Pioneer DEH-S5120BT Audio Receiver Wiring Diagram

Pioneer DEH-S5120BT Audio Receiver Wiring Diagram

Pioneer DEH-S5120BT Audio Receiver Wiring Diagram

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Complete diagram

Every cable and connector on the unit and where each one goes.

Complete diagram
REAR OF UNITDEH-S5120BTTo an externalpower amp10 AFRONT OF UNIT−+BATTERYSPEAKERSVEHICLE ANTENNAMICROPHONE (3 m)Hard-wired remotecontrol adapterREAR OUTFRONT OUTSUBWOOFER OUTGROUND(Black)CHASSISCONSTANT 12 V(Yellow)SWITCHED 12 V(Red)IGNITION KEYSYSTEM REMOTE(Blue/White)To the amp remote orauto-antenna relayILLUMINATION(Orange/White)To the illumination signal(White)(White/Black)+−Front left(Gray)(Gray/Black)+−Front right(Green)(Green/Black)+−Rear left(Violet)(Violet/Black)+−Rear rightUSBUSB device or phoneAUXExternal player

Terminals and components · 17

  • Constant 12 V
  • Switched 12 V
  • Ground
  • System remote
  • Illumination and preamp
  • Speakers
  • AUX input
  • Connectors
  • Antenna and devices

About This Diagram

These diagrams are redrawn from page 3 of the Pioneer DEH-S5120BT Audio Receiver manual, and we offer them completely free and in English. We have also categorized it in the Car Audio & Stereo (Automotive) section on Diagramverse, and it has been rated by 1 user with an average rating of 5.0. If you have any specific questions about the Pioneer DEH-S5120BT Audio Receiver Wiring Diagram, we suggest checking the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section.

Printable Pioneer DEH-S5120BT Wiring Diagrams

Complete

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Pioneer DEH-S5120BT Audio Receiver Wiring Diagram – Complete
Pioneer DEH-S5120BT Audio Receiver Wiring Diagram – Speakers · Four speakers
Pioneer DEH-S5120BT Audio Receiver Wiring Diagram – Speakers · 4 Ω subwoofers
Pioneer DEH-S5120BT Audio Receiver Wiring Diagram – Speakers · 2 Ω subwoofer
Pioneer DEH-S5120BT Audio Receiver Wiring Diagram – Speakers · Two 4 Ω in parallel
Pioneer DEH-S5120BT Audio Receiver Wiring Diagram – Power amp

Wiring Instructions

Before you start

The Pioneer DEH-S5120BT is designed for 12 V, negative-ground vehicles only. It runs on 14.4 V DC (10.8 V to 15.1 V allowable), draws up to 10.0 A, and is protected by a 10 A fuse on the power cord. Pioneer recommends professional installation. Hire an installer if you are not comfortable working with vehicle wiring, or if the job means drilling holes or modifying the vehicle.

  • Tools: trim removal tools, screwdrivers, a digital multimeter, crimp tool and connectors, insulating tape and cable clamps.
  • Harness: use a vehicle-specific harness adapter if your car has one. Do not shorten the unit's cables, and never cut into the power cable to feed other devices, because its current capacity is limited.
  • Speakers: each speaker must be rated over 50 W and 4 to 8 Ω. Never use 1 to 3 Ω speakers on the four channels. A 2 Ω subwoofer on the rear channel must be rated over 70 W.
  • Power isolation: disconnect the battery negative terminal before you touch any wiring.

Choose the right diagram

Use the Complete tab for an overview. On the Speakers tab, pick the variant that matches your system:

  • Four speakers: four full-range speakers.
  • 4 Ω subwoofers: 4 Ω subwoofers on the rear leads, with no amplifier.
  • 2 Ω subwoofer: one 2 Ω subwoofer on the violet leads only.
  • Two 4 Ω in parallel: two 4 Ω subwoofers sharing the violet leads.

Use the Power amp tab if you add external amplifiers on the RCA outputs.

