aftermarket headunit install?????

[renegadejim]

hey everyone,
I have an 08 cobalt ls sedan. It came with the basic stereo no pioneer upgrades or anything like that. I already have a jvc kd-g230 head unit that i had in my jeep. Its still in good shape cause i had it in for about a month before i sold the jeep. I was wondering how do i go about installing the after market stereo in my car. I am putting it in cause i want to put some subs and an amp in real soon but i don't want to have to pay anyone to do it. I have some wiring knowledge but not a ton. Can anyone help me out and steer me in the right direction with this? thanx.

[blkbalt06]

its pretty simple...you'll need a wiring harness for your car, found easily online. some places may try to sell you the GMLAN adapter, which isnt necessary for the cobalts, unless gm changed it for 08. you'll also need the mounting hardware which is just a plastic piece to hold your single DIN stereo in a double DIN sized space.

to remove the old stereo, begin by popping off the trim around the stereo. but in order to pop it off, you'll need to pop off the trim above the glove box, and the similar trim on the other side of the stereo. dont be afraid to use some force, they can be a ***** to pull off. once thats removed, pull the stereo trim off and you should see 4 bolts that hold the stereo in place. not positive on the size but it cant be too hard to figure out. remove the stereo and disconnect the harness and antenna from the unit. for the antenna you might need a gm mini adapter, as they tend to be smaller than most antenna plugs. you should be ready to install the new stereo.

go ahead and bolt up the new stereo mount. it should just line up as the old stereo did. i hope you know which wire is which with the aftermarket HU(most have a wiring diagram). wire up the harness from the new HU with the adapter harness you bought for the cobalt. make sure each wire is correct because you dont wanna finish and find out it doesnt work. now for power, you'll have to run a separate wire down to the fuse box. attach it to the power wire on the headunit, then find a fuse (i prefer the windshield wiper fuse) and tap into it. this should give you a constant power source. at this point, the harness should be plugged in, as well as the antenna and you can turn the beast on to see if it works. if so, slide the stereo in the slot and put everything back together as it was!

[renegadejim]

thanx for the help. i have another question though. i went to a local audio shop today and they said i need that gm adapter and its $120. do i absolutely need that or will i just loose chimes and stuff like that. some guy told me that was in the shop not even an employee just some random guy and he said my car wouldn't even run if i didn't have the adapter which i find very hard to believe.

[blkbalt06]

an audio shop told me the same exact thing. i told the installer there that im going to try it without it, and if it didnt work THEN i'd come back to him. i installed it just as i said and everything worked fine. you shouldnt lose chimes or anything.

[creedin]

yea i put it in without problems my first try around, just take off the "-" battery terminal at the beginning and remember to put it back on before you think it doesnt work

[brisnika]

so how do u connect all those wires to the new hu without an addapter, and did you lose your oil life and those other info things

i have an 05 cobalt ls any help please

[bkleindel]

go to crutchfield.com and search for products for ur car....buy the 15$ wiring harness, attach it to ur aftermarket H/U, the plug it directly into the cars stock harness.................... 2006 cobalt ls didn't lose oil life ,lights, nor chimes

[Snake890217]

Originally Posted by bkleindel

go to crutchfield.com and search for products for ur car....buy the 15$ wiring harness, attach it to ur aftermarket h/u, the plug it directly into the cars stock harness.................... 2006 cobalt ls didn't lose oil life ,lights, nor chimes

qft, only mine's a 2005.

[brisnika]

ya mines 05 too

[jsepulveda89]

I hardwired mine in like some of the other guys on here, to do that you have to cut the factory harnesses out but I made sure to leave enough wire from the harnesses incase I ever decide to place the stock head unit back into the car. Only thing I lost was the clicking noise from the blinkers. You have to run the headunit power and memory wires to a power source such as the cig lighter under the radio and ac controls. I unplugged the cig lighter harness to prevent from the socket being used and blowing the fuse. Then you just have to find out what speaker wires are which and wire them up. I went this route because the cheapest harness I found was 230 bucks for my car.