DIY: Custom Stereo Harness for DC, EG & Others

[specialst]

Disclaimer: The following are provided as a GUIDE ONLY, and neither myself. nor the original writer, nor Ozhonda
take any responsibility for the outcomes of someone else doing the following. You follow these steps at your own risk!

DIY Custom Stereo Harness
By specialst
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd303/specialstdpg/Adaptor%20Loom%20Honda%2086-98/Picture19.png

Ever changed a stereo in your Honda and had to destroy your factory loom?
- Maybe you spliced your new cables into the factory loom.
- Maybe you got fed up and just didn’t give a shi*t and cut off the factory plug off completely and hard wired it straight in.
- Perhaps you took it to the shop to be done.

It’s time to create your own custom ‘adaptor’ loom. This concept is for making any and all harnesses. But for today, I will focus on making a stereo harness in my DC Integra in order to install an Alpine CDE-6881 I’ve had sitting around for about 2 years now.
Honda used an identical loom plug for all their vehicles from 1986- 1998ish. The loom’s plug is the same shape and is perfect to use as our female end. That means all you civics and preludes as well!!

What you need:
- Wiring diagram for the target vehicle, my ’94 Teg. http://installdr.com/Harnesses/HA-Wiring.pdf
- Wiring diagram for the new loom. Usually found attached to the deck via sticker.
- Pen and Paper
- Cable Joiners (approx 20), Supercheap Auto $3.97 15pk
- Pliers
- Cable crimpler/stripper thingy (I used scissors cos I dun have a cimpler LOL)
- New head units loom (I’ve got one from an Alpine CDE-9881)
- Old factory Honda stereo ($20 from wreckers):
We want the stereo loom (female side) hanging out the back. Source one out of a DA3 integra, BA prelude, ‘80s accord. Looks something like this
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd303/specialstdpg/Adaptor%20Loom%20Honda%2086-98/Picture2.png
This one is out of a ’89 Prelude. Its Pioneer with a Dolby System… OMG! Bargain!

Preparing the Old Honda Loom:
- Cut off the loom with ALL the cable attached, off the rear of the old Honda stereo.
- Toss that deck into the trash can. After all we only wanted the female side loom plug.
- Compare the positions of the wires on the installdr.com wiring diagram and the ’89 loom. This is done to ensure all the wires are in the proper position. DISREGARD THE COLOUR OF THE CABLE FOR NOW.
- It appears that 1 cable needs relocating for my ’89 loom. Thus I need to remove pin N and relocate it to position G according to installdr.com’s diagram.
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd303/specialstdpg/Adaptor%20Loom%20Honda%2086-98/Picture3.png http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd303/specialstdpg/Adaptor%20Loom%20Honda%2086-98/Picture4.png http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd303/specialstdpg/Adaptor%20Loom%20Honda%2086-98/Picture5.png
- Now the loom is ready to accept the ’94 Teg Male plug.
- You may choose to re-pin the entire loom plug so all the pretty colours match. I didn’t bother at all because the important thing is just to have cable in the required position.
- As you can see, I’ve trimmed, stripped and attached the cable joiners. Now is a good time to do so. Be careful not to trim the cables too much! Just a bit to even the cable lengths out. Again, minimal trimming since there is only about 5cm of cable to begin with!
- This side of the loom is all set to go. Put it aside and lets move on.

Preparing the Alpine Loom:
- Trim and strip all cables
- You can trim your cables here to a specific length and compensate for any odd lengths in the ’89 loom. Otherwise you will get a loom which looks like a mess.
Eg. You want your Honda-Alpine in between cable length to be 10cm. Your Honda side ground cable is 3cm. Your alpine side ground cable is 12cm. You can trim your alpine side ground cable 5cm. Once you join the 2 cables, the overall length will be 10cm. Do this for all your cables and the end product will be quite neat.
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd303/specialstdpg/Adaptor%20Loom%20Honda%2086-98/Picture6.png
 
