hi there - i recently bought a grand prix and wanted to put my old head unit into it - i don't remember the specific model of the head unit, a sony x-plod something, but that's irrelevant anyway.
i've gotten a few wiring diagrams (including from here) that all generally match up to the head unit harness i have, but plenty have problems have surfaced.
for starters, none of the speakers make noise, despite the use of the diagrams.
i managed to get power into it, but upon having my car off for more than, say, 30 seconds, everything in the head unit resets.
when the head unit is on FM, it works fine - but when i popped a cd in so i could better test for speaker sound (antenna didn't reach my lap where i was futzing with wires), the head unit blinks on and off at 2-second intervals.
no doubt i sound like a novice, which is true enough. i'm not sure if any or all of this has been addressed before; i've searched as much as i could on the site but couldn't find anything like this. thanks for your help.
If you haven't done so yet, purchase a wiring plug for your car. It will plug into the factory radio plug and give you labeled wires to hook to your deck. The wire colors may even match. Check for blown fuses in the car. There are two for the radio. One for ignition and one for battery. You may also have a factory amp in the vehicle that needs to be turned on (BOSE system).
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sparky
the GP will have a separate amp in it....usually under the drivers dash area.... it's not Bose, just amplified...you'll probably want to bypass it.... it's a weeny little amp anyway.... did you use a Metra plug for wiring or did you hack and slash?
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Kevin Gerry
Certified Electronics Technician
MECP First Class Installer
Owner/Installer
Classic Car Audio
since 1979
well to be specific, the car in question was bought from my brother, who's into all sorts of dumb crap like finding a reason to destroy all the cheap plastic clips that hold door panels on and such. he did the hack and slash. after my failure with the cd player i tried putting the factory head unit in, using the factory harness and just twisting the wires back together. that still didn't work - it showed power by way of faint red lighting, but no clock and no button-pushing yielded results.
i'm going to try for the amp next chance i get; i noticed an unused outlet of sorts under the driver's dash area, i suspect now that this is relates to the amp in question? now to learn how to bypass it.
well, i can neither find the amp nor the slightest clue as to how i'd bypass it. bleagh.
Low Frequency Audio Amplifier | Mounted below the IP compartment | | |
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Kevin Gerry
Certified Electronics Technician
MECP First Class Installer
Owner/Installer
Classic Car Audio
since 1979
The factory amp is under the passenger's side dash. Check for blown fuses in both fuse boxes. There is one beside the glove box and one under the hood. Use a volt meter to determine if your wiring is correct, as there are duplicate colors in the radio harness.
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sparky