Jeff_M

Back in May, I decided to install a nice aftermarket stereo in my 4runner. Being that I was never completely impressed with the upgraded sound, combined with an expensive recent move out to Portland, OR, I decided to sell the aftermarket and return to stock. Unfortunately, I burned some bridges in the process. I had purchased a wiring harness from Crutchfield that let me connect the aftermarket receiver to the factory harness. I had my dash disassembled and was SO excited to put in a new Nakamichi head unit, when I realized that they had sent me the wrong harness. Not wanting to wait any longer, I cut the harness off (the one that plugs into the factory amplifier, which then connects to the CD/Tape factory receiver). This worked fine. Now that I want to put the factory unit back in, I am stuck! How can I connect these bare wires to the female input on the factory amplifier? (In case you haven't figured out, I lost the adapter that I cut off... Doh!!!). The daily commute is just plain AWFUL without tunes. If anyone can help, I will be incredibly grateful...

david in germany

I have seen some of the factory style harnesses on ebay but the next best choice would be to get one from a salvage yard toyota. most of the toyotas have the same plug from the vehical but the connection from the amp (if you have one) is different.
If you have problems getting one let me know I have 2 extras. Whenever I go to a salvage yard I always clip the ones off that have them (they are good for making custom power sorces, alarm connections, and manny other things)
David

Jeff_M

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the only connection between the factory amp and the factory receiver is the set of wires wrapped in yellow electrical tape with a male harnesss that plugs into the receiver. I can't find the pics I took with my digital camera at the moment, but I did find an auction on ebay which shows what I'm talking about:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=32815

Why are there 2 inputs on the back of the amp?

I also see an auction on ebay for a whole mess of harnesses. The only thing is it says 95-97 4runner compatible. Mine is a 98. Would this work?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2438683508

david in germany

sorry I can't view ebay from work other wise I would let you know.
Does your factory amp have a harness on it to connect to the stereo?

Jeff_M

Yes it does. It's comes out of the amp, and the wires are wrapped in yellow electrical tape. The wires end with a male harness that plugs into the CD/Tape receiver. The amp itself has two inputs for harnesses, but I seem to remember only having to use one of the inputs (they're different sizes). You'll see exactly what I mean when you look at the ebay auction. Do you have a harness that will plug into the amp? If so, I would be extremely happy to purchase this from you!!!

DuB

Just to make sure we're talking about the same thing, lemme see if I can figure this out. The adapater you normally buy is the one that plugs into the harness coming FROM the car, into the AMP. Cept yours was the wrong one, so you cut off the harness side plug and attached the headunit directly to the cut wires.

Well, luckily, it's not hard to fix. I think all toyotas use the same wire harness for stereos. If not, I know that all 3rd 4Runners do for sure. You can just go to a Good Guys, Circuit City, etc, tell them your problem, and they'll solder on a new one for about $20. My friend did the same on his Camry and had it fixed like that.

Oh, the second plug is for the rear speakers. The bigger one is for the front speakers and the headunit connections.

Jeff_M

I found the pics!!! This should make my problem a lot easier to understand...

This first picture is of the wires that used to have a male harness attached to the end. I'm not sure if there was one or two separate harnesses:




The second picture shows the back of the factory amp where the missing harness (or harnesses?) used to plug into:




This picture shows the wires that emerge from the amp, wrapped in yellow electrical tape and terminated with a male harness:




The last picture is of the back of the CD/Tape receiver. You can see that there are two inputs (one of which accepts the harness from the amp shown in the third picture). I still can't remember if the second input was ever used:



What you see here is what I have right now. I'm sure plenty of you have seen firsthand what I am talking about as I know of a few that have put their own stereos in a 3rd Gen. Any ideas of what I need?

david in germany

yes I have the one that plugs into the factory amp. you pay the shipping and I will send you one, it has about 2 inches of wire on the back. I don't know if I have the small one (it controlls the dimmer and rear speakers) but at least you will have the front 2 speaker and power. Send me your address.
David

Jeff_M

David, I sent you my address. If you can come through on this, I'll be so appreciative. As for that second input on the receiver, does this go unused? I'm almost positive that it does.

david in germany

I believe the second connection is for a CD changer but I am not sure. Make sure that you sodier the connections and use heat shrink so that they never ground out anything ( I hate butt connectors).
Hopefully I will get it in the mail tomorrow for you!
David

Jeff_M

Good and bad news. The good news is that the salvage yards out here actually have newer 4runners. I was able to pull the two harnesses that go into the amp out of a 99. The bad news is that now that I've spliced the harness onto the factory wires (easy to do, since all I had to do was match wire colors) and plugged everything in, the receiver won't power up. I'm hoping that it didn't somehow get ruined while being stored four a few months in the basement (I would be very surprised). Is there some kind of reset switch or funky procedure I should be doing in order to get the unit to power up?

david in germany

there is no reset that I can think of but if it is a theft deterent deck you will need to get the dealer to unlock it. doubble sceck your connections and then the fuses.
David

Jeff_M

So after hours of frustration yesterday, I decided to call it a day and start fresh this morning. I redid all the connections between the factory wiring and the harness I got from the salvage yard. Put my keys in the ignition so I could roll the windows down (nothing is worse than working on the stereo in a hot car), and to my amazement, a CD that I had left in the factory stereo emerged! Everything is working great now and I want to thank everyone for their help. Let this be a lesson to everyone:

DO NOT CUT INTO YOUR FACTORY WIRING!!! IT WILL COME BACK TO BITE YOU IN THE ASS, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!!!

David, you have been especially great, and your willingness to send me a new harness is an example of the amazing community at Yotatech. I'm off for a drive with my new (old!) stereo!!!