clarkvstewart
Member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2012
- Posts
- 45
- Reaction score
- 0
Bought one of these Monday for my birthday. GPS/Bluetooth phone and iPod/Pandora control for under $400? No brainer.
To install this radio in a 2003 Yukon like mine with Bose and Onstar you'll need the following:
1) Metra Axxess GMOS 104 Interface. That number is correct as far as I know. Got it at Crutchfield for $100. This lets you plug the radio into the factory harness and retain Bose amp and Onstar functions.
2) Metra Axxess SWC To retain steering wheel controls
3) GM radio antenna adapter.
4) Dash install kit of your choice.
Start by disconnecting your battery ground. Then place the key in the ignition and place the vehicle in low gear 1 (all the way down with shifter) with a flathead screw driver, pry off the dash surrounding the radio. There are only three screws holding the factory radio in place. Remove those and pull the old unit out disconnecting pig tails as you go.
Now I recommend making all the new connections in the house on a table - preferably with a soldering gun and heat shrink tubing. It's a hellish mess of wires at first glance. I chose to follow the connections in the GMOS interface as they were a little more complete than the appradio. Fortunately the colors are identical between the two sets of wires. Finish your connections.
I will save y'all a headache. The GMOS interface is made by the same folks that make the SWC interface. We learned after some head scratching that the GMOS interface includes all the same wires that are included in the steering wheel control package! The only thing you'll need to do with the SWC package is plug the black box into the GMOS interface and wire the SWC according to the wires and instructions remaining in the GMOS interface. In other words you'll have a fair share of left over wires from the SWC kit!
Once all your connections are made move to the vehicle and start plugging in pigtails from the GMOS to the factory connectors. This is where this GMOS unit shines! The only remaining wires are the parking brake wires to the radio. Pioneer doesn't want you to mess with videos while driving do they make a funky parking brake security setup to keep you from watching them while driving. You have to activate the parking breaking then release it to get the green light to watch video like Netflix. I'll leave it to you to decide if you want to bypass it. I tried a switch but couldn't get it to work, and some folks swear by the relay method while others say it doesn't work. I haven't screwed anymore with it.
At this point I'd make sure you have a good antenna connection because my adapter wouldn't hold onto the factory pin for some reason so I had to crimp it with pliers. It's supremely frustrating to finish your install only to find the damn radio plays like crap!
On to the GPS antenna and mic locations. For the GPS we elected to place it on the roof since it also has a magnetic mount. We removed the weatherstrip around the top of the door and found a convenient little notch in the door frame so the wire won't be pinched. We then pulled the plastic A pillar cover out and ran the wire down the pillar. And under the dash where the fuse panel is. From there up and over the gauges into the stereo compartment.
For the mic we followed the same route down the A pillar, with a twist. The best place for the mic is directly overhead where there's no way to mount it. We simply pulled the stripping off the door again and the molding off the driver's side of the sunroof. Once that was done you can just get your fingers through the pulled down headliner to reach the much from the pillar. We positioned it without any bracket directly overhead then pulled back until there was no wire showing, only mic. Then we replaced all the molding. It's snug so you won't have to worry about it moving. It is virtually unnoticeable.
Here's the hard part - a caveat if you will. This stereo is not a perfect fit in this dash. Crutchfield recommends cutting the dash pillar at the back of the stereo hole. I can't imagine the amount of torture this would require with some sort of Dremel tool, so I didn't do it. That said my radio sticks out further than stock, but is not noticeable with a dash kit covering the gap. It's a ***** to get all your wires out from behind the unit, and the best place to stuff em is behind the gauge cluster to the left of the dash.
As for programming the SWC interface it's easy. The thing will try to do it itself the first time it gets power, and if you don't play ball it goes into standby mode. Learned this after getting the thing in and forgot all about programming it!
Simply unplug the unit from its pigtail with the ignition on then reconnect. The unit will start flashing rapidly. Immediately press the Volume Up button on the steering wheel repeatedly. After a few seconds the light will go off. Quit pressing the button. The device will blink intermittently like a dash light error code does then if you did it right it will finally go solid red. At this point turn on the radio and see if volume works. In my rig the volume up down works, and seek seems to as well, the source button does nothing, and program button changes station presets I believe. The talk button works the built in factory phone I guess (Onstar was deactivated in my ride).
Now that everything is working do your best to push the unit as far in as you can. TAKE SPECIAL CARE OF THE IPHONE CABLE CONNECTING TO THE STEREO. YOU CAN DAMAGE THE PIGTAIL IF YOU'RE NOT CAREFUL! It acted sketchy with me showing the phone wasn't connected. I wiggled the wires in back of the pigtail and it picked up again. I've got a two year warranty with Bestbuy, but for now I just eased the unit in. I ran the other end of the iPhone cord out of the tab below my large passenger vent on the dash. On my Yukon this is a blank set of tabs and one with the traction control button. On other models this is the onstar button, but mine is on the mirror. I just popped out the tab and ran the wire out there. I plan on using a vent mount for my phone so the hole won't look too sketchy. I originally wanted to run out the cubby holes below the ac controls but was told I'd be cutting into the air box if I did.
Now that the radio is in the dash it's time to put the dash back on. In my case the radio allowed the dash to plug back into the tabs in all spots except the last tab right beside the right of the steering column. It leaves a gap at the ac control, but since no light leaks through from below I dont see where this is an issue. You have to actively hunt any gaps.
