I am writing this so folks out there don't blindly trust Crutchfield when buying audio equipment for their vehicles. Crutchfield has a great reputation for providing excellent, knowledgeable service for folks who want to buy a new car stereo or speakers. They probably are pretty good in general, but they really failed me this time. I describe the details below but the quick summary is that their customer support technicians did not know the correct answers to my questions, and even the supervisors/experts on their staff gave me the wrong answers. Continually. All the time. What should have been a one-hour job at most turned into a weeklong project involving tons of internet research made more difficult by the bad advice given to me by Crutchfield's "experts".
I contacted Crutchfield numerous times. To their credit, I never had to wait on hold too long to get a tech support person. Unfortunately, every time, I had to repeat my question and what I had purchased, the problem I had -- and every time, the initial agent would put me on a long hold to consult with a more expert person. EVERY SINGLE TIME, Crutchfield would come back to me with THE WRONG ANSWER. I finally figured how to wire the stereo power on/off myself, with NO HELP from Crutchfield -- in fact, contacting Crutchfield was an impediment, resulting in hours of wasted time. I had to find the answers to my situation by browsing dozens of YouTube videos.
The only reason I can think of for Crutchfield terrible technical support is that very few customers replace the stereos in Sprinter vans. I bought a used Sprinter RV several months ago, and its provenance might appear to be quite complicated -- Freightliner slapped its logo on it, the vehicle and engine was made by Mercedes Benz, but it's called a Dodge Sprinter 2500, and Roadtrek made it into a Roadtrek RV. They are all the same engine and vehicle, however.
Here are the details:
I went to Crutchfield's website, and after a phone conversation with a customer service tech named Cole, I bought a JVC double-DIN head unit. I just wanted something that would play mp3-formatted CDs and had an AUX and USB inputs. I did not want anything fancy like navigation or a DVD player.
Cole sent me a link to a shopping cart, and I bought most of the recommended items.
Scosche CR1294B Dash Kit
Metra 70-1784 Receiver Wiring Harness
Metra 40-VW12 Antenna Adapter
Custom Instructions: 2007 Freightliner Sprinter Camper Van
I was a happy camper initially, but I had no idea of all the work, wrong answers from Crutchfield, and internet research that I would have to do. Here are the problems that I encountered.
1. The Scosche CR1294B Dash Kit had this description on the Crutchfield website: "Fits select 2017-17 Dodge, Freightliner, and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vehicles — single-DIN and double-DIN radios".
This thing did not fit. I had to use a Dremel tool to cut off about 1/4" of plastic around the borders to get it to fit. After installing this, I went to Amazon and realized that I should have gotten this item instead (Crutchfield recommended the wrong part, in other words):
SCOSCHE CR1292B 2003-07 Dodge Sprinter Van Double DIN or DIN w/Pocket Installation Dash Kit
https://www.amazon.com/SCOSCHE-CR1292B-2003-07-Sprinter-Installation/dp/B0015BVHO6/ref=au_as_r?_encoding=UTF8&Make=Dodge%7C40&Model=Sprinter%202500%7C2424&Year=2007%7C2007&ie=UTF8&n=1077068&s=car&vehicleId=6&vehicleType=automotive
No huge problem. I got this thing installed and did not mind doing some work with my Dremel. However, this shows how Crutchfield gets things wrong! Even something as simple to get right as this item .
2. The nightmare was getting the Kenwood stereo properly installed so that it would turn on and off with the engine.
As I understood it:
I will not have steering wheel control of the stereo. OK.
I should thread the bluetooth mic under stuff, mount it on vent, steering wheel, someplace where it will pick up my voice
Just crimping butt connectors should work fine for the wiring.
All the above proved correct (I have not tested bluetooth mic yet).
Now for the problems:
Crutchfield sent a Metra 70-1784 Receiver Wiring Harness. It was not difficult to wire together. The problem was that the instructions were incorrect when it came to the power provided from the Sprinter.
