What wires do I need to connect a standard player to a 2001 Ford Focus? (I have pics)

[MarkF]

This is a complete noob question, so beg my pardon. I've been driving my 2001 Ford Focus around for 2 years without a stereo... I bought the car and the cd player was dead, never got around to fixing it because I had no clue what to do and didn't have the money to set it up. Recently someone gave me a cd player head unit thing with a 16 pin connector on the back, and as far as I'm aware it's the standard and has been for awhile. Problem is, my Ford Focus has these different connectors that I don't think are standard at all but I can't find a straight answer on what the heck they are and what I need to buy to connect A to B. The whole car audio thing is confusing and people are throwing terms around online that I can't follow. I just want to connect the wires from my car to the stereo and it to turn on and play music.... I don't care about radio or anything, just cd's.

Here's the wires coming from my car:

Here's the back of the stereo I want to plug it into:

What do I need to buy to connect these two? And is that all I theoretically need to do for it to turn on and play through my speakers (assuming they're connected correctly)?

Thanks, and apologies for my lack of knowledge on what I'm talking about.

Click to read more...

 

[Rza 10+ year member]

youre gonna need the wireharness for the headunit because there is no real way to know what is what coming out of the stereo without it. then you can buy a wiring kit for your car and you pretty much will connect color to color

 

[wew lad 5,000+ posts]

+1, look for a wiring harness specific to your vehicle.

you should be able to find a wiring diagram on google though, just look for something like "2001 ford focus headunit wiring" or something

 

[MarkF]

youre gonna need the wireharness for the headunit because there is no real way to know what is what coming out of the stereo without it. then you can buy a wiring kit for your car and you pretty much will connect color to color

Wha....What? I have to spend $90+ on something?? Just to figure out the next step in order to get it to work? *Puts car on Craigslist*

I honestly thought it would be an easy thing to do, but I can't read these wiring diagrams on Google. Thanks for the help guys.

Ps. If there's a way to rig it up ghetto style for cheap I'd be completely open to that. The car has 240k+ miles on it and is a piece of crap, probably gonna blow a gasket in 10 miles.

 

[supra1987]

Wha....What? I have to spend $90+ on something?? Just to figure out the next step in order to get it to work? *Puts car on Craigslist*
I honestly thought it would be an easy thing to do, but I can't read these wiring diagrams on Google. Thanks for the help guys.

Ps. If there's a way to rig it up ghetto style for cheap I'd be completely open to that. The car has 240k+ miles on it and is a piece of crap, probably gonna blow a gasket in 10 miles.

Both harnesses together will probaly cost 20-30.00 total if you search.

 

[sounds_explicit]

does that head unit have a connector from the back that has wires coming from it or no?

if not and its just a head unit without wires, youll need to buy the wire harness that came with the headunit and also a aftermarket wireharness to hook it up.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

the wire harness for the car is the Metra 70-1770. that will give you industry standard wire colors you can match up with the aftermarket radio. This should be a $10 harness available anywhere, including Walmart.

We cannot tell you what head unit harness you will need without a make and model number. head unit harnesses are specific to the year/make/model of head unit. you can usually look these up at Consumer Electronic Parts and Accessories at PacParts, Inc. or eBay. $20 or so is typical. This will not be sold at a local store and will need to be ordered.

you also need a mounting kit so it's not just sitting in a large hole. Metra 99-5806 will work as will Metra 99-5200. Walmart may also carry this, under $15.

you can also check out local junk yards and maybe get lucky if someone happened to leave a mounting kit and harness in the vehicle.

gotta pay to play, son.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

you'll also need wire strippers and crimp caps and electrical tape to make the necessary connections between the head unit harness and vehicle harness. this is what it should look like when you're done

 

[MarkF]

does that head unit have a connector from the back that has wires coming from it or no?
if not and its just a head unit without wires, youll need to buy the wire harness that came with the headunit and also a aftermarket wireharness to hook it up.

It has a white and a red wire coming from it kind of like RCA. Do I need to plug those into something too?

 

[MarkF]

the wire harness for the car is the Metra 70-1770. that will give you industry standard wire colors you can match up with the aftermarket radio. This should be a $10 harness available anywhere, including Walmart.
We cannot tell you what head unit harness you will need without a make and model number. head unit harnesses are specific to the year/make/model of head unit. you can usually look these up at Consumer Electronic Parts and Accessories at PacParts, Inc. or eBay. $20 or so is typical. This will not be sold at a local store and will need to be ordered.

you also need a mounting kit so it's not just sitting in a large hole. Metra 99-5806 will work as will Metra 99-5200. Walmart may also carry this, under $15.

you can also check out local junk yards and maybe get lucky if someone happened to leave a mounting kit and harness in the vehicle.

gotta pay to play, son.

Wow thanks I found the Metra 70-1770 on Amazon for $7 and a JVC KD-LH1000 harness for $7 as well. So that's the necessities of what I need? There are white and red RCA-looking female cables coming from the back of my head unit, they have a white thing around them saying "SUBWOOFER". Should I disregard those since I just want sound?

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

What if I got this for my cd player: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-SO-16-Pin-Wire-Harness/dp/B00450EX8Q

and this for my car:

http://www.amazon.com/Stereo-Harness-Focus-wiring-installation/dp/B000KL0M98

and then twisted the colors together?

Is that all I need? I'm just not sure because there's three wires coming from my car and this one only has 2. It also says things like "Will NOT work with BLAU-PUNKT SYSTEM" which I'm not sure if I have, I'll assume not.

It has a white and a red wire coming from it kind of like RCA. Do I need to plug those into something too?

if you got a Sony deck and that is the harness that is specific for your head unit, then yes. you just need two harnesses and combine the wires. don't just twist them. get some crimp caps and crimp them properly. twist and tape is a fire hazard and can damage the head unit.

you'll have to show a picture of the "white and red wire kind of like an RCA" for me to be sure of what it's for. what is the model number on the head unit?

--update--

excellent job looking up the head unit harness.

you don't need to use the wires labeled "subwoofer"

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

http://www.amazon.com/Install-Bay-CCL1614-Connector-100-Pack/dp/B000SBLM1C

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

add this to your christmas list

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EDSCFJE?psc=1

my youtube page has videos on making connections, link in sig.

 

[MarkF]

if you got a Sony deck and that is the harness that is specific for your head unit, then yes. you just need two harnesses and combine the wires. don't just twist them. get some crimp caps and crimp them properly. twist and tape is a fire hazard and can damage the head unit.
you'll have to show a picture of the "white and red wire kind of like an RCA" for me to be sure of what it's for. what is the model number on the head unit?

--update--

excellent job looking up the head unit harness.

you don't need to use the wires labeled "subwoofer"

Thank you so much! I knew it couldn't be all that difficult.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

Thank you so much! I knew it couldn't be all that difficult.

don't forget the mounting adapter!