QuestionI have a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am, I just bought a cd player to go in it, the player i bought is a XD1222 Am/Fm/Cd Receiver. I also bought the do it yourself installation kit. I need help on installing it, if you know the directions on it, i would greatly appreciate it...
AnswerHi Tom,
Sorry about the delay in answering this question. I'm not sure what part of the installation you need help with; the Grand Am should be a fairly easy car.
You'll need a mounting kit, wire harness adapter, and antenna adapter. The mounting kit lets you install the smaller, after-market radio into the factory radio opening. A wire harness adapter lets you connect the after-market deck's wires to the factory radio plug, without the need to cut factory wires or try to figure out the factory wire functions. An antenna adapter is needed because GM uses a different size antenna plug than the after-market head unit.
The mounting kit should come with instructions for removing the factory radio; in the Grand Am, you basically need to pull off the small trim piece around the key switch, then pull off the entire plastic panel that covers the stock radio and climate controls. Unplug the switch connections from the back of the panel, then remove the screws that hold in the stock radio and take it out.
The new head unit comes with a removable metal sleeve. You'll take the sleeve off the factory radio, fit it into the mounting kit opening, then secure it into place by bending the tabs on the sleeve. Once the sleeve is fitted into the kit, push the head unit back into the sleeve until it locks into place.
The wire harness adapter needs to be spliced to the wiring plug that comes with the head unit. The wires in the head unit plug should match up, color-for-color, with the wires on the adapter harness. Splice the wires with crimp-on wire connectors, or solder and high-quality electrical tape. Don't use wire nuts, or just twist and tape the wires without solder. Some wires will be left over, with no matching color in the new radio plug; make sure these wires are taped off so they can't cause a short. You should do your harness wiring out of the vehicle, on the work bench; don't try to splice wires while the harness is plugged into the car.
Once you have the harness wires spliced, and the radio mounted into the kit, then you just have to connect the harness from the factory radio plug to the new radio. Connect the antenna adapter to the factory antenna plug, and plug it into the new head unit. Then place the mounting kit/deck assembly into the radio opening, and secure it with the original factory screws. Replace the dash panel and key switch bezel, and you're done!
Hope this helps!
Brian
