BigMatt

swapping out the stock stereo in my 94 xj, never done it before. i already tore apart the doors and replaced the speakers because neither of them worked real well. My cousin in law (previous owner) liked taking the doors off in the summer and he actually ripped the wiring out on the right door on accident. anyway the sound quality sucks so i decided to swap it out and i have no idea what im doing any advice?

Metmknice

Might be better off getting a HU from best buy when they are offering free install.

Bustedback

Buy a harness adaptor so you don't hack up the factory wiring, it just plugs into the factory harness from the head unit.

phoenix901223

What exactly are you trying to do? install a head unit and change the speakers?

Ladies

Go to your local auto parts store and buy a wiring harness adapter (about ten bucks). Match all the colors on it to your aftermarket radio and connect (solder for best sound quality). Once your wiring harness adapter is connected to your aftermarket radio, just plug it in the the factory radio harness then is in the dash. Very very easy to do. Youll be fine..

Bustedback

Do not hook up the dimmer circuit to the new head unit!!! You'll just blow the dash light and tail/marker lamp fuse.

D_Conrad

made this mistake when i first put mine in, worked fine till it got darker and i decided to turn my lights on, radio cut out and lost dash lights lol

BigMatt

alright, im just asking for advice on replacing the deck in the xj. i have already replaced the speakers i just need to know what im doing for the deck itself. And what the heck is the dimmer thing your refering to? ah by the way i have a brand new aiwa cdc-z137 i snagged for 20$. Am i going to need a face plate for it to work or what? and when it comes to the wiring harness, where can i get one?

bmp120

There is a dimmer built into the headlight switch. When you have the headlights on you can adjust how bright the internal lighting is - think the lights that light up the speedometer, oil temp, ... This typically dims the radio display.

Make sure that is disabled / not hooked up / disconnected. It is different on each of the radios. Your radio might not even support it so there is no worry.

Check on the net for a wiring harness that maps the wire harness that is installed in your car to the wiring on your radio.

My only advice is when removing the dash cover there seems to be an order that is easiest to disconnect the plastic clips. Go to quickly you break a plastic tab clip and you will have some rattles because the dash cover is not clipped in very well.

BigMatt

ive already removed the dash covered properly multiple times due to the fact the stereo was making one of the speakers cute out randomly, hence the reason im installing a new deck, if i was to buy a wiring harness of a site specifically made to plug and play for cherokees would that work?

bmp120

Yes, when buying the harness you have to match the vehicle to the radio (model). It can not just be a generic wire harness for Cherokees.

I hate to metion it but IF there is not one out there that fits your radio to your car get two - Cherokee - radio X; your model radio - Car Y. Then, cross splice the two together. It is not recommended to cut into the stock wires to save the money of buying a second harness.

BigMatt

I dont pay for the harness's at all seeing how my buddy works in a junkyard and gets them for a super reduced priced if he says he's installing them. which is where i just bought my deck from, an aiwa CDC-Z137 out of some ricer the kid decided to destroy about 2 weeks after replacing the sound system, and he junked it without taking it out

budweiser.junky

just go to wallys and get the scotche installation harness for your xj (about $10) take it home and match all colors to your HU. do not connect the orange wire which is the dimmer that was mentioned. as for the faceplate not familiar with xj but i am pretty sure you will need a dash kit

BigMatt

yep i need a single DIN faceplate to install it, havent done it yet no time or money gonna do it in a few weeks

SuperGlue

Just cut and splice the wires in my opinion. Just make sure you are hooking them to the right wiring, its real easy. As long as you have a multimeter, but Im also fairly handy with electrical so...