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  • General Car Audio How to

    Removal of a '93-'97 Head Unit

    Tools Needed:

    Philips Head Screwdriver, Stereo Removal Keys

    DISASSEMBLING CONSOLE AND FRAMING

    1. Console Removal

    a. Lift out the ashtray next to emergency brake and set aside.

    b. Lift up on console from ashtray slot, some force is required in order to free up friction locks.

    c. Work the console up, from back to front, applying the emergency brake to keep it out of the way.

    d. Remove shifter plate, by pushing up on locks from underneath.

    e. Move the shifter in order to move console out of the way.

    f. You can now unscrew the two screws at the bottom of center framing (surrounding controls/stereo).

    g. Once the screws are removed, lift up on the framing, and pop the friction locks.

    h. After being popped free, move aside the best you can. Now you can remove the stereo.

    i. You can unscrew the buttons from the framing to get the frame out of the way.

  • #2
    REMOVING FACTORY STEREO

    1. Use the Removal Keys to remove stereo, the keys should come with directions, if not follow steps below.

    a. Insert keys by pushing them in on a slight angle, pointing towards the rear corners of the stereo.

    b. Push the keys outward, to lock the hooks inside the stereo.

    c. While pushing outward, pull keys and stereo out of slot.

    2. Now you can unplug the factory wires and remove the head unit.

    Comment


    • #3
      Removal of a '93-'97 Equalizer

      Tools Needed:

      Philips Head Screwdriver

      DISASSEMBLING CONSOLE AND FRAMING

      1. Console

      a. Lift out the ashtray next to emergency brake and set aside.

      b. Lift up on console from ashtray slot, some force is required in order to free up friction locks.

      c. Work the console up, from back to front, applying the emergency brake to keep it out of the way.

      d. Move the shifter in order to move console out of the way.

      e. You can now unscrew the two screws at the bottom of center framing (surrounding controls/stereo).

      f. Once the screws are removed, lift up on the framing, and pop the friction locks.

      REMOVING FACTORY EQ

      1. EQ Removal

      a. Unscrew the four screws attaching the eq to the plastic framing.

      b. Unplug the factory wiring.

      Comment


      • #4
        Removal of a '93-'97 Amplifier


        Tools Needed:
        Philips Head Screwdriver, Socket Wrench

        REMOVING REAR PANELS (3 in total)

        1. Before removing panels, remove the cargo net and remove the hatch cover.

        a. Unhook the strings, then just pull out from metal clips.

        2. First remove the panel on the rear wall of the car, the one in the center rear of the trunk.

        a. Unscrew the two bottom fasteners (the ones that hold the bottom of cargo net).

        b. Take out screws and pull out top two fasteners, these are very tough to get out, and even harder to put back in.

        c. Finally remove the two push plugs, by pulling out center piece, then pulling out the rest of it.

        d. Remove panel and set aside with all the fasteners.

        3. Remove the next panel in the trunk on the passenger side (pictures are of driver's side)

        a.This panel is very big, and are held in by many push plugs.

        b. Remove all the plugs.

        c. Unscrew the oval piece, that's used to hook the hatch cover.

        d. Pull down the back seat, to access the space where the two passenger side panels meet.

        e. Unscrew all three screws holding both panels.

        f. Lift up on the small panel surrounding the seat belt "hole" underneath are 2 push plugs.

        g. Remove the push plugs.

        h. Pull out small panel around the metal latch (latch that locks the rear seat into place).

        i. Once you’re sure every fastener is removed, gently start to work out the panel.

        j. Behind the panel, there are friction locks, which will give away, with a little force.

        k. Make sure to work panel out, around all objects, then set panel aside, with all fasteners.

        4. Take out the final panel (the one covering the right rear speaker)

        a.Make sure to have doors open when removing these panels.

        b. You must remove an additional push plug, near the top.

        c. And one last push plug near the bottom of the panel.

        d. Gently remove this panel, you may want to remove the door plates. The door plates can be pulled out with some force, the friction locks won’t break.

        e. You can now access the rear speaker and amplifier.

        f. Remove the rear speaker and baffle in order to gain access to the amplifier.

        REMOVING THE AMPLIFIER

        1. Removing the amplifier

        a. You should unplug the factory wires leading to the amp, these are visible with the panel off.

        b. There will be three bolts that hold the amplifier in place. Remove the nuts.

        c. You should remove the speaker in order to get amplifier out of the car.

