Side radio wiring diagram
 

Hi,

What color wire on the dash radio controls, that plug into the back of the cd player/head unit, is the mute button specifically?

Thanks for your time.

per the chart on this page, it's yellow/blue, at least on an AP1.

Thanks, I think that's the main radio harness though, not originating from the side controls...and none of the wires are that color coming from the side dash harness.

I wanted to use that "mute" button as a switch since those controls are not hooked up to my radio. Anyone know if that would work?

Also DO I need to take off the whole dash bezel to get those controls out?

sorry, I misunderstood, thought you were looking for the wire
heading into the headunit that carried the mute signal.
Per the Helms manual, the wire heading into the switch is white/red,
while the one coming out of the switch is yellow/blue (for an '00-'03).
Mute switch switches on +12v, but may be too low amperage to drive
something without a relay.
From Modifry, the mute circuit is easy to fry so be careful and fuse
whatever you're doing with a low amp fuse.

I think the mute signal is inverted too. You probably need a spdt relay to flip it.

EDIT now that I think about, I believe most headunits short the mute wire to ground, while the mute button supplies 12v+. That's what the relay is for.

Okay I had the mute wires exposed, but when I hooked up the LED's (Which is what I was going to use it for) it acted like a constant power. They were always on... What am I doing that's right? I had the LED's grounded then hooked them up to all the wires in that harness coming from the side. There were 2 Red/white wires at the end of the connector and both lit up the lights without even turning on the car.

in an AP1, the red/white should have power only when the ignition switch
is not off, while the yellow/blue should have power when both the red/white
has power and the mute is ON. I'd be surprised if an AP2 is different,
though you've already said there is no yellow/blue, so what do I know...