This all started because I bought a Delica with a Sony stereo and didn't like it. There wasn't one button I could push to get it to start making music. I had to press 'Source' over and over each time I started the engine, leaning down to see the display in the sunlight's glare. Forget it. I moved on.
I found a double-height factory Mazda stereo in a thrift store for $3. That's how this whole thing began. Guy shopping in the store said Canadian Tire's got the harness to fit it to your vehicle. Mazda to Mitsubishi? Couldn't find one. And furthermore, the previous owner cut out the factory harness, and hard-wired a Sony harness to it. So that's what I had to work with.
So I went to the auto wrecker and cut a harness out of a Mazda Protege. I looked up the stereo beforehand and it's from a 2002-03 Protege, or MPV. Lots of those around. I had about 10 vehicles to choose from.
Interesting thing: these Mazda stereos have got a cult following. No kidding. Because a few years ago, Mazda decided to stop putting cheaper stereos in its economy models and fancy stereos in its luxury models, and instead ordered a huge number of pretty-good stereos and put the same model in all its cars. So they're better than you'd expect for a factory unit. Some are made by Bose. More on this later.
Now, I found 2 harnesses at the wrecker's and the wire colours were different, and neither one matched the 2006-07 Mazda wiring diagram I found online. So I found a great site that helped me translate from the Mitsubishi wiring colours to the Mazda Harness colours:
http://www.modifiedlife.com/1994-mitsub ... ing-guide/
Here's my conversion chart:
Conversion from 1994 Delica L300 to 2003-04 Mazda stereo harness
Speaker Wires Delica : Mazda
Front Left (+): White/Red : Black/Red
Front Left (-): Black/Red : Black/White
Front Right (+): White/Blue : Red
Front Right (-): Black/Blue : White
Rear Left (+): Yellow/Blue : Brown/White
Rear Left (-): Gray/Blue : Brown
Rear Right (+): Yellow/Red : Green
Rear Right (-): Gray/Red : Green/Orange
Constant 12v+: Red/Black : Blue/Red
Switched 12v+: Blue : Pink/Black
Illumination: Green/White : White/Blue stereo light goes off when headlights on
Illumination: Green/White : Green/Black *** try this instead ***
There seems to be confusion about "Illumination" and "Dimmer" wires, and what they mean and where they go. Actually, I think mine is not going off, but glowing dimly when the headlights are on, just too faint to see in the daytime. I'll keep an eye on this, and let you know if I make the change.
Now, you'll notice I've added a 1/8" jack for an MP3 player on the front, in the cover where the optional Minidisc player would go. Turns out, it's not as simple as wiring the jack into the header for the Minidisc player. You need to add some circuitry to 'fool' the head unit into thinking the optional Minidisc player is installed, or else it ignores that source. Some kooky engineers in Australia will provide that:
http://www.sylfex.com/products/AuxMod/
So I'm still waiting for that to arrive. In the meantime, the stereo looks and sounds pretty good, and I like the way it works. No more leaning over and squinting at tiny buttons and scrolling displays! The Mazda stereo has large dials and buttons, which is great because in a van the stereo is not at eye-level. The ergonomics are terrific. You know what I do to get it to make music? I press one button. The volume dial. And it resumes where it left off. Brilliant!
Call me old fashioned, but I like a simple, straight forward deck that's not going to invite criminals into my car. I don't need a remote control, or a removable faceplate, or colour displays. Just play me some music while I drive!
So I think converting the Delica to Mazda makes sense, since there's lots of them around, they're also Japanese, and the FM band is set up for North America. If I ever want a fancier stereo, I just get the harness as if I'm installing it in a Mazda, and it will plug right in.