QuestionQUESTION: Hi Brian, I'm Andre and I'd like some help on installing an after market Head unit (Alpine CDA-117E) into a Jeep Cherokee Sport (or Jeep Liberty in the USA). I've done that before on a Toyota Landcruiser but the wiring in this case is different of course.
First thing is the wiring harness already in use by the stock cd player is bigger than the input on the Alpine head unit. I found a wiring diagram, but I don't know what goes where. Alpine doesn't have an instruction manual included instructing what goes where. should I detach the wires from the old harness and connect them to the new harness which came with the Head Unit? How do I know where to connect them to?
Thank you very much in advance!
ANSWER: Hi Andre,
You should be able to purchase a wire harness adapter that fits the plug in your Cherokee. The adapter should have color-coded wires that will match the colors in the Alpine plug. To install the new head unit, all you need to do is splice the wires from the Alpine plug to the wires on the adapter harness. Just about any shop that sells car audio accessories should be able to supply you with an adapter harness.
Hope this helps!
Brian
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks Brian, however, I forgot to mention that the wires are not attached to the harness, like as if they were cut off from it. I found the harness with the wires cut still in it. Could I purchase a identical Harness attach them by following this harness' scheme then connect it with an adapter?
Thanks again!
AnswerHi Andre,
If there's not enough wire left on the cut-off plug to re-attach it to the vehicle wires, then you can purchase a replacement plug. These are often called "reverse harnesses" in the after-market. The wire colors on an after-market reverse harness won't be the same as the wire colors in the vehicle, but if you have the original plug to use as a guide, this shouldn't cause a problem. Then you can use a standard adapter harness to connect your new head unit.
Hope this helps!
Brian
