Wiring an amplifier and radio in your Chevrolet Truck affords you the opportunity to choose the components that work together to provide the best sound for your stereo needs. The stereo deck will provide some level of pre-amp signal boosting. The amp will provide a greater level of boosting. When the two are combined, the resulting signal strength will need to be in a range acceptable by your truck's speakers. You can find the values for your calculations in the accompanying manuals for the stereo and amp, and the tolerance of your speakers is listed in your Chevy Truck's owner's manual.
Pull the hood release lever located under the driver's side dash panel. Open the hood and disconnect the negative battery cable from the negative battery lead post with the wrench. Rest the cable away from the battery.
Loosen the nut on the positive battery terminal. Place the amplifier ring terminal (from the amplifier wiring kit) to the positive lead. Tighten the nut onto the lead, securing the ring terminal to the positive battery lead.
Remove the fuse from the fuse holder on the ring terminal and attach the blue power supply cable to the ring terminal.
Route the power supply cable from the ring terminal on the battery, through the opening in the firewall behind the engine on the driver's side of the truck. The cable will emerge on the inside of the Chevy truck in the foot well of the driver's side.
Grab the main dash panel at the corner near the outer vents and pull the panel from the dashboard. Work your hands across the entire length of the panel until it is free from the dashboard. Set the panel aside.
Pull the two levers on either side of the stereo mounting dock to release the stereo from the dock. Pull the factory stereo from the dashboard.
Disconnect the Chevy stereo wiring from the back of the radio. The speaker wires and power supply wires are grouped together in white plastic wire binders. Pull the binders from the stereo, not the wires themselves. Pull the black antenna cable from the rear panel of the radio.
Connect the stereo wiring to a wiring harness adapter. The wiring plugs into the corresponding adapter leads. Consult the harness adapter manual for a specific diagram of where the appropriate connections are to be made.
Place the GM antenna adapter over the Chevy's antenna cable.
Slide the faceplate adapter into the stereo mounting dock if the truck.
Connect the wiring harness adapter leads to the appropriate outlets on the rear panel of the new stereo. Plug the adapter antenna cable into the outlet labelled "FM antenna" of the back of the radio.
Plug the patch cables from the amp wiring kit into the leads of the wiring harness adapter. Feed the patch cables through the stereo mounting dock and down to the floor of the truck.
Slide the stereo into the faceplate adapter. Push the stereo into the dock until the face of the radio is level with the trim of the faceplate adapter. Pull both of the stereo mounting levers down to secure the deck into the dash of the truck.
Route the power cable from the battery to the location of the amplifier. Run the patch cables to the amplifier on the opposite side of the truck to avoid interference.
Connect the power cable to the amp at the outlet labelled "power." Plug the patch cables into the appropriate outlets on the amplifier.
Connect the grounding wire from the amplifier wiring kit to the amp. Connect the grounding wire to a bolt or screw near the location of the amp. The grounding cable should be no longer than 20 inches and attached to any screw or bolt directly connected to the frame of the truck for proper grounding.
Connect speaker wires to the amplifier. Run the speaker wires to the location of the speakers you wish to receive the boosted stereo signal.
Pry the speakers from their mounts with a trim panel removal tool. Disconnect the stereo wiring from the back of the speaker. Connect the speaker wiring harness to the speaker outlet. Connect the speaker wire from the amp to the speaker harness. Replace the speaker and press firmly on the speaker cover to complete the replacement of the speaker. Return to the engine compartment of the Chevy truck.
Place the negative battery cable clamp over the negative battery lead. Tighten the cable to lead with the wrench. Place the amplifier ring terminal fuse into the fuse holder. Close the hood of the truck.
