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Stock stereo wiring...

58K views 51 replies 17 participants last post by  world4x4  
#1 · (Edited)
Hi. I'm pretty new here. I just bought my 02 Eclipse GS a week ago. Almost exactly a week ago.. lol Didn't even get to drive it home till Monday since the MVC was closed for the day already(damn saturday hours.. lol).

I bought this knowing i'd have some work to put into it. The sunroof switch does nothing.. The clock is out.. For the life of me, I can't get the rear view mirror lights to work(new bulbs and only checked fuses so far), fuel gauge light is out, shifting into 1st and reverse is crazy tough(waiting on master and slave cylinders to be shipped. Hoping that fixes thing there.) And my biggest gripe at the moment, is that I can't figure out how to get this stock radio working.

I plan to replace it with an aftermarket H/U eventually, but I want to focus on mechanical issues first. I bought this car through a used car dealer, who obviously knew nothing about the vehicle, but he did tell me that the guy before me had an aftermarket system in it already, but he took it out and threw the stock one back in.

At least he left all of the wiring. I've been doing searches all morning through Google and here and haven't quite come across what I'm looking for. All week, i've seen that the radio does have some power, but it doesn't actually turn on. The backlight comes on when the headlights are turned on, but that's about it. I figured the display might have been out, but the radio itself would work, but I called Mitsubishi and got the radio code and went through the whole hour long reset process and nothing worked.

I finally decided to look at the wiring at this point and realized there were two separate wiring connectors back there. I'm assuming that all of the wiring was separated for whatever unit that was in here previously, but I'm getting really really tired of driving an hour to and from work in silence. lol

If anyone may be able to help me figure out which of these wires is what so I can place them back into the main harness, i'd really really really appreciate it.

In the main connector, there is...
Green/White
Black/Yellow
Red/White
White/Black
Solid Pink?

Then the second has
Solid Red(Guessing this would be the main power?)
Solid Black(Guess the ground?)
Solid White
Solid Brown

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Edit: ok.. now i'm really confused.. I found a few places saying that the radio, dome lights(which I don't have, but i'd assume the rear view mirror would be the same), keyless entry, and in some of the cases, the sunroof were all connected somehow and people had issues when them all at once? I may have misread on that. I'm finding it slightly funny, because... That is pretty much the exact same thing i'm unable to figure out. I see that the clock doesn't work without the factory radio, which probably why that isn't working.. but yeah..

Also, I found that the fuse box under the hood has these for what i'm assuming are the radio and the dome light. They in some yellow casing that lets me lift to disconnected the fuses from the sockets, but not actually remove them to see if they're bad. This is getting to be a frustrating trial and error. Any one experience this before?
 
#2 · (Edited)
I guess this thread can partially be ignored.. Took some pliers and a bit of force, but I got those two fuses out. One of the two was definitely burnt out. I swapped it out. Suddenly my doors actually unlock without the key being in the ignition. I test my remote and it works. I throw the key in and start it up, the clock pod comes on, the radio comes on, rear view mirror light comes on, and my sunroof miraculously works, though I have to give it a bit of a nudge to open properly. I haven't tried it yet, but i'm assuming my cruise control will work now, too. Who knows what else that fixed... seriously.. one single tiny red 10amp fuse for all of that. That's crazy.

I lost most of my day between my computer and car frustrated.. but well worth it.. lol

I'm still not quite home free. The radio turns on and asked for the code, I entered it, but I still get no actual audio. Going to try a CD shortly to see if maybe it's the antenna that isn't working, but I figured it that were the case, i'd at least get some static. Instead i'm hearing nothing, as if it's not on.

I'm glad i'm at least a good step forward on this situation.

Edit: I guess i'll need to find a real CD, it's spitting the only burned disc I had laying around. Still no audio for AM/FM. I disconnected and reconnected the antenna cables with no luck. Any ideas?

Both burned and legit discs give and E 01 error and it ejects on it's own. Still no audio for AM/FM. Maybe the unit is just done for. Oh well. I got pretty much everything else working in the process of trying to get the radio to work.
 
