those with aftermarket radios, gotta question...

[goval]

I went to Circuit City today to buy a radio, antenna, and dash unit harness to hook up my dash double din dvd player that is coming in the mail this week; but when I went to pick up the stuff at the back of the store, the guy at the install garage told me that I won't be able to hook up the aftermarket radio in my Charger because of the "amplifier" that is hidden under the dash.
My question is, what did you guys have to do? Is this really true?

[BAY_BANNANER]

you gotta bypass the amp running one amp through another will cuase bad sound. you will also need the correct harness for the deck are your gonna lose your factory chime and sooner or later your check engine light will come on. cant remember the brand but the harness is like $75 to $80

[sound&security]

the guy is a morron!!!! if you have the amped system all you have to do is use the pac or metra amp interface part. if you have a sxt you most likely dont have the boston amp and you only need the radio plug in harness. the big stores are not up to data with most 06 and for sure not with 07 cars and trucks like the mom and pop custom shopes are!!! i use the metra part #CHTO-01 because it has 4 RCA in puts which let you have full balance and fade control and it has line level adjustment on it to help control power out put from your new unit to the factory amp so you dont send to much power from a high out put head unit in to the amp and blow it up. the pac part doesnt have 4 RCA in puts and you can only fade right to left. so go with the metra part but plan on shelling out $125 to $150 for the part. again if you try to get it from a big chain store they will special order it and most little shops most of the time have it in stock or can get it in a day or two and the big stores have to wait until they restock there store which means you wait for weeks for the part. big stores are good for selling radios and speakers dirt cheap but you end up talking to a guy out of high shcool who dont know his a$$ from his nose and if you dont know what you want and how to use it you end up as lost as they are and as far as having any thing installed by a big chain store thats always a big no-no!!!! the big stores hire kids straight out of install school in daytona-ohio-or cali and they dont have the years behind them to know the tricks of the trade!

[sound&security]

i took the factory amp out of my car a year a go and no cel so that is un true unless you have EVIC or wheel controls then you dont want to remove the stock amp. you have a sxt so pretty much you can get away with alot in terms of the radio.

[goval]

I have an SE, not an SXT. I bought a radio harness to hook up to the factory speaker wire plugs, a harness for the radio, and an antenna adapter. I'll take a picture of what I got in a minute...

[turbobuckeye]

When I bought my aftermarket radio you had to bypass the factory amp with the PAC-Audio kit, which if you are planning to eventually upgrade speakers too its no big deal. Since then I have been hearing that you can use the factory amp with the updated harness from PAC-audio. FYI-If you bypass the factory amp and do not add an aftermarket amp you are gonna hear a very significant loss of power out of the speakers.

[sound&security]

on your window sticker if it said that you have the group II sound system then you have the amp and factory sub woofer in the rear deck and you have to use the factory amp to run all 7 speakers. if u have the base system with just door and deck speakers then you are good to go. altou you will have to run a switched ing wire to the key if your radio stays on untill you open the door because the harness that you have doesnt convert switched ground to switched power for key on and off. dont worry it's not that mush of a problem. if you open the trunk and remove the panel that covers the rear speakers you will see two 6x9's on each side and if you see a 8inch sub woofer on the right side of the deck next to the right speaker then you have the group II system and have to use the factory amp and metra interface to matain the same sound. if you dont see the woofer then the parts you have will work. and you have the basic system. either way the sound will be better with the after market radio.

[goval]

I don't have the group 2 system, this is because I don't have the trunk's subwoofer. Can you explain better what do you mean about the switch key to power the unit when the doors are open/closed?

[p_Town_10]

just take it to a shop. I got mine bypassed. I got the panasonic Double Din from circuit city. I also bought the Rec Navigation bezel and the install kit from crutchfield. It cost me 100 bucks to get my Tv installed at a shop for labor and parts.

[socal434]

I don't have the group 2 system, this is because I don't have the trunk's subwoofer. Can you explain better what do you mean about the switch key to power the unit when the doors are open/closed?

when i got my alpine deck installed they had to tap off of an ignition wire which happened to be one of the wires in the harness that runs to the hazard light button and esp off button. the radio wouldnt power on at first when i tried to install. but then the people at best buy did that for me.

[goval]

when i got my alpine deck installed they had to tap off of an ignition wire which happened to be one of the wires in the harness that runs to the hazard light button and esp off button. the radio wouldnt power on at first when i tried to install. but then the people at best buy did that for me.


I don't understand. Is this for the remote wire of the head unit? It's so the head unit shuts down only when the doors are open after you turn the car off?

Also I have 6 speakers vice just 4, but no subwoofers on the back, so does this mean I still might have the amp?

[goval]

Well, I did a quick Google search and found out that I DON'T have the group II even with the 6 speakers I have. Here's the list:

Sound Group II - includes:
AM/FM radio with cassette, 6-CD changer with MP3
capability, 6 Boston Acoustics speakers with subwoofer,
322-watt amplifier


So the 6 speakers I have must be an extra option???

[socal434]

when i get off work ill pull out my radio and look and take a picture off the wires

[socal434]

srry i forgot about it. ill have to leave myself a reminder and ill do it tonite. ive got the 4 speaker system so mine might be a little bit different than yours though.

[goval]

srry i forgot about it. ill have to leave myself a reminder and ill do it tonite. ive got the 4 speaker system so mine might be a little bit different than yours though.

Don't worry dude. The stuff won't be here til next week. I'll just pull the stuff out of mine sometime before then and see what I have. Thanks though!

[DODGEBALLS]

I remember I thought my local stereo shop was trying to take me for more money when he told me I needed the $80 harness! HA

[socal434]

this is the wire harness that plugs into the back of the hazarad and esp button

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l243/socal434/Picture020-1.jpg

they had to tap into the red and orange wire

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l243/socal434/Picture021-1.jpg

that red wire that tapped into the red and orange then splices into the red wire on the harness i bought

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l243/socal434/Picture022.jpg

then you follow the red wire into the plug that plugs into the back of my alpine head unit

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l243/socal434/Picture023.jpg

thats what i was tryin to say about tapping into an ignition wire

[sound&security]

just follow SOCIAL'S wiring instruction's and you'll be fine but use a 10 amp fuse in that line'. every thing eles just wire to the harness that you bought and plug it in.

[realorc]

Is there an online manual for the CHTO-01? or a close up of the adapter?
Can I hook up the sound output from a carpc into the METRA harness without requiring a HU in my setup?

[goval]

You guys are great! Thanks for the help!! Now I understand what you were talking about. Should be an easy instal if I realy don't have that amp for sure. My stuff is not supposed to be here until next week, so I'm not gonna be able to install this until the weekend of the 17th.

[socal434]

just follow SOCIAL'S wiring instruction's and you'll be fine but use a 10 amp fuse in that line'. every thing eles just wire to the harness that you bought and plug it in.

the 10 amp fuse for mine is in the back of the head unit next to where the harness plugs in

[Wood300]

Hi, don't mean to hijack a thread but I was wondering. Do you have to have a harness to install an Aftermarket deck?

[goval]

Hi, don't mean to hijack a thread but I was wondering. Do you have to have a harness to install an Aftermarket deck?

Yes if you don't want to splice on the factory wires, which voids any warranty work on your audio system.