im putting a new head unit and system in my 2006 cobalt lt with the pioneer speakers no onstar and i went to best buy asked them for what kinda wireing harness i need and there all like well the one we have is $120 and he said it keeps the door chimes, i dont care about the door chimes so like i was like is there a cheaper one that i could get that doesnt have the chimes and, hes like yeah but its eventually going to fry your cars computer system in it...im not sure what to do i need someones help, i went to a car audio shop and they said that, thats best buys scare to make you buy the more expensive one, he told me if i just got the normal harness it would be fine but im just not sure who to belive and i dont want to fry my cars computer, i just want to keep my nice sounding pioneer speaker system and amp and add my subs it the trunk for alittle more pound, but i just wanted to get someone elses opinion and help. thanks much
Cobalt lt pioneer stereo, i want to add a new head until...help
- Thread starter 06balt
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cobalt123
Platinum Member
it wont fry anything i ran a aftermarket HU for quiet some time no problem, the cheaper wiring is what i used
cobalt123
Platinum Member
it was a different brand but yeah for awhile i ran on factory amp then moved to another amp cuz i added subs.
emperorjj1
Full Access Member
just remember the cars dont come with the red acc and you need to get that from the fusebox. dont connect anything to the red wire in the cobalt harness cap it off and just run a wire from the new hu harness straight to the fusebox.
as long as u dont connect anything to that red wire in the cobalt harness then ur fine
as long as u dont connect anything to that red wire in the cobalt harness then ur fine
cobalt123
Platinum Member
well, i did something like that when i installed a wideband gauge, i powered it through the windshield wiper fuse so constant power when car is on
emperorjj1
Full Access Member
you mean run the acc wire and constant wire together so the radio is always on?
yeah, but i put the new head unit in and it seemed fine i turn up the volume no sound, i start my car none of my gauges work, no blinkers, rpms, mph, nothing worked and like the stereo was on but thats it but nothing else works whats wrong?
emperorjj1
Full Access Member
did you connect the red wire in the metra cobalt harness to anything? yank that harness asap
emperorjj1
Full Access Member
right that one.... whats the red wire on that 20 dollar harness you bought connected to?
i just went out and purchased a 90$ harness that works great at first it wouldnt work but i just had to rewire the acc or pink wire to the harness and it works great and it looks pretty decent i really apreciate all the help its perfect now, i should have just got this harness to begin with
newfiedan
Full Access Member
the cheap harness has all the wires except for the ign or keyed power if you wanted it to work all you needed to do was run the ign power wire on the deck (red wire) to a keyed power fuse in the fuse panel using a fusetap prefereably a busmann bp/hhh. The expensive one does work no doubt but there are cheaper options either way if it works for you then its all good.
Great topic and thank god I found you guys. I have been having the exact same problem. I installed a new Kenwood HU in my wifes 06 Cobalt. There was nothing connected to the Metra harness (#IBR-WHGM3 from Best Buy)Acc power wise and when I stared the car, no sound, no driver info display, no guages, but I still get warning chimes. Any help that someone could give would be greatly appreciated.
newfiedan
Full Access Member
do you have the base sound system or the pioneer sound system k9lawdog? I can not seem to locate that metra part number at all, the base sound system can get away with the cheap adapter you just need to add the acc wire with a busman bp/hhh fusetap, the pioneer sound system uses the more expensive adapter scoshe adapter number GM13SR, metra does list 71-2103-1 for the car but it does not say if it works for the pioneer sound system.
emperorjj1
Full Access Member
thats the gray one... wrong pin out needs to be light blue. i couldn't find the correct one on the bby website so they may not "carry" it. you don't need the module harness for the car. what you want is the metra 70-2103 it will work with the pioneer system. the 71-2103-1 is the reverse harness
Amazon.com: Metra 70-2103 Radio Wiring Harness for Malibu/Equinox/G6 04-Up: Electronics
Amazon.com: Metra 70-2103 Radio Wiring Harness for Malibu/Equinox/G6 04-Up: Electronics
Spacey_stacey75
Full Access Member
THis is what I did...... Took it to best buy, talked to the guys for awhile, talked em into using a regular harness, not the $120 one, but a $25 one, they hooked it up and its covered for like 5 years warantee on the install and since I bought my HU there I got the replacement plan on that. Picked the car up about an hour later everything is fine. the only thing missing is the auto shut off when the driver door opens. I can live without that, they even dropped the wires for the amp, so I didn't have to pull it back out later to hook that up. whole install for the head unit alone was like $120, with amp wire drop, amp wires, harness, and dash kit. and its waranteed, Very worth it to me.
They tried given me that crap about the high priced harness, I wasn't going for it.
They tried given me that crap about the high priced harness, I wasn't going for it.
Thanks for the replies guys. I actually couldn't tell you if it has the Pioneer system or not. I'm assuming that it doesn't due to the fact that everything within the audio system seems to suck. This car seems to be the absolute basic.
newfiedan
Full Access Member
the pioneer one should have tweeters in the a pillars or a factory sub and there usually is a branding indicating that its pioneer. If you have the basic then you should get away with the cheaper harness. The one you have may have the incorrect pinout which may be cause of the loss of gauges and what not. I would try unplugging the deck then try the ign see if the gauges come back if so then that is most likely the problem you are encountering. You will need to wire the red wire from the deck to a keyed power source I highly recommend the busman fuse tap that I mentioned earlier (bp/hhh) then use a test light to find a keyed power fuse no larger than 1o amps, put the fusetap into that fuse. Here is the factory color code;
Car Radio Battery Constant 12v+ Wire: Red/White
Car Radio Accessory Switched 12v+ Wire: The radio harness does not provide a switched power source. Run a wire to the fusebox for switched power. The accessory turn-on and amplifier turn-on are controlled by the class 2 serial network.
Car Radio Ground Wire: Black/White
Car Radio Illumination Wire: Gray
Left Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Tan
Left Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Gray
Right Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Light Green
Right Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Dark Green
Car Audio Rear Speakers Size: N/A
Car Audio Rear Speakers Location: N/A
Left Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Brown
Left Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Yellow
Right Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Dark Blue
Right Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Light Blue
see if that matches your plug for pins so black should match the black/white stripe and so on. FYI without that switched key power on the red wire the deck will not turn on period.
Car Radio Battery Constant 12v+ Wire: Red/White
Car Radio Accessory Switched 12v+ Wire: The radio harness does not provide a switched power source. Run a wire to the fusebox for switched power. The accessory turn-on and amplifier turn-on are controlled by the class 2 serial network.
Car Radio Ground Wire: Black/White
Car Radio Illumination Wire: Gray
Left Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Tan
Left Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Gray
Right Front Speaker Positive Wire (+): Light Green
Right Front Speaker Negative Wire (-): Dark Green
Car Audio Rear Speakers Size: N/A
Car Audio Rear Speakers Location: N/A
Left Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Brown
Left Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Yellow
Right Rear Speaker Positive Wire (+): Dark Blue
Right Rear Speaker Negative Wire (-): Light Blue
see if that matches your plug for pins so black should match the black/white stripe and so on. FYI without that switched key power on the red wire the deck will not turn on period.