I got started, then wrote to Crutchfield:
I am about to start wiring the harness. I have a couple of questions. First, there is an orange/white wire on the harness, but not the Kenwood. It looks like this goes to DIMMER. Is that just left unconnected? (the answer was YES, leave that wire unconnected). Secondly, I seem to remember writing a note to myself that some wires should be crossed, eg orange going to red or something like that. I can't find the note. Just wondering if I am remembering incorrectly.
Quinn: oh no worries and actually the best people to reach out to about wiring questions is going to be my tech team. They do not do chat but you can reach them at 800-955-9094 they can dig into that wiring to make sure everything is as your thinking :)
I got the wiring harness done and the stereo stayed powered on, all the time, whether the engine was on or off. This was not acceptable since I would have to remember to turn the stereo off every time I turned the engine off. At some point, I would forget this, and I'd come back to a dead battery.
So I contacted Crutchfield again. The tech said: switch red to yellow and yellow to red - this is because this Metris harness fits all kinds of cars and the Sprinter is a bit different. It turns out that he was WRONG! This took me hours to figure out.
I followed the tech's recommendation to reverse yellow and red wires. Upon doing this, the stereo would power on only when the engine was off. With doors closed, the stereo was off. When engine was turned on, the stereo was off. The CD always would eject or accept, however. I had these questions: why is stereo turning on ONLY when door is opened, not immediately, and turns off when doors close or engine is turned on?
When I connected yellow and red directly (not reversed), the stereo would not go on at all. CD player would never eject or accept. In other words, there was no power going to the stereo at all with the yellow and red wires connected to yellow and red (not reversed).
I gleaned the following from internet forums:
Red is switched power and yellow is constant.
if your tryin to make it where you dont have to turn the ignition on an have the dash come to life to listen 2 the radio then all you have to do is wire the red and yellow TOGETHER. yes wire them together an jus insulate the bare wire. BUT the ignition should have an ACC position to where you can turn the radio on only w/o the fuel pump turnin on
The vast majority of Head units use the Yellow wire to draw the majority of current required to run the unit that's why it is fused with a 10 Amp fuse (although I have seen some units fused with 15 Amp fuses) the red wire is just the Accessorie power wire, the Headunit senses the voltage on that wire and powers up.
The main power input is drawn in via the Yellow wire (high current) also referred to as permanent powers cable.
The trigger voltage to switch on the stereo when you switch on your key is drawn in via the red wire (low current).
Well, connecting or reversing the power lines did not work, either way. I talked to Marc at tech support, who sent me a wiring diagram:
9-8-19: Marc at Crutchfield said that the yellow-red wires did not need to be switched. He said to cut and tape off the yellow wire from the Metris (it goes to thin brown wire from the van). (It does not make sense to me). Next: the Kenwood (stereo) yellow wire should go to the red wire coming from the Metrix. The Kenwood (stereo) red wire is power. The power needs to come from another power source, like the lighter, or a fuse adapter.
As a test, I wired the red and yellow wires from the van side to the red Metris side (the yellow Metris wire was taped off). This runs the risk that the stereo would be powered on all the time, even when the van is off. This worked...the stereo turned on.
I then started looking at the Sprinter fuse boxes (there are up to three in this van) to find a 12V power source that would switch on and off with the engine. Marc suggested using the windshield wiper fuse, which would be switched and was a usual fuse to tap into.
Marc suggested that I do this:
Tap into your fuse box https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b9CvUMcNQo
I learned this:
This fuse and indeed the fusebox layout seems to be the same as Mercedes Benz: https://www.benzworld.org/threads/where-to-tap-ignition-on-12v-from-interior-fuse-box-for-dashcam.2318441/
Sprinter has ATC/ATO fuses (bigger fuses than my Honda Odyssey, which has ATS fuses, which have pointy ends). the mini ATMs are "pointy" also.
