What are the color codes for stereo wires?

The right-front speaker wires are gray, left-front speakers are white, right-rear speakers are purple, and left-rear speakers are green. Ground wires are black, antenna wires are blue, and amplifier wires are blue with a white stripe.

Which wire is the 12V constant in car radio?

Basic Wiring: Yellow wire 12 volts constant. Red wire 12 volts ignition/accessory. Black wire ground.

Which wire is the power wire on a car radio?

The power wire coming from the stereo is usually red , and likely will connect to a red wire from the car.

What is the strongest way to connect wires?

Twisting the wires together and soldering is often the best method, but there are two ways of doing this. If possible, you should twist the wires in-line before soldering as this makes a stronger (and neater) join than twisting the ends together.

What happens if you wire a car stereo wrong?

Improperly wiring your car audio not only affects the quality of sound but also poses safety risks. Secured or insulated wires have the potential to cause short circuits and even damage your vehicle . It is crucial to take the time to wire your car sound system correctly just as you would, with any electronic device.

Do I have to connect the parking brake wire on my stereo?

In-dash video — tapping into the parking brake wire. If your new stereo has a touchscreen or video monitor, you will also need to connect a wire to your emergency/parking brake wire . This wire acts as a switch to turn on the video monitor when the parking brake is engaged.

Will car radio work if not grounded?

You must install the ground wire in your car's dashboard; otherwise, your car stereo will not work . Moreover, there is no harm behind installing it as it only serves safety purposes to prevent any electric shock.

Can you wire a radio straight to the battery?

Connect the radio to the battery by first clipping the alligator clip with the positive wires onto the battery's positive terminal, then clipping on the negative wire to the negative terminal. Turn on your car stereo to operate it.

How to find ground wire for car stereo?

If you can't locate the ground wire visually, use an ohmmeter . Just connect it to a known good ground, and then check each wire in the car stereo harness for continuity. The one that shows continuity is the ground. You can also check for the ground wire with a test light, although using an ohmmeter is preferred.

How to find ignition wire for stereo?

If the vehicle you are working on had a radio, the existing “ignition” wire in the radio wiring harness will probably be red . This is the easiest way to get an “ignition” wire. In an older vehicle, you can tap into the red wire of cigarette lighter.

What is the best way to connect automotive wires?

The best connection is a soldered union , but time and space constraints can prevent even the most meticulous mechanic from using it 100 percent of the time. A well-utilized crimp connection is strong and reliable for the majority of classic car electrical systems.

Does it matter which way you connect speaker wires?

If one of your speakers is wired up the wrong way it will be 'out of phase' . In other words it will be moving 'back and forth' while the other speaker is moving 'forth and back'. Your ears may not notice it but this results in the stereo seperation and sound quality not being as good as they could be.

How do you connect audio wires together?

One way is to twist speaker wires together and use electrical tape . However, tape wears out over time, and the smallest tug on the wires can separate the connection. The better option is an in-line electrical crimp connector (also known as a "butt" connector). Crimp connectors are durable, easy to use, and effective.

How to connect your new car stereo's wiring (2024)

How to connect your new car stereo's wiring (1)

Be sure your wire connections are solid

by Crutchfield's Robert Ferency-Viars

Oct 23, 2023

Installing a new stereo starts with connecting all the wires. There are good ways and bad ways to do the wiring. In this article, we'll show you how solder, tap, and crimp all the wires to ensure that your new stereo works right the first time.

The first step to installing a new car stereo is connecting the stereo's wiring harness to the adapter that will plug into your car. Making long-lasting, secure wire connections is of the utmost importance. By using one or more of the methods illustrated below, you can be sure that your connections will last for years to come—and that your new car stereo will work properly.

How to connect two wires

Most of your connections will require splicing the ends of two wires together. About a dozen times over. Below are what we consider to be the best ways to do this. Use the method that works best for you.

Soldering two wires

Soldering makes the most solid connection. Heat shrink tubing protects and insulates that connection. The task always starts with a wire stripper for removing insulation from the wire ends.

Using Posi-Products connectors

Posi-Products™ connectors are easy to attach and stay firmly in place. This is our favorite method because of the quality of the connectors and the simplicity of the technique.

Crimping wires

Crimping can create a reasonably solid connection. You'll need a crimping tool and crimp caps. The only potential drawback is that if the caps aren't crimped tight enough, they can shake loose. Give them a good tug before you install that stereo!

