Pontiac Solstice Forum - View Single Post - HOW TO: Aftermarket Headunit Replacement

I installed a 7.5 TV/DVD Player/ with XM, Radio, IPOD and Nav unit.
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If interested PM for pics

Quote:

Originally Posted by AztekzRpurty

Found a similar description of the harnesses on the HHR forum, however, they had a pink wire for antenna which we don’t, and their gray/tan LF speaker wires were on the other harness, which leads me to wonder if a chime harness will work for both the HHR and the Solstice as I had been assuming, since the radios look identical.

Next I attached the appropriate wires from the radio’s harness to the car’s harnesses using the tap-in connectors.

Everything worked but I found out later that the radio does not shut off with the key. I could swear the harness power was off when the key was out, and on when the key was on, but maybe I screwed up. The radio also has a wire for constant power, which I hooked up to the cigarette lighter wiring, so I guess the radio might have a setting I could change, but I doubt it. Anyway, it’s not worth digging back into the dash as I think I like it this way. I can turn on the radio when I’m washing the car without putting the keys in the ignition. I’ll just have to make sure I turn the radio off when I get out. I should be able to handle that.

Next I removed the Din cage from the new radio. Most aftermarket head units will have this. It comes off by using some flat insertion pins that come with the radio. Read your manual.

Attach the din cage to the adapter. There is a spacer ring that comes with the adapter you have to put in first, then put the cage in and lock it into place by bending over the metal tabs of the din cage.

Once again, easier than it sounds, look at the adapter instructions and your radio manual and it should be clear, provided your manual is in English and not Engrish. http://www.engrish.com

O.K., now the dash adapter. While trial fitting the adapter, I noticed it wouldn’t sit all the way down flush. I found that there are circular guide pins on each side that fit into holes in the dash, keeping the piece aligned. It seems they changed that a little on the Solstice. The boomerang piece has a small plastic pin that inserts into a slotted hole in the dash where the alignment pin would normally be. The solution is the remove the pin on the passenger side of the adapter. I did this by drilling from the front side with a ¼” drill bit. After test fitting again, the hole still wasn’t big enough for the boomerang pin to fit through, so I removed the plastic between the drilled hole and the adjacent lower hole with a skil saw. Very ugly but it works.

One more mod to the adapter might be necessary. After installing the adapter, hooking the radio to its harness and antenna adapter, and sliding the radio into its cage, I thought I was ready to reinstall the boomerang. Wrong. I couldn’t get the area just above and to the right of the radio to seat back down. I figured the problem was interference from the top of the dash adapter, so I basically took some tin snips and the skil saw and removed everything above the radio trim ring. (see pics) All this plastic served no purpose anyway. Of course, after doing all this, the boomerang still wouldn’t seat.

Frustrated, I made sure all the wiring behind the ac controls was out of the way and tried seating the piece with a different sequence. Then it worked fine. Was trimming the adapter piece a waste of time? I don’t know. I guess the next person to do this will have to tell us.

All in all, it was a pain, but not as bad as it probably sounds. If you’ve done installs before, you should be able to handle it. If you haven’t, go slow and ask questions here if you get stumped.

Finally, here’s a video of the unit in action.

http://media.putfile.com/Blue-Dolphin-88

Next on the list for me is replacing the door speakers. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Good luck with your install. Get’R Done.

__________________
USAFChief

2006 COOL - Steel/Sand
MagnaFlow Performance Exhaust | Jensen 7.5" DVD/TV/MP3/XM/IPOD/SD Photo | Razzi Rear Spoiler | 3M InvisaBRA, L'il Chromies, Personalized Etched and Lit Wind Shield, 6" Stubby Antenna, SOLSTICE Racing Stripe | Metallic Black racing stipes | Alabama Personal tag: FNTODRV (Fun To Drive) |VIN# 1249

	USAFChief Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Prattville, Alabama	I installed a 7.5 TV/DVD Player/ with XM, Radio, IPOD and Nav unit. [/IMG] If interested PM for pics Quote: Originally Posted by AztekzRpurty Found a similar description of the harnesses on the HHR forum, however, they had a pink wire for antenna which we don’t, and their gray/tan LF speaker wires were on the other harness, which leads me to wonder if a chime harness will work for both the HHR and the Solstice as I had been assuming, since the radios look identical. Next I attached the appropriate wires from the radio’s harness to the car’s harnesses using the tap-in connectors. Everything worked but I found out later that the radio does not shut off with the key. I could swear the harness power was off when the key was out, and on when the key was on, but maybe I screwed up. The radio also has a wire for constant power, which I hooked up to the cigarette lighter wiring, so I guess the radio might have a setting I could change, but I doubt it. Anyway, it’s not worth digging back into the dash as I think I like it this way. I can turn on the radio when I’m washing the car without putting the keys in the ignition. I’ll just have to make sure I turn the radio off when I get out. I should be able to handle that. Next I removed the Din cage from the new radio. Most aftermarket head units will have this. It comes off by using some flat insertion pins that come with the radio. Read your manual. Attach the din cage to the adapter. There is a spacer ring that comes with the adapter you have to put in first, then put the cage in and lock it into place by bending over the metal tabs of the din cage. Once again, easier than it sounds, look at the adapter instructions and your radio manual and it should be clear, provided your manual is in English and not Engrish. http://www.engrish.com O.K., now the dash adapter. While trial fitting the adapter, I noticed it wouldn’t sit all the way down flush. I found that there are circular guide pins on each side that fit into holes in the dash, keeping the piece aligned. It seems they changed that a little on the Solstice. The boomerang piece has a small plastic pin that inserts into a slotted hole in the dash where the alignment pin would normally be. The solution is the remove the pin on the passenger side of the adapter. I did this by drilling from the front side with a ¼” drill bit. After test fitting again, the hole still wasn’t big enough for the boomerang pin to fit through, so I removed the plastic between the drilled hole and the adjacent lower hole with a skil saw. Very ugly but it works. One more mod to the adapter might be necessary. After installing the adapter, hooking the radio to its harness and antenna adapter, and sliding the radio into its cage, I thought I was ready to reinstall the boomerang. Wrong. I couldn’t get the area just above and to the right of the radio to seat back down. I figured the problem was interference from the top of the dash adapter, so I basically took some tin snips and the skil saw and removed everything above the radio trim ring. (see pics) All this plastic served no purpose anyway. Of course, after doing all this, the boomerang still wouldn’t seat. Frustrated, I made sure all the wiring behind the ac controls was out of the way and tried seating the piece with a different sequence. Then it worked fine. Was trimming the adapter piece a waste of time? I don’t know. I guess the next person to do this will have to tell us. All in all, it was a pain, but not as bad as it probably sounds. If you’ve done installs before, you should be able to handle it. If you haven’t, go slow and ask questions here if you get stumped. Finally, here’s a video of the unit in action. http://media.putfile.com/Blue-Dolphin-88 Next on the list for me is replacing the door speakers. I’ll let you know how it goes. Good luck with your install. Get’R Done. __________________ USAFChief 2006 COOL - Steel/Sand MagnaFlow Performance Exhaust \| Jensen 7.5" DVD/TV/MP3/XM/IPOD/SD Photo \| Razzi Rear Spoiler \| 3M InvisaBRA, L'il Chromies, Personalized Etched and Lit Wind Shield, 6" Stubby Antenna, SOLSTICE Racing Stripe \| Metallic Black racing stipes \| Alabama Personal tag: FNTODRV (Fun To Drive) \|VIN# 1249