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Replacing the Stereo? 1995 Geo Metro; Any help or tips?
Topic Started: Oct 9 2014, 09:35 PM (2,350 Views)
Jenny
Member
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Hi there. :greet

I have a 1995 Geo Metro with a Pioneer CD/USB stereo thing in it that was already in it when I bought the car. The USB has now stopped working so I need to replace the stereo, as the USB connection is what I always use (I have all my favorite music on a USB drive).

I've spent a number of hours looking up stereos and trying to find videos on how to replace these things. Everything is different depending on make and model of the car, as well as the stereo you have. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed.

I can't find any videos for how to get the stereo out of a Geo. Lots of other cars are online, but they all have different methods, too. I don't want to wreck anything, but I don't know how to get it out of the dash. The person who put it in before already cracked part of the plastic area that borders the stereo. Makes me wonder if this is a bit complicated in a Geo? If I knew how to take these things off, I could go to a scrap yard and get a new replacement part.

Also, if I have a Pioneer already in there, would I need to get a kit for wires as well, or can I just keep those if I choose to replace it with another Pioneer? Man, I wish they taught this kind of stuff back when I was in school. It would have been much more practical than some of the things they taught instead.

Does anyone have any tips or info that would help? Know of any videos out there for how to do this?
Any suggestion for a great quality stereo system? It needs to have a USB port.

I read in one forum that someone said: "Pioneer = junk". Is that true?
Anyone have any recommendations for a high quality brand?

Would I be better off to pay an car audio shop to install a stereo instead? I was at a place last week and they said it's about $135-$180 for a stereo and another $75 approximately to install it. But they want my car there for 1/2 a day, which just doesn't work for me - I need my car and am quite busy driving throughout the day as well as evenings and weekends with my kid in hockey.

Thanks so much :)
Jenny
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Mythstae
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Jenny -
Please don't pay a shop.
They will overcharge you.

Check out "Helpful Stereo Links", in my signature...
I'm about to leave for work, but I'll check back on this thread tomorrow when I get home.
You can also PM me, if you prefer.

I can walk you through how to remove your old stereo (it's EASY) unless somebody beats me to it :hmm
I can also walk you through how to wire up a new stereo yourself, unless you don't want to, in which case, that is a service I offer...

Brand preference is a very personal thing; some people don't like Pioneer.
I currently have a Pioneer stereo in my car; I like it.
I don't like Sony stereos; the beepy-beepy thing they do drives me up the wall.
(My Pioneer did beepy-beepy, too, but luckily, I was able to disable that.)
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Stiffchezze
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Sir Metrologist

Mythstae
Oct 9 2014, 10:17 PM
Jenny -
Please don't pay a shop.
They will overcharge you.


:gp :+1
Listen to Mythstae, she'll get you through it.
BTW
Follow the first part of this walk-though on repairing your fan switch. It is the same procedure on replacing your radio.
Link--->How to Fix Fan Speed Selector Fix '95+; Zip Ties!!!
Also,
right now would be a good time to fix your fan switch at the same time. If it's not giving you problems right now.....It will. ^o)
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banginmetro64
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pioneer has one of the best track records on the nicer am/fm cd player units. the double din units are garbage as well as their nav units. kenwood/jvc and alpine and clarion are among the best or top of the line units as far as quality units used in many installs i have seen. the top radio used i have seen in many competition cars is the pioneer unit with the dsp built in.
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Mythstae
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Stiffchezze
Oct 9 2014, 10:39 PM
Mythstae
Oct 9 2014, 10:17 PM
Jenny -
Please don't pay a shop.
They will overcharge you.


:gp :+1
Listen to Mythstae, she'll get you through it.
BTW
Follow the first part of this walk-though on repairing your fan switch. It is the same procedure on replacing your radio.
Link--->How to Fix Fan Speed Selector Fix '95+; Zip Ties!!!
Also,
right now would be a good time to fix your fan switch at the same time. If it's not giving you problems right now.....It will. ^o)
Thank you, Stiffchezze. :thumb

So, Jenny.
Now that I have some more time to talk...
:type
Do you know, was your current stereo installed with a removable harness, or was the Pioneer harness spliced into the factory harness, replacing the end? :hmm
If you follow the guide Stiffchezze posted, you can take out your stereo, and take some pictures of the wires that plug into the back... that will tell us a LOT.
And yes - SOME Pioneer stereos (I won't say all, I'm sure I'd be lying) will use the same harness connector as others, so if your stereo happens to have the same plug as a new one, conceivably you COULD plug right in. But this is only a possibility; we'd need some pics to help you make sure.
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Jenny
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Thanks everyone. I made an attempt to do this myself and failed horribly. Now I can't get the new one or the old one to work at all!!! I don't know what's wrong. I figured so much out and was feeling quite proud of my progress and taking the risk to try this... and I learned a lot and succeeded at a number of the steps (including finding a piece at the scrap yard).... but it was all in vain if I can't get the system to even turn on. I should have left it the way it was - at least I had radio and CD functions. Now I've got nothing :(

Any help? I made a video of everything I did so you can see it and maybe figure out where I went horribly wrong. I'm a complete beginner!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gFDC7gj2W0
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Jenny
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I'm looking at my video - my camera picked up what my eyes could not. Could that blue-white wire actually have been connected to something? Maybe it's the reason why things aren't working? Anyone know? I don't understand the description in the manual about it (also in the video). Nor did I see where that wire could potentially go. ?
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Old Man


,
Edited by Old Man, Oct 11 2014, 02:40 AM.
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Metromightymouse
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Powdercoat Wizard

So you did good for a first time and all is not lost.

