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I just got my Apline CDA-105 in the mail, and am a bit confused by some of the wiring for the Scosche wiring harness that came with it. This is the first time I've done this, so bear with me.

I've already twisted and taped most of the wires, and they worked out fine. However, on the back of the Scosche package where it says the wire colors/functions, there is a "BLUE/WHITE = REMOTE TURN ON (12V+)". However, there is not blue/white wire on the harness itself. Instead there is an orange/white wire that is not listed on the package...should I assume this is the same wire?

(EDIT: After some more research I found that the orange/white wire is a dimmer, which I guess the CDA-105 doesn't have. And I assume the Blue/white wire coming from the CDA-105 would go directly to an amp if I had one?)

My other question is about the grounding cables. The Alpine adapter has the ground cable as a wire to a bolt connector (to ground on a bolt inside the dash). However, the Scosche also has a ground wire. Should I ignore the ground wire on the Scosche and attach the alpine one to a bolt? Or should I remove the bolt attachment on the alpine adapter and attach that wire to the Scosche?

(EDIT: I got impatient and just attached it to a bolt, and taped the Scosche wire. Everything seems to be working fine, but if I should have done it the other way please let me know)

Thanks guys, any help would be appreciated. (2002 civic sedan LX)

 
Rep Power: 291

Don't connect the dimmer wire!!!!

 
Rep Power: 195

The CA-105 does have a dimmer feature. It will be the orange wire on the Alpine harness.

And yes, the blue/white wire is for powering on an amp. Just tape it off if you are not running a separate amp.

As for the ground, it is better to hook the headunits ground wire directly to the body as you did. Many times if you hook the ground to the ground wire in the harness you will get alternator whine.

 
Rep Power: 291

Connecting the illumination wire fries stuff on 7th gens.

 
Rep Power: 195

That could be. I don't know about the 7th Gens. I just wanted to let him know the head unit does do dimming since he said he thought it didn't.
So don't hook it up as it may cause damage.

 
Rep Power: 812

just dim it manually if you need to. most decks even in bright mode arent nearly as bright as i want at night lol.

 
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There was actually two wires coming from the Scosche/Car....a Dimmer wire and an Illumination wire. The CDA-105 didn't have a wire labeled dimmer...so I taped that one off on the scosche and just hooked up the illumination wires, which surprisingly activated the dimming feature (headlights on, less light coming from the alpine).

Should I go back in and detach this wire? Also, I just noticed tonight that the LEDs on the bottom half of my AC panel (Fan speed/AC/etc but NOT defrost) are not lit. Did I fry something?

 
Rep Power: 291

yes, that's what hooking up the illumination wire frys on the 7th gens. some have only a couple things that stop lighting up, others, it's the ring around the ***** and other stuff.

 
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Not good...I thought I SAVED money by doing this myself. Please tell me it's an easy fix...

Thanks for the help btw, I appreciate it.

 
Rep Power: 812

there is no fuse, it fries the dimmer and posibly the entire dash lighting circuit. you need a new gauge cluster and possibly new dash control ***** and dials too. the dimmer on the cluster can sometimes be swapped, but you still need to buy a new cluster and open both up to swap and resolder the dimmer ****. do your gauge lights still work? if so, then you prolly just blew the dash bulb and its a cheap fix. if gauges are dark, its bad.

 
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Luckily the gauges are fine. All thats out is the bottom half of the temperature ****, the entire fan speed ****, and the circulation & A/C buttons. I'm going to disconnect the illumination wire first thing in the morning so that I don't fry anything else.

I hate to make you guys walk me through the entire process in this thread, is there any existing walkthrough threads that would help me on this? Not sure where to begin or where to get the part...any guidance would be appreciated.

Any idea how much this would run me to take to a professional? Rather not do that unless the process is extremely complicated.

 
Rep Power: 812

prolly burnt out two bulbs that you need from the dealer. they are a bulb and base combo piece. i think they are few bucks each. the bulbs are different sizes for the dials vs the buttons. install is easy, just follow this diy to get to the bulbs.

http://ledautomotive.com/guide.php?id_cms=31

 
Rep Power: 0

Thanks gearbox. Bit of an update & a question:

The "active" lights on all three buttons (Circulation, A/C, Defrost) work fine. However, the text backlights for the circulation and A/C button are completely out.

As for the vent control *****, they are lit by two bulbs. The bottom one does not light up at all, and the top one is unreliable. If I smack it, it turns on sometimes...if I smack it again, it turns off. When it's on it's pretty dim. Does this still suggest that the bulbs are the problem?

Thanks again, I appreciate it. My roommate has a 6th gen and all of his dash lights are out too...he must have done the same thing when he installed his unit. I sure wish alpine had a warning about this in the manual.

 
Rep Power: 247

Thanks for the diy! Have you ordered from that site before?
All 3 of my lower buttons are out.. (the circ.,ac, and rear defroster)
And two of the ***** are dim now, almost completely out.
I'm thinking of getting the solderless climate control kit.
Also do you know if unhooking this "illumination wire" is the same for a 6th gen civic?

 
Rep Power: 308

Group re-lamp, I did it on my 05 and it looked great. Those bulbs are junk and they get dark from the heat over time.

 
Rep Power: 308

On the 6th gens the dimmer electronics is located in the box behind the dimmer ****. They are known to cause loss of dash lights.