Step-by-step wiring

  1. With the battery negative disconnected, remove the old radio and identify the vehicle wires: constant 12 V, ignition-switched 12 V, illumination, the speaker pairs and the antenna. If you are not sure about a wire, check it with a meter before you disconnect the battery, then label it.
  2. Connect the Black chassis ground first, to a clean, paint-free metal point on the body. If you install a power amp, give its ground its own screw. Never share one screw between devices.
  3. Connect Yellow to the constant 12 V supply terminal. Do not run it through the firewall straight to the battery.
  4. Connect Red to the terminal controlled by the ignition switch. If your ignition switch has no ACC position, red must go to a terminal that detects ignition-key operation, or the unit will drain the battery.
  5. Connect the speaker pairs, observing polarity: FL white + and white/black −, FR gray + and gray/black −, RL green + and green/black −, RR violet + and violet/black −. Never connect a negative lead to ground, and never join the negative leads of several speakers together.
  6. For a 2 Ω load, whether one 2 Ω subwoofer or two 4 Ω subwoofers in parallel, use only violet and violet/black. Tape the unused green and green/black leads.
  7. Connect Orange/white to the car's illumination signal so the display dims with the lights.
  8. If you have amplifiers or a power antenna, connect Blue/white to the amp's system remote terminal or the auto-antenna relay control terminal (300 mA max). If the car has a glass antenna, connect blue/white to the antenna booster power supply terminal instead. Never connect blue/white to an amplifier's or antenna's power terminal.
  9. Connect RCA cables from FRONT OUT, REAR OUT and SUB OUT to your amplifiers.
  10. Plug in the antenna at ANT. Route the MIC lead to the sun visor or steering column, keeping it clear of the steering column and shift lever. Connect a steering-wheel adapter to REMOTE if you use one.
  11. Cover every unused lead end with insulating tape. Secure the wiring with clamps, and keep it away from seat rails, the shift lever and heater outlets. Wrap tape wherever a wire touches metal.
  12. Mount the unit at less than 60° from horizontal and leave ample space behind it for heat to escape. Make sure loose cables do not block the vents.

Testing and start-up

  1. Before final assembly, reconnect the battery and measure at the harness. Yellow should read about 12 V at all times. Red should read 12 V only with the key in ACC or ON.
  2. Remove the front panel and press RESET with a pointed tool longer than 8 mm. Do this once before you use the unit for the first time.
  3. Turn the ignition ON. The setup menu appears; set the language and clock.
  4. In the INITIAL settings, set REAR-SP: FUL for full-range rear speakers, or SW for a subwoofer wired directly to the rear leads. Then set SP-P/O MODE to match what is on the RCA outputs. Set SUBWOOFER to ON in the AUDIO settings if you use one.
  5. Start at low volume. Use FADER and BALANCE to confirm that each speaker plays from its correct position. With the unit on, blue/white should read about 12 V, and your amplifiers or antenna should switch on.

Safety notes

  • Car batteries can deliver very high short-circuit current. A loose ground screw or a bare lead touching metal can cause smoke or fire.
  • Replace a fuse only with one of the same rating, 10 A on this unit's power cord.
  • Keep the unit dry. Liquids can cause shock, overheating or smoke.
  • Leaving Bluetooth on standby while the engine is off can drain the battery.

Troubleshooting

Symptom Probable Cause What to Check
The radio is completely dead, with no display at all No power on yellow or red, a poor black ground, or a blown 10 A fuse With the key in ACC, measure about 12 V from yellow and from red to chassis. Check the 10 A fuse on the power cord. Make sure the black ground is on bare, paint-free metal and the screw is tight.
It forgets the clock and presets every time I turn the car off Yellow and red are swapped, or yellow is on a switched circuit Key off: yellow must still read about 12 V. Swap yellow and red, or move yellow to a constant 12 V source.
My battery goes flat overnight since I installed it Red is on constant power (common in cars with no ACC position), or blue/white feeds an amp's power terminal Key off: red must read 0 V. Move red to an ignition-detecting terminal. Make sure blue/white goes only to the remote or relay control terminal.
The display shows AMP ERROR and there is no sound A speaker lead is shorted, a negative lead is grounded, negatives are joined together, or the load is below 4 Ω Key off: inspect each speaker pair for bare strands touching metal. Separate any joined negatives. Measure each speaker; it must not be 1 to 3 Ω. Then turn the ignition off and back on.
The sound is thin with no bass, and it seems to come from nowhere One speaker is wired with reversed polarity Check that white, gray, green and violet go to the + terminals and the black-striped leads go to −. Correct any reversed pair.
My external amplifier never turns on Blue/white is not connected, or it goes to the wrong terminal With the unit on, measure about 12 V on blue/white at the amp's system remote terminal. Also check the amp's own power, fuse and separate ground.
The amp turns on but there is no sound from the subwoofer on SUB OUT The subwoofer output is disabled or the output mode is wrong Set SUBWOOFER to ON. In SP-P/O MODE, choose REAR/SUB.W or SUB.W/SUB.W, not REAR/REAR. Then check that the RCA cable is plugged into SUB OUT.
My 2 Ω subwoofer on the rear leads is weak, distorted or cuts out It is wired to green instead of violet, or REAR-SP is still set to FUL Move the subwoofer to violet and violet/black, tape green and green/black, and set REAR-SP to SW. Confirm the subwoofer is rated over 70 W.
The power antenna does not go up, or radio reception is very poor Blue/white is not on the antenna relay control or booster terminal, or the ANT plug is loose With the unit on, check for 12 V at the relay control or booster supply terminal. Reseat the antenna plug fully in ANT.
The display does not dim when I turn on the headlights Orange/white is not connected, or the dimmer setting is wrong With the lights on, measure 12 V on orange/white. Set DIM SETTING to SYNC ILLUMI.
The radio acts strangely or shows odd messages right after installation The microprocessor was not reset after installation Remove the front panel, press RESET with a pointed tool longer than 8 mm, then turn the ignition on again.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)


