radio wiring help - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

apell · 12-31-2007, 01:09 PM

Hi folks. Just found this site and it's great. I'm hoping somebody out there can give an audio dumbie some assisatnce. I just received a cd player for my 96 Camry. I went to put it in and discovered the wiring connector is different and that there are extra wires on the Camry harness. What to do? I tried to follow the installation instructions that came with the unit but got nowhere....It's hard to tell the + and - wires for the speakers, etc.
I would like to do this myself, but need some major help. I followed one thread here, but don't know what a Multimeter is, nor how to use one.
I have the standard radio/cassette unit A16406. Thanks. Oh, Rayray has a diagram, but don't know what OEM and Standard mean.
Again, I appreciate your help.
A

Heat · 12-31-2007, 01:16 PM

Did you buy a wiring harness for your car? If so, just take that harness and the harness coming out of your radio to your kitchen table and connect the two - some swear by soldering but I always use red butt connectors. If you do use butt connectors, make sure you are using a crimper (don't try to use pliers).

As far as positive and negative, positives will be solid while negatives will have a black or white line on them - both the positive and negative will be the same color.

OEM = original equipment manufacturer. That is, something from Toyota.

MrSo0h0o · 12-31-2007, 01:22 PM

you probably didnt get the wire harness. go to your local best buy or circuit city and ask for a wire harness for your 96 camry. they should have it in stock. once you get that, do what heat said above^ and just match the wires from the harness you bought to the harness in your car. the harness should also come with instructions as to what wires represent what, but it basically is matching up the same color wires.. once you get that, come back and post in the a/v and security forum and we can assist u some more

apell · 12-31-2007, 03:06 PM

Actually, the unit came with a wiring harness, but the number of wires is different from what is in the OEM (right?) from Toyota. Is there another coupling I should get to put between the two?
thnx.
a

Heat · 12-31-2007, 03:23 PM

When you removed the original radio you had to pull a plastic plug out of the back of the radio, right?

OK now, your new radio has a plastic piece that snaps into the back of the radio and has a bunch of wires coming out.

What you need is a separate wiring harness, one that plugs into the plug that you pulled out of the original radio. At this point you will have two sets of wires, just connect those wires. This wiring harness costs maybe $9 at Wal-Mart, or $15 at Circuit City / Best Buy.

If none of this makes sense, post a picture of what the inside of your radio cavity looks like in the car, and post a picture of the back of your new radio. Just use your digital camera and upload them at www.imageshack.us .

eddie926 · 12-31-2007, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by apell

Actually, the unit came with a wiring harness, but the number of wires is different from what is in the OEM (right?) from Toyota. Is there another coupling I should get to put between the two?
thnx.
a

The harness that comes with the unit has one end with a plug that plugs into the back of the unit, and the other end has raw wires. The adapter harness you buy has a plug on one end that plugs directly into your car harness and the other end is raw wires. You wire the raw end of the unit harness to the raw end of the adapter harness, then you can plug the unit directly into into the car harness.

apell · 12-31-2007, 04:01 PM

This sounds good. The information is very clear and helpful and doable. Thank you both. I'll let you know how it comes out.
A

apell · 01-06-2008, 02:44 PM

Thanks a lot to all who gave me help on getting this in. It works great.
The only problem now is that the plastic front dashboard panel I removed is too big to fit around the new stereo...Actually the stereo is a little wide and the opening isn't big enough. Can I just cut this with a razor saw to fit or is there a better solution. The panel ( on the right side as you look at it) is too wide by about 1/4".
Again, thanks alot!!
a

eddie926 · 01-06-2008, 04:19 PM

What stereo did you install? If it was a standard DIN size head unit, it should have fit fine with no trimming of any car panels.

Some pics might help.

apell · 01-06-2008, 04:35 PM

Hi there...It's a Roadmaster VR3 cd/mp3 Player. I used the original frame nd attempted to use different combination of holes, hoping it would allow the stereo's outside palstice fram to sit slightly forward, beyond the dashboard's front piece...No such luck. Here's the pic of the stereo from their site:

apell · 01-06-2008, 04:38 PM

sory about the typos...I'm typing dyslexic.

apell · 01-06-2008, 04:39 PM

Sorry, not "sory"

eddie926 · 01-06-2008, 05:20 PM

Well, I don't see anywhere on their site where it gives dimensions, but it kinda looks like a DIN sized unit.

Does the stereo itself not fit in the dash, or is it just the plastic trim ring from the stereo that doesn't fit?

With many stereos I've looked at, you can't use the trim ring that comes with it for the Camry.

apell · 01-07-2008, 06:10 AM

Thanks a lot. I'll check to see if it indeed is removable. THe manufacturer has a call number, also, in case of installation questions. I'll give them a call. I appreciate the input.
A

eddie926 · 01-07-2008, 07:56 AM

All the trim rings I've ever seen just snapped onto the unit with some built in plastic tabs. You should be able to just gently pop it off with a flat blade screw driver. Don't know anything about Roadmaster though. I can't imagine that it would be permanently attached though. The whole purpose of the trim ring is to install it after the stereo is installed to cover the gap between the factory trim and the stereo, i.e. the trim ring should go over top of the dash panel, not inside it.