Question On Replacing An Alero Stock Stereo

[Menace]

chimes are for fagz just buy the 50 cent harness and get it done, you dont even need the harness actually its pretty damn easy to hard wire it.

[Cliff8928]

At least get the harness if you're not going to use your chimes. Not only can you revert to stock easily, but it's so much easier to do the splicing out of the car, and if you ever want to change the radio again it won't be a nightmare!

I have a harness that I used in my previous car, a 95 Dodge Intrepid . I am hoping to be able to use the same Harness. Since they are both GM, hopefully the fitting is the same. Otherwise, I will stop by a local stereo shop, or BestBuy to get a harness that fits an Alero 2002.
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You think the harness that fits a 95 Dodge Intrepid will also fit my Alero ?

[sound_xtreme]

Originally posted by xenon_19@May 5 2006, 07:17 AM
You think the harness that fits a 95 Dodge Intrepid will also fit my Alero ?

Quoted post

haha.....NO

[FormulaNERD]

i agree with joel, a stratus maybe, but not an intrepid

Listen to your warning chimes, if you dont have the uplevel stereo, then you probably DONT have the class 2 databus system. if you do the warning chimes will be coming thru the driver's side door speaker. if they are NOT coming thru the driver's side speaker just buy a cheap ass scosche wiring harness from walmart and call it a day. if the warning chimes ARE emanating from your driver's side door speaker then you DO have the class 2 databus and you WILL either need to relocate your factory headunit OR buy the GMRC01 wiring harness. youll keep your warning chimes and have no worries wiring the aftermarket headunit cuz the GMRC01 also has the power, ground and 12 volt constant lead. Alpine CD players are top notch stuff. i got my GMRC01 for $59.95 cuz i have a good friend at a stereo shop who ran me a dirty deal on that thing, its normally $99.95. just check for your warning chimes and youll find out what you need

btw, intrepid and alero are made by 2 very different companies. DaimlerChrysler and GM respectively

Originally posted by sound_xtreme+May 5 2006, 02:58 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sound_xtreme @ May 5 2006, 02:58 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-xenon_19@May 5 2006, 07:17 AM
You think the harness that fits a 95 Dodge Intrepid will also fit my Alero ?

Quoted post

haha.....NO

Quoted post

[/b][/quote]

You were right. I just realized it after opening the Stock Stereo. What a start to my Saturday.

Well, now let me see where I can get a wiring Harness for an Alero ... as you are saying, I can get it in Walmart or BestBuy ... otherwise there is a Stereo shop about 40 mins drive from my place.

My chimes do come through the door speakers. So the GMRC01 product is looking pretty attractive right now. I will check if that Car audio place has it. If not, I will just get the scosche wiring harness to fit my Alero, and go without Chimes for now. The stereo was very easy to take out, so I don't mind if I need to open it up again to fit something like GMRC01 or put in a relocation Kit.

Will keep posted on the progress

[FormulaNERD]

man, i dont see how/why anyone would relocate the headunit to the trunk, cutelilctrygirl or whatever her name was had hers relocated, man it was ghetto.

i say go with the scosche, are chimes really worth looking for, and then paying $60+

I called 2 Audio shops that are open today ... both of them have the regular harness that will fit the 2002 Alero (19.99), and the relocation Harness (39.99).
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They Don't have the harness with the Chime Module attached.
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Well I did some thinking. Without the Chimes, the worst case scenario is that 1. I lock myself out of the Car or 2. leave the headlights turned on and walk away.
For 1. I can have a spare key with my friend. And for 2 ... I just gotto watch out for that one.
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Let me check how much work its going to be to run that wire to my trunk. It just sounds wired that I have the Stock unit in my trunk just for the Chimes ... if it looks really easy I might go for it.
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Anyways ... I will let you know how it goes. Thanks for all the help and feedback.

[Cliff8928]

Originally posted by FormulaNERD@May 6 2006, 07:22 AM
man, i dont see how/why anyone would relocate the headunit to the trunk, cutelilctrygirl or whatever her name was had hers relocated, man it was ghetto.

i say go with the scosche, are chimes really worth looking for, and then paying $60+

Quoted post

The relocation harness is really more for the W-Body cars which have the radio more integrated and use it to do things on the car like reset the oil life monitor, program key fobs, etc...