Can I connect 2 Ω speakers to this receiver?
Only as a subwoofer on the rear violet leads. The four main channels need speakers rated 4 to 8 Ω and over 50 W, and you must never use 1 to 3 Ω speakers on them. A single 2 Ω subwoofer, or two 4 Ω subwoofers wired in parallel, can go on violet and violet/black, with green and green/black taped and unused. That subwoofer must be rated over 70 W, and REAR-SP must be set to SW.

What fuse does the DEH-S5120BT use?
The DEH-S5120BT uses a 10 A fuse on its power cord, and its maximum current consumption is 10.0 A. If the fuse blows, always replace it with another 10 A fuse; a larger fuse leaves the wiring unprotected and can lead to a fire. If a new fuse blows right away, look for a short on yellow or red, or a pinched lead, before you try again. An external amplifier needs its own fuse and its own power wiring.

My car has no ACC position on the ignition switch. Where does the red wire go?
Connect red to a terminal that detects ignition-key operation, meaning one that is live only while the key is on. If red goes to a constant 12 V source in a car without ACC, the unit cannot tell when you leave and will drain the battery. Use a multimeter to find a circuit that reads 12 V with the key on and 0 V with it off. Fuse-box add-a-circuit taps are a common choice, but confirm the circuit's capacity first.

Can I run the yellow wire straight to the battery?
No. Do not pass the yellow lead through the hole into the engine compartment to reach the battery. Connect it to the constant 12 V supply terminal on the vehicle side, usually in the factory radio harness or through a harness adapter. The unit's cables also must not be shortened or spliced to share power with other devices, because their current capacity is limited. Accessories that draw a lot of current, like amplifiers, need their own fused supply.

Which REAR-SP and SP-P/O MODE settings should I choose?
Choose them to match what is physically wired. Set REAR-SP to FUL for full-range speakers on the rear leads, or SW for a subwoofer wired directly to those leads with no amp. In SP-P/O MODE, choose REAR/SUB.W for full-range rear speakers plus a subwoofer amp on RCA, SUB.W/SUB.W for a passive subwoofer on the rear leads plus a subwoofer on RCA, or REAR/REAR for full-range speakers on both. Some FADER and subwoofer phase options depend on these choices.

What does the 4.0 V preout level mean for my amplifier?
It means the DEH-S5120BT can send up to 4.0 V on its FRONT OUT, REAR OUT and SUB OUT RCA jacks, twice the 2.0 V of the DEH-S5100BT. A stronger signal usually lets you run the amp's input gain lower, which helps keep noise down. Set each amplifier's gain to match a 4 V source, following the amp maker's procedure. Start low and raise it only until the sound is loud and clean, without distortion.

Does every model in this series have the orange/white illumination lead and the front RCA output?
No. The orange/white illumination lead is only on the DEH-S5120BT and DEH-S5100BT. The front RCA output is on the DEH-S5120BT, S5100BT, S4120BT and S4100BT, but not on the DEH-S31BT. If you are using this diagram for a sister model, check the back of your unit before you plan your amplifier wiring. The 10 A fuse, speaker lead colors and power lead functions are the same across the series.

Can I keep my steering wheel audio controls?
Yes, with a hard-wired remote control adapter, sold separately, connected to the REMOTE wired remote input on the back of the unit. The adapter turns your car's steering-wheel signals into commands the receiver understands. Choose an adapter made for your vehicle and wire its power and ground according to its own instructions. Pioneer's CD-R510 remote control is also sold separately if you just want a handheld remote.

My car has a glass (window) antenna. How do I wire it?
Connect the blue/white lead to the antenna booster power supply terminal. Blue/white puts out a 12 V turn-on signal while the unit is on, limited to 300 mA, which powers the booster that glass antennas need. Plug the antenna cable into ANT as usual. If you also have an amplifier on blue/white, add up all the remote loads and make sure they stay under 300 mA.

Where should I mount the microphone?
Mount it directly in front of the driver, either on the sun visor or on the back of the steering column. The 3 m lead may be too short to reach the visor in some vehicles; in that case, use the steering column. Keep the visor up, because lowering it reduces voice recognition accuracy. Never let the lead wrap around the steering column or shift lever. Clamps, sold separately, help keep it in place.

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