I want to put a nice stereo in my 96 (it has the Bose gold system) but I can't seem to find the correct adapter harness for the wiring. I do NOT want to cut the factory stereo wiring, I want to use an adapter harness if at all possible. Are they available? If so who makes it and where can I get it? Any help is appreciated.

 

Try crutchfield

 

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-Qdo9DO...s-Harness.html

http://www.metraonline.com/part/Afte...arness_70-1857

The wiring instructions from Metra are not 100% clear regarding the ground wire(s). Even the folks at Crutchfield screwed up and wired the grounds all together (for my particular radio), instead of going to ground. The grounds need connected and grounded of course.

 

Thanks for the info. I went ahead and ordered the metra harness from crutchfield. The one on metra's website doesn't give you an option to buy it, there was no price and no "add to cart" button in the link. By the way, I was reading the reviews on it and a lot of people we're saying that it works great except when you turn the radio on you'll hear a "pop" noise from the speakers. One of the reviews thankfully had the solution, you need to also get two ground loop noise isolators to correct that problem and he gave the crutchfield part number for them so I bought those too to go with the harness. Here is the link for the ground loop isolators from crutchfield:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_127SNI...mnews=15689488

Now all I need to do is decide what kind of stereo I want to get for the car...

 

Crutchfield has some great options including an Apply-play touch screen that will fit the C4 opening. Do a search here on it just read about someone installing one.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...4-96-trim.html

 

I put the Metra link there because it has their instructions on how to wire it.

If you do a search on me, you will find my thread on installing a backup camera and there is a solution to the "thump". PAC SNI-1's. You will need 2. Front L & R Rear L & R.

Also in my recent threads I posted how to keep your antenna from lifting as soon as you turn the car on, NOT THE Radio, the car. You will also need to leave the old BOSE unit behind the back seat. There are functions that still go through it, at least in the way that Crutchfield wired the adapter there is.

In the 96's, there is the relay next to the radio behind the back seat. There are 2 green wires that come off the relay. The one that goes back towards the back of the car, you put a toggle switch in it and you can control the antenna.

 

Yes, I bought two SNI-1 ground loop noise isolators to go with the harness. Can you post a link to the thread(s) you made about the antenna and any other things regarding doing a sterero install correctly? By the way, is there any way to make the radio control the antenna instead of having to mount a separate toggle switch for it? I would really like the radio to control it if at all possible.

 

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...up-camera.html

I added Sirius XM Radio. I am really satisfied with the Sony radio I bought.

As I said in the write-up, with the particular radio I bought, there is enough room without having to cutup any of the structure in the dash to fit it.

Did you get an extension for the antenna lead ? It is also behind the back seat.

I could find no way to have the radio control the antenna as the radio unit powers up as soon as the car is turned on (or ACC) (how it was wired). It is no big deal to reach behind the passenger seat and flip the toggle switch. That is where I put it, in the tray. I added some wire to give me enough room.

Maybe you can wire it differently but going by the instructions and the wiring to the Sony radio, there wasn't.

If you take the car through a car wash (I don't) you will be glad you can control the antenna.

 

No worries about damage from taking it through a car wash, I do my own car washing. Does your Sony have a USB port in the front of it? I want a stereo (double din size) that has one because I want it to be able to play mp3's from a USB memory stick. It also has to be able to be installed with no cutting of the dash. Did your Sony need some sort of mounting adapter to screw it in place and if so what adapter did you use? I want my stereo install to be as painless and uncomplicated as possible. Also, what about the speakers? Do the factory Bose speakers have amplifiers in them? If so, should they be disabled so that the output of the stereo doesn't overload the input of the speaker amps and blow them? Do you recommend gutting the speaker housings (removing the speakers and amps from the housings) and putting better speakers in them? If so, what speakers should I put in them? They would have to be able to fit inside the housings and be able to handle a decent amount of power because I might put an aftermarket amp in it (nothing too serious though, just something that has a bit more power than the factory Bose amps). If anybody else on here has a stereo recommendation that meets the minimum requirements mentioned above (double din size, USB port in front, no dash butchery required to install it) feel free to chime in.

 

If you follow the links and do some reading at Crutchfield, it will answer all your questions.

 

I bought this sterero from crutchfield yesterday:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_105KWR...mnews=15689488

It has what I'm looking for in a sterero (front USB and aux ports, CD player, Bluetooth, and works with Android phones), it's a name brand (JVC), and the price was real good. You also get the wiring harness and stereo mounting kit for free. And free 2 day shipping to top it off. Looking forward to seeing how it sounds but I'm not looking forward to doing the install, lol.

 

Just wanted to know if anyone can point me in the right direction in how to route the metra adapter rom the foxhole in the 93 to the head unit location while maintaining the most oem look in the cabin as possible?

 

foxhole ???

 

Foxhole - Somebody's been watching John Wayne movies.

Surely they refer to the storage compartment behind the passenger seat.

I dont have a 93 but surely the Metra adapter isnt designed to replace all of the wires between the head unit and the CDM in the foxhole.

 

Actually, the Metra harness IS intended to replace all the wires between the aftermarket head unit and the speaker and power wiring connections at the CDM. The Metra harness is uber-long because it can also be used for Cadillacs and Buicks that had the CDM mounted in the trunk.

It was this thread that informed me about the possibility of a "pop" from the speakers on power-up. Crutchfield includes 'free' installation supplies when you purchase a unit from them. I had bought a unit that I didn't need the install kit for the car I was working on, so I asked for install stuff for the 90 Corvette which included the Metra harness. Years later, I installed an Alpine in my 90 I recalled the "pop warning" in this thread and did a quick mock-up using the Metra harness and sure enough, it popped. I found and bought the SNI-1 and no more pop.

I see no reason you need to retain the CDM if the Bose head unit is also being removed. (As mentioned in this thread.) If your car has Manual HVAC controls, you need the "resistor fix" on one of the connectors in the dash to prevent SYS warnings. If you have C68 electronic HVAC, contrary to popular belief, you don't need the resistor(s).

Most head units that have the necessary pre-amp outputs also have a dedicated antenna wire (usually blue) that only powers on when the source is "Tuner". You use the amp turn-on wire (usually blue/white) to power the Bose amplifier relay. The Metra harness only has one wire in it, so you have to add another if you want the antenna to be independent of amplifier turn-on.

I've done two of these aftermarket head units retaining the Bose amplified speakers. The 90 and my current 92. When I sold the 90, the purchaser wanted the stock Bose set up, so I was able to put it back with no issues. That all went into the 92, although I did shorten the Metra harness for the 92 rather than wad up 20 feet of extra wiring like I did in the 90. Again, you have to use the noise filters with the Bose speakers..

Cheers.

 

I pulled the passenger's seat, took the console out and ran the wires under the carpet and through an existing hole in the rear bulkhead.

 

Thanks for the clarification IHBD. Idda never expected that.