Hey guys huge mistake here - cut the factory harness up when placing in the new radio - its a kenwood bt310u - the old factory harness has 17 wires total - the replacement one i got from metra has almost 26 - its the one they recommend for our cars ( no onstar ect)
It has a couple extra ones that idk what to do with? And so I'm thinking of returning it // can i use it without using all the wires ?Also I'm thinking of wiring the new aftermarket radio straight to the old cut up harness is that possible? Im told it is as long as i can get a fuse that turns off when the key is out? - my friend who does wiring and electrical on cars is coming sunday --- any advice help?

 

Since the harness is designed for installation in several different GM vehicles it would not be uncommon to have wiring not used in your application.

Why did you cut the factory wiring? The harness is basically 'plug and play...

 

I cut it because my friend who installs radios said it was pretty basic wiring without an adapter because he does wiring for cars already. - he's doing it sunday -- so anything bad happen if i don't use all of the metra harness.and just whats needed? That way i could plug and play? I don't really want to have to jerry rig this but thats how its coming along.

 

No you don't have to use all the wires since they are for other options you probably don't have.

 

Would you know how to do that? I asked the guy at best buy to do it and he said its the incorrect harness and has to many wires so he cant do it? What would i have to do to make this work?

 

You're definitely not the first. Working at Circuit City for 2 years part time in the Roadshop while in college, that's probably the #1 most common mistake. I'd say #2 is running amplifier power wires through the door jamb, lol.

First things first, do you still have the factory plug that you cut off? If so, solder it back on. If you don't know how to solder properly, take it to an audio install shop that does solder.


As mentioned by others- universal harnesses like that will often have extra wires as different cars come with different options. Aftermarket radios for the most part only need the basics though. So you won't even be using all of the factory wires into your new radio.


That is certainly possible. Keep in mind the colors won't match, so you'll need to google a wiring diagram for GM radio wire colors to make sure you match the right ones up.

The downside here is that if you go to change radios again, you'll have to undo all your connections and redo them- and you (or any future owner) will never be able to use a factory radio again without buying a proper harness and reinstalling it.

If you do go this route, don't keep going down the hack-job path- solder everything properly and do it right.

What are you talking about a fuse for? The factory power to the radio already has a fuse in the fuse box. There is no need to add additional fuses. You will need a power wire that turns off with the car, and you will need a constant power wire (one that is hot all the time). The factory radio has both wires already in the harness- so just get the wiring colors off of google and match them up.

It is basic wiring, but when they make nice simple plug and play adapters- it doesn't make sense to hack up the factory harness. If nothing else, you're just causing people down the road more grief when they go to replace it or put the stocker back in.

I would be skeptical of anyone working on my electrical whose first thought is to hack off the factory connectors. If nothing else, I would've just tapped into the wires (the right way - soldering it, not with ghetto t-taps) and left the factory plug on there.

 

Okay so the universal harness can be used just wire what i need and cap what i dont? Do you know what wires i absolutely need wired? Im going to call metra tomorrow and see if they can give me the correct wiring connection for specifically my car ... I have the basic setup and amp for the 03 ss - im having a pro do it so they can do the legit wiring . But he said it was the wrong harness ect?
Does anyone know what wires i absolutely need from the harness
This is the part - Metra Part # 71-2003-1 | OEM wire harness | Metra Online / and it has 26 wires ... I just really wanna get this over with

 

A lot of functions of the car are controlled by the factory radio. I think you can relocate the factory stereo to the trunk and put new wiring in for the new system. Do the new aftermarkets allow for control of reset of oil life and other body systems found in newer GM cars? I would highly recommend not cutting into a harness, but what is done is done.

 

Ok so heres what i can gather and hopefully someone good with wiring can figure out this puzzle - i have 17 wires as follows for the harness 24 pin =
Radio Battery Constant 12v+ Wire: Orange
Radio Ground Wire: Black
Radio Illumination Wire: Gray
Stereo Dimmer Wire: Brown
Stereo Antenna Trigger Wire: White
Stereo Amp Trigger Wire: White
Left Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Tan
Left Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Gray
Right Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Light Green
Right Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Dark Green
Left Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Blue
Left Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Yellow
Right Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Blue
Right Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Dark Blue

Except i also have pink and 2 oranges and no one ever has the diagram of those extra 3
It is an amplified system if that matters - and it has the smaller 12 pin that has 4 wires
2 = green/white stripe 1= brown/white stripe. 2= black/white stripe

The wiring for the the metra harness is as follows ( paper that came with part)
Park lamp supply - pink
Lt green - RF+
Dk green - RF-
Yellow - LR -
Brown - LR+
Green/white - rui 2
Wht/red - gain control sig
Blk - dim-
Red/blk - dim+
Blu/white - radio on signal
Grn/red - ignition 12v+
Orange - battery +
Blk - ground -
Drk blue - RR+
Lt blue - RR -
Gray - LF -
Tan - LF +
Gray/red - rem rad con (olds)
Wht/blu - rAdio on sig (olds)
Orn/black - ant ground
Blk/white - FMDET +
Blu/blk - RSA enable
Orange - class 2 ser dataB
Purple - class 2 ser dataA
On metras paper it has a line through so i guess thats what differentiates the colors and this would be the 12 pin smaller piece
Blue/white - aux mono enable
Blk/white - aux shield
Purple - clr rmt
White - R aux in
Red - L aux in
Black - aux com
Grn/black - aux mono -
Grn /wht - aux mono +

Does anyone know how to figure this out - i need the new metra harness ( 24 and 12 pin ) to connect to my old cut wires --- please help me hahaha

 

These are the pictures hopefully they post - it is of diagrams and the cars current stereo wiring situation