Car Stereos: Replacing Car Stereo 2002 Tahoe, stock radio, pink wire

Question
Hi there,
I recently tried to install a new stereo in my Tahoe, using the proper wiring harness, was not successful. I'm wondering how to bypass the rear controls, which I think is the problem. After hooking everything up I turned the radio on and had no sound, not even a hissing sound. We then took the radio and hooked it up in my husbands 1500 Silverado, that doesn't have rear controls, and it worked. Any thoughts on this would be helpful.

There is a separate set of wires that went into the back of the stock radio for the rear controls but on the new radio there is not a separate spot for them.

Thank you for your time.
Kerry

Answer
Hi Kerry,

Many Tahoe models are equipped with a factory amplifier, which needs to be activated or you won't hear any sound.  You activate the factory amp by connecting the blue/white wire from your head unit to the factory amp activation wire in the factory plug.  Unfortunately, this isn't always found in the same spot on every model.

The factory amp activation wire is usually pink, but sometimes it's green.  Take a look at the main factory radio plug (which should be connected to your adapter harness).  Is there a factory wire lined up with the blue wire in the adapter harness?  If so, just connect the blue wire in the adapter harness to the blue/white wire coming from your head unit.  

If there's no wire in the pin position above, or if you're still not getting sound, then look at the secondary factory radio plug.  Is there a pink wire in this plug?  (This is especially common if the vehicle is equipped with Onstar).  If there's a pink wire in the small plug, then this wire should be connected to the blue/white wire from the head unit.

If your Tahoe was equipped with a factory Bose system, then you may need a special interface adapter in addition to the adapter harness.

Hope this helps!

Brian