Paperwork – Matching the cables between the Honda and Alpine Looms:
- Pull out the Install Dr diagram and Alpine Diagram and put them side by side. I just printed mine.
- Write out which cable position corresponds between the 2 looms.
- Here’s one I prepared earlier…
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd303/specialstdpg/Adaptor%20Loom%20Honda%2086-98/Picture20-1.png

Making the Custom Loom:
- Here's where it all comes together.
- Now that you know which cable will correspond to which between looms, time to carefully begin joining corresponding cables together.
- Make sure you check and double check before crimping cables. Otherwise you will need to cut and re-join. I made a few mistakes and thus my loom doesn’t look as neat as it should.
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd303/specialstdpg/Adaptor%20Loom%20Honda%2086-98/Picture8.png http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd303/specialstdpg/Adaptor%20Loom%20Honda%2086-98/Picture13.png http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd303/specialstdpg/Adaptor%20Loom%20Honda%2086-98/Picture14.png
- Sit back for a moment and admire your custom loom.
- If all cables have been joined correctly…. Plug ‘n’ Play

In the Car:
- This section is a bunch of pics which illustrate how it looks when it all fits together

DC Integra in Car Plugs:
left to right: Antenna, Factory Honda Stacker, Stereo Male Loom Plug
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd303/specialstdpg/Adaptor%20Loom%20Honda%2086-98/Picture15.png

Custom Harness Attached to DC Integra Male Plug:
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd303/specialstdpg/Adaptor%20Loom%20Honda%2086-98/Picture16.png

Custom Harness Attached to Alpine Unit:
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd303/specialstdpg/Adaptor%20Loom%20Honda%2086-98/Picture17.png

Custom Harness Attached to DC Integra and Alpine Unit:
http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd303/specialstdpg/Adaptor%20Loom%20Honda%2086-98/Picture18.png

Conclusion:
And thats how you can create your own custom stereo loom without sacrificing the factory male plug. Hope you found this DIY useful and please feel free to leave comments. If ive left something out please point it out because this is my first DIY write up.

Cheers.

PDF: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=SS1AS1X0
or: http://rapidshare.com/files/202800065/DIY_Custom_Stereo_Harness_EG_DC.pdf.html

[tiksie]

Decent writeup.

I wasn't bothered to do this, I just spliced and hardwired + soldered my own harness preety much the same as this without having to use anything else :D

+1 rep for your effort though :thumbsup:

[lenz]

or you can goto auto barn and buy the connectors harness plug and play for $25 each
no need to chop and join... and looks way neater

[specialst]

Decent writeup.

I wasn't bothered to do this, I just spliced and hardwired + soldered my own harness preety much the same as this without having to use anything else :D

+1 rep for your effort though :thumbsup:

thanks bro


or you can goto auto barn and buy the connectors harness plug and play for $25 each
no need to chop and join... and looks way neater

if only i knew earlier i could buy these pre-made for $25... sigh. it was fun at least to DIY.

[Red_EG4]

it's good to see you put the effort in to have a go. I just hope it didn't cost more than $25.
this DIY article is put together well also, no one could have a problem following it.

[beeza]

Great DIY!!

$25 is still $25.

DIY is always fun!!

Well done!

[happy]

Great DIY!!

$25 is still $25.

DIY is always fun!!

Well done!
so true...:thumbsup: viva DIY

[dtrang]

yeah but do it properly! did a DIY headunit install on the weekend and bought two wiring harnesses, one for the deck and the other to the honda harness HOWEVER the previous owner spliced and diced and soldered the honda connector ( between the connector and the main honda harnes?? i dont know wdf for) anyways speakers cut in and out so i assume i got to find out the speaker wires and trace it.... :(

anyone know any way of replacing this cut up mess? with new harness?

