Wiring problem.

[MoreMogilny]

Hi everyone,

So this is my first post here, and let me preface this by saying that anything car related is not my forte. So if i seem kind of clueless, it is because i am, but i'm trying to learn. Also, i'm sorry if i'm not supposed to post this kind of thing here, just looking for some answers.

OK, so down to business. A little while ago i bought my first car. It is a Kia Rio (2005). From the moment i got it, the radio has never worked. It has been frusturating me lately, because i hate driving in such silence all the time. Anyways, it seems to me that the previous owner had a custom system in the car, seeing as there are still existing wires in the car and trunk that look like they used to connect to speakers.

So i took off the radio covering, and pulled it out. What i found was: The antenna cable connected to the back of the radio. That seems fine. Then a black and blue wire, about the same size as the antenna one, but it was neither connected to the radio, or anything within the car. It was just loose back there, and i don't know what it is for. I'm not sure if that would be the ground wire? Or the power supply? Then the wiring harness. It seems like it has been sliced previously, because each wire on the harness is now taped back together.

Now, i don't know if i am in over my head here or not. I'm sure if someone knew what i was talking about, and knew how to fix it, and could relay that to me, i would be able to follow instructions to fix it. I am a college student, so i would like to try and fix it myself, instead of spending an outrageous amount for someone to do it for me.

I'll also note that my interior lights, and glove box lights don't work. I'm pretty sure that the stereo wiring harness in my car controls those too. I called a Kia dealership to find out, and the harness itself is over $700.00, and i was recommended to just fix it instead of buying a new one.

Any help would be extremely appreciated!

Also, i don't have a camera right now to take a picture of it all, but the radio looks like this: 03-05 KIA RIO RADIO CD PLAYER: eBay Motors (item 360315826397 end time Nov-08-10 17:08:45 PST) Had to find it on ebay to get a picture.

Click to read more...

 

[1rockford1 5,000+ posts]

see if u can get camara take a few pics of whats goin on back there and im sure u will get the help your looking for.

 

[MoreMogilny]

Ok, so here are some pictures. I used my phone's camera, so i'm sorry if the quality isn't too good.

All of the wires

Antenna cable

Mysterious ground or power supply?

Back of the radio

Wiring Harness

 

[xoutofmyheadx 10+ year member]

if it's a ground, it sure is a thick ground wire for stock. so it's the only wire not hooked up? every other wire in the harness is? it's not power wire, it's never that color. you might want to check the fuses. for whatever the reason they spliced into the harness like that they could have easily blown a fuse.

that wire is all by itself? looks like from the pic. stock ground is never ran alone either. my guess it has nothin todo with the radio.

 

[xoutofmyheadx 10+ year member]

is that a connecter end in the center of the radio? that could be what's it for, but i've never seen a stock ground it like that before.

 

[MoreMogilny]

if it's a ground, it sure is a thick ground wire for stock. so it's the only wire not hooked up? every other wire in the harness is? it's not power wire, it's never that color. you might want to check the fuses. for whatever the reason they spliced into the harness like that they could have easily blown a fuse. that wire is all by itself? looks like from the pic. stock ground is never ran alone either. my guess it has nothin todo with the radio.

Yeah, that wire is the only one not hooked up, all the other ones in the harness are. I checked the fuses a while ago, and they were all fine, so that wasn't the problem. I'll double check that though. And yeah the wire is all by itself, not attached to anything at all, it was just laying in behind the radio, and i thought it might have something to do with it. Oh and also, on the back of that radio, you can see in the picture is a black knob, and here it is closer up

Would that be where the ground should be? I'm just not sure what that is for.

 

[xoutofmyheadx 10+ year member]

well the black knob is just a rubber piece. that stud is usually made for ground and mounting of aftermarket radios. but just by looking at it, i'd guess that the wire is to ground it to that spot and whoever did it, didn't crimp the connecter well at all and that it just poped out. usually ground is just in the wiring harness so this is different.

 

[MoreMogilny]

well the black knob is just a rubber piece. that stud is usually made for ground and mounting of aftermarket radios. but just by looking at it, i'd guess that the wire is to ground it to that spot and whoever did it, didn't crimp the connecter well at all and that it just poped out. usually ground is just in the wiring harness so this is different.

Thanks for the input, i really appreciate it. Does anyone have a recommendation as to what i should do here? Maybe just take it to a shop and have them do it instead of messing around myself?

 

[ColterDC 10+ year member]

My guess is that the guy who owned it before or the dealer that took the car in on trade didn't reconnect everything on the stock harness correctly. I'd agree that that extra black wire is probably the ground from the old stereo. You could always trace it and see where it's running to.

