Gen 2 stereo head unit upgrade

[72hemi]

I am looking to replace the head unit in my ACR, so I can have mp3 and bluetooth capabilities. I don't need anything fancy and like the Alpine unit below. Any ideas as to if it will work in my 2001 Viper and what all I will need to install it? I am thinking I will need the bluetooth module and a harness adaptor kit to wire it to the stock harness.

Alpine Electronics of America, Inc.

 

[dave6666]

A lot of people rip out the factory wire and/or modify the existing harness to fit the new head unit. I just spliced into the DIN cable soldering and heat shrinking as I went. There is an adapter available might search for it here at this forum. If I ever replace the OE amp I'll rip the DIN cable out completely and run RCA cables to the back.

 

[Nitro187]

I heard, because the speakers between the seats share a common ground... that it's not recommended to use the DIN cable, and to run seperate grounds to the speakers... else, you could blow something. Is this correct? I refused to upgrade my unit for this exact reason.

 

[72hemi]

I don't have any speakers in between my seats

 

[Dom426h]

Because you dont have an RT/10:

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Your subwoofers are in the trunk.

Nice pick on the $200 Alpine. If i ever decide to put music back in my viper that would be my choice.

 

[72hemi]

That's what I thought. Searching online I have found the Alpine unit for $150 and the bluetooth module for $75.

 

[shmoos]

Look for an Alpine Auth. Dealer. When i had my head unit upgraded, they took an Alpine din plug, lets say the female end and pluged it into the car Alpine din Harness. Then just made connections to new radio. If i decided to replace factory radio. I just unplug new harness and plug in old radio. Wish i took a picture. Cars radio plug is an Alpine round din plug. Google it. Here is a site that sells the old Din plugs. NYS322

 

[JohnnyViper]

i like shmoos suggestion

 

[Red Snake]

http://forums.viperclub.org/rt-10-gts-discussions/633884-gts-stereo-upgrade.html

 

[72hemi]

Thanks for the link.

I will go down to my local Alpine dealer this afternoon.

 

[ViperJames]

Look for an Alpine Auth. Dealer. When i had my head unit upgraded, they took an Alpine din plug, lets say the female end and pluged it into the car Alpine din Harness. Then just made connections to new radio. If i decided to replace factory radio. I just unplug new harness and plug in old radio. Wish i took a picture. Cars radio plug is an Alpine round din plug. Google it. Here is a site that sells the old Din plugs. NYS322

I have had my new head unit sitting in the box for a year now because i gave up on figuring out how to wire it, and wasn't worth the time for me to bring to a stereo place...So are you suggesting i can buy an adapter to make the Din style OEM cord work with my new head unit without rewiring the whole car?

 

[Red Snake]

I have had my new head unit sitting in the box for a year now because i gave up on figuring out how to wire it, and wasn't worth the time for me to bring to a stereo place...So are you suggesting i can buy an adapter to make the Din style OEM cord work with my new head unit without rewiring the whole car?

I could NOT find an adapter to make the swap a plug in. But the splice is not very hard to do. There is a schematic stickered on the top of the stock radio (from the factory) that tells you what each wire in the harness is for. Pretty easy to figure it out once you ahve the factory radio out.

 

[Fatboy 18]

I fitted one of these and used the standard factory amp
Zenec - Touch another World : ZE-NC510
Also fitted a rear view camera to keep an eye on those Yellow Vipers

My sterio guy made up / adapted an old DIN lead from another unit so if I ever wanted to go back to stock nothing has been damaged

Also fitted some new rear speakers as the old ones were shot. Nothing really expensive just same size hole replacements.

 

[72hemi]

I haven't made it down to the stereo shop yet, keep getting stuck at work late, but I should be able to go down there today. I also need to look at the wiring diagram in the service manual to see about making an adaptor harness. The last thing I want to do is start cutting into the factory harness. If I can't find a semi-simple way to make/purchase a harness adaptor then I will have to stick with the stock head unit, because I don't trust my car to many shops to work on it, especially stereo shops. Thanks everyone for the input. It looks like I can do it with minimal effort, but there is still some uncertanty.

 

[shmoos]

If you lived closer i would refer you to the shop that did mine.

 

[shmoos]

I will see if this weekend i can pull out radio and take picture of plug.

 

[72hemi]

That would be awesome! thanks.

 

[HLN A55]

Sorry for the sidebar here, but for those who have replaced their HUs, how did y'all install the new one? I bought my car with a stereo already in it, and it is attached to the car with cheap "custom" brackets. Does the original HU have mounting hardware that you can swap to the new radio?

 

[72hemi]

No worries on the side bar. That is a good point to bring up. Will an aftermarket head unit simply install in the stock location or is there work to be done there as well?

 

[Red Snake]

No worries on the side bar. That is a good point to bring up. Will an aftermarket head unit simply install in the stock location or is there work to be done there as well?

Mine just fit right into the stock location with no modicfications required.

 

[DarcShadow]

I heard, because the speakers between the seats share a common ground... that it's not recommended to use the DIN cable, and to run seperate grounds to the speakers... else, you could blow something. Is this correct? I refused to upgrade my unit for this exact reason.

I'm not an audio