#3 ·
glad to hear you got most of it fixed.

yes, that little yellow 'carrier' thing was for when the car was in transport--as far as i know, it is for all the interior accessories. i've blown mine so many times, i've dremeled the lower catch-tabs off of it to make it easier to pull out...

as far as what you've got so far, there could be a issue with the factory amp, being that you said you don't get any sound at all..

the amp should be located under the passenger seat if it is there, that'd be a good first thing to check for.

speaking of which, in your pictures, the black round cable off to the left is the one that sends the audio signal to the amp, as well as the remote signal, so that's also something to make sure is plugged in all the way on both ends.

you really ought to get static or something out of the deck if the amp is working- so if you're not getting that, it's very possibly a amp issue.
 
#4 ·
Yeah. I've plugged in everything there is to plug in. There was the larger wiring harness and the two other cables. I'm assuming one or both was for an antenna. There are no more connections on the radio itself to connect to, so unless there is something I'm not seeing, I think it was just the same wiring placed there whether there was an infinity system or not. Maybe I'm not seeing something though? There is definitely not even static and it rejected a normal CD. I'm leaning toward the unit just not being functional anymore.

How often have you had to replace that fuse? Is it something I should expect to happen regularly?

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#5 ·
Like soundman said, Check under the seat(or take it out) and see if all of those wires are connected and have power going to them.

If you need anything i have my stock double din stereo and 4 speakers with the stock amp

No, i have never blown that fuse once, they probably blew it when they took out the aftermarket equipment.
 
#6 ·
There is definitely something under the seat. Everything seems connected. I'll still have to take a meter to it and see if it's really working. I'm just going to get an aftermarket system going anyway. Am I going to have to run new wiring out to all of the speakers or something? or will it work to just use a normal aftermarket wiring harness as usual?
 
#9 ·
The two smaller black cables are connected, but the larger on on the left had nowhere to be plugged in that I saw.

I get absolutely no hiss or any sound from the radio even when trying to turn it up. Even with a bad antenna connection, it should still produce some sort of static or something. So, its somewhere between the head unit and I'm assuming what is under the seat is an amp.

I'm honestly hoping its just the head unit. Easily replaced. I'd rather not rewire everything to the speakers. Not right away, at least. I'm not entirely great with wiring. Not a lack of ability, just a lack of knowledge. I'm a quick study and have always wanted to learn. Was ways afraid I'd blow something up though. Lol

I know computers inside and out, but I'm afraid to wire up a car stereo system.. that's kinda funny, if you ask me. Lol

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#17 ·
Awesome.. after spending the last week looking for a replacement head unit I liked.. I only found two. One was a Dual and the other was their slightly "better" Axxera XDMA7800. They both has color changing faces and Bluetooth, but the Dual only had a 2 band EQ, while the Axxera had a 3 band.. I'm reading too many negative reviews about them jumping up to full volume randomly with no user input and just dying out a month or so in.. I've owned two Dual units in the past. Had both for years and they're still alive and kicking.

I'm thinking... I've been seeing more and more people use tablets instead. I've got a nexus 7 on order already. I my see if I could find a way to get that going in here instead. I know way more about computers than I do about cars though.(and no. I'm not the kid that says they can fix your computer and actually ends up breaking it.. lol I actually know what I'm doing. Just throwing that out there in case anyone needs help with something. Its the least I can do to help the people helping me with stuff I don't know.)

If I were to get that wiring kit, would there be a way for me to maybe get a half din EQ or something, connect the tablet to the EQ and then wire that out to the amp? I've been reading that may cause some excessive noise. Can anyone shed some light on a decent way to do this? Preferably on somewhat of a budget. Lol

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#18 ·
I know bumping posts in frowned upon, but i'm one of the people sitting at home with no power this week and i'd rather be working on this than sitting around in the cold... Lol

I got my Nexus 7 in the mail yesterday. It looks like it would be a nice and simple bit. Anyone have any ideas on how to get this thing running through the amp without going out and buying a full head unit that I likely wouldn't even use?

