Stupid speaker wiring question (00 AC w/amp)

Not knocking the (ATOTO?) head unit. A lot of people are using it, and it seems to be reliable enough, good bang vs. buck. I really don't know enough about your head unit to say for sure on this one. I'd probably use a multimeter to test the output of the trigger wire and make sure it's throwing a signal. I assume it would throw either 5v or 12v or something when thrown in reverse, but that's purely an assumption. Setting to DC 12v (or 20v if that's what yours says) and testing may work to test. But again, don't take my word for it that voltage will be barfing out of it.

 

Yeah, I had a bad wire tap on my tundra for a bit. So it was flaky. I reseated it and it works clean. Most likely you need reverse to power the camera and aux on the head unit cause the trigger isn’t triggering.

 

So the tap and ground are working fine I think it's the head unit not deferring to the signal to launch the aux video app...my fault for buying a cheap one.

I can live with having to open the app to use it as it'll be mainly used when I'm plowing the driveway so I don't hit the garage door. But issue I ran into when running the wire to the cab, I found the grommet under the driver's seat where it's already got other wires running, cut a tiny hole and stuffed the aux jack end thru....but can't find it topside...

There's two holes in the carpet under the seat, one has wires coming thru, the other doesn't...I fed like 8-10ft of cable into the hole underneath and can't feel any of it in either hole...what am I missing?

 

(also doesn't really need to be said but I think this may be the final nail in the trying to do this shit myself coffin. pretty clear I'd of been better off paying a shop to do this and to have bought a less terrible head unit at this point...also not feeling any of the satisfaction of being able to do it even though I was able to get the speakers working)

 

You're learning through direct experience. That's worth more than spending the money to have a shop do the work.

If you never, ever plan on doing something like this again, yes, I can see why you'd take it to a shop. But for now, it's a learning experience and you're getting to know your vehicle in the process, which is a win-win any day.

 

Appreciate that but feels like L after L at this point.

Found another writeup where someone just routed the cable thru the rocker panel where there's apparently a factory hole that just runs straight to the panel. Is that a good idea given how exposed it is? Seems it would be a lot easier if it's actually straight thru but not sure it's ok to run it that way.

 

Not trying to be all philosophical here, but you can't spell Learn without an "L". I mean, it's comical, but it's also true. Failure leads to learning, you won't be making these mistakes again, now will you? Probably not.

There are three rules of thumb about routing wires through metal into a cab:

• The wire must be protected from touching metal, either by way of rubber grommet covering the metal, or passing it through a diaphragm like you did under the seat.
• If it's carrying power, you must fuse the wire within 12" - 18" from the battery, just in case the cab cuts through the casing and arcs out.
• There mustn't be any way for water to run down the wire and into the cab (this is mostly for firewalls), and shouldn't be "loose" enough in the hole so bugs can get in.

The first two are probably the most important, but the 3rd is worth mentioning because I've seen some real disasters there. Either water running down a drip line and getting into fuse blocks etc., or wires being allowed to bounce around so much the casing wears or cuts thru.

I'm not familiar of the hole you speak of. You know the old saying, picture is worth 1k words.

 

Gasket maker stuff seems pretty decent, albeit messy. Also some high current pass through stuff where you drill a hole and mount a post with insulation all around it so you can just bolt or quick release on both sides to pass high current through. I think I bought some of that stuff for my amplifiers. If so, not sure where it is. I'm good at spending, not so good at using...

 

Are you talking about the liquid electrical tape? I use that stuff to patch flaws in Tolex in guitar amps.

 

Took me a bit to find it as I hadn't saved the link but this is it. Pic is about halfway down.

https://www.tundratalk.net/threads/1st-gen-tundra-tailgate-backup-cam-install.196714/

Would save me from having to pull the driver's seat, front bolts came out easy...rear bolts didn't want to move at all after a few turns for some reason.

 

That article is full of no-nos. Not just with the tail light taps they're using, but this is exactly what I'm talking about in my first point above:

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You never pass an unprotected wire through sheet metal. You can go to almost any big box auto parts store and get an assorted box of diff't sized rubber grommets like these to plop in the hole, not only for weatherproofing and sound control, but most importantly so the wire casing only rubs against rubber, and never against metal.

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Basically, you just need to find one where the groove around the perimeter is close in diameter to the hole. Run your wire through the hole, slip it onto the end of the wire, and pop it into the hole. Or, if it's a tight-tolerance one like the left-hand one, you may find it easier to install in the hole first and route the wire in.

Mind you - I'm not saying that, if you went down to your local Best Buy and had their Geek Squad stereo team install, they wouldn't do exactly like the guy on TundraTalk. I'm just saying, it's not the right way. It's the sloppy way, and you'll eventually have problems.

An ounce of prevention and all that.

 

That's basically what I did on the tailgate when I ran the wires through the bottom, just made a grommet out of old hose. Probably better to get one meant for the job though. Will see about getting a few but does that hole indeed run right into the rocker? To where I could just run the wire straight to the corner and then over to the head unit?

 

No, I've found that unsatisfying other than a nice way to color code bus bars for GEP modules.

$7 Permatex 82180 Ultra Black Maximum Oil Resistance RTV Silicone Gasket Maker, Sensor Safe And Non-Corrosive, For High Flex And Oil Resistant Applications 3 oz

This specifically. Punch wire through existing solid rubber grommet and seal with this stuff to make it watertight.