        PUTTING THE CAR BACK TOGETHER

        1. Replacing the Panels

        a. Replace panels in opposite order, be very careful when handling and replacing the panels.

        Comment


        • #5
          Removal of '93-'97 Speakers

          REMOVING FRONT DOOR PANELS

          1. Remove all six screws from panel, located at the following locations: (will vary with model)

          a. Two located on outside door wedge.

          b. One in lower left of door. Behind carpeted door compartment(not on all models).

          c. One next to door opener, and in door wedge.

          d. One inside door handle/hole, under carpeting.

          2. Depending on options the manual window opener must be removed

          a. directions/pics to come.

          3. It can help to remove interior mirror cover, mostly for replacing the panel.

          4. Lift panel off door very carefully, noting where the panel slides into door (you may want to put window down)

          5. Make sure to feed door handle and power controls through the panel on removal.


          REMOVING SPEAKERS

          1. Removing the Speaker

          a. Unscrew the three or four screws surrounding the speaker, it will pull out of place.

          b. Unplug the wiring assembly.

          REPLACING PANEL

          1. Replacing the Panels

          a. Put panel back on, making sure it goes on correctly, you will
          need window in down position. You may want to pop out small panel behind exterior mirrors to help get panel on.

          b. Make sure to feed controls through panel correctly, then put the screws back in.

          REAR SPEAKERS


          REMOVING REAR PANELS (5 in total)

          1. Before removing panels, remove the cargo net and remove the hatch cover.

          a. Unhook the strings, then just pull out from metal clips.

          2. First remove the panel on the rear wall of the car, the one in the center rear of the trunk.

          a. Unscrew the two bottom fasteners (the ones that hold the bottom of cargo net).

          b. Take out screws and pull out top two fasteners, these are very tough to get out, and even harder to put back in.

          c. Finally remove the two push plugs, by pulling out center piece, then pulling out the rest of it.

          d. Remove panel and set aside with all the fasteners.

          3. Remove the next two panels in the trunk.

          a. These panels are very big, and are held in by many push plugs.

          b. Remove all the plugs.

          c. For the driver's side panel, the trunk light must be removed.

          1. Pop of plastic cover.

          2. Pull out light housing.

          3. Unplug wires.

          d. Unscrew the oval pieces, that's used to hook the hatch cover.

          e. Pull down the back seats, to access the space where the two panels meet the speaker panels.


          f. Unscrew all three screws holding each panel in.

          g. Lift up on the small panel surrounding the seat belt "hole" underneath are 2 push plugs.

          h. Remove the push plugs.

          i. Pull out small panel around the metal latch (latch that locks the rear seat into place).

          j. Once you’re sure every fastener is removed, gently start to work out the panel.

          k. Behind the panel, there are friction locks, which will give away, with a little force.

          l. Make sure to work panel out, around all objects, then set panel aside, with all

          4. Take out the final panels (the one covering the rear speakers)

          a. Make sure to have doors open when removing these panels.

          b. You must remove an additional push plug, near the top.

          c. And one last push plug near the bottom of the panel.

          d. Gently remove this panel, you may want to remove the door plates. The door plates can be pulled out with some force, the friction locks won’t break.

          e. You can now access the speakers.


          REMOVING THE SPEAKERS

          1. Removing the Speaker

          a.Unscrew the three or four screws surrounding the speaker, it will pull out of place.

          b.Unplug the wiring assembly.

          PUTTING THE CAR BACK TOGETHER

          1. Replacing the Panels

          a. Put panels back on in opposite manner, making sure they go on correctly.

          b. Make sure you get all screws and plugs in correct places.

          Comment


          • #6
            Installing a New Head Unit

            1. Head Unit Wiring

            1. You must strip and crimp together (with butt connectors)purchased harness and the new stereo wiring harness. Each harness will be labeled and color coded, just follow codes. NOTE: your stereo may not use all the wires coming from the wiring harness.

            2. Plug harness(es) into factory plug(s).

            3. Plug stereo harness into head unit.

            4. Plug antenna lead into head unit.

            PUTTING THE NEW HEAD UNIT IN

            1. Locking Head Unit in place

            a. You may want to check that the stereo works before putting into place.

            b. Your head unit may come with a metal sleeve, this must be inserted before connecting wires to head unit, and should be locked into place, check head unit instructions for details.

            c. Slide head unit into place, making sure not to crush or slice any of the wires, if done correctly the unit should go in with little force, and will lock into place.

            d. Your unit should have a rubber/plastic frame that goes around the stereo, put that in place.

