Need help with Lexus radio installation

[lo_dit]

To any Lexus owners or anyone with good knowledge about electronic installations:

I'm trying to do a 2000 Lexus ES300 radio swap into my dads 1997 Lexus ES300. I've made threads on Club Lexus and Lexus Owners Club already and just waiting for responses. Just looking for additional help.

Heres the thing:
1997 ES300 radio display is out.
Stock radio is Pioneer, not the Nakamichi system.
Purchased 2000 ES300 Pioneer wood grain radio for cheap. It came with a wiring harness.
The factory harness plugs from 97 radio and the 2000 are slightly different.
Went to walmart, best buy, o'reilly, autozone, circuit city to check out harnesses.
No one knows anything.

Can I splice all of the wires from the 2000 harness with the 97 wires? Some of the wire colors are different and I have been looking for wiring diagrams for both cars to show what all of the colors are to see if they will match for everything.

Pretty much I'm wondering if this can be done before I even attempt to try. Pictures can be posted up if anyone wants.

Sorry if this is posted in the wrong section!
Thanks guys.

[hybrid90accord]

most of the lexus es300 's have a factory pioneer amp under the front passanger seat. Most factory lexus radio only have low level outputs so if their is a factory amp just cutting and splicing the wires is out of the question.

[ChIoVnIdCa]

the original was probably non amplified system. The new one is. You can not get it to work without a external amplifier since it doesn't have one built in.

[lo_dit]

the original was probably non amplified system. The new one is. You can not get it to work without a external amplifier since it doesn't have one built in.

the car has a stock pioneer amplifier

[ChIoVnIdCa]

the car has a stock pioneer amplifier

look at a picture of a metra 1761 and a metra 8112 .. Tell me what you have.

[lo_dit]

i believe the 8112, thats what they showed me at BB and CC. but i'm not trying to run an aftermarket head unit so the rca's on the ends wont do anything.

heres a pic of the stock harness




and heres a pic of the newer harness






sorry for the crappy phone pics, no digital camera

[ChIoVnIdCa]

The newer radio is a 8113. The old one is a 8112. You need to splice. You can either cut the factory plug or buy a 8112 plug it in .. Cut the rcas off and match it to the newer radio harness. The grey harness on the newer one is the "rcas" or low level signal

[lo_dit]

The newer radio is a 8113. The old one is a 8112. You need to splice. You can either cut the factory plug or buy a 8112 plug it in .. Cut the rcas off and match it to the newer radio harness. The grey harness on the newer one is the "rcas" or low level signal

thanks for the help, i figured i would need to splice but still havent quite found the exact diagrams for both models to see which colors will match up.

i asked BB and CC people if i could do what you said, just use that 8112 harness and remove all the wires and put the wires into it but they said i couldnt. idiots.

and i'm thinking i would need some special tools to put the wires from the new harness into the 8112 plastic adaptor to get it to stay, right?

your way is what i wanted to do originally before i actually cut the factory plug.

[ChIoVnIdCa]

thanks for the help, i figured i would need to splice but still havent quite found the exact diagrams for both models to see which colors will match up.

i asked BB and CC people if i could do what you said, just use that 8112 harness and remove all the wires and put the wires into it but they said i couldnt. idiots.

and i'm thinking i would need some special tools to put the wires from the new harness into the 8112 plastic adaptor to get it to stay, right?

your way is what i wanted to do originally before i actually cut the factory plug.

no just cut the rca heads off. then solder. I can get you wire colors tomorrow if you cant find it

[lo_dit]

would have to pull out all the rca wires to create space. each harness, old and new have a total of 15 wires each. that big grey wire has 8 small wires inside it, i think they are speaker wires.

[ChIoVnIdCa]

would have to pull out all the rca wires to create space. each harness, old and new have a total of 15 wires each. that big grey wire has 8 small wires inside it, i think they are speaker wires.

no you cut just the heads off the rca line. Then wire the grey harness to it. Off the top of my head I think the 8112 will have one common rca ground. So you would hook up the positive LF output to the cut white rca, the positive RF output to the grey cut rca, the positive output LR to the green cut rca, then the RR output to the purple rca ... Then run all the low level grounds from the radio to the common ground.

[lo_dit]

what about the negative LF LR RF RR outputs? if the positives go with all the colors, where do the negatives go? are there two small wires in each RCA wire? i've never seen a cut RCA so i don't know. everything sounds good so far.

[ChIoVnIdCa]

Then run all the low level grounds from the radio to the common ground.

..

[lo_dit]

oh sorry missed that part. thanks for the help man, gonna go try and pick up a harness today and work on it.

[lo_dit]

still gotta find the wire coloring for each year. they are slightly off so i want to make sure