[specialst]

yeah but do it properly! did a DIY headunit install on the weekend and bought two wiring harnesses, one for the deck and the other to the honda harness HOWEVER the previous owner spliced and diced and soldered the honda connector ( between the connector and the main honda harnes?? i dont know wdf for) anyways speakers cut in and out so i assume i got to find out the speaker wires and trace it.... :(

anyone know any way of replacing this cut up mess? with new harness?

sometimes shops (not naming any) will solder into your original car loom as well. might not have been the last owner. if your car loom has been soldered into, not much u can do man.

u can always solder ur new deck into the existing exposed wire =D and wrap it in shrink wrap/elctrical tape. or find another male loom and cut n splice.

as for speakers cutting in and out. trace the line and i rckn its where you did your connection. else, speaker fckd? a dead leg in the cable is unlikely.

if u want to cut out and replace ur car loom, i have a spare male loom from a BA4 which has an identical plug to your dc4 if u want it. (except a couple of cables in a different position). i wont be using it for anything. i chopped it out of the BA4 along with the deck when i sourced it from the wreckers.

[specialst]

if u really having troubles, i can give u a hand during the uni holidays dude. give me a buzz if u need a hand. u got my number anyhow.

[dtrang]

Cheers for the reply will check it out when I have time. I have your number? Really? Who's this?

[specialst]

Cheers for the reply will check it out when I have time. I have your number? Really? Who's this?

PM Sent.

[dtrang]

lol hahah didnt know pm your number again i got a differnt phone. yeah you can come help me later these holidays or something

[Sexc86]

Nice write up. However i strongly disagree with those crimp-link connectors. After a while they will always seem to fail and/or become intermitently faultly. The only way to go is solder + heat s***** (Electrical tape will degrade after time and leave sticky residue everywhere)

[specialst]

so true infact. solder is the 100% way. or for the same amount of money opt to buy the premade loom from autobarn as stated earlier. another thing i knew of but couldnt source was them 3M Gel filled connectors. would have been sweet to have some of them on hand.

[OMG.JAI xD]

Premade ones.

15bux from ryda.
Tagged and colour coded for what wire goes where.

Good write up though.

[specialst]

Premade ones.

15bux from ryda.
Tagged and colour coded for what wire goes where.

Good write up though.

cheers dude!

[dreamshifter]

When I went to install an aftermarket headunit into a DC5, autobarn didn't have the harness - they sold me one but it didn't match.

I ended up using terminal connector blocks which makes it easier and quicker to install. Probably not as reliable as soldering but I haven't had any issues.

Example of connector block. Can halve block to form a square if its too long.
http://www.made-in-china.com/image/2f0j00wYDQEspBstlqM/Terminal-Blocks-Connector-Strips-WL-U-.jpg

Diagram for DC5 head units for anyone that needs it:

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/1922/basersx.jpg
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/365/22107.gif

[specialst]

hey dreamshifter, that idea is awesome. i really like the idea of using that connector block! i think ill try that for the next deck i decide to install. Works especially well for those who have already had their plugs snipped off.

The only issue i can think of that might happen is the copper legs(wires) breaking when shoving (i mean placing) the deck bak into the hole. Shouldnt be a problem though if your careful. hehe.

Good work mate.

[Riviera]

Awesome write up :thumbsup::thumbsup:
i dont think ive seen premade harness's for Eclipse or alpine...
they only make em for common units i.e - Sony, JVC, Kenwood

so this write up is still very valued :thumbsup::thumbsup::honda:

ummmmmm say no to connector blocks and crimps

they all fail and dont transmit full power if you used them in a organised sound
comp you will be marked down...


yes this is a organised sound comp lol, dont rick a fire hazard in ur cabin

[specialst]

thanks man, its great to see that this is useful to others! ill try to do a writeup for other tasks on and about the car.
im not sure which premade looms are available since it never struck me to buy one LOL. i dont think any of us are going into a sound comp anytime soon so what we use to connect isnt a huge fuss unless u use something real dodgy (eg. sticky tape).

Keep the good ideas coming everyone! Tips, hints, alternatives, improvements and criticisms are all welcome!

[specialst]

giving the occasional bump. showing some love!

[grifty]

when i can be bothered ill post some pics of another way you can install your stero without cutting any wires

top notch work btw mate :thumbsup:

[OMG.JAI xD]

Premade harnesses plug into your factory harness. Not the headunit harness.

They make it so that you have a connector that plugs to your OEM harness with wires at the other end ready to splice into the aftermarket headunit.

This way you retain your oem connector and harness and can swap headunit back and forth without cutting soldering and repeat.