Car Stereos: stereo wiring, sony head unit, sony xplod

Question
my factory wire harness wires were chopped off and I want install a Sony Xplod CDX-GT520 CD player. I don't have a wire harness what can I do to fix the problem?

Answer
Hi Phillip,

You'll need to identify the factory wire functions.  You can do this by getting a wire color chart; the support link at Crutchfield.com is a good source for wiring information, but you may still need to use a digital multimeter to test the wires.  

Once you know which wire is which, you can either buy a replacement factory radio plug and connect it to the factory wires, to bring the car back to stock condition.  Then you can use a standard adapter harness to connect the new head unit.  Otherwise, you can connect the Sony head unit's wiring directly to the factory wires, matching the wire functions instead of the wire colors.

Hope this helps!

Brian