Invictus

Hey guys!

I bought a 97 camaro a few weeks back from a guy who aparently messed around with the stock stereo. I got it without any kind of audio equipment, but I know the guy had an amp in there and a lot of other stuff. I've been trying to install a regular head unit in there, a JVC, but all the GM wiring harnesses that I look at won't match the plugs that I have in my dash.

I can't identify what is what, or even if what I think are the stereo wires are the right wires indeed. I'm afraid that the guy might've had a bose system in there, which would suck, because that means I have to replace the speakers if I want a different cd player in there. I did take a picture of the unplugged wires that are hanging in there, so I am hoping that one of you guys recognizes the setup and points me in the right direction.

Pic of wires

Thanks a bundle!

FLOW-MAS-TER

don't sweat it, i had the same problem when i got my camaro.
i had no idea what he did to it, so i took it to a shop and then installed my deck in like 20 mins.

just spend 40-50 bux and have a stereo shop do it, they know what they are doing, and if they mess up they have to fix it for free.
so it's a win win

94'_Z28

So you are replacing the stock HU with a JVC one? Either way since you can't figure it out it will be easier to take it to a shop as suggested. They may charge you $25 to look at it, and then another $15-40 to install it. I think that is your best bet.

SSactionLs1

none of those 3 plugs are to the stereo, they look like HVAC plugs..

Constant 12V+ Orange
Switched 12V+ Yellow
Ground Black
Illumination Gray
Dimmer Brown
Antenna Trigger Pink
Antenna Right Rear
Front Speakers 6 1/2" Doors
Left Front (+) Tan
Left Front (-) Gray
Right Front (+) Light Green
Right Front (-) Dark Green
Rear Speakers 6 1/2" Side Panels
Left Rear (+) Brown
Left Rear (-) Yellow
Right Rear (+) Dark Blue
Right Rear (-) Light Blue

Invictus

SSaction, you're right about the connectors. I took the dash apart today and to my horror, I found a mess of spliced wires, without isolation, all kinds of jerry rigging, burnt connectors, a mess like I've never seen before. The guy who owned the car before me butchered the main harness and I've got to spend a lot of time and money to get it fixed. The audio harness wasn't even there, he cut it all out. I'll have to run new wires to the speakers and get the power, grnd, etc fron somewhere else.

I'm actually happy I didn't go to a stereo place... they would've charged me $25 to tell me I need to spend $1000 to get the wiring fixed.

BTW, does anyone know what the hell that "SGS" switch activates?

FLOW-MAS-TER

that's the same thing that was wrong with my car, there was no harness either.
the shop charged me 60 to rewired it and install my deck.
so, im my opinion i would still take it to a shop because they know exactly what they are doing.

Invictus

The good thing is that, rewiring my speakers, I would know exactly what I was doing too. I was just all flustered because I was under the impression that the connectors I had taken a pic of were the audio connectors.

I also found out that SGS is the switch for the Second Gear Start, which is useless, so no harm, no foul.

Thanks for the advice though, Flowmaster... if I had the $60 to spare I'd probably take it to a shop, but alas... I do not.

moparman

You MIGHT find some help here: www.installdr.com

FLOW-MAS-TER

atleast it's good to know that you have everything figured out, otherwise there could be some problems

Invictus

moparman, I already went to that website, and if I had the stock harness still wired into the car, I would be cruisin' down easy street, but the audio harness was totally removed, for some dumb reason. Some people just don't make sense to me...

Javelin3o4

Go to a audio shop and purchase a GM Reverse harness and wire it back into the dash using the color codes provided by SSaction, that way you have a factory style plug there, then just purchase the GM harness adapter to wire the deck to then plug into the dash then all your wiring should be back to stock.

Invictus

I ended up just rewiring all speakers to the dash, labeling them properly and hooking them to my HU's harness. Trouble is that I discovered that my front left speaker is dead and I think it's a BOSE speaker. Anyone know where I can get just ONE speaker from?