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#19 ·
You want to replace the OEM HU with the Nexus? If so, that's a good question. I would assume you would need a low level (speaker wire) line converter. Maybe a headphone jack to line converter (headphone jack to dual RCA cable and plug RCAs into a line converter? But then I think you would have to hack into the DIN cable to splice into the amp inputs... I forgot which wires are used for inputs on the OEM amp but others may have an easier method anyway. Regardless, you will likely lose fader, etc no matter what if your Nexus is only putting out 2 channel stereo.

If just playing the nexus through the HU then an FM modulator would definitely work.
 
#20 ·
The guy I bought the car from had aftermarket stuff in here and put the non-infinity head unit back in. So, I technically have nothing but a second back lit clock in my dash since I get no sound. I would assume that I could maybe just get the metra wiring harness mentioned a few posts up and just use the conversion plug given for the amp wire to RCA and I already have an RCA to 1/8" adaptor laying around.

Also, there are software EQ and faders for android, so I wouldn't really be losing any tweak factor, at least. That's why I decided on trying it. I guess, i'll just have to get the wiring harness and give it a try. If anyone knows of a proper way to go about this, stop me before I do something stupid. Lol

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#21 ·
You will still lose fader functionality. The Nexus output will only be 2 channels (right & left). Your headphone to RCA adapter only has 2 channels. You could use splitters to change it to 2 identical right channels and 2 identical left channels but fading would be impossible. Regardless, I think it would sound ok for a system that is basically the cost of the harness adapter (good call on that, I forgot that feeds signals to the amp).

Keep in mind you can probably get a HU with a line/aux input these days for well under $200. :dunno:
 
#22 ·
You will still lose fader functionality. The Nexus output will only be 2 channels (right & left). Your headphone to RCA adapter only has 2 channels. You could use splitters to change it to 2 identical right channels and 2 identical left channels but fading would be impossible. Regardless, I think it would sound ok for a system that is basically the cost of the harness adapter (good call on that, I forgot that feeds signals to the amp). Keep in mind you can probably get a HU with a line/aux input these days for well under $200. :dunno:
Yeah. That's true. I didn't consider the front and back situation. I rarely have more than one person in my car anyway. Maybe if I throw a crossover in the mix it could regain that? I'm not sure if they give that much control or not.

I ready set up Google Voice and Groove IP on this thing yesterday so I can officially use it to make and receive calls. Maybe a bluetooth mic on the visor would take care of the integrated mic being covered by the dash. Hoping to find a small piece of sheet metal to lay across the stereo opening, maybe line it with some clothes or felt so it doesn't scrape up the tablet. Glue a bit more around the edges of the dash opening so it wouldn't cut into the screen. It's easy enough to remove that section of the dash to remove the tablet as needed.

Another way to go would be to buy a case for the tablet and throw some vecro on the case and dash. Would be messier with all the wires out front, but easier to place and remove. I'm going to order the harness tonight and I should hopefully have it sometime through the week. None of the last local shops have it on their websites and with the gas situation here, I'm not going anywhere I don't need to. Lol work and home. I still see people out there getting their hair and nails done. It's crazy.

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#23 ·
Ok.. So, I bought the wiring harness, two double female to single male RCA cables to bring the four channels down to two. Then a dual female RCA to single female 3.5mm, and a 3.5mm patch cable with one angled tip to make it hopefully make it easier to fit behind the dash. Hopefully this works out. Got it all through amazon. Hopefully i will get it by the end of the week.

I'll report back on how it works out. I'm still open to other suggested methods.

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#47 ·
I had a question about which wiring harness you used. I keep seeing mention of the metra 70-7003 which does not look like a plug and play for what you pictured and what I have. Same exact layout for me and your post has me terrified to try splicing the wires and running them myself. Lol. Please advise?
 
