Audio Installation - do it yourself? [Expired Topic]

Yes its not all that hard. You can buy adapter plugs to fit the original dash plugs. No cutting into the original wiring harness. Makes it easier to put the original radio back in if you want to sell the truck with the old radio.
Even in the old days before the plug adapters I used to use the snap lock wire things. they came in different colors for different gauge wire and one wire can pass threw the other just buts. If you put them on behind the plug in the dash you don’t have to cut the plug off.

Yeah, but I think that I'll go with a mid-level CD/MP3 player and maybe some higher end speakers in the back. That would require fishing some thicker speaker wire to the back. Of course, I could pop it in with new speakers and see how it sounds and if I need bigger wire I can figure a way to get it back there. If I put new carpet in, I can just run the speaker wire through the center under the carpet and sent it to each speaker.

It's not too tough anymore to do it yourself. Faceplate covers are marketed for just about every possible combo that you'll come across.

Unless your puting in a high power amp I wouldn't worry about the wire size Steve.

Maybe I'm just remembering back to when I was a kid and we DID put big amps in with a speaker box in the back. Of course, I never did that, and the guys that did are now 1/2 deaf in their mid 30's.

Most of the newest vehicles only use one type of wire. That way they can put any type of upgrade into it before they hit the factory and they don't have to worry about getting the wrong wire.

My 86 Fiero SE has a factory insalled amp for the factory installed sub woofer and the wires are the same as the ones in the Burbs.

Yeah, saves on $$ and confusion. Wire is pretty cheap too, not a major expense.

My dad put a stereo into the Suburban that has been in 3 or 4 cars already. Along the way we somehow lost the grounding wire and the wire for the CD. What type of wire should I get and how do I hook them up so they get power?

You can use any 14 to 16 gauge wire for the ground but if it’s an older Burb with a metal dash you shouldn’t need the extra ground wire. If it does need the ground just loosen a screw on the radio side and screw it to steel under the dash.
As far as the CD goes I’m not sure what you mean?

well for the CD there is no wire for it, i think i has its own wire. when i put a CD in it says ERROR 10 and i dont know what that means.
there is a ground wire but it comes off the stereo and it goes about 6 inches and just stops. and i want to just replace it.
i dont know if there even is a CD wire that powers the CD player so i can listen to a CD. but i'm missing a wire and i believe its for that.

What year and model did the radio originally come out of?
Was it a factory or aftermarket?

it is an after market. we've had it for about 6 years, i think. should i just buy a new one and skip trying to re-wire it?

some of that stuff is so cheap now its not worth it to spend a lot of time trying to salvage something older when you can by a new one for $75 bucks.

Your CD player must have power if it is giving you error codes. My bet would be that the laser lens has become misalligned over the years. I have never seen a car stereo that had seperate power leads for the CD player and the rest of the unit.

I am with MN_Burban... Scrap it and get another one.