Car Stereos: stereo problems, ribbon connector, 2000 buick lesabre

Question
i have a 2000 Buick lesabre custom and i was having troubles with hookin the radio up. i went to the store and bought the ribbon connector to plug into the stock ribbon connector hook up and then when i plugged it in my cd player will power up and take cds but it won't play the cd and also the display doesn't light up or come on and i have tried pretty much everything and still can't find out what to do with it so what do you think it could be?

Answer
Kyle,

The problem is that the factory radio in the 2000+ LeSabre is controlled by the vehicle's data bus system.  There's no accessory power wire in the radio plug.  That means that there's no power for the red wire on your new deck.  It doesn't work because it can't tell that the key is on.  This is a common issue on newer GM vehicles, but it's even more of a hassle in yours because of the dock-and-lock connector style.

You have a few options:

First, you can purchase an interface adapter for your vehicle.  The Metra part numbers are GMOS-05 or GMRC-04.   Either of these parts will work, but the GMOS-05 is necessary if your vehicle is equipped with Onstar (and you want to keep it working).  In addition to providing an accessory power connection for the new head unit, they'll both generate the vehicle warning chimes which are lost when the factory radio is removed.

Second, you can use the harness you have, but connect your head unit's red accessory wire to an alternate key-switched power source.  I like to tap into the RAP relay, located in the fuse/relay box under the rear seat on the driver's side.  This will keep your new radio working like the old one did (staying on after the key is off until you open a door) but you'll lose all audible warning chimes in the vehicle.

Third, you can just combine your red and yellow wires from the head unit, and connect them both to the yellow wire from your adapter harness.  This will keep your CD player on at all times.  This is the quickest and easiest way to get it working, but if you forget to switch the radio off you're likely to drain your battery.