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2003 Tundra SR5 Stereo Amp question (Long)

My son had an aftermarket DVD/Stereo player installed by a local audio system installer. He decided to reinstall the original factory unit (according to the VIN #, Deluxe AM/FM CD player ). He is the original owner, since it was new off the lot. The stereo/ventilation controls were easy to remove, however the the connectors on the main wiring harness did not match the connectors on the original stereo. I took some detailed pictures of all harness connectors and stereo connectors and went to my local Toyota dealer parts dept and inquired about the problem. I guessed that there may be an intermediate cable between the main harness and the stereo. One of the employees knowlegable about stereo installation in Toyotas, said there was no such cabling and should be an amplifier the main harness connects TO and the connectors FROM the amplifier connect to the stereo. The amp is supposed to be located below the stereo behind the ventilation controls inside the dash. I was unable to find the amp in that location. It would be obvious if it were located where my Toyota man said it would be. So, either the amp was there and the installer had removed it or the truck never had one installed in the first place. If the latter was true, then there must be some intermediate cable between the main harness and the stereo as the Toyota dealer said does not exist. If the former were true, then the installer would have gone to extra work (it wouldn't have been in the way of the aftermarket system) and it was not returned to my son, as it should have been. They did return his original stereo at the time of installation of the aftermarket unit. Can anyone with some specific Toyota information help? Is there a intermediate cable? I have pictures that may help. Thanks.

Reply to
Rick Wilcox
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There are 2 factory headunits, 1 type has an interanl amp the 2nd has an external amp. The units with a \n internal amp have connections for the factory 6 & 10 pin connectors. The units with an external amp, connect to the amp by a 20 pin pigtail on the amp. The factory 6 & 10 pin connectors plug into the amp.

If the back of yor son's headunit does not have a 6 pin& a 10 pin connections, but instead has a 20 pin connection, it needs the mating external amp.

Reply to
Glenn Arsenault

The head unit actually has three recepticles on the back. I have three connectors coming from the main harness. Pictures are worth a thousand words.Paste these into your browser and you can see.

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and click on the picture files named radio_.jpg.

I'm almost convinced that the external amp was employed. Which would mean the installer removed the amp but did not return it. What recourse should I expect from the installer (Lombards in California, should be reputable) if that were the case?

news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com...

Reply to
Rick Wilcox

That radio had an external amp, you can tell by the 20 pin connection on the back. The 12pin connection on the radio is to connect an external cd changer. The third connection on the radio (also 20pin) is for the steering wheel controls. The connections you show in radio6.jpg and radio7.jpg are the oem plugs that carry power, speaker connections etc and need to plug into the external amp. The connector you show in radio5.jpg looks like the connector for the steering wheel controls that plugs into the radio..

Reply to
Glenn Arsenault

Thanks for sharing that information. The Toyota dealer was not as helpful. I think the radio installer was very disingeuious, especially since we asked for the return of the original equipment.

Reply to
Rick Wilcox

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