I am not sure if you are trying to splice into the factory harness, but if that is what you are talking about doing, that is not what you want to do. you are gonna have a bad time. buy the adapter that plugs into the factory harness.

 

Basically what the problem is that (referring to the picture I posted in my earlier message), those wires are NOT connected to that part of the wire harness. I thus need to connect the wires THEMSELVES to the other end of that connector. My question is how do I go about doing that, becuase the wires seem as though they'll just fall out of the input slots on the connector unless they have the metal crimp which the others do (that were done by the factory).

Again, those separate wires need to be somehow connected to that end of the adapter and I don't know how to do that.

Thanks guys!

 

you got a faulty connector if the wires are not secure. take it back and get one that was made correctly.

 

the connector is not faulty. the ends of the speaker wires is a factory way to pre-strip the wire. that is on purpose.

what it is letting you do is connect the aftermarket radio to the factory speaker wires. the factory radio plug (which is visible in the photo) simply plugs into the factory radio. The wires left in the harness provide power and data/dimming only. The factory radio won't power speakers anymore.

on the other end of the wires there should be another connector, a female one that the harness in the vehicle plugs into.
there should also be spare red, yellow, and black wires for aftermarket head unit power and ground.

 

you should take the harness for the aftermarket radio and combine that with the wires in the harness above. the colors will simply match up.

so in the end, you'll have a wire harness that has three ends. one pictured that goes into the factory radio, one that plugs into the aftermarket radio, and one that fits the harness coming from the car (that used to plug into the aftermarket radio).

you can see a picture of the harness in the instructions, which i agree should include something about connecting it!
http://metraonline.com/files/products/INST99-7862.pdf

 

for connecting harnesses, i've used crimp caps


i've also used heat shrink and solder (preferred).

i've also used the in-line crimp connectors (blue) but have found them the least reliable.

 

keep_hope_alive I really appreciate all the stellar help you've been given me. I'm afraid my question goes unanswered and that's my fault for not being able to describe it accurately enough.

Please refer to this picture:


So, essentially, How do I get those loose wires (circled in red) to stay inside the blue male connector? I understand how everything plugs into each-other in a daisy-chain fashion, but I cannot grasp how to insert these wires into that connector with them staying securely in place. The few wires which are already connected to that blue male piece were done by the factory, and have what look to be metal butt-crimps around them inside (thus, securing them in place). Any idea?

 

you don't insert the wires in the blue connector. sorry, i thought i was more clear about that before.

you connect them to the aftermarket head unit. the blue connector goes into the factory radio. but the factory radio isn't being used to power speakers anymore. so you don't want the speaker wires connected there (that's what those wires are, except for the blue turn-on wire).

 

Thank you very much, I was wondering - once I saw the picture of your caddy dash, if that were the case... So, in this case, why did I purchase the Speaker Power Wire, then? (http://metraonline.com/part/70-1721)

So far my understanding is now this: The blue power harness which previously plugged into the back of my factory radio no longer will provide power to my speakers when I am using the aftermarket radio. Thus, I am going to solder the cords from the harness provided with said radio (the same one in the picture used throughout the post) to the radio's embedded power supply wires itself.

So, would I plug the previously-used factory harness into the adapter port on the other end of that cable which is in my pictures and is going to be soldered to the after-market unit? This may seem like a very obvious question, but I just want to be sure I am understanding what I am doing before jumping into things..

I can't thank you enough for your time and patience!

 

no worries about time and patience. i have a lot of one and i make room for the other.

yes, think about the flow of power to the speakers. the wires in the harness that goes into the vehicle need to deliver power to the speakers. the new head unit will be the source of the power.

having new speaker wire allows you to bypass factory wiring and run dedicated wire from the new head unit to each speaker. this is a good idea for a front component set.

you need to remind me (or i have to review previous posts) what speakers you are going to use immediately.