I ordered VIOFO 4PCS Circuit Fuse Tap ATC ATS MICRO2 Mini Adapter Holder
From the Internet: The vast majority of fuses in these RV’s are ATO/ATC fuses
The regular-sized ATC fuse is more common than the ATO. The ATC has a fuse element that is closed (hence the “C” in the code) inside the plastic housing, sealing it from the environment to prevent corrosion from developing. The ATO fuse is open on the bottom, exposing the fuse element between the blades
Well, after hours of testing the fuse box and searching the web for Sprinter fuse box diagrams, I could not find any fuses that was switched! The results were confusing. I thought that maybe I was going crazy -- I know how to use a voltage meter, after all. The windshield wiper fuses, and in fact all the fuses that should be OFF when the vehicle was switched off, seemed to be ON all the time!
I talked on 9-11-19 to Marc (again), and asked this time for a supervisor. Lloyd the supervisor said that the Sprinter van is data driven, so windshield wiper fuse and other fuses, in fact all fuses, are always hot, always on. There are no switched fuses.
Lloyd, the supervisor, was totally, absolutely wrong. Here's what I discovered:
I believe that this is what was happening:
from a forum: I was bummed out because, at first, it seemed like the constant 12v was always on, even with the ignition off. An always-on converter and dash-cam was going to cause vehicle dead battery issues. After more experimenting, it turns out that the "always-on" 12v will shut down after about 30 minutes (a feature to prevent someone from leaving the map lights on and ending up with a dead battery). Perfect. I get a bit of extra record time after parking, but my vehicle battery is safe.
I started reading internet forums yet again, and discovered that folks had tapped switched power from the fuse to the cigarette lighter. I tested this and the fuse was indeed switched power. Finally! I put a tap fuse on this fuse and it works. The stereo loses its place on the CD after a few minutes but it is indeed switched on or off with the ignition.
Details: I ended up tapping the switched power from #13 in the F1-F25 section, fuse box near drivers side left foot: No. 13: 15 amp: Cigarette lighter/glove box lamp/radio/body manufacturer loading tailgate/PND (personal navigation device) power socket
For the stereo and another 12V lead coming out of the fusebox, I used a 10amp fuse.
No thanks to Crutchfield (sorry guys, I really expected more help from your vaunted technical support than all the misinformation that I received), I now have a nice new head unit that plays MP3 CDs and powers on and off with the engine on or off -- like it should!
*****
Update 12-3-19: a fellow from Crutchfield named Chris contacted me after I sent them my complaint. He was helpful and seemed to genuinely want to learn from my experience so that they could update their database. Here's some of what he wrote and what I wrote:
Chris wrote: Thanks to your confirmation that the cigar socket fuse # 13 is literally controlled by the car as an accessory circuit, we have added a specific notation to our internal notes about the car so that we can give better advice in the future.
Hey since you have already squared away the wiring there is no need to change that out. But if you like I can send you the other mounting kit at no charge. Do you want that sent out at no charge? The 142CR1292B kit?
The 142CR1294B was sent because the vehicle was thought to be the factory radio delete option which is what the camper van version usually comes with. The CR1292B kit is usually called for when the van has the factory radio originally in it.
Update 12-3-19: a fellow from Crutchfield named Chris contacted me after I sent them my complaint. He was helpful and seemed to genuinely want to learn from my experience so that they could update their database. Here's some of what he wrote and what I wrote:
Chris wrote: Thanks to your confirmation that the cigar socket fuse # 13 is literally controlled by the car as an accessory circuit, we have added a specific notation to our internal notes about the car so that we can give better advice in the future.
Hey since you have already squared away the wiring there is no need to change that out. But if you like I can send you the other mounting kit at no charge. Do you want that sent out at no charge? The 142CR1292B kit?
The 142CR1294B was sent because the vehicle was thought to be the factory radio delete option which is what the camper van version usually comes with. The CR1292B kit is usually called for when the van has the factory radio originally in it.
I wrote: Thanks for the positive attitude on all this. I never know when leaving feedback if it will be taken seriously, and if I will be threatened with a lawsuit rather than thanked.
