Wiring Pioneer DEH P77 MP

[Spitfire1500]

Hey everyone,

I did a bit of fiddling with my car yesterday. All my lights work (bar the speedometer back light, no biggie, there isn't even a current!).

No more progress with my bodywork or carburettors, although I suspect my retro radio has gone, the light doesn't come on (that's all that could be wrong!) but as I don't have speakers I don't know if the rest of it is fine. I could have blown it I suppose.

Anyway, I used my multimeter and this read 14 or 15v from the two spade connectors on my radio wiring loom.

At the moment, I have a red cable with spade connector and plastic insulation, a blue cable with a spade connector an antenna and I believe that's all I have.

What wiring would I need to connect my pioneer stereo? Also, what rating in-line fuse should I have on my red cable (I don't want to blow anything!)? Also, it appears I need a thicker antenna, but I assume this is just a case of putting some kind of converter on the antenna. Is there anything else I need to consider?

Thanks,

David

[volospian]

From what I remember, you need a constant feed, ignition feed and a good Earth. That's about it, I think. There's also an orange (I think) wire that should be connected to the dash lights, to illuminate the stereo at night, but I don't think it's essential (although somewhat annoying of you drive at night and want to change disc or station).

One of the feeds you currently have will probably be the constant, and one probably an ignition, just connect the meter up with the ignition off and see if one is live, then check the other one only goes live when the igntion is on, voila.

Can't remember fuse rating, sorry.

The aerial should use a standard size connector, but there are converters around to adapt old aerial ends to the new standard.

I don't think there's any more but I've got that stereo fitted in mine, so I'll have a quick butchers at the wiring diagram when I get home tonight (I think I still have it somewhere).

[bodders1]

The Spit 1500 wiring loom already has a switched feed for a radio built-in.  It is a pink wire, and it emerges from the loom near the heater - it is easiest to find it if you remove the centre panel of the dash.  This is switched on when the ignition is in position 1 (ignition is position 2 and start is position 3).

You will have to rig up your own permanent live feed - pick any brown (unfused) or purple (fused) wire behind the dash. 

For night time illumination, it is probably easiest to pick the illumination feed to the fuel or temperature gauges (red wire).

hope this helps
bodders1

[Spitfire1500]

Wow thanks for the help everyone!

Going to have the centre of my dash off tonight probably, .

Also, I might use the pink wire to sort out my speedo light problem.

Thanks again,

David

[bodders1]

[quote by=Spitfire1500 link=Blah.pl?b=spit,m=1178881157,s=3 date=1178885122]

Also, I might use the pink wire to sort out my speedo light problem.

[/quote]

Err...  I wouldn't.  The pink wire is the switched feed for the radio. 
Speedo light (assuming you mean night-time illumination) should be a red wire, same as going to all the other gauges.  If the speedo one is dead even when the side-lights are on, you can pick up a feed from the red wire going in to the rev counter or the fuel gauge.

bodders1

[Spitfire1500]

[quote by=bodders1 link=Blah.pl?b=spit,m=1178881157,s=4 date=1178887817]

Err...  I wouldn't.  The pink wire is the switched feed for the radio. 
Speedo light (assuming you mean night-time illumination) should be a red wire, same as going to all the other gauges.  If the speedo one is dead even when the side-lights are on, you can pick up a feed from the red wire going in to the rev counter or the fuel gauge.

bodders1[/quote]

Ah fair enough!

I think I'll use the rev counter night illumination wire!

With regard to the ISO connectors and stuff - how much am I looking at, are these things easy to pick up from say Halfords or Maplins?

Thanks,

David

[bodders1]

How about this:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CAR-STEREO-ISO-WIRING-CONNECTORS-NEW-POWER-SPEAKERS_W0QQitemZ330118754434QQihZ014QQcategoryZ14932QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

or, for the aerial,  this:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CAR-RADIO-STEREO-AERIAL-ADAPTER-CONNECTOR-DIN-TO-ISO_W0QQitemZ300109631607QQihZ020QQcategoryZ14932QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I have no connection with either of these sellers.

hth
bodders1

[Mj17]

To fit a P77MP you will need:

1x ISO connection (not 100% necessary - you could chop the male ISO connector off of the radio and shove bullet connectors on but it's a Triumph, you WILL be removing the radio to take the tunnel cover off every 5 minutes and just having 1 plug to pull and that only goes on one way makes life easier).  Cheap enough from Halfords, etc.

You then have
1x yellow -> permanent live, eg door courtesy light circuit.
1x red -> ignition controlled +12v - reasonably sure this is what the white/pink wire supplies (if you have one), or most of the electrics.
1x Orange/white wire -> sidelight terminal on light switch (dims the display when the lights are on)
1x Black -> earth

Fuse wise, I've added a 10A in-line blade fuse to the live feed and not had any problems.

Speakers are:
White -> front left +ve
White/black -> front left -ve
Gray -> front right +ve
Gray/white -> front right -ve
Green -> rear left +ve
Green/black -> rear left -ve
Violet -> rear right +ve
Violet/black -> rear right -ve

Others
Aerial - standard aerial terminal, though adaptor supplied in case you have one of the odd, thin plugs on the end of your lead.
Blue/white -> electric aerial trigger feed (if you have one).
Yellow/black -> audio mute lead on mobile phone holder (if you have one).

