I have a quick question. Im going to be installing a stereo in my junk tommorow, but the problem is, the factory yj stereo harness is trashed, due to the bastard theif who stole my last stereo. So, my question is, is it possible, in theory to extend the lines of the harness that plugs into the back of the stereo, and run the constant hot straight to the battery, then run the red ACC wire to an accessory fuse, so that the stereo came on when the key was turned on, and then ground the black wire to the jeep body... ?? Any reason why this would not work? Am I gonna be alright doing it this way, or should I chase wires and try to figure out what the problem is with the harness?
Scott

I had teh wires in my MJ strung similar to that.....but I only used radio shack decks and I averaged one every 2 weeks.

guess stringing the yellow and red to the starter solenoid wasn't teh best idea but hey, it was a hot power source for me. The interior electrics in the manche were FUBARed when I bought it....never did get teh dash ligths working, the factory radio harness had just been cut instead of using an afteramrket harness plug-in, etc.....

that will work fine. Or just use a light tester and find the power/ground wires from the old harness and tap in there.

Originally posted by mkbruin
I had teh wires in my MJ strung similar to that.....but I only used radio shack decks and I averaged one every 2 weeks.

guess stringing the yellow and red to the starter solenoid wasn't teh best idea but hey, it was a hot power source for me. The interior electrics in the manche were FUBARed when I bought it....never did get teh dash ligths working, the factory radio harness had just been cut instead of using an afteramrket harness plug-in, etc.....

Well, I don't plan on hooking up to the starter relay, this new one is a nice pioneer, that I don't want to have to replace every two weeks, although, I did spring for the big time bells and whistles warranty.... so if it did break, its returnable.. for the first 4 years at least.. :D
Scott

My problems weren't all power related. the dash was fubarred so there was no secure way to connect it....it just kinda floated in the space. I took a lot of washboard roads. it gets FAWKING HOT in the colorado summer in a black jeep with no a/c. the heat vents ran all around it. overheating all the time ( took a long time to upgrade to a 3 core) required the use of heat on full in the summer.

so between heat, bumps, and admitidly redneck-rigged wiring, a $30 deck isn't going to last long.

Originally posted by mkbruin
My problems weren't all power related. the dash was fubarred so there was no secure way to connect it....it just kinda floated in the space. I took a lot of washboard roads. it gets FAWKING HOT in the colorado summer in a black jeep with no a/c. the heat vents ran all around it. overheating all the time ( took a long time to upgrade to a 3 core) required the use of heat on full in the summer.

so between heat, bumps, and admitidly redneck-rigged wiring, a $30 deck isn't going to last long.

Got ya.. makes sense now...
I think I'll grab the test light at work tommorow and go pokin around to see what I can find, and if I don't find anything eventful, I'll just hardwire it :D
Scott

you got the warranty.......I say hardwire the fawker! :D the bitch (at least on the mj) was stringing the wires through the firewall where I drilled (had to pass through the duct for the wiper motors)

Originally posted by mkbruin
you got the warranty.......I say hardwire the fawker! :D the bitch (at least on the mj) was stringing the wires through the firewall where I drilled (had to pass through the duct for the wiper motors)

Well, passing the wires through the firewall aint nothing.. I got a big hole where my AC hookups used to go, back before I converted the ac compressor to oba.. so thats taken care of :D
Scott

It would probably be a good idea to put an inline fuse on the wire coming from the battery. Your cd player probably has at least one, and maybe two on the back of the unit, but it never hurts to have one on the wire as well.

Use a test light or DMM to ground to find constant (+) and keyed (+) Both constant and keyed need fuses, the constant should be fused as close to the battery as possible.

Then use a 9 volt battery on the speaker wires to determine which wires go to which speakers. Find matching color pairs (or just start guessing with two wires) and hold one wire down on one terminal and quickly tap the other wire over the other terminal. The corresponding speaker will create a static sound. A lot of the stereo systems use a constant ground for the independent front and rear channels so you can have the (-) mixed up, its the (+) that's going to determine Left and Right channels.

You might have another wire that provided a (+) remote turn-on source for option accesories like a power antenna or amp. If you do it won't be functional unless your new deck has one. (most newer decks have them)