 

Not sure, I'd need to go look at my truck. If you look a little farther back on the cab, looks like there's a 1" hole and may be connected to the same channel. If so, and you can fish it down, then fish it thru the rocker, that would be a less-steep angle of exit from the rocker.

Here's the advice I'd give. Get something flexible, like a wire coat hanger. Wrap the tip in electrical tape so it won't scratch shit up. Start probing away and see what you find. If you find a spot you can pass the coat hanger through, tape a wire to the tip, and use the coat hanger to pull it back through.

Also, every major hardware store, and maybe even Best Buy, sells split loom, which is totally safe to use in lieu of a grommet, and is equally safe. If it's good enough for Toyota, it's good enough for you! Once you get the wire through the hole, a lot of times you can just slide the split loom over the wire and use the wire to guide it thru the same hole you put the wire through. It's always best to electrical tape it, either full-wrap, or every 4"-8" or so so the wire can't fall out of the split.

Lots of options here. Just use the three bullets above as the general "never do this", and think about the ways you can not do those things but still get it done. Work by example if you gotta, look at how the manuf'er does it and do it that way if needed.

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Managed to find the wire by sticking something like a coat hanger thru the hole and was able to snake it from under the seat into that channel and up to the head unit. Plugged in and working but only when I reverse and after opening the aux video app for some reason. Went and added that coiling and grommets around the wires, adjusted the head unit to fit a bit better and managed to chip off a corner. Also when I was done and after giving up on trying to get the WiFi to connect, I tried the backup camera again...and of course now it won't work.....FUCK THIS FUCKING PROJECT!!!!!!!!!

 

I hope this doesn't come off the wrong way, but I think we've all been there.

Walk it off. Very likely just a loose wire, or some other small oversight. Many times when you get jilted over things not going right or confusion, you miss something.

Look back over things tomorrow. The corner chip you can see as a failure, or a lesson, or a badge of honor.

 

I’ve been there. Time heals all wounds.

 

Getting back to things today and decided to start with the seat belt buckle as it seemed like a good place to get a 'win'...or so I thought. Passenger buckle was worn out and wouldn't hold the seat belt anymore so I ordered a replacement (https://www.oempartsquick.com/oem-p...EU8qqnmmJ4hLqJ-VxQqZeHYNHYd9xmfYaAo1XEALw_wcB)

And got the seat out, pulled the old buckle...and of course the wiring didn't match, despite them holding the order til I provided the VIN to confirm the part was correct. Pic shows new plug on left old on right, seems like the opposite (male/female) essentially. Not sure if there's some way to get it to work or if I'm just stuck with the light being on forever (barring another replacement). Second pic is underside of the seat for reference.

Hoping someone else might have run in to this and may have an idea how to make this work.

 

Those look like they match? If you orient them the right way.

 

Right, but that's the old and new seat belt buckle sensors....they should have been the same

 

This is why I order from the dealership usually, then I can driver over and bitch if they get the part wrong, but I only do it if I'm expecting I don't know the right part number, which you never truly know for sure...

If the wire colors match on old and new, you can potentially de-pin them from their connector, and re-pin (take pics before anything to make sure you orient the wires right). In a nutshell, you'd be swapping the old connectors onto the new part, but without cutting and soldering. You don't want to cut/solder on anything safety-related. But be sure to de-pin the correct way.

I'm having a hard time figuring out which is old and which is new in your pics, so I'm a tad confused about how things aren't matching.

 

Ya that seems like a lot beyond my ability for something that worst case scenario just throws a light. Pic attached makes it a little clearer and I'd guess I put too much faith in their process of using the VIN to validate it was the right part.

 

That's what I'm saying. Those two fit into each other. Line up the blue lines.

 

I'd guess they might but the other end of each is the buckle...so it won't really help much

 

Ahhhh, so the connectors are the same on both parts, but they swapped the orientation? Like, on the old part, both ends are female, but on the new part, both ends are male? So basically your option is male-male or female-female?

If the connectors fit otherwise, I'd just swap the ends so that - when plugged together male-female, the wires match. But I'd do it by de-pinning, not cut/solder or cut/crimp.

 

You may also just contact the vendor and say, "wrong part".

So they're not confused, I'd put both parts side-by-side on the ground and take a pic to send them.

 

Ya it seems the new part is male and the truck side of male (pins wise) so it just won't work but didn't want to leave it all apart so I buttoned it back up with the new buckle. Sent them an email so we'll see what happens.

 

Mystery solved...they sent the driver's side not the passenger side, and because buried in their email asking for the VIN was a not that it was not returnable and was actually for the driver's side I'm just out $50....and this is why Amazon is taking over everything.

tldr: don't order from OEMPartsQuick.com

 

Yeah, unfortunately, with scAmazon you dunno if you're getting authentic parts.

Do you need the correct p/n for the passenger side? You could order through parts.toyota.com for (potentially) local dealership pickup, or order from a dealership in another east-coast state that's zero tax and free shipping.

There *is* an upside to this: Once done, now you're up-to-date on both sides of the truck. One less thing to fail/have probs with later.

 

I didn't actually order this thru Amazon, I went direct to their site so this one sits squarely on them. And at this point I drive the truck so little I doubt the driver's side will ever wear out so it's just wasted. Does make sense now what I had such trouble getting the harness thru the seat frame...cause it wasn't meant to fit thru it...