If you don't know alot about cars or wiring, I'd have to say that you might need to take it to a shop. Honestly I could probably figure it all out, but it would take awhile and I have years of experience.

If you do want to attempt to do it yourself, I'd start with;

1.Tracing and removing all the "extra" wires left over from the previous system. Never know if there's some leftover power wire flopping around somewhere, just waiting to short out.

2. Find a wiring guide online for your car and check all the connections in that harness. Hard to tell from your photos, but it doesn't even look like all the colors are matched up correctly and even if they are whoever did that just used electrical tape instead of the proper connectors, so some of those wires may have come loose inside the tape.

3. As someone else mentioned, check all your fuses, just to see if any are blown.

In terms of your stereo, ignoring your non-functioning lights, It might be easier to just toss the stock radio and get yourself an aftermarket deck for cheap and wire your own stuff from scratch. It is also possible that the deck is a POS and doesn't work, it's also possible that the prior owner replaced the stock speakers and then removed his aftermarket speakers before trading it in. Are the stock speakers even in the car?

 

[ace_800 5,000+ posts]

Can't tell if there is a ground in the wiring harness. The rubber piece in the last pic, is that a wire connector attached? I bet you that thicker wire is the ground. I've seen some 02+ cars with a seperate ground.

 

[MoreMogilny]

My guess is that the guy who owned it before or the dealer that took the car in on trade didn't reconnect everything on the stock harness correctly. I'd agree that that extra black wire is probably the ground from the old stereo. You could always trace it and see where it's running to.
If you don't know alot about cars or wiring, I'd have to say that you might need to take it to a shop. Honestly I could probably figure it all out, but it would take awhile and I have years of experience.

If you do want to attempt to do it yourself, I'd start with;

1.Tracing and removing all the "extra" wires left over from the previous system. Never know if there's some leftover power wire flopping around somewhere, just waiting to short out.

2. Find a wiring guide online for your car and check all the connections in that harness. Hard to tell from your photos, but it doesn't even look like all the colors are matched up correctly and even if they are whoever did that just used electrical tape instead of the proper connectors, so some of those wires may have come loose inside the tape.

3. As someone else mentioned, check all your fuses, just to see if any are blown.

In terms of your stereo, ignoring your non-functioning lights, It might be easier to just toss the stock radio and get yourself an aftermarket deck for cheap and wire your own stuff from scratch. It is also possible that the deck is a POS and doesn't work, it's also possible that the prior owner replaced the stock speakers and then removed his aftermarket speakers before trading it in. Are the stock speakers even in the car?

I have two of the same deck, i was given one from another Kia that was assured to me would work, and it doesn't work when hooked up either.

As for the speakers, i don't know. That kind of worries me because i don't want to have to buy all new speakers, don't really have the cash for that. I guess ill try and have a look to see if there are still speakers in the car, i sure hope they are.

Thanks for the post, ill try all of what you said to see if i can make any progress with this.

 

[nineball 10+ year member]

Can't tell if there is a ground in the wiring harness. The rubber piece in the last pic, is that a wire connector attached? I bet you that thicker wire is the ground. I've seen some 02+ cars with a seperate ground.

i agree. the ground post on the back of the unit has an empty ring terminal. i bet if you connect the harness and just touch that black wire to the post it may work. if so you just need a new ring terminal and you will be set.

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

Car Radio Battery Constant 12v+ Wire: Yellow/Blue

Car Radio Accessory Switched 12v+ Wire: Brown/Red

Car Radio Ground Wire: Black

Car Radio Illumination Wire: Blue/Black

Car Stereo Dimmer Wire: N/A

Car Stereo Antenna Trigger: N/A

Car Stereo Amp Trigger Wire: N/A

Car Stereo Amplifier Location: N/A

Car Audio Front Speakers Size: N/A

Car Audio Front Speakers Location: N/A

Left Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): White/Red

Left Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): White/Green

Right Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Yellow/Red

Right Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Yellow/Blue

Car Audio Rear Speakers Size: N/A

Car Audio Rear Speakers Location: N/A

Left Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Red/Green

Left Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Red/Black

Right Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Green/Red

Right Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Green/Yellow

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

There is the wiring for an 05 rio.

I agree with the advice of getting an aftermarket headunit and just replacing it. If you have the money.

 

[MoreMogilny]

i agree. the ground post on the back of the unit has an empty ring terminal. i bet if you connect the harness and just touch that black wire to the post it may work. if so you just need a new ring terminal and you will be set.

I'm sorry if this is a dumb question, but if that is the ground, where do i connect the other end to?