Radio replacement/upgrade

2003 DODGE CARAVAN
125,000 MILES • 3.3L • 6 CYL • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
Avatar
BRUCE HEADLEY
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Van listed above is the Sport model. Replacing the stock AM/FM/Cassette/CD unit (no external amp, 6 speaker, non-infinity) with a Pioneer MVH-1400NEX RDS AV Receiver. Also purchased the Metra 95-6539 Double DIN Dash Combo Kit (includes Metra replacement dash plastic, Metra CH6001 wiring pigtail & Metra AD-CR1 antenna adapter), a Metra 70-6502 wiring pigtail and an APPS2Car parking brake bypass.
It is unclear which Metra wiring pigtail to use (CH6001 or 70-6502, I believe it's the 70-6502) and it doesn't come with a wire color code.
The Pioneer installation manual is screwy but understandable as far as as the wire harness goes.
Since the stock radio only fades front to back, I assume the dashboard & front speakers are paralleled (left/right sides) and the rear speakers are separate.

Is there a wiring diagram for this configuration? Is there a color code table for the Metra wiring pigtails, and which Metra wire pigtail do I use?
Nov 29, 2020 at 9:39 AM
Advertisement
Avatar
STEVE W.
  • CERTIFIED EXPERT
  • 15,113 POSTS
This should be the wiring for the stock system. The dash and front doors are parallel wired with the rear on their own as you wrote. As for the pigtail, the CH6001 is the same part as the Metra 70-6502 the American International CW-H638 and the Scosche CR02B and should match the second picture.
Looking at the wiring for that head unit it looks like the yellow, orange, red, blue and black are direct color matches to the pigtail. The speakers are not hard.
The other connections for the extra functions like back up camera parking brakes don't exist in the factory radio harness but are nearby.
The parking brake wire is dark green with white stripe and goes from the switch up to the dash. for the reverse switching you should be able to connect to the white w/light green wire that runs to the rear and powers the back up lights. The rest of that system is controlled by the PCI buss.

Images (Click to enlarge)
Attached Media
Attached Media
Attached Media
Nov 29, 2020 at 3:56 PM
Avatar
BRUCE HEADLEY
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Steve W, thank you very much for the images! I tried searching for the van radio wiring and only found the Infinity diagrams. Finally contacted Metra tech support and got a copy of the 70-6502 harness and yes, the wire colors match the radio harness colors. Sadly, the Metra dash kit was supposed to come with the harness and antenna adapter, but it didn't, so the van upgrade is on hold until parts arrive.
Is it necessary to trim/remove the plastic brace in the dashboard? Some say yes, others say no..
Dec 1, 2020 at 3:45 AM
Advertisement
Avatar
STEVE W.
  • CERTIFIED EXPERT
  • 15,113 POSTS
I think it would depend on the actual radio if it needs to be trimmed.
Dec 1, 2020 at 11:34 AM