[Spitfire1500]

Wow thanks Mj17 and bodders1!

Anyway, bit of news, I found out what the problem with my speedometer back light was that the earth cable doesn't work! Some testing with my multimeter on various black cables behind each of my instruments confirmed this.

I have since put a new wire in, going from the tacho earth to the rear of the speedometer. It was working...until I managed to blow a fuse (my dodgy wiring caused that I think) and possibly the voltage regulator on the back of my speedometer (I replaced that with a spare I had kicking around).

Thankfully, all my bulbs survived bar the speedometer one, so I need a new instrument bulb for that! I also found out that the second fuse behind the battery deals with the side lights and the instrument night-time illumination!

With regard to the Pioneer head unit fitting, although I haven't made that much progress, I did find a yellow and white cable, with a white plastic terminator coming from the wiring loom around the heater. Out of pure luck of the draw, I found a bit of wire, plus terminator that fixes onto this, must have been from a previous owner who put a modern stereo in it.

I also found an ISO connector, in my glove box, although it doesn't fit on the back of my pioneer head unit - it's just too big. I think I need to got to Halfords for that part.

It now looks like I have a red wire (with plastic insulation) a yellow/white wire, a blue one and finally the antenna. I just looked at a wiring diagram and the white/yellow cable seems to come straight from the ignition coil. It's positive and I suppose this is the switched radio cable?

So now I have a further wire to use to help me with my Pioneer installation.

Thanks again everyone,

David

[Spitfire1500]

Hey everyone,

While I procrastinate from doing my carburettors and bodywork, I figured I'll give the ISO cable a go.

It fit's the back of my head unit fine, however, it has two plugs coming off it, as the following photo shows.

I understand all the cables on the left plug connect as follows: the purple cables are for right rear -, white ones are for left front -, green ones are for left rear +,  the grey ones are labelled right front +.

But then I have a bare brown wire that says 'Tel Mute' on it and on the right hand plug, the following; red (permanent live?) black (earth?) orange (ignition controlled?) blue (?) and yellow (?) cables!

I just re-read the previous posts and feel a little silly asking now...but am I right in thinking the blue and yellow cables are completely optional?

Are the following (labelled) the ones to go for?

http://www.lowcostcaraudio.co.uk/shop/Autoleads-PC5-01-PC501-speaker-connections_productJJ607ZZcategoryJJ/Accessories/

Thanks in advance,

David

[Deleted User]

You should be able to buy a male ISO plug from Halfords. They do a generic one which will fit your radio and the wires coming from it can then be spliced into the appropraite bits of your loom. They also do specific ones for modern cars, so make sure you get the generic one. If I remember correctly it even has the same colour wires coming out of it so you don't get confused. It's how I (well Bill actually) fitted the CD/radio unit into my 2000.

[heraldcoupe]

Do you have a connector diagram for the stereo? The ISO layout is industry standard, so it should be easy enough to find what the blue & yellow wires are for, Google is your friend. One or other may be a feed for an automatic aerial, but it's some time since I've fitted a stereo from scratch, so don't take my word for that.
Cheers,
Bill.

[Spitfire1500]

Thanks for the help Karen and Bill!

Just took a look at one of the manuals it came with, and heres what it says (with a diagram):

Black (ground) to Vehicle (metal) body.

Orange/White: to lighting switch terminal

Red (4*): to electric controlled by ignition switch (12 V DC On/Off)

Yellow (2*): To terminal always supplied with power regardless of ignition switch position.

Blue/White: To auto antenna relay control terminal.

The manual indicates the telephone/mute is yellow/black, mine is brown, but since it says 'Tel Mute' on it, I think that's fine.

It looks to me that the orange, brown and blue wires are optional.

Thanks again,

David

[Spitfire1500]

>:(

Well, I am really REALLY annoyed!

I wired it up all correctly and three times I had warning beeps. I confirmed that these were normal and to do with the fascia. I switched the unit on by pressing the source button and all was well - my display lit up and everything was fine to go.

So I switched my ignition off, waited for the warning beeps to stop, took my fascia off and ran home in elation to get a CD to test out my spare speaker.

I got back, tried to switch it on (expecting it to all work, it worked only 5 minutes before!) and now the f******* thing won't even turn on!

The wiring is fine and I even swapped the 10A in line fuse from the live but no luck, it's still dead.

Is there a possibility that the 10A fuse on the back of the unit itself (below the ISO port) has blown up? Or the in-line fuse? Perhaps the fascia is being dodgy (It wasn't knocked at all and has always been in it's case when not in use). I don't see why this is possible.

Oh well, I'm going to be taking my anger out with a hammer and chisel and sand paper on the body work in the next half hour or so as I don't think the radio will be working by then.

A very VERY annoyed David

[Spitfire1500]

Well, I have double, triple and quadruple checked everything. There is indeed a current coming from the earth, the live and the ignition controlled wires. Nothing of this is getting to the head unit for some reason.

