out which one it is and remove it.

Did you cut the factory harness or did the original owner?

This. You know your stuff. Every aftermarket radio wiring harness I've ever put in over the last 20+ years has an orange (sometimes with white stripe) illumination wire.

OP, you really need to get a wiring diagram for the car, otherwise you're just shooting in the dark as to what wires have what function. Sometimes the aftermarket wiring harness will not have the correct pinouts to match the stock setup, it happens. What radio model is it?

[topher5150]

I found the Pioneer wiring diagram
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pi...tionManual.pdf
Yellow to the battery
Red to acc.
Black ground
white wires front left
green wires rear left
gray wires front right
violet wires rear right
blue white to sub amp
I went off of the wiring diagram from Nissan from the beginning
I bought this car with this radio installed the jack wagon who installed chopped the factory harness off and half aresed "hard wired" together. I'm just trying to the damn thing working again.

[hoffdano]

That HU does not have an illumination lead.

If your dash lights don't work then there is something else wrong. It could be that the previous owner tapped into the dash lighting wiring somehow and now that wiring is not intact. Or a fuse is blown.

If the HU loses its settings when the ignition is off then the yellow lead is not connected to a 12V constant source or the splice is not good.

There is nothing per se wrong with using tapcon connectors. Be sure the connectors are appropriate to the gauge of the wire being tapped. If the tapcon is for a larger wire it may not fully penetrate the wiring insulation.

That blue wire is a remote turn on lead. It goes +12V when the HU is turned on.

[Nlambert]

Originally Posted by topher5150

I found the Pioneer wiring diagram
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pi...tionManual.pdf
Yellow to the battery
Red to acc.
Black ground
white wires front left
green wires rear left
gray wires front right
violet wires rear right
blue white to sub amp
I went off of the wiring diagram from Nissan from the beginning
I bought this car with this radio installed the jack wagon who installed chopped the factory harness off and half aresed "hard wired" together. I'm just trying to the damn thing working again.

You may benefit from finding the factory connectors and splicing them back in and going from there. You can buy them on Amazon for a few bucks. This will save you a lot of headache. Then buy the aftermarket wiring kit for another few bucks. You could probably pick up both for under $20-25.

If there is no illumination wire (which I find peculiar, but I guess it doesn't have one) then the dash light issue is likely a short or a popped fuse. But if it's a popped fuse, that could have been caused by a short so you still need to check on that.


Here's the factory plugs: http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-Revers...+xterra+wiring


Here's the aftermarket harness you need: http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-Wiring...+xterra+wiring