I'll post more pics as I take them. If you have specific wiring questions let me know. Below is the installed stereo.
To install this radio in a 2003 Yukon like mine with Bose and Onstar you'll need the following:
1) Metra Axxess GMOS 104 Interface. That number is correct as far as I know. Got it at Crutchfield for $100. This lets you plug the radio into the factory harness and retain Bose amp and Onstar functions.
2) Metra Axxess SWC To retain steering wheel controls
3) GM radio antenna adapter.
4) Dash install kit of your choice.
Start by disconnecting your battery ground. Then place the key in the ignition and place the vehicle in low gear 1 (all the way down with shifter) with a flathead screw driver, pry off the dash surrounding the radio. There are only three screws holding the factory radio in place. Remove those and pull the old unit out disconnecting pig tails as you go.
Now I recommend making all the new connections in the house on a table - preferably with a soldering gun and heat shrink tubing. It's a hellish mess of wires at first glance. I chose to follow the connections in the GMOS interface as they were a little more complete than the appradio. Fortunately the colors are identical between the two sets of wires. Finish your connections.
I will save y'all a headache. The GMOS interface is made by the same folks that make the SWC interface. We learned after some head scratching that the GMOS interface includes all the same wires that are included in the steering wheel control package! The only thing you'll need to do with the SWC package is plug the black box into the GMOS interface and wire the SWC according to the wires and instructions remaining in the GMOS interface. In other words you'll have a fair share of left over wires from the SWC kit!
Once all your connections are made move to the vehicle and start plugging in pigtails from the GMOS to the factory connectors. This is where this GMOS unit shines! The only remaining wires are the parking brake wires to the radio. Pioneer doesn't want you to mess with videos while driving do they make a funky parking brake security setup to keep you from watching them while driving. You have to activate the parking breaking then release it to get the green light to watch video like Netflix. I'll leave it to you to decide if you want to bypass it. I tried a switch but couldn't get it to work, and some folks swear by the relay method while others say it doesn't work. I haven't screwed anymore with it.
At this point I'd make sure you have a good antenna connection because my adapter wouldn't hold onto the factory pin for some reason so I had to crimp it with pliers. It's supremely frustrating to finish your install only to find the damn radio plays like crap!
On to the GPS antenna and mic locations. For the GPS we elected to place it on the roof since it also has a magnetic mount. We removed the weatherstrip around the top of the door and found a convenient little notch in the door frame so the wire won't be pinched. We then pulled the plastic A pillar cover out and ran the wire down the pillar. And under the dash where the fuse panel is. From there up and over the gauges into the stereo compartment.
For the mic we followed the same route down the A pillar, with a twist. The best place for the mic is directly overhead where there's no way to mount it. We simply pulled the stripping off the door again and the molding off the driver's side of the sunroof. Once that was done you can just get your fingers through the pulled down headliner to reach the much from the pillar. We positioned it without any bracket directly overhead then pulled back until there was no wire showing, only mic. Then we replaced all the molding. It's snug so you won't have to worry about it moving. It is virtually unnoticeable.
Here's the hard part - a caveat if you will. This stereo is not a perfect fit in this dash. Crutchfield recommends cutting the dash pillar at the back of the stereo hole. I can't imagine the amount of torture this would require with some sort of Dremel tool, so I didn't do it. That said my radio sticks out further than stock, but is not noticeable with a dash kit covering the gap. It's a ***** to get all your wires out from behind the unit, and the best place to stuff em is behind the gauge cluster to the left of the dash.
As for programming the SWC interface it's easy. The thing will try to do it itself the first time it gets power, and if you don't play ball it goes into standby mode. Learned this after getting the thing in and forgot all about programming it!
Simply unplug the unit from its pigtail with the ignition on then reconnect. The unit will start flashing rapidly. Immediately press the Volume Up button on the steering wheel repeatedly. After a few seconds the light will go off. Quit pressing the button. The device will blink intermittently like a dash light error code does then if you did it right it will finally go solid red. At this point turn on the radio and see if volume works. In my rig the volume up down works, and seek seems to as well, the source button does nothing, and program button changes station presets I believe. The talk button works the built in factory phone I guess (Onstar was deactivated in my ride).
Now that everything is working do your best to push the unit as far in as you can. TAKE SPECIAL CARE OF THE IPHONE CABLE CONNECTING TO THE STEREO. YOU CAN DAMAGE THE PIGTAIL IF YOU'RE NOT CAREFUL! It acted sketchy with me showing the phone wasn't connected. I wiggled the wires in back of the pigtail and it picked up again. I've got a two year warranty with Bestbuy, but for now I just eased the unit in. I ran the other end of the iPhone cord out of the tab below my large passenger vent on the dash. On my Yukon this is a blank set of tabs and one with the traction control button. On other models this is the onstar button, but mine is on the mirror. I just popped out the tab and ran the wire out there. I plan on using a vent mount for my phone so the hole won't look too sketchy. I originally wanted to run out the cubby holes below the ac controls but was told I'd be cutting into the air box if I did.
Now that the radio is in the dash it's time to put the dash back on. In my case the radio allowed the dash to plug back into the tabs in all spots except the last tab right beside the right of the steering column. It leaves a gap at the ac control, but since no light leaks through from below I dont see where this is an issue. You have to actively hunt any gaps.
I'll post more pics as I take them. If you have specific wiring questions let me know. Below is the installed stereo.