I've been going without chimes going on almost 2 years. no problems.
Your warning lights still work.

Mounting your original stereo in the trunk or console is just a hassle.

If you do need those chimes, get the chime module. Your audio place should have told you about it. Circuit city and best buy carry it, as well as most car audio shops.

Last i checked the module came with the wiring harness, all one piece. about 60 bucks.

Also, I went through 3 wiring harnesses. They make several that are similiar, but not the same. don't forget to hook up your power antenna. The rear window antennas have a built in booster. alot of people don't think about that being a power antenna.
I also had to switch around to right, left, rear channels. it wa sawhile ago, just depends on the quality of harness you get. skosche is a good brand (may have mispelled it)

Your accessory wire will need to be run to the driver side fuse box. you can get a brass clip that connets the wire over one of the mini fuses. It'll share the connection with that fuse.

All the info is available on here, check out the search function...

[FormulaNERD]

Originally posted by Cliff8928+May 6 2006, 10:39 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cliff8928 @ May 6 2006, 10:39 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-FormulaNERD@May 6 2006, 07:22 AM
man, i dont see how/why anyone would relocate the headunit to the trunk, cutelilctrygirl or whatever her name was had hers relocated, man it was ghetto.

i say go with the scosche, are chimes really worth looking for, and then paying $60+

Quoted post

The relocation harness is really more for the W-Body cars which have the radio more integrated and use it to do things on the car like reset the oil life monitor, program key fobs, etc...

Quoted post

[/b][/quote]


i can imagine that a few years ago there wasnt a cable alternative, and the only way to keep the chimes was to relocate the radio, that's prob why it has been done in an alero. that or a poopty installer.

i konw relocation in the n-body isnt a requirement, that's why i said dont do it.

Well .... Good or Bad, I finished installing my Alpine:


Yes, the stock stereo sits in the Trunk, powered by the relocation Harness.



So the Alpine is producing good sounds ... and the Stock stereo produces my dear Chimes ...

Couple of comments :
I also had to get the GM Antaenna adaper ... it cost me 14 bucks.

Then, I had a hard time fitting all the wires at the back of the Stereo ... especially because the relocation harness added a set of extra wires as well. On top of that, it took me a while to run this monster cable through the side panels, underneath my backseat ....

The I started to enjoy the Alpine and naturally I turned up the volume; now I heard some interference type "noise" coming from the front Left Speaker. It turned out that because the Stock stereo also is connected to the Front left speaker (for Chimes), it was somehow causing some interference, especially when the volume is high,

So I disconnected the Left Speakers from the Stock Stereo anyways for now ... I might get a little separate speaker later just for the Chimes. Oh well ...

[Mischief007]

Looks good. You always need to buy the antenna adapter no matter what.

And yes, it is a bit tight in the dash for an aftermarket setup. Took me about 20 minutes to line it up correctly with the aftermarket harness that I had.

Originally posted by Mischief007@May 7 2006, 09:14 AM
And yes, it is a bit tight in the dash for an aftermarket setup. Took me about 20 minutes to line it up correctly with the aftermarket harness that I had.

Quoted post

It took me a while as well, and my hand is all scratched around my knuckles now. The wires are squshed in there really tight. I hope this won't cause any problems. I didn't solder the connections (as I used to do in the past), but just used standard connectors.

[AlbinoMonkeyRat]

heh...I picked up YoungBlood's pioneer head unit and I still have the chimes and the stock deck isn't even in the car.

That said, If you DON'T have the monsoon amp in the trunk, then you don't need to worry about losing the chimes if you're just switching out the head unit.

yea yea yea, yuck it up cuz you didnt get the factory upmarket stereo where they want $100 for 1 6x9 replacement. whatever anyways. my system still screams now

[natedawg9640]

aw man... too bad i didn't read this post earlier... i'd have told you to PM whiteliquid ... i think he said he had like 2 or 3 of the harnesses that are used to keep the chime and not relocate the stereo for like 25 bucks... he said they were 110 new...

Yes, $25 for a chime module harness would have been pretty good. But things are working pretty good with the relocation done ... so I am happy.