Cant get aftermarket HU to power on

[Speadfreek]

Hey guys

I have installed many stereos, but cant seem to get this one right.

I have a 2004 Grand Prix. My HU is a Pioneer x3500ui.

I have connected all the speakers and ground.

The problem is it says to connect the Yellow wire from my HU (12v constant) to the Orange wire on the factor harness (12v constant). On the factory harness, there are two Orange wires, one thick and one thin. Which one is the constant 12v?

Another problem, where am i supposed to connect the 12v Switched wire? The factory harness doesnt have it.

I am wiring this with wire splicers to avoid the $150 harness the stereo shop wants me to use.

Am i right to think to radio will power on with the ground and 12v constant plugged in? Or does the switched also have to be plugged in? I have the switched wire connected to the passenger fuse box (12v switched) and im not getting any power at all to the HU. I have switched the splicer from one orange wire to the other and same thing. No power.

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[CSCStang]

Yellow is constant power

Red is switched power (acc)

Orange is illumination wire (optional)

These are the stereo harness wires btw.

For testing, tie the red and yellow together and give them power, should fire right up. When it does, run the red to an acc at the fuse box (off when the key is out). You can get the harness much cheaper at metraonline.com if you choose to do that.

 

[Speadfreek]

Got the HU to power on now. I had a bad ground. Went and got a volt checker and found it to be the ground.

Now ive got a new issue, which i find weird. I have NO sound coming from any speaker wether its radio or cd.

Any ideas?

And just so everyone knows, i checked the wires from the diagram and the factory diagram. I have the speakers hooked up right.

This is such a pain. Ive never had so many problems with a stereo in my life!

 

[CSCStang]

Grab a 9 volt battery and test out each speaker from the factory harness one at a time. Just tap the leads on the battery and see if they respond. If they do, then there's an issue with the hu. If they dont, you may have wires crossed.

 

[audiobaun 5,000+ posts]

You may very well have the external amplifier that came stock in several of those vehicles other than the built-in internal amplifier within the head unit,that was generally installed just under the dash as the connector from that went to the backside of the HU. Locate the external amplifier and cut away the existing speaker wires and splice to new HU.Ive always left existing wiring and installed fresh wiring from HU-speakers,or directly to new external amplifier,with 14-12 ga wiring

 

[negolien]

Grab a 9 volt battery and test out each speaker from the factory harness one at a time. Just tap the leads on the battery and see if they respond. If they do, then there's an issue with the hu. If they dont, you may have wires crossed.

Always nice to see helpful response nice job stang. Hope you fix your issue OP. Merry Christmas Eve fellas.

 

[Speadfreek]

I dont have a 9v battery on hand, but i did reconnect the stock HU and it worked fine. Each speaker was working.

This is the diagram i went by: 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix Car Stereo Wiring Diagram

And this is the diagram im going by with the aftermarket HU: Deh-x3500ui wiring diagram - Fixya

I have the red accessory wire from the HU spliced to a 12v switched in the passenger side fuse box. I have the ground from the HU bolted to a bolt on the frame behind the radio. I have the yellow 12v constant from the HU spliced into the orange wire on the factory harness. I dont have the remote turn on, illumination, and power attena wires from the HU plugged into anything. The colored speaker wires from the HU are spliced correctly according to the two above diagrams.

I checked my rear speaker deck and didnt find an amp anywhere. I do not have the monsoon system. When i plug my aftermarket HU into my old car, it works fine. What am i missing?! Lol. This is driving me crazy.

Also, these are the splicers im using: http://contentinfo.autozone.com/znetcs/product-info/en/US/drm/85495/image/3/

 

[Speadfreek]

Figured it out. Those wire splices im using are 18g. The splice wasnt able to go through the plastic wire coating on any speaker.