How to tap into existing wires

Sometimes you need to connect a new wire to the middle of an existing wire. This is called "tapping" the wire, and there are several different ways to safely and securely do it. Here are our three preferred methods. Your situation will help determine the best way to do it.

Tapping with Posi-Tap connectors

Just like their wire connectors, Posi-Tap connectors are easy to use to create a secure tap into another wire.

Tapping by soldering

Soldering is the old-school way to get the job done, and here's the trick for properly soldering a tapped connection.

Tapping with a T-splice (no solder)

T-splicing, also referred to as a "mechanical" splice, is the way to create a solid connection using only the wires themselves. Sometimes it's the only way to get the job done. It's also a good option to practice on a workbench.

Let us do it for you — Crutchfield ReadyHarness

For most cars, we offer the Crutchfield ReadyHarness™ service. We will take the harness from your new stereo and your vehicle specific adapter harness and professionally connect the two before we ship your new stereo. We'll let you know if this service is available for your car when you tell us what you drive and select a new stereo.

Meanwhile, you can learn more about the process in our ReadyHarness article. Keep in mind, you might still have to tap into a couple of wires in your car — we can't do that part in advance.

Install it like a pro

Facing those two bunches of wires can be intimidating, especially if this is your first installation. But the task really isn't that hard if you take your time and make your connections with care, one wire at a time. Before you know it, you'll have your new stereo installed and ready to rock.

If you run into a problem or get stuck – and if you purchased your gear from Crutchfield – give us a call and our tech support team will walk you through it.

Comments (59)

Please share your thoughts below.

Ken

Posted on 7/12/2024

Your instructions suck
Joseph Stall from Cville,TN

Posted on 7/6/2023

Hello - I am installing the JVC KW660BT into a 2017 Ford E450 based Motorhome. I followed the instructions given with my purchase. With the JVC, 2 wire adapters were included. I spliced both of them to the 70-5520 connector that you sent me. These 2 adaptors connect into the JVC KW660BT. So I have a JVC radio with the 2 included adapters from JVC, which plug into the JVC, spliced to the big 70-5520 as the new harness. When I remove the radio from the dash, there is one big connector that connects to the 70-5520 and then another connector. In other words, the old radio has 2 connectors, a big one and a small one. The big one is accounted for with the new wiring harness. What about the second connection out of the old radio? What do I do with that? Am I missing something here, like another connector??Thanks
Joe

Posted on 6/21/2023

Very disappointed in crutchfield i thought i could purchase the harnesses that would make it easy to change stereo in my mach 460 sound system. Info showing me how to twist wires together though thank you.
Gunnar Stevens

Posted on 5/15/2023

I was very disappointed to see that your Ready Harness service was using cheap auto parts store crimp fittings. I expected more from you. I'll most likely cut out the crimp fitting section of the harness and solder the fresh wire ends back together. I would think that since your videos on connecting wires feature three different methods and stating that soldering them then covering with shrink fit tubing is the best method that that would be the method employed. Your videos don't even address the method that you use which is prone to failure! Again I'm really disappointed and feel that my $25 was wasted.
James from Kingman

Posted on 4/21/2023

Don't get any sound
Mark

Posted on 3/2/2023

I paid for ready harness service yet I have to crimp wires - I thought that was supposed to be done for me. I cannot get the plastic coating to slide off of the reverse or Steering wheel remote input wires... ugh!
Bruce Vinal from Townsend

Posted on 12/8/2022

Got 4 pages telling me how to take the dash apart then basically "connect wires" even with the ready harness it's a nightmare. Help line was responsive and as helpful as they could be but I don't know enough about what I don't know to know what to ask.
Rowdy L Twogood from Colfax

Posted on 11/12/2022

I cannot figure out this parking brake thing with this stereo I cannot access anything on it. I really don't like the design the stereo sounds great but the parking brake things kind of stupid if I can't figure it out can I trade it in if I can't get it figured out
John Steinebach from Ontario Oregon

Posted on 2/23/2022

Great videos and information thank you
Jason Sallee from Grand Junction

Posted on 1/2/2022

Where is the video on how to hook up the extra wires like for your parking break and speed sensor for example?

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How to connect your new car stereo's wiring (2024)