OK first off i'll say i don't know a whole lot about car audio. i can wire up an amp but that's the most i've done in that area.

i just bought a 97 civic, it had a head unit but the head-unit had no face plate. the guy i bought it from told me he bought it with no face plate and that that's all it needs.

turns out, a stereo was stolen from this car at one time and the wiring was all a mess. they just stuck the HU without a faceplate in there to fill the hole.

so basically..where should i start in trying to sort this out? i thought about taking it to best buy or circuit city and having them install it but will they charge me alot since my wiring is a mess?

i also have a 1000watt amp and 2 subs to put in this car but i can handle that i just need a headunit installed first.

my buddy is coming to night and he thinks he can make some sense of it, i already have a head-unit i can put in it (used from one of my old trucks i used to have, it's a jensen)

anyway, any tips would be great i can use all the help there is.

 

don't forget to check your fuses. Can be the simplest thing to overlook but the one that causes the most questions why it won't turn on. Also get your self a test light to check which wire is power, ground and ignition

 

what did they mess up tho..the wireing harness that you buy that plugs into your stock harness for a aftermaket deck, or the factory wireharness? ..if its just the harness that you buy, just go buy a new one for $10 and take the old one out and clip the new one in and your set, if its the factory harness i would bring it it, hardwiring a deck is a mess if you never did it before

 

well there's 3 male plugs in there, i think they might be stock but im not sure? and before the plugs, all the wiring has been spliced into or cut and retaped and just looks like a mess. so im guessing the stereo will need to be hard-wired in.

 

3 male plugs..it mabey sounds like the harness that comes out of the aftermaket deck is still spliced into the aftermaket harness that you buy that plugs into the factory harness, it sounds confusing but its really basic..when you get a aftermaket deck you have the harness that plugs into the back of it, to install the deck in your car, you need to buy another harness that you match the wires up with to the harness on your deck,you need to solder them and duck tape them toughter (this might be what your seeing) and then that harness gets pluged into your stock radio harness

..see if one of thos male plugs, attactchs into that deck that you got with the car, if it does..bingo,if not you can do a couple other things, but a radio install harness for you car (you need one anyways unless you hardwire it) which is like $10, and see if it fits any one of thos male plugsm if it does, then your set

...sorry, lots of different options but its hard when its not infront of you

 

i understand how hard it is to diagnose the problem online but thanks for helping out. my buddy is coming tonight and he is really into the whole car audio thing, he said he should be able to make sense of whats going on and get it wired. I'll let you guys know what happens

 

sounds like someone stole the radio outta the car before
OR
complete amature do it yourselfer stereo instaler wanna be.....
and was two stupid or cheap to buy a plug in harness!

can you get a picture of it?
tho i cannt help ya to much cause mines a 99. might wanna try to find a junk yard and either hack the original harness out of it for the stereo and then connect the wires...... and ya might have to have the factory radio as well. BUT im not sure. i heard for the older civics they needed the factory radio still in the car for the keyless entry to work. not totaly sure how that is tho......
OR do the more complete radio swap. rewire everything!
power wire, accessory wire, ground wire and then run all your speaker wires to the speakers directly.

id say rewire the whole thing and chop off all the old radio hack mess and tape it all up so no wires will touch eachother and short out or touch any other metal behind the dash.

fortunatly my civic hasnt been hacked up! ive only had 2 cars now that havent been hacked to hell! stupid ammatures!!!!!!!!!

 

i hav a 94 civic and the previous owner jus threw in a cheap deck i want to put in my head unit from my other car but it looks like they clip'd the stock harness, left out purchasing the other harness and jus straight hardwired the deck...
i really want to put my own deck in there do i hav to clip n hardwire mine as well? (if so where can i found a chart for what each color wire is) or is there an easier way for me to go

 

Constant 12V+ Blue/White
Switched 12V+ Yellow/Red
Ground Black
Illumination Red/Black
Dimmer n/a
Antenna Driver's Pillar
Front Speakers 6 1/2" Doors
Left Front (+) Blue
Left Front (-) Gray/Black
Right Front (+) Red/Green
Right Front (-) Brown/Black
Rear Speakers 6" x 9" Rear Deck
Left Rear (+) Blue/Yellow
Left Rear (-) Gray/White
Right Rear (+) Red/Yellow
Right Rear (-) Brown/White

 

Constant 12V+ Blue/White
Switched 12V+ Yellow/Red
Ground Black
Illumination Red/Black
Dimmer n/a
Antenna Driver's Pillar
Front Speakers 6 1/2" Doors
Left Front (+) Blue/Green
Left Front (-) Gray/Black
Right Front (+) Red/Green
Right Front (-) Brown/Black
Rear Speakers 5 1/4" Rear Deck
Left Rear (+) Blue/Yellow
Left Rear (-) Gray/White
Right Rear (+) Red/Yellow
Right Rear (-) Brown/White