Car Stereos: my sony explode cd player, sony explode cd player, wire colors

Question
i cannot get the wiring right in my 99 cavalier i have tired looking at the diagram thats in my car book but no colors match up from the car and the stereo i have tried so many combination's to get it to work it isn't. My sony is a 08 model

Answer
Hi Chris,

I'm assuming it's too late to just purchase a wire harness adapter to connect your Sony deck to the factory plugs.  If you still have the factory plug intact in your vehicle, using an adapter harness is your best option.

If you need to wire the Sony harness directly to the Cavalier wiring (because the factory radio plug has been cut off), then you'll probably need to have a digital multimeter available.  The trouble is that some wire colors are used for more than one function in the Chevrolet radio harness.  Just knowing the wire colors isn't enough; you'll have to test the wires to determine their function.

Here are the wire colors and functions in the factory radio harness:

Constant power:   orange
Key-switched power:  yellow
Ground:  black or black/white
Illumination: dark brown or brown/white
Dimmer:  gray or gray/white

Speakers:
Left front (+): tan
Left front (-): gray
Right front (+): light green
Right front (-): dark green
Left rear (+): dark brown
Left rear (-): yellow
Right rear (+): dark blue
Right rear (-): light blue

Match these with the following wire colors on the Sony harness:

Constant power: yellow
Key-switched power: red
Ground:  black
Illumination: orange/white

Speakers:
(Solid colors are positive; black stripe is negative)
Left front: white
Right front: gray
Left rear: green
Right rear: violet

Don't connect these Sony wires to anything:
-blue
-blue/white
-light blue

Your Sony deck's harness may not have all the wires I listed.

If you're having trouble getting your new radio to turn on, check your vehicle's fuses.  It's very common for radio fuses to blow when you cut factory wires or try to connect them.

Hope this helps!

Brian