            PUTTING CONSOLE AND FRAME BACK IN

            1. Replacing Console

            a. Maneuver the frame back into place and snap back into place.

            b. Screw the two bottom screws back in.

            c. Move the console framing back into place, and lock back into place, starting from the front.

            d. Make sure both pieces are secure, then replace ash tray.

            Comment


            • #7
              Installing an Amplifier

              1. POWER WIRE (Is run along driver side of the vehicle)

              a. Feed power wire through the fire wall. There should be a hole located under the dash, near the steering column and high on the wall. There may be a rubber grommet already there, or there may be a plastic piece covering the hole. Remove and drill through the plastic piece, or feed through grommet. Feed the wire from the inside of the car to the engine compartment.

              b. Pull enough wire through to reach the battery, you will be wiring this later.

              c. Remove the screw inside trunk release switch cover, and remove devive.

              d. Lift up carpet, and run your power wire along the edge of the car, and under 3 support bars.

              e. Feed up to rear seat and run right next to seat belt, then up between the back rest and panel, into the trunk.

              f. Pull wire from back, and make sure you have enough to reach your amp.

              2. RCAs and REMOTE LEAD

              a. First feed both wires to your head unit, from under the glove department. To feed the wires from under the glove box, remove the black cover under the glove box which is held in by 2 clips, and 2 push plugs.

              b. Then wire both wires to the head unit, the RCAs will plug right in, and use the wire tap to connect the remote lead to your head unit's output power signal. (usually blue, but check your wiring harness for details)

              c. The RCAs must be run along the opposite side of the power wire, as to avoid engine noise problems.

              d. Lift up the carpet on the passenger side, just enough to see the bottom of the floor.

              e. Once carpet is up, run the RCAs and remote lead in the same manner you did for the power wire, all the way into the back.

              3. GROUND WIRE (There are two places to put the ground wire, both located in the trunk. The first is on the back frame, directly underneath the rear panel. There is a wiring clip locked down by a bolt, or there is a bolt on the left side of the trunk, it holds down a gold brace, either one works fine, use which ever is easier for you. Before you run the ground, crimp on the ring terminal, you will be using to ground the wire.

              a. Whichever bolt you use make sure to scrape away all the paint on the frame surface, and to clear away all dust.

              b. When you bolt down your ring terminal, make sure it is directly against the frame, this ensures the best possible ground.

              CONNECTING POWER WIRE TO BATTERY

              (Make sure negative terminal is off the battery)

              1. Fuse and Battery Connection

              a. Depending on what kind of fuse holder you have, will change the wiring methods, basically they are all the same, you must cut the power wire, and insert the fuse holder, as close to the battery as reasonably possible.

              b. First, cut the wire about 6" from the end (so fuse holder will be 6" from battery). This length can vary depending on where you want to place the fuse, but the closer the better.

              c. Attach the fuse holder, usually stripping the wire and crimping on the fuse holder. Full instructions are usually included with kit.

              d. Crimp on ring terminal, then attach to battery, depending on positioning, it may be necessary to screw on another nut to keep ring terminal on the battery.

              e. Keep battery disconnected, until all wiring is complete.

              CONNECTING RCAs AND REMOTE LEAD TO HEAD UNIT

              1. Connecting to the new Head Unit

              a. First remove Head Unit so wires can be accessed. (Removing the Head Unit)

              b. Make sure wires are fed to head unit properly, so wires will not be crushed or sliced.

              c. Plug RCAs into proper output spots. (If amp is for subs, put RCAs into sub or rear outputs).

              d. The best way to connect the remote lead is to tap into the existing lead. In the wiring harness of your stereo, there should be a wire that is labeled as remote turn on lead. (Check your stereo instructions to determine which wire this is, it’s usually blue)

              e. There are a few ways to tap into this wire, the best is using a Wire Tap, which is a small plastic device used to tap into a wire, without cutting it.