First, excellent job with the blue white wire, you don't need it. It's for an amplifier or power antenna to turn them on when the radio is on. The 2 big plug in wires are for an amp that was previously installed in the car and whoever removed it just cut the wires off for some reason. They can be removed and thrown away if you want to keep the old stereo.

What likely happened is you blew the radio or ACC fuse in the fuse box when you connected the battery back up. Before I watched it I expected that you hadn't disconnected it, but was impressed when that was one of the first things you addressed. Cleaning it up while there was a great idea as well. What you were talking about with the blue wire is probably what happened with the....

cigarette lighter (or power port these days). The nut that had to be unscrewed to disconnect it had 12v on it from the battery and the metal housing around it is connected to ground. The nut is exposed and likely was in contact with the housing when you turned the key. If you just want a quick solution to check that it works, slide the clear rubbery bit over the nut or put some electrical tape over it, then find the fuse box above where your clutch foot would be. If you have the cover on the fuse box, it has the labels for what the fuses are. Find the ACC fuse (by memory here, might have a radio fuse or something else but I'm pretty sure it's ACC) pull it out and look through the side. The little "Z" shape inside will likely be burnt out in the middle. Replace it with a fuse of the same number and the radio should work.

The housing on the cigarette lighter will unscrew from the plastic radio surround. If it's not too stuck you can normally put a thumb or finger in the hole from the front and unscrew the housing on the back. It will separate into a part that will remove from the front and another that will remove from the back. Do the one on the new surround first to figure out how it's done then take the one off of your old surround to install on the new surround. That being said, I'm not very fond of the screw on nut, but it is easier that changing the end of the wire.

You should also get some clips to go on the mounting ears where the zip ties were. There should be screws that attach the bracket at each corner and they screw into clips that slide over the ear that is attached to the car (not the bracket). If you still have access to the one at the JY you could remove them from there.

Now the only bad news. The end piece that pulled off was part of your antenna and was not supposed to come apart (small possibility I'm wrong, but it looked like a wire in the middle and not a plug). Unfortunately the only way you are fixing that is to solder a new wire end with a plug on or replace the antenna. Neither are overly fun for a beginner but the antenna is easier if you haven't done soldering before. You can worry about that later as it only affects your radio reception.

I will be on here for several more hours so feel free to throw up any questions you have.
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Metromightymouse
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Powdercoat Wizard

I'm guessing Old Man saw I was on it. :D
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Metromightymouse
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Powdercoat Wizard

Metronomicon did remind me I forgot 1 thing I wanted you to do. Take the new plug and put it next to the old plug and confirm the wires of the same color are in the same order. They should be, but since there was an issue it should be checked.
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1.0captain
Fresh Fish
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Jenny you are Kewl! You gave it the ol college try. Do not get frustrated just yet. The key to installing radios is knowing what each wire in the car does and knowing what each wire on the new radio does and wiring them up correctly. Sometimes that involves splicing or adapter harnesses. Good luck Jenny, you will get it done. ;)
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Jenny
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Aw man, I dont get it. I went and got some new ends for the cigarette lighter thung and have fixed that part. I don't understand what some of you wrote about the antenna. I've looked and looked behind the area there and don't see anything at all for where that wire possibly could have come from. There's nothing to solder it to that I see. But one of you said it wasn't for anything.... so I really don't know now. I picked up a bunch of fuses to see if that might be what's going on but it's so hard to see the fuses by the clutch and I don't know which one is which. Gonna have to struggle to find which one is the "ACC". I should have just paid the store the $75 install rate. :(
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Jenny
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Found the ACC. Thanks everyone! Was able to get the fuse fixed. :D
I have stereo!!
But the cigarette thing keeps shorting out my fuse. I've been through 3 now. I have no problem with it if I tape it off, but as soon as I connect it, the fuse goes. (At least I know how to replace the fuses now thanks to all of you!!)

An old student of mine said that maybe I need to up the fuse because the stereo might be drawing more power from it? It's currently a blue 15. What do you guys think of that? Should I try to increase it to something higher, like a 30? Or from any of your experience, would it be shorting out from something different?

The part I took from a different car had a different end to the cigarette lighter thing, and I can't figure out where the ground would go on that one.

I'm one step closer to getting this done.... but still have one last hurdle to get past.
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Metromightymouse
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Powdercoat Wizard

Do you need the cigarette lighter? If not just tape it off and do without. If you want it hooked up then post a picture of what you did to it so far so we can get a better idea of what is going on. Even though it all looks like it is one big piece of metal, there is a separation between where the positive wire plugs into the back and the housing. It sounds like you changed from the nut to the push on connector and are using the lighter socket that was attached to the trim piece. It is likely that the socket you are using is shorted inside so when you plug it in it blows the fuse.

Do not up the fuse, it is burning out from a short, not from the extra power of the stereo.
Edited by Metromightymouse, Oct 12 2014, 01:44 AM.
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