However, the ignition control wire constantly reads very high - 14-15v+. Could that have been responsible for blowing something on my Pioneer head unit at all? That is the only thing I can think of, plus a failed fascia.

The battery seems to be fine - all the lights work and if I put the hazards on, there is no trouble - i.e. dimming of anything.

I guess I'm going to have to take my head unit to an unauthorized dealer (the authorized ones are in London or some other far away place; you would think a big city like Milton Keynes, Luton or St. Albans would have a bloody dealer in it wouldn't you!).

David

[Deleted User]

Current from the earth!!!????!? How?

I think you have over complicated it David.
It really is sooooo simple to do.

Don't take it to be serviced.
Occams Razor - the simplest problem is the problem. It's your wiring!

Its just three wires.
+ve, -ve and perm +ve

To test the unit just connect the 2 +ve to the battery via a fuse, and earth it on the car.
That will show you if the unit is working or not.

[heraldcoupe]

David,
To measure current you would need to have the meter in series in the ground path, ie wired between the radio ground and that of the battery. There must be no alternative path for the electricity, somehow I doubt this is how you have measured it, but correct me if I'm wrong.
If you are measuring voltage, you sould see 0v on the radio ground relative to the battery's negative terminal (or the chassis of the car), anything else means your wiring is wrong.
Cheers,
Bill.

[Spitfire1500]

Hey everyone,

Checked everything - the wiring is correct - it is as stated in the Pioneer manual.

I'm getting power - this is why the unit worked before. But then it suddenly stopped working - no lights no anything and I had not touched anything. All I did was take the fascia off (for security reasons) and then grabbed a CD from home and put the fascia back on - and then the unit didn't work at all, even though I am getting power.

However, there is a red plastic thing marked '10' below the ISO connector on the head unit which may have blown, or anything else inside the unit or perhaps the fascia has failed.

I understand why I may have caused a bit of confusion here now - I mentioned earth when what I really meant to say was permanent live and switched live, I'm honest enough to admit that.

But my question is simple - if I am getting a current from the live and from the switched live (albeit on the high side - 15v perhaps but I couldn't say) and my unit is failing to work, then something in the unit must have blown or the fact that this all happened after I removed and replaced the fascia must point to the fascia as well.

David

[Spitfire1500]

Hey everyone,

I can now confirm that my permanent live and switch controlled live are putting the right amount of current through. I worked out that if I use 'Circuit DC' on my multimeter, it always over-reads.

However, if I use 'DC Battery' it always reads what it should.

That hasn't changed anything though - my head unit is still playing up and not working, even though it's connected right (black to earth, yellow to permanent live and red to ignition controlled live).

I checked over my battery - put my ignition on, turned on the lights, put the heater on but it is all fine - no sign of the battery being dead or dieing.

It looks like I will be getting in touch with who I bought it from and asking for some kind of refund or help.

Hopefully they can shed some light on this for me!

David

[Deleted User]

post removed on request of author

[chrisspe]

the little red thing is a fuse, you could try chsnging it,

i had problems with one radios fascia, the contacts were dodgy between the facia and the body, it made the radio either not work at all or intermittantly work

[Spitfire1500]

Haha!

Made me lol davesideways and smithy! I will be getting a sports exhaust - probably a TSSC one, after my body work, engine and audio system are sorted out. As for the humming/singing, I've been told I don't sound too good when I sing!

Cheers Chrisspe,

Thanks for your help, I'll be going to my electrical dealers tomorrow morning (hopefully I won't get soaked tomorrow like I did today) and pick up a few of them, they're only cheap (about 44p each).

As for the contacts, hopefully they're not a problem, I can imagine it's not a hard job to fix but not sure about doing that myself what with all the bits and pieces these modern radios have in them!

Thanks again,

David

[Spitfire1500]

Hey all,

Well, I got a new blade mini 10A fuse and it fits (well, at least I got the right one) but my radio still didn't work, so I decided to test my battery out, well, what do you know, the horn started dieing as soon as I operated it with the windscreen wipers (which were also performing very slowly).

If the radio still doesn't work after my battery is recharged, I'm hoping the guy gets back to me about it and can offer me help and advice!

David

[Spitfire1500]

Nope, no such luck...the radio is still about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

The battery was charged last night, my wind screen wipers and so on worked fine, so I think the radio is defunct.

I also tried out all three 10A fuses however, my multimeter has now died (and one of the test probes has come off) but current was confirmed a few days ago anyway, so I know that the problem is now the head unit...what an expensive loss!

Ah well, sod the damn thing, hopefully my new carburettor gaskets will be here in the next few days, so I can focus on getting my car fixed up and ready for it's MoT, I was just hoping I could have a nice working head unit but that isn't going to happen now!

David

[Spitfire1500]

Ah well, bolted my carburettors back on, so now going to look at the fuel pump pressure and check the float lids, needles and so on (if I have been particularly unlucky with those).

If I still get the p****** carburettors, I will be most confused.

This has nothing to do with the Pioneer Head Unit problem though, so I think I will have Halfords service it for me - it's not like my battery is putting out too much power but I think a circuit failed on the Pioneer unit. Beyond my understanding all the same!

David