How Can I Hook Up My Sony Xplod Car Stereo?
by Don BowmanFor the most part, all car stereos, including the Sony XPLOD car stereo will have the same basic wiring with the exception of some additions for connecting to after market amplifiers. They all have a wire for the memory which is continuous power and one for main switchable power. There will be one main ground and a speaker ground. The rest of the wires are for the speakers. These are usually paired as the same color except the wire with the black stripe is the speaker ground. The easiest way to hook up a new radio is to get a pigtail harness for the Sony XPLOD from any store that sells radios. This is a direct hook up simplifying installation. The pigtail has the proper connection to simply plug in to the original connector and the other end to the new radio.
Step 1
Remove the instrument panel to reveal the molding covering the radio. Remove the screws holding the radio into the dash. Pull the radio out and disconnect the antennae and the wiring connector and the radio.
Step 2
Insert the Sony XPLOD--if a pigtail is available plug it in. Plug the antennae in and install the radio and trim in reverse order of removal. Skip to Step 3 if you do not have a pigtail.
Step 3
Set the voltmeter to 20 volts. The object here is to find the wire on the vehicle's radio harness that is hot or has power with the ignition key off. Connect the black wire or ground wire from the voltmeter to a good ground. Using the red wire or positive tester from the voltmeter, probe the connector until the hot wire is found. Make a note of the location and color of the wire. This is the wire that will be connected to the yellow wire on the Sony XPLOD. This is the Sony XPLOD's memory.
Step 4
Turn the ignition switch on and probe the connector again looking for a second hot wire that comes on with the ignition only. This wire will be connected to the red wire on the Sony XPLOD as the main power.
Step 5
Attach the two black wires on the Sony XPLOD to a good source of ground. Cut the electrical connector off of the vehicle's harness and strip the ends of all the wires. Use the wire connectors and connect the power wires you found in Step 3 and 4.
Step 6
Connect the two alligator clips on the jumper wires to two of the same colored wires in the vehicle harness. The one with the black stripe is the ground. Now attach the other end of the jumper wires with the alligator clips to the speaker wires on the Sony XPLOD.
Step 7
Turn the ignition key on and turn the Sony XPLOD on. The objective is too determine which speaker each set of wires controls on the vehicle harness. They must be probed because all vehicles use different color wires and there is no standardization. Wrap each set of wires with the designation for which speakers they operate such as LF for left front and so on. Once the location of the speaker wires is determined there will be a diagram on the Sony XPLOD stating which wires operate which speakers. Simply connect them and install the radio and faceplate according to the instructions that came with the particular model Sony XPLOD you purchased.
Things You'll Need
- Phillips screwdriver
- Set of ¼-inch sockets
- ¼-inch ratchet
- ¼-inch short extension
- Needed only if no pigtail:
- Volt meter
- Two alligator end jumper wires
- Wire cutters
- Wire connectors
- Wire connector installer
Writer Bio
Don Bowman has been writing for various websites and several online magazines since 2008. He has owned an auto service facility since 1982 and has over 45 years of technical experience as a master ASE tech. Bowman has a business degree from Pennsylvania State University and was an officer in the U.S. Army (aircraft maintenance officer, pilot, six Air Medal awards, two tours Vietnam).
