Thanks to those of you who replied to my question about the radio wiring, unfortunately, I didn't get any response that helped until after I figured it out for myself. I tell my story to give a few of you a laugh and to possibly help anyone who attempts the same procedure. I have a 1999 T4R Limited and needed to replace the stock radio/cd/tape unit that had died. I had read a blog on another site where someone mentioned that the aftermarket wiring harness they bought did not fit their 99 so I was prepared for the same problem. So I pulled out the stock radio, and unplugged the stock connection plug. The stock plug had spotted wires (like older telephone wires) coming out of it which then all went into a jacket and then went back up against the firewall and ran "behind" a silver box (which I assumed was related to the air bag system) and then appeared to loop behind the box and run back up the firewall and out to the locations. When I pulled out my new aftermarket harness connector it was no surprise that it did not fit just as I had read about. So I went on mission to find a wiring diagram so I could just cut and splice the necessary wires but had no success. I joined this site and posted my question. Later that night I got home and checked for a response but none helped me. I did some more online searching and found a place that for 10 bucks you could download the wire schematic, which I did, and they didn't match. So I set out to figure out the wires myself. I located all power wires and ground but when it came to speaker leads I had major problems. None of them did anything when I ran power through them. There were actually more steps involved but it would take to long to list them! Anyway I was at wits end and it was about 4am by this point. Finally I started to look more closely at that jacketed wire and discovered it doesn't go behind that silver box but into it! MF... That damn silver box was the stock amp with no markings of any kind and low and behold just underneath it (completely hidden from view) were another set of plugs that of course fit right into the after market harness! SOB... So if you have the same set up, and were unfamiliar with it, I hope to have saved you a lot of grief. A job that took me several hours would have been ridiculously easy and taken less than an hour if I had known this. If you have the same application just unscrew 2 screws, yank out the old amp and toss it. This will give you more slack for the stock harness and more room for the new wire. The other part of the question I originally posted asked if anyone had a good way to install a manual switch for the power ant. The answer to that one is also easy (though no one suggested it) just run the power ant wire to a toggle switch (instead of your radio) and then run a constant power lead to the switch. When the switch is on the ant will stay up, when it's off it's down, just like the radio did the job. I do love the T4R, just need to get the Toyota service manuals!
Radio wire update
- Thread starter Wyatt13
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nserpa9248
New member
Hey wyattt...
This is your first post, so im sure you havent asked anyone here about this.
My truck (as is many other toyotas) have a similar system.
Since you already figured out what i was going to tell you (that the METRA 1761 harness would plug right in to the back of the factory amplifier) then your already working as far as your radio / sound goes.
As far as your power antenna, if your radio just has remote turn on for an amplifier, and not power antenna, then run the remote turn on to a switch, and then output that to the power antenna wire in the harness...
This way, you dont leave the antenna up when the car / radio ISNT on.
Figure yourself lucky that the harness you chopped up, comes right out like that, otherwise, you would be at toyota buying a new factory harness...
Good luck man,
-nick
This is your first post, so im sure you havent asked anyone here about this.
My truck (as is many other toyotas) have a similar system.
Since you already figured out what i was going to tell you (that the METRA 1761 harness would plug right in to the back of the factory amplifier) then your already working as far as your radio / sound goes.
As far as your power antenna, if your radio just has remote turn on for an amplifier, and not power antenna, then run the remote turn on to a switch, and then output that to the power antenna wire in the harness...
This way, you dont leave the antenna up when the car / radio ISNT on.
Figure yourself lucky that the harness you chopped up, comes right out like that, otherwise, you would be at toyota buying a new factory harness...
Good luck man,
-nick
Thanks for the good luck Nick. Actually the story above was my 3rd post I just deleted the other 2 before I posted it. If I would have had more patience, and waited another day, I would have seen a response that would have saved me a lot of grief by giving me that info on the stock amp. As for the antenna power, my new Kenwood deck has a lead for that, but I don't want the antenna going up and down every time I turn the radio or the car off, that's why I installed a switch. Here's a question for you though, there is a second wire that appears to be a smaller ant lead, am I correct in assuming that it leads to the right far rear window for an AM antenna built into the glass?
nserpa9248
New member
There should be a blue and a blue white wire, one is power antenna, the other is amplifier turn on.
Wait, you are talking about the wires on the back of the radio right?
Wait, you are talking about the wires on the back of the radio right?
I am good with all the wires, radio works great with no problems. The mystery wire I was talking about looks exactly like the standard antenna lead (not for power but for reception, FROM the truck not the radio) except it is only about 2/3 the size of the standard antenna lead. I am 99% sure it is lead for a built in AM antenna built into the far right rear glass. They both plugged into the stock head unit but I have never seen another car radio with a separate AM antenna. Could probably be used for a CB, scanner etc. In case your not familiar with "in glass" antennas they look just like the defroster wires in most rear auto windows. Check it out on your truck you probably have one (passenger side far rear window) . Forgive my T4R ignorance, my backcountry truck for the last 10 years was a 76 Chevy Blazer, it originally came with a "new FM radio" and one speaker in the dash! I have only had this T4R for about 8 months. I wanted one truck that was nice on the highway but still capable of serious off roading and the 4Runner fits the bill well.
nserpa9248
New member
Ohhh the toyota multi-antenna..dont worry about the little one..
Just use the bigger one..tape off the other if you prefer.
Just use the bigger one..tape off the other if you prefer.