              WIRING THE AMP

              1. Connecting to the Amp

              a. First, attach all terminal connectors, by stripping and crimping the terminals on, you should have two fork connectors for the power and ground, and possibly connectors for the remote lead and speaker output (these are not necessary).

              b. The first connection should be the ground, just to secure the amp, screw down in correct spot noted on the amp.

              c. Attach the power line into correct spot on the amp (this should not be connected to battery).

              d. Then attach, remote lead, RCAs, and speaker output. (the order of all these does not matter)

              e. Finally, connect speaker output to speakers.

              FINISHING UP

              1. Finalizing the Project

              a. Reconnect battery terminals, positive first, and make sure fuse is in fuse holder.

              b. Test amp.

              c. Put car back together, follow steps backward to put car back together.

              Comment


              • #8
                Installing Speakers

                1. Unscrew the three or four screws surrounding the speaker, it will pull out of place.

                2. Unplug the wiring assembly.

                WIRING FOR NEW SPEAKERS

                1. You may want to put the window in the up position, to give yourself room.

                2. If you purchased your speakers from Crutchfield, you should have wire adapters that plug into the factory wires, and slide onto the new speaker.

                3. If you don’t have these you will need to cut the adapter off and use the factory wires directly.

                4. You must strip each wire and crimp on connectors that will fit your speaker. Below are wiring codes:
                Positive Negative
                Front Left: Blue w/Green stripe Blue
                Front Right: Blue w/Black stripe (or Blue/Red)Blue w/Orange stripe

                REPLACING PANELS

                1. Make connections and screw speaker into place.

                2. Put panel back on, making sure it goes on correctly, you will need window in down position. You may want to pop out small panel behind exterior mirrors to help get panel on.

                3. Make sure to feed controls through panel correctly, then put the screws back in.


                REAR SPEAKERS

                Tools Needed: Philips Head Screwdriver

                REMOVING REAR PANELS (5 in total)

                1. Before removing panels, remove the cargo net and remove the hatch cover.

                a. Unhook the strings, then just pull out from metal clips.

                2. First remove the panel on the rear wall of the car, the one in the center rear of the trunk.

                a. Unscrew the two bottom fasteners (the ones that hold the bottom of cargo net).

                b. Take out screws and pull out top two fasteners, these are very tough to get out, and even harder to put back in.

                c. Finally remove the two push plugs, by pulling out center piece, then pulling out the rest of it.

                d. Remove panel and set aside with all the fasteners.

                3. Remove the next two panels in the trunk.

                a. These panels are very big, and are held in by many push plugs.

                b. Remove all the plugs.

                c. For the driver's side panel, the trunk light must be removed.

                1.Pop of plastic cover.

                2.Pull out light housing..

                3.Unplug wires.

                d. Unscrew the oval pieces, that's used to hook the hatch cover.

                e. Pull down the back seats, to access the space where the two panels meet the speaker panels.

                f. Unscrew all three screws holding each panel in.

                g. Lift up on the small panel surrounding the seat belt "hole" underneath are 2 push plugs.

                h. Remove the push plugs.

                i. Pull out small panel around the metal latch (latch that locks the rear seat into place).

                j. Once you’re sure every fastener is removed, gently start to work out the panel.

                k. Behind the panel, there are friction locks, which will give away, with a little force.

                l. Make sure to work panel out, around all objects, then set panel aside, with all fasteners.

                4. Take out the final panels (the one covering the rear speakers)

                a. Make sure to have doors open when removing these panels.

                b. You must remove an additional push plug, near the top.

                c. And one last push plug near the bottom of the panel.

                d. Gently remove this panel, you may want to remove the door plates. The door plates can be pulled out with some force, the friction locks won’t break.

                e. You can now access the speakers.

                REMOVING THE SPEAKERS

                1. Unscrew the four screws surrounding the speakers, it will pull out of place.

                2. Unplug the wiring assembly.
                WIRING FOR NEW SPEAKERS

                1. Again if you purchased your speakers from Crutchfield, you should have wire adapters that plug into the factory wires, and slide onto the new speaker.

                2. If you don’t have these you will need to cut the adapter off and use the factory wires directly.

                3. You must strip each wire and crimp on connectors that will fit your speaker. Below are wiring codes:
                Positive Negative
                Rear Left: Green w/Yellow stripe Green

                w/Orange stripe
                Rear Right: Blue w/White stripe Green w/White stripe

                PUTTING THE CAR BACK TOGETHER

                1. Make connections and screw speaker into place.

                2. Replace panels in opposite order, be very careful when handling and replacing the panels.

                Comment

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