[darkangel9685]

So, my car's stereo died. NO CD's, no radio...nothing. It was an Infinity system for a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The system was apparently the "premium" version, and thus has a separate amp (which i didn't initially know about). This is important for later.

I go and buy new stereo. It's a Sony. Bought a mounting kit as well. Total cost - $120. Not that bad, considering the same new stereo installed at a certain electronics dealer was $200. I saved $80 i though happily. I was wrong....

I go to start the install yesterday. Everything is going well. Mounting bracket (what i thought was gonna be the hardest part) went in smoothly. Old stereo came out and was disconnected easily. This took all of 15 min.

Then I get to connecting the new stereo.

First problem - different connections. Dammit!

AH! The mounting kit came with an adapter of sorts. It just needed to be spliced into the wiring for the stereo. Not so bad. I finsihed splicing in an hour or so.

I go to try it out. Radio works. CD and AUX IN, not so much. Damn, damn, damn. I'm think i messed up the wiring here, and decide to get a direct connection kit, something that has an end for sony, and and end for the jeep.

Go to big box retailer (the same one that was gonna charge me $200). Tell them what I need. End up with a wire harness that end up Sony and a "universal" connection, and another harness that ends in a Jeep connection and the "universal" connection. All is well, I think. It was dark out by now, so I'll do it tomorrow.

Tomorrow comes, and I try again. Same thing. What is going on!!??

Back to big box. Explain my situation (they were very nice about it BTW). I'm asked it the system in my Jeep is an Infinity system. Yes it is.

Well, that system has am amp. The reason why there was no CD was b/c there was no power to the amp. The connection i got for the radio was a lead for this, the Jeep end, however, does not. I'm also informed that the manufacturer does not make the connecter I need anymore.

So, I'm SOL unless I splice wires (again) for pay to have it installed. That's $90. As far as the splicing goes, I'd have to cut off the "universal" connection from the Sony side, leaving the bare wires, and cut off the connectors in the Jeep, and splice the two together.

What do I do!?

 

[LostOne.TR]

If you can splice the wires and cover the spliced area back up safely, I'd go with the splicing.

Sorry to hear that things kept going south. I know how it feels..had a similar run in 2 nights ago, except it was my attempts to back up data from a corrupt HDD going south. Spent over an hour driving, several hours doing the copying/backing up while making my first attempt at using knoppix OS. Formatted the lil sucker, only to find out my socalled backups did not copy anything with an asian character in the folder/filename.

My advice is to step away from it all for a bit. Cool off, relax a bit, and then go back to the dirty work.

 

[VeipaCray]

You can do one of two things.

1. Buy a wiring kit that bypasses the factory amp. Similar to this one... Dodge/Jeep/Chrysler In-dash Stereo Integration Adapter Allows you to install a new car stereo and bypass the factory amplifier at Crutchfield.com

2. Bypass the factory amp yourself. Cut the wires from the input side of the factory amp and directly attach them to the output side wiring. Match the colors up.

This way your head unit will act as the amp for the speakers in your car.

I compete in high end car audio and have done many many installs for friends, family and my own car (100+). If you have any questions please PM or email me. I can talk you through whatever problem you are having. It's frustrating because you are working in a small confined space, but I assure you it won't be that bad.

 

[dgbiker1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VeipaCray /img/forum/go_quote.gif You can do one of two things. 1. Buy a wiring kit that bypasses the factory amp. Similar to this one... Dodge/Jeep/Chrysler In-dash Stereo Integration Adapter Allows you to install a new car stereo and bypass the factory amplifier at Crutchfield.com 2. Bypass the factory amp yourself. Cut the wires from the input side of the factory amp and directly attach them to the output side wiring. Match the colors up. This way your head unit will act as the amp for the speakers in your car. I compete in high end car audio and have done many many installs for friends, family and my own car (100+). If you have any questions please PM or email me. I can talk you through whatever problem you are having. It's frustrating because you are working in a small confined space, but I assure you it won't be that bad.

X2 on crutchfield. I've learned that if I have to install anything in my car that interfaces with existing electronics, I just go with crutchfield and save myself the hassle of driving to Egypt and back 20 times.

 

[darkangel9685]

no dice...gonna get it done at big box...i hate this!!