What do I have, and what can I do with it??

[John_Wayne777]

So here's my situation: The transmission in my daily driver (a Dodge Intrepid) died and I had to find a replacement. I found a 2007 Dodge Charger with less than 1.5 years on the road and 22,000 miles in great shape at my favorite used car dealer. I talked them down to a price I was willing to pay and walked away with the car.

I believe it is a Charger SXT, as it has the 3.5L HO V6. There's no badging on the vehicle that says SXT, however....

I'm looking at replacing the stock single CD head unit with a decent NAV combo unit. I've thought about installing one of the factory units, but it looks like installing a MyGig would be a pain in the neck in addition to trying to source one that would have a sufficient warranty...

I'm thinking that the best option would be to buy a Pioneer F90BT unit (so I can put all my CD's on an iPod instead of carrying them around) and to have that installed by the guys at my local Crutchfield. They seem to do decent work.

So my questions are these:

1. Does this seem like a reasonable plan? The AVICs seem to be getting good reviews since the software update. EDIT -- I already have the new nav bezel on order.

2. My current HU is the basic single CD unit, but I'm not sure what speaker system I have. I believe I have 6 speakers...two in the front dash, two sub-woofers in the doors, and two in the rear. Would this be the Boston Acoustic speaker system with an amp? I thought that sort of system would only come with the higher end HU's....

3. There is a black plastic square on my roof that looks similar to a satellite radio antenna or something....or is that there for a GPS unit in case one was installed by the factory? Is it just the standard radio antenna? I'm assuming that some sort of adapter would be needed to hook this antenna up to the Pioneer unit, right?

I'm assuming that to know what all I will need for installation that I'll need to know the answers to at least 2 and 3 so the Crutchfield guys will be able to get what is necessary to do the installation.

Thanks for your help.

[RScottyL]

As far as your vehicle, if there is no badging that says SXT, then it is possible it could be an SE+, as it also had the 3.5L V6 in it.

You mention you were considering the MyGig. It can fit in the 2006-2007 Charger, however you will also need additional hardware ($250+) to get it to work in there. Unfortunately, that would make it cost more than the AVIC F90BT that you are considering!


(1) Yes, this sounds like a good plan. I have been looking at the F90BT, and I am considering this, although the MyGig RER is another option for me.

(2) If you do have the 6 speaker system, I believe there is only one subwoofer, and it will be in the rear deck. I have an SXT, however it just has the basic 4 speaker system....2 in front door, 2 in rear door.

(3) That will be the Sirius radio antenna if I am not mistaken. I believe the 2006 and 2007 Chargers had the Sirus tuner in the trunk. Not sure if you could use the same connection for your new radio, as you may have to get the Surius tuner that is made for that radio!

You usually will not see the GPS antennas on a car....that I know of!

[John_Wayne777]

So here's an update:

I talked to the people at Crutchfield today and spent most of the time just trying to figure out what I've actually got in this thing. My Charger used to be a fleet car so it appears to have a whole bunch of little non-standard things going on.

Anyhoo, according to Crutchfield if I have a factory amp, I have the Boston Acoustics speaker system. The amp is supposedly located on the driver's side up under the dash around the area of the parking brake. I looked in that area and sure enough, there's a gray box with heat sink fins on the edge pointing out and what appears to be two white 10 pin connections. I couldn't see anything on the gray box that said Boston Acoustics on it, just bar codes and part numbers. It does, however, look exactly like the pics of the factory amp for the BA system that Crutchfield had in their cheater install documents.

I also found out that the dorks at Crutchfield won't install the bypass on the unit because of liability. Grrr....

Anyhoo, I was doing some searching around and on the other Charger place (z) someone said that Chargers could come with a non-BA speaker set with a factory amp. Anyone know if that is true?

The sound system sounds great to me, but then again I'm not a huge car stereo buff. Dialing the current system to 11 on the radio is frankly way too loud for my tastes, and even with the base EQ dialed down it thumps hard enough to shake the mirrors on 11. If that's the "basic" speaker system, so be it. I'm a shooter and a guitar player and frankly I don't need anything else loud in my life. ;)

It also looks like I may have to do the install on my own to actually be able to use the NAV system of the F90BT on the go. I feel out of my league attempting such a thing. If I order the right kit from someone like Pac, however, it should be a relatively simple install without too much wire splicing and the like, right?

Any and all help/advice is GREATLY appreciated.

[ChargeRonDavinS]

It may be an SE, Se in 2006 and some in 2007 came with the 3.5. If it's newer, it's an SE+.

Without SXT badges, it's an SE. (unless they were shaved off)

[RScottyL]

I also found out that the dorks at Crutchfield won't install the bypass on the unit because of liability. Grrr.....


Don't worry........

It looks like the bypass is very easy to do:


ViDeO in MoTiOn

SOFTWARE BYPASS
http://www.avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17715 (http://www.avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17715)

HARDWIRE BYPASS (best)
http://www.avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19689&highlight=bypass

[Part Deux]

you can have a 6 speaker system without a sub. The Am/FM antennas are in the rear window, the hockey puck is the satellite antenna.