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Stock Stereo Replacement


pbui3057

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I want to get a stock 1.5 din cd player/stereo for my 1993 Z34. I was looking on ebay and there are a ton of them for all different price ranges. Which stereo would work? What kind of adapters will I need? Are there ones that work better than others? Thanks alot!

 

Paul

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if you can get your hands on a '95-00 Chevy CD player (the high-end one) those are GREAT radios. Powerful and a ton of features, and it'll plug right into your existing wiring. If you want to operate the speed compensated volume feature, you just need to splice a wire with the speedo signal and put it into the radio harness (I can look up the pin #) I had it in my '89, loved it.

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I had actually thought about getting one those GM CD Radios for my car, but I went with a cheap solution because I wanted to use an Aux input for a CD or MP3 player. I bought a Pyramid 1004GC for $25, it is a 1.5 din style and comes with 2 wire harnesses, 1 that will plug into a stock GM wire harness and the other is for a Chrysler harness. Its not a bad radio and does the job fairly well, but have yet to try it in my Cutlass.

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if you can get your hands on a '95-00 Chevy CD player (the high-end one) those are GREAT radios. Powerful and a ton of features, and it'll plug right into your existing wiring. If you want to operate the speed compensated volume feature, you just need to splice a wire with the speedo signal and put it into the radio harness (I can look up the pin #) I had it in my '89, loved it.

 

Can you do that with an aftermarket radio, or is the speedo signal coming out of the back of the radio???

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the last one is a much nicer radio and should last a lot longer....if my car was a 1.5 din, I would put one of those in....

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yup, #3.

 

Slick, this Chevy radio has SCV (speed compensated volume) and works off the VSS signal. Never heard of aftermarket radios with it. Some other GM radios have it built in, the newer ones.

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Get the last one listed. You can connect up an auxillary input adapter from http://www.installer.com/aux/index.html to the "slave tape deck" input and hook up an iPod (or whatever.)

 

Never heard of aftermarket radios with it.
My Pioneer DEH-P7600 has it, but it uses a built-in "mic" to measure the sound level in the cabin instead of connecting up to the VSS. Totally worthless feature, BTW, as it only compensates for road noise and not vehicle speed like the Chevy deck does...
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I'm thinking you would want one from a car, not a truck, or SUV or anything like that that has the plastic sliders on the side. Those plastic sliders don't come off easily...if you are wanting to go stock that is...

 

- Jeff L.

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VSS what exactly is it, i dont understand really, like it gets louder the faster u go or what
VSS stands for Vehicle Speed Sensor. It's what gives the PCM and the speedometer a reference signal so they can compute the vehicle's speed. The SCV is tied into this wire...
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Hey Guys,

 

I have quick question in regards to upgrading to a new style (#3 posted above) to an 89 cutlass. I have steering wheel control in my car, so would the newer unit with steering wheel control be compatable in my car? Any help would greatly be appreciated,

 

Thanks

Mike

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Steering wheel controls in your cutlass will not work with the newer radios.

I believe in 93-94 is when the data stream for the steering wheel controls was changed.

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FYI, the whole steering wheel control setup changed in 94 for the GP, Cutty, and Regal (if the car has a driver's airbag, then it has the new setup.) The Lumina (and Monte) got the new controls in 95.

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FYI, the whole steering wheel control setup changed in 94 for the GP, Cutty, and Regal (if the car has a driver's airbag, then it has the new setup.) The Lumina (and Monte) got the new controls in 95.

 

This guy's the '95+ steering column expert.

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This guy's the '95+ steering column expert.
Yep, I sure am!!!

 

Ok then, what's the proper way to get the lock-ring off that round "lock plate"? I'm curious. Also whats a good way to bench test a used signal switch, to make sure I won't get invisible brake light syndrome?

 

Also with regards to putting that Chevy radio in a '88-94 Olds. You WILL have to cut away some material out of the dash "carrier" due to the harness- it plugs in at the lower portion of the back of the radio, and won't install straight with it plugged in. Just a heads up.

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Ok then, what's the proper way to get the lock-ring off that round "lock plate"? I'm curious.
Depress the lock plate with a "Lock Plate Compressor" tool. Take 2 small flat-blade screwdrivers, and slide each one under the ring, bending the ring slightly and prying it up the "shaft." The ring is strong enough to allow for a slight bending. After you get it out, compress it back to a round shape...
Also whats a good way to bench test a used signal switch, to make sure I won't get invisible brake light syndrome?
I wouldn't bother rigging up an elaborate out of car setup to bench test it. Just unplug the bulkhead connector under the dash, remove the turn signal switch plug, and put the "rogue" signal switch in it's place. Plug the bulkhead connector back in and "test" away...
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That ring is still a piece of work though. At least the snap ring has a tool!
So true! You can tell if your column is a "virgin" or not by how easy the lock plate retaining ring pops out. It takes quite a bit of patience (not to mention time) to get that ring out the first time!

 

I recommend purchasing one of the high-quality lock plate compressor tools. The cheap compressor tool bends and breaks after using it only a couple of times.

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is that tool really needed? I removed the parts at a U-pull, and I just pressed the plate in a little, while I got the ring out of the groove. It wasn't so much hard for me, as it was just a hack job. I bet a snap ring would do just as good of a job, and I happened to grab one as a spare. I'll see what I'm up to doing, I actually have some engine work ahead of me.

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Well there's quite a bit of tension on the spring (that is if nobody's had the column apart before,) and the tool puts even pressure on the plate. With the tool you can press the plate down a good quarter inch and hold it there while you try to get the ring out. It's next to impossible to get the ring out without compressing the lock plate due to the way the lock plate is shaped (there's no room to wiggle the ring out) and you really can't put even pressure on it if you try pressing it in by hand. It takes patience even with the tool holding it down, so you'd really be cussing up a storm if you tried getting it out without the tool.

 

I don't think a snap ring would work to hold the lock plate back in because of the shape of the original ring and the "tang" of the lock plate that the ring sits in.

 

Once you've had a few "Saginaw" columns apart, you'll be a pro at getting the ring out, so there's no need to "reinvent the wheel" so to speak :lol: ...

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Well there's quite a bit of tension on the spring (that is if nobody's had the column apart before,) and the tool puts even pressure on the plate. With the tool you can press the plate down a good quarter inch and hold it there while you try to get the ring out. It's next to impossible to get the ring out without compressing the lock plate due to the way the lock plate is shaped (there's no room to wiggle the ring out) and you really can't put even pressure on it if you try pressing it in by hand. It takes patience even with the tool holding it down, so you'd really be cussing up a storm if you tried getting it out without the tool.

 

I don't think a snap ring would work to hold the lock plate back in because of the shape of the original ring and the "tang" of the lock plate that the ring sits in.

 

Once you've had a few "Saginaw" columns apart, you'll be a pro at getting the ring out, so there's no need to "reinvent the wheel" so to speak :lol: ...

 

Well like I said, I already did remove the ring and lockplate without using any compressor tool. The only hard part was getting my tiny screwdriver under it to "lift" it. I'm going to chance it without the tool.

 

I find it odd GM made this column. There was a '95 Olds Silhouette at the junkyard with GM's "regular" round steering column, typical hazard button and all. Why the decision to avoid that on the W is beyond me.

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