new truck

vawakemonster

today I put a 100 dollar deposit down on a 2000 dodge dakota regular cab. I'm very excited to install my HU sub amp and eventually replace the speakers. does anyone have experience with such trucks? if I am not mistaken doesnt mcleod have one? please feel free to inform me of tips and stereo answers.

MacLeod

I have a Dodge Ram but Ive owned pretty much nothing but trucks so feel free to ask any questions you have.

1996blackmax

Cars rule


....

KevinLWhitaker

I never thought my first muscle car would be a truck.

There's just something right about the world when you are driving to the river to go kayaking in your truck. Going to the takeout on a wet spring day in your truck to meet your buds, with the music cranking, brings a degree of satisfaction you just can't get in a car, particularly when its a nice, 4wd West Virginia road, and you can just cruise over the boulders.

I loved my truck. I'm still sad to see it go.

1996blackmax

Why are you letting it go?


I actually do like trucks, and suv's. I may go the suv route a little later.

I do enjoy taking my car on trips to the local mountains. Nice feeling you get when you go zipping through the twisties and the car just feels planted to the ground.

MacLeod

Ive had 2 cars in my whole life. The rest have been trucks.

Theyre just built better and are more durable. My truck for instance is built to haul 1500 pounds payload in the bed while towing 7000 pounds worth of trailer. Since itll never see that kind of load, its never being pushed anywhere near its limits. Cant say the same about cars or even small SUV's for that matter.

vawakemonster

ok I have a few questions....I get the truck wednesday when the check comes in the mail and I can go cash it and write one to the dealer so I'm preparing stereo equipment for when I get it.

today I bought the addapter to put my pioneer in the factory location but I do not have the "din cage" to secure the player tightly, do you know anywhere where the "din cage"(the cage inbetween the player and car) can be obtained?


Anyone know a place where I can find the factory wire map to know what wires to bond for the harness to clip into the stock harness.

ben62670

WalMart has the same adapters that crutfield has for much less and no shipping.

vawakemonster

I have the adapter I found at bestbuy what I need is that metal cge that comes with the HU that you bend to fit intot he car and slide the cd player into.

1996blackmax

MacLeod wrote:

Ive had 2 cars in my whole life. The rest have been trucks.

Theyre just built better and are more durable. My truck for instance is built to haul 1500 pounds payload in the bed while towing 7000 pounds worth of trailer. Since itll never see that kind of load, its never being pushed anywhere near its limits. Cant say the same about cars or even small SUV's for that matter.

I'd like to see you keep up with me in my car .

MacLeod

OK. We'll load them both up with 1500 pounds of stuff and then hitch a 7000 pound trailer onto the back of each and then we'll race. Then after your car snaps in half, we can load the pieces into the back of my truck and I can give you a lift to the nearest junkyard.

1996blackmax

No need to put anything on them, let us just go the way they are .

exalted512

I'll race you just the way they are in my truck, I pick the course
-Cody

vawakemonster

I have the wirring adapter for my dodge and the wiring adapter for my pioneer and they do not totally match up, does anyone know where I can get a wiring key or diagram?

all four speaker wires match but then there is a 5th pair of wires that are orange. the red and yellow match upbut then there is a brown wire what does this go too? and I'm guessing the blue wire in the dodge harness is a remote wire. which I wont use....

exalted512

The orange wires are illumination wires. When you parking lights come on, those wires either turn positive or negative. If you dont have the wires on both the pioneer and the factory harness, dont hook it up, just crimp it off. The blue wire is for cars with power antennas, youll crimp that off as well. The brown wire is a mute wire. It allows you to mute the radio with the push of a button.

If for some reason when you have everything powered up and you get no sound, youll need to hook up the blue wire to the remote wire off your pioneer. That means you have a factory amp somewhere and need that turn on lead to power up the factory amp
-Cody

vawakemonster

thanks, I went to walmart and the 41 dollar wire harness and car adapter from best buy cost me 17 at walmart. so I'm going to go return the betsbuy stuff and buy a wodering iron.

vawakemonster

there is not black on the factory wireing harness does this mean i should jsut groud it somewhere in the dash?

1996blackmax

exalted512 wrote:

I'll race you just the way they are in my truck, I pick the course
-Cody

The local mountains near my house will suffice .

exalted512

the black should have been connected independently on the back of the factory radio.
-Cody

vawakemonster

I got a soshe wiring harness form walmart for 14 dollars less and this one has a black cable and all of the cables match up no extra ones or mis matched colors.

exalted512

Just because it has a black wire doesnt mean its hooked up to anything. Follow the black wire and look on the factory harness to see if theres a wire where the black wire plugs into. If not, the ground should be where I said.
-Cody

Joelsbass

I've got a 99 dakota sport clubcab, does the one you're getting have the infinity soundsystem (tweeters in the door panels is an easy spot) cause if so you're either gonna need an adapter to bypass the factory amp, or wire to all the speakers straight from the HU, or just go with the next upgrade and pick up an amp for the speakers (and new speakers while you're at it lol)

vawakemonster

no mines the basic tape player sound system and i dont think theres an amp.

Joelsbass

congrats, trust me it saves on a lot of extra work when you just have the basic system to remove

vawakemonster

any suggestions issues problems fixxes or ideas for the dakota?

avguytx

It should have some sort of grounding strap that went to the back of the stock deck. Just tie it into that strap if it's there. It's as good as anything.

Joelsbass

if not just put a bolt into one of the metal supports back there and run the ground to that, make sure you shine the surface up first to ensure a good connection.