Wyatt13 said:
Hey I know this is a little late but here's a post I did on YotaTech on this same issue . http://www.yotatech.com/showthread.php?t=102415&highlight=lighter+switch
nserpa9248
New member
I installed a swith for the power antenna last night...Great little mod...hated having to shut off my radio @ car washes, and i never even use FM radio anyway...
Its very very simple
all you have to do is cut the power antenna lead in half (if you have an aftermarket radio that follows the universal color scheme its the blue/white wire)
extend the wires to the blank-out panel to the left of the steering column..
BTW. 18ga wire works fine
Find any style single-pole, single-throw switch you like (radioshack has them)
Run one of the two wires to one side of the swithc, and the other to the other terminal, solder em on, and solder the wires to both ends of the power antenna wire you cut behind the radio
Dosent matter which way you do this either if you get a single-pole / single-throw switch btw (all you need to do is open the circuit)
Now you have a switch that you can control the power antenna with..
Its very very simple
all you have to do is cut the power antenna lead in half (if you have an aftermarket radio that follows the universal color scheme its the blue/white wire)
extend the wires to the blank-out panel to the left of the steering column..
BTW. 18ga wire works fine
Find any style single-pole, single-throw switch you like (radioshack has them)
Run one of the two wires to one side of the swithc, and the other to the other terminal, solder em on, and solder the wires to both ends of the power antenna wire you cut behind the radio
Dosent matter which way you do this either if you get a single-pole / single-throw switch btw (all you need to do is open the circuit)
Now you have a switch that you can control the power antenna with..
4runner aftermarket head unit problems
man im having the exact same problem with my 1999 4runner sr5. im trying to replace the factory cd with aftermarket hu. i originally got the harness from best buy ( when i went to install it didnt match up). so i went back they gave me a harness with wires and rca's, when i went to hook that up it fit but my hu got no power and just made some feedback noises. there is another amp behind the dash like yours. So what your saying is that all i have to do is un hook factory amp and run cd player to that input?(witch probably fits the original harness they gave me) ??
man im having the exact same problem with my 1999 4runner sr5. im trying to replace the factory cd with aftermarket hu. i originally got the harness from best buy ( when i went to install it didnt match up). so i went back they gave me a harness with wires and rca's, when i went to hook that up it fit but my hu got no power and just made some feedback noises. there is another amp behind the dash like yours. So what your saying is that all i have to do is un hook factory amp and run cd player to that input?(witch probably fits the original harness they gave me) ??
BrianSD_42
New member
OP,
:welcome:
glad to hear you figured it out. not sure where your original post was but I think the audio section its pretty slow. better off just posting in the 3rd gen section.
if you want to search for a topic just use google or bing to search the site directly. You will get much better results.
TIP:
enter into google exactly like this >
site:toyota-4runner.org searchWord
btw when the forum says thread views, those include clicks for outside like google, not necessarily registered members. It makes it look like everyone is ignoring the post but really that isn't often the case. Also if you want better responses make the post clear and easy to read.
Noise
Make sure your head unit is powered directly off the battery with a 25-30 amp fuse. If you have a separate amp, make sure that is powered with a separate cable to the battery.
I have NO noise with this setup. If you have noise when playing from a phone or MP3 player check if your ipod is pluged into 12v, unplug it and try using just battery to see if the noise goes away. In my truck the only time I have ever heard "feedback whine" is when I charge my phone while playing music through the 3.5mm jack.
The next step to eliminate noise is to run your own 14g speaker wire to all doors.
Antenna
All, you should not need a separate manual switch for the antenna. I have an alpine head unit and I wired it to the factory harness. the antenna goes up when I have the radio on FM/AM only. if I power it on to use just CD player then the antenna stays down. this is similar to the factory setting.
maybe the radio you bought doesn't support this setup but all alpines do. there is also a possibility you are wiring it wrong.
PS, it makes it a lot easier for others to read if you separate your post into small paragraphs
(sent from phone)
:welcome:
glad to hear you figured it out. not sure where your original post was but I think the audio section its pretty slow. better off just posting in the 3rd gen section.
if you want to search for a topic just use google or bing to search the site directly. You will get much better results.
TIP:
enter into google exactly like this >
site:toyota-4runner.org searchWord
btw when the forum says thread views, those include clicks for outside like google, not necessarily registered members. It makes it look like everyone is ignoring the post but really that isn't often the case. Also if you want better responses make the post clear and easy to read.
Noise
Make sure your head unit is powered directly off the battery with a 25-30 amp fuse. If you have a separate amp, make sure that is powered with a separate cable to the battery.
I have NO noise with this setup. If you have noise when playing from a phone or MP3 player check if your ipod is pluged into 12v, unplug it and try using just battery to see if the noise goes away. In my truck the only time I have ever heard "feedback whine" is when I charge my phone while playing music through the 3.5mm jack.
The next step to eliminate noise is to run your own 14g speaker wire to all doors.
Antenna
All, you should not need a separate manual switch for the antenna. I have an alpine head unit and I wired it to the factory harness. the antenna goes up when I have the radio on FM/AM only. if I power it on to use just CD player then the antenna stays down. this is similar to the factory setting.
maybe the radio you bought doesn't support this setup but all alpines do. there is also a possibility you are wiring it wrong.
PS, it makes it a lot easier for others to read if you separate your post into small paragraphs
(sent from phone)
Last edited:
BrianSD_42
New member
actually I'm straight but Ifind it amusing that there are so many kids on this forum.
if you think my info is bad then feel free to correct it. there its a lot we all dont know on this forum.
if you think my info is bad then feel free to correct it. there its a lot we all dont know on this forum.