#24 ·
I finally got all of the stuff I ordered today. It all came in three different packages from different places.. Wiring harness came last... figured.. lol

So, I connected the part for the amp, and went down the line with adapters and whatnot. No dice. I blew that fuse somewhere along the way because I forgot to pull it before messing with stuff, but yeah.. I still get no audio after replacing it.

I figured maybe the amp needed some sort of signal from a head unit to power on, so I reconnected the head unit that was in there and kept the RCA plugs connected to my phone for the audio signal. That didn't work either.. So, i'm pretty stumped.

It's not entirely a waste, since i'd need the wiring harness for a new head unit if I have no choice but to go that route, but i'm really hoping that I don't have to.

There is still that other connector with the 4 wires that I feel should be connected to something, but there is nothing on the metra harness for it. Anyone care to weigh in?
 
#25 · (Edited)
Anyone? I really figured this would work. My only thought it that maybe the amplifier isn't getting any power? I still haven't managed to find a proper wiring diagram for this stuff, so I have no clue which wire does what.

At this point, I'm concerned even a new head unit wouldn't even work.

EDIT: Ok.. So I was right about there no being power to the amp. I figured it'd be one of the two red wires so I tried them both. I now have audio, but obviously no ground. So there is a lot of static and humming and I haven't even started the car yet entirely. Lol Blew the fuse being stupid trying to figure out which it was. Anyone know which it is? The wiring diagrams I keep finding don't have the same color scheme as what I have, so i'm either looking in the wrong place or the diagrams are for another year. Or the guy before me changed the wiring entirely.

Edit #2: figured out another issue.. the amp doesn't shut off with the key being off. Glad I noticed before it drained my battery. I pulled out the whole stereo and tray housing and brackets and am just leaving the open hole for now. I am not very savvy when it comes to wiring this stuff. I'm actually surprised I managed as much as I did so far. Any help on how to proceed would be appreciated. Until I figure out the power issue, I guess I'll have to hope I remember to disconnect things when I get out of the car.

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#26 ·
sorry, haven't been checking on this thread much..

you're probably better starting to look over on a forum like mp3car for generic help with integrating things like the nexus into the car. it's a generally foreign topic to most car audio people. luckily, i run a car pc ;) (and i love showing it off to car audio buffs because they all get confused real easy when you take away the head unit :lol:)

like mark said, you're going to loose fade controls. there just no getting around it without additional hardware, but going 'headless' and keeping that functionality is completely possible as well if needed.

but otherwise, it's a relatively painless process to get everything to work together.

you still need the mitah adapter talked about before, but for different reasons.

you really only need to connect 2 wires-- the 'acc' line from the rectangular plug, and the single blue wire that is part of the round plug that has the rca connections.

connecting those 2 wires will get the amp to turn on whenever the car is turned on, and will turn it off as soon as the car is off.


but that only handles the amp, so if you're interested in adding a charging circuit to the nexus to keep it in the car, then you'll need the same wire off the rectangular plug, and also need to add a ground to it. that will just make the nexus charge whenever the car is running.

which also has the nice side-effect of allowing plugin's to tell the ignition state, so you can have it auto-lock, auto-turn-on, and other cool features.. unfortunately, that is about all i know about it-- i know that the feature-set exists, as i have seen guys on mp3car talk about it's use, but i don't know any of the specifics about it because tablet installation has never been a focus of mine..
 
#27 ·
Thanks for answering. So, I should be using the acc wire instead of the constant power then? Or am I misunderstanding.. either way, I guess I could always throw a switch under the dash and chain in so the switch cuts the power as needed.

The humming was only an issue until I actually had the nexus plugged in. Once it was connected, it disappeared.

Its not a huge deal to lose the fade at the moment. Any sound is better than the silence I've had. Lol for the moment, i'm happy enough as it is. I just don't want to "permanently" mount the tablet before getting the power to cut off on its own.

I temporarily just pulled the USB cable from my normal phone charger up behind the HVAC controls since that already turns on and off with the car. I have the second jack inside of the center console/armrest if I really need to charge anything else.

