Replacing Stock Stereo on '94

[jgrakla]

Boy am I getting an education on stereo wiring. I ordered a modern Alpine single DIN head unit from Crutchfield. I received an e-mail later basically stating that installation of the stereo would require "completely re-wiring the system." I contacted Crutchfield to inquire what this meant. I was expecting to be able to use the pre-amp outputs from the back of the new stereo and plug them into the existing amp feeds. In other words, make the new stereo work with the OEM factory amps in the trunk. They explained that they are incompatible technologies. Apparently modern head units aren't compatible with the factory amps. So I would have to replace the factory amps or bypass the factory amps and instead use the built-in amp in the head-units but that requires running new wires from the back of the stereo directly to the speakers. Ugghh....getting to be a bigger job than I thought. So I am getting an education on the genres of stereo/amp compatibility.

At the moment I am planning to bypass factor amps, basically unplug them. Try to leave all factory cables/harnesses in-tact as much as possible. I found the harness connectors at left/right cowl where the speaker wires run into the door. Planning to run wire from back of stereo to those connectors and splice in at that point. Would probably run new wire from back of stereo under center console to rear speakers. These are my sketchy thoughts at this time.

Anyone else done this themselves and have any pointers for me?

Thanks

 

[JPL]

I got one of these and I'm running my ipod through my tape deck! LOL!

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[LifeIsGood]

I don't know how a '94 compares to an '01, but this thread has some pictures of what I did when I installed an all new stereo system (including all new wiring)...

2001 Stereo upgrade

 

[jdeft1]

As I recall, It's very simple. I think Crutchfield is steering you wrong. Your existing RCA cables will plug right into the new unit and will allow you to use the existing amps. I did.

 

[TexasPettey]

Here is what I did for a complete setup on my '95. Yours should be the same. You could pick pieces of the process you want. I went this route because I wanted to keep everything in the stock locations and not consume my trunk with AMP and SUB. It doesn't have the punch of a large sub system, but it has decent low end. I figure that the very low end is masked by the side pipes anyway.

- Use the stock RCA connectors from the head unit to the AMP in the back
- You should be able to get a connector for the stock harness. I cut my new connector for the power, AUX, & GND to the head unit
- Remove the center console that covers the tranny tunnel and the rear console panel with the dual 6.5" speakers
- Run new high grade speaker wire through the grommet where the wires to the rear console speakers. You can trim the grommet to fit. Run plenty of length.
- Remove the kick panels on driver and passenger to run speaker wire through the center console area under the dash above the kick plates, and into the doors following the stock wiring
- Remove the door panel and wire up your new wire to better components than the stock stuff
- You can either run dual 6.5" in the rear console or create a wooden box that can house an 8" sub behind the rear console. I did the 8" sub.
- Under the car, run the new speaker wire along the same path as the stock above the transmission. You can use wire protector to protect it from the elements.
- Follow the stock wire up behind the wheel well and remove the plastic wheel well. If you remove the grommet in the trunk where the stock wire comes through, you can feed the new wire up through that access point. You'll probably need to trim the stock grommet.
- Run PWR & GND to a new AMP from the battery area under the rear facia. I used the Pass side for the new AMP. Don't forget to fuse the PWR to the AMP from the battery.
- You can cut a metal plate that has the same mounting dimensions as the stock AMP. I bought a 300W AMP that fit the dimensions of the stock AMP location and mounted it to the plate. This allows the new AMP to slide into the same location as the stock AMP and remain fixed in place. You can slide it out to remove it through the same latch mechanism as the stock AMP
- Use the stock RCA and stock AUX wiring harness. You could run an extra wire from the head unit to the bax for the AUX to the AMP

 

[jgrakla]

Thanks all for the detail and guidance . Like that approach TexasPettey. LifeIsGood - thanks for the link with the pics....great detail. Looks like Gen II is a little different. Jdeft1 - you are right - Crutchfield did steer me wrong.

I ended up using the factory harness and 6-pin connector. That's my quick disconnect. I cut the wires between the stock radio and the factory harness connector. That's where I made my new power connections. The stock deck does in fact use RCA pre-amp outputs. So, I hooked up the new stereo using the RCA pre-amp outputs, and it worked just fine. So, Crutchfield advisors were incorrect. You can, in fact, integrate a modern head unit with the OEM factory amps. I wasn't sure of the power output of the oem amps, so I decided to do a quick rig bench test using the internal amps as well. I couldn't tell much difference between the internal amps and the oem stock amps in the trunk. I ended up deciding just to re-use the stock oem amps. But I did do something a little different. I used the front speaker pre-amp outputs as normal. But I didn't use the rear speaker pre-amp outputs. Instead I used the sub-woofer pre-amp outputs. So, essentially treating the two rear speakers as subs. That seems to give the best sound spread. I tuned the gain on the stock amps pretty far down. It seems like you get greater distortion at higher gain. So they are all the way low, and then just up a notch. For a system without a true sub-woofer, it's not bad. Certainly a huge upgrade from the factory speakers and factory head unit. So here's what I ended up with:

Kicker KS60's in the door
Kenwood 6.5" component speakers in the rear
Alpine HD-137BT head unit
Modified oem radio harness, mapped connection to corresponding wire on new radio
Stock speaker wiring using the RCA pre-amp ouputs
Stock amps

Thanks for all the help and guidance!

 

[jdeft1]

I half-laugh when I see gen 1 audio threads..... I really can't hear mine well enough to be worth spending bux on it and I'm sure you can't either.

 

[ViperNM]

I don't know how a '94 compares to an '01, but this thread has some pictures of what I did when I installed an all new stereo system (including all new wiring)...

2001 Stereo upgrade

Ken why don't you come to Albuquerque and help me redo my 01 ACR stereo!

LOL but I would never attempt your install nor would I trust some shop to do it.

I would go with JL or Focal 6.5 speakers for the front and rear plus new tweeters for the door. Not sure what head amp or power amp to replace the stock amp in the hatch area.

The perfect time for me to do this is later this summer when I redo the interior (possibly).

Thanks for the illustrated guide - nice write-up.

 

[spikeone]

just replaced stock speakers with kicker KS6.2 components, direct fit and was pretty much night and day now I will be able to hear the stereo with top off during the summer

 

[jgrakla]

I half-laugh when I see gen 1 audio threads..... I really can't hear mine well enough to be worth spending bux on it and I'm sure you can't either.

It's one of the things that has always bugged me about the car. Now, I have a shot at actually hearing some tunes as I drive! Actually, I have the the hard plastic side windows, and it's not too bad with those in place. Without, it would be much harder to hear the radio.