Aftermarket Stereo help

[FistAlpha]

Ok so heres the deal. Ive done research over the last several days and have found several contradicting wiring diagrams. Basically, I cant justify the ~$100 for the wiring kit. Ive never spent more than $20 on a wiring harness kit. Ive got a basically brand new Kenwood deck out of my Passat and some subs I want to install. Ive tried hard wiring the deck in, but it wont turn on. I checked the wires for power and they arent working when I hook them up.

Any and all help would be great! Im at a loss now and my whole dash is torn apart and id like to get it back together...

[RyansTBLS]

For stereo stuff, GMTNation might be a good place to check

[Chango]

I am saying this through my experience, Ls with non bose....our head units don't supply power, you have to get it from somewhere else. I tapped mine from under the steering wheel.

GMT is where I found all my info and wire details

[The Roadie]

You MUST use a "wiring kit" to hook up any aftermarket head unit in our platform. Just add $100 to the project cost. The OEM head unit turns on and off by a data bus message from the BCM, so there is no switched power at the head unit connector at all. The chimes are also generated in the head unit, and sent to the left front speaker. The harness retains your chime/reminded function as well as handle the power stuff. If you have steering wheel controls that's yet a more expensive harness. If you have Bose, add another more expensive harness to manage or bypass the Bose amp in the rear of the truck.

All discussed on GMTNation, as mentioned.

Wiring harnesses aren't that expensive.......

[FistAlpha]

Alright, thanks for the help. I will check over at GMT.

[Moots1288]

You MUST use a "wiring kit" to hook up any aftermarket head unit in our platform. Just add $100 to the project cost. The OEM head unit turns on and off by a data bus message from the BCM, so there is no switched power at the head unit connector at all. The chimes are also generated in the head unit, and sent to the left front speaker. The harness retains your chime/reminded function as well as handle the power stuff. If you have steering wheel controls that's yet a more expensive harness. If you have Bose, add another more expensive harness to manage or bypass the Bose amp in the rear of the truck.

All discussed on GMTNation, as mentioned.

Wiring harnesses aren't that expensive.......

This.. make sure you get a quality one, because I bought a cheap one and it went bad and caused a drain problem that took a while to figure out and also cost me a good battery.

[Conner299]

I actually cut corners, and used a cheap one. No chimes, but never liked them. I got my switched power by splicing into the 4x4 switch. Used a voltmeter to find that wire. Its been hooked up for a year with no problems.

[NC_IslandRunner]

Wal mart kit $40, and has chimes. Saved $60 or more like $100 cause the only other place to buy them in town is a crook charges way high prices.

[FistAlpha]

Got it all fixed up and working with my subs. Thanks for all of the help everyone. The wiring in these is a nightmare...

[blazinlow89]

Got it all fixed up and working with my subs. Thanks for all of the help everyone. The wiring in these is a nightmare...

Glad you got it hooked up, you should see some of the newer vehicles, these are a breeze. Had a guy at Best Buy tell me I could not get a radio to work in a Ram with just the harness. Still works 4 years later.

[FistAlpha]

The guy at best buy told me theyre not even allowed to touch trailblazers...

[blazinlow89]

The guy at best buy told me theyre not even allowed to touch trailblazers...

That's terrifying. If any has never seen the circuit city install in the Honda, I would suggest the read. I have seen my share of wtf installs but they take it to a whole new level.

One reason I try to do all my own work, I really don't trust others to work on my cars. That and I'm a cheap ass who has a hard justifying high labor costs.

[NC_IslandRunner]

Stereo install is too easy to pay someone else to do.

[navigator]

Stereo install is too easy to pay someone else to do.

I paid a guy to install my stereo in my Suburban, one of the few times I have paid to have something done.
LTZ Bose with Nav, backup camera, XM radio, on-star, in the wife's car. If she had a complaint I didn't want it to be with me
On place I called said to call one of their competitors because they didn't like messing with the Bose swaps.

The guy I chose estimated it would take him 4hrs and charged me $195. He does all the aftermarket installs for one of the local Chevrolet dealerships in the area and was really familiar with the Bose install. He said he usually keeps the labor cost high and doesn't mark up the materials so that the taxes aren't as high.
He saved me between $300 and $800 from what I was quoted at other places.

I shopped around and his prices were right around what I could get the items on Amazon and if I have an issue I have one guy to go to.

$200 and the wife is mostly happy

I'm starting to have some issues with the stereo in the TB. It is a stripped down LS CD player so it should be simple as long as I get the right harness. I plan to do that change myself and will likely add a backup camera.