I'll check out the other site you mentioned if you think others there have done similar things. Thanks for letting me know it existed. Lol

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#28 ·
yes, definitely use the acc wire instead of the constant wire. there's no reason to ever need to keep the amp turned on if the car's not on. you could add a switch to connect the constant wire to the amp if you really want to listen to music without the car keys, but i've got a switch like that, and i don't use it all that much..

yeah, mp3car is a great little place for all the nerds that don't want to keep pc's out of their cars :lol: it's been a little dead over there lately, but there has been plenty of successful android/nexus/tablet builds completed, so there's plenty of resources for somebody just getting into it.

once you've got it all installed, and if you ever get bored, take it to a local car audio shop and tell them what you're running. it's great entertainment, at least for me!
 
#29 ·
once you've got it all installed, and if you ever get bored, take it to a local car audio shop and tell them what you're running. it's great entertainment, at least for me!
:lmfao:
Do you ever roll past a BestBuy install bay and ask them if they can take a quick look at a problem you're having just to troll them?
 
#30 ·
i used to try, but it's like trying to talk to a monkey. as soon as i say '12db/oct crossover', their eye's usually glaze over...

i once tried to ask a guy if he knew anything about alpines IMprint system.. it took him almost a hour to come back with anything, and by then i knew more then him by reading over his shoulder....
 
#31 ·
I tried switching the blue power wire to the to the Red Acc wire on the other part of the wiring harness and it wasn't getting any power that way with or without the car running. The closest I came was using the dimmer wire and it powered on and off with the headlights.

also, I found that the HVAC controls kinda get in the way of mounting the tablet.. Currently, it sits on that and leaves it a bit higher so, the top of the screen gets cut off a tad while the lower shows some tablet bezel.. not sure if I want to cut into the plastic or not just yet. I want to get the wiring down first.
 
#35 ·
Yeah.. I suppose a meter would be the smart way to go.. lol I'll have to pick one up sometime this week. I did already try all of the wires accessible from the wiring harness though. The yellow wire was the constant(which I'm currently using and just disconnecting the harness when I get out of the car), the red says ignition, I think. There were only two others. One was for power antenna and the other was for a dimmer. Connecting to the dimmer wire worked when the headlights were on, but that was it. Constant or dimmer. Nothing else gave power that I could tell.

Lol.. autocorrect makes fools of us all at one time or another.

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#33 ·
I maybe misunderstanding this whole conversation here but if your having problem finding a acc wire all you need to do is find a account wire under your dash go to your local parts store buy a tee wiring connector and a male spade connector the same gauge as the wire you plan to use and there's ur account wire for your amp turns off when car is off and on when key is turned to access or run as for ground most cars have random "grounding" points throughout the dash
 
#39 · (Edited)
OK. So instead of going crazy trying to figure out why the ignition wire had no power, I hit the fuse box with a test light and went through the spots that had no fuses but still had contacts. Found one that turns off and on with the car and connected wire to a fuse and popped it in there.

That takes care of that.. Lol I should have just done that from the start but I was trying to keep things clean. Now to figure out a proper way to mount the tablet, but I guess that's a new topic of its own..

I've kinda been wedging it in between the HVAC controls and the air vents, but three issues there.. First, it sits up too high, so part of the screen is slightly covered. Second, doing it that way only allows for one angle and its not the right one. It leans too far back and leaves space at then top and sides, which means reaching a tad further for the notification bar and whatnot. Third, and most most annoying, its just not stable. There is nothing really holding it there, so a decent bump or misjudging space and tapping the screen too hard by mistake tips it over and.. Yeah.. Lol

I already set it to keep the screen on when connected to power, and then shut off after 15 seconds with no power. Going to have to figure anyway to script the audio to stop when power is cut so it doesn't continue playing for no reason. Maybe play when power is reconnected. Not a huge deal. I could just hit stop.. Lol I'm not lazy.

Proper mounting is my main focus. I can't drill into anything since its thin to begin with. This is how it's going currently, at least.

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