You should be using the interface wires to connect the HU and not the ones from the factory. Splicing into any of those factory wires can lead to problems, ergo the harness. The only wire I had to run different from the harness was the switched 12v into the fuse box, at least with the interface I bought.

"Also I don't have any black/white or brown/white wires, just brown and black. same thing?" Yes.

 

The only reason I spliced into the factory harness was for the constant on and the illumination wires. I guess I could just tape those two wires i spliced off and run the constant and illumination wires from the head unit independent from the factory harness?? Maybe I should just ditch using the factory wiring period and somehow tap into the illumination wires?

The constant on is just a wire straight to the battery correct? I could run that the same as I would the one from the amp?

Just for the record i'm not going to be using any interfaces here, i'm ditching the chimes.

 

"The constant on is just a wire straight to the battery correct? I could run that the same as I would the one from the amp?"
yes sir, that is correct!
if you aren't going to use the interface the 12v switched and the constant on can be found in the fuse box. The illumination wire should go into the headlight/dimming switch. The wire color is GREY!

 

So all that I need for the constant on is another fuse adapter to plug into the other fuse box slot? I've already got the 12v switched with a fuse adapter going to the PCM in the fuse, but where is the one for the constant?

How should I connect the illumination wire to the headlight/dimming switch? Splice the wires together then into the switch or what? (the one closest to the driver door correct?)

I think ditching the whole factory wiring in general should get me going on the almost done path, hopefully haha!

I didn't mention this before, but when I tested out the head unit, I was hearing a buzzing coming from the unit itself, then i'd remove the ground and it would go away. It would affect my cluster as well. Everytime i'd hook back up the ground the gauges would drop down to like the car was off, i'd get a service vehicle soon message as well as low fuel. What would be causing this?? Could I have damaged the head unit? The fuse isn't blown so I am thinking no, just improper wiring using the factory harness.

 

Any help with the dimmer wire guys? I'm not sure where I should hook it up to.

 

I'm not sure where I should hook up the illumination lead from the head unit to. I've got the dimmer switch off, but it as 2 gray wires going to it and 1 black one so I don't want to splice anything that I can't fix and mess up the dimmer switch. Is there somewhere else I should be hooking the wire up to??

 

Well the one thing I learned about all this is that wiring colors are NOT definite, so if you're going to do this job, ditch the 'wire color guides' you find online get a multimeter! Easiest way to get everything working again, wire colors are all different for different packages, SEO, etc.

 

What color did it turned out to be? The alldata said 1 gray wire coming out of the headlight switch. Hmmm, sorry about the outdated info. I'm in the process of updating my ALLDATA books so next time I should have the correct/current info! Anyway, nothing beats a multimeter though. Did you managed to get rid of the HU noise? Bad grounds will do that. How's the stereo working now?

 

I had spliced into the brown wire going from the original harness to the radio. I finally bought a Haynes manual at AutoZone (best investment i've made yet!) Don't be sorry about it man, everything isn't set in stone unfortunately. I do appreciate you giving all to help me out man!

Every other wire that I unfortunately spliced into I crimped a closed end connector on. Ran my constant to the battery, 12v switch to the fuse box, obviously RCA's and remote turn on to the amp in the trunk. I grounded my amp to one of the strut bolts in the trunk and my radio ground to the preexisting ground in the dash. Ran 12 gauge wire from the amp to all the speakers.

That was def. the easiest way to go about it. No chimes, but I don't really mind not having them to be completely honest.

I got a steal on the Clarion APX4360, they retailed for about $600 back in 2006, but I picked one up brand new for $240, pretty sweet deal. Puts out 90w per speaker.

The stereo works awesome now, it sounds best cranked up almost all the way. Bass is deep, the mids hit real hard and the highs are really clear. I def. need to get a sub (or subs ) in the future, the speakers will click real bad on bassy songs if I don't turn the bass way down.

The only issue I have is the HU not saving the time I set into it every time I turn the car off and I need to find somewhere to mount tweeters and how to wire them up! :s

I do appreciate all the help though, I know I put myself into some hard to explain situations but in the end everything worked out with some trial and error.

 

You headunit loses the time because it doesn't have a proper constant +12V source. Not that I can say what's wired up wrong for you since I kinda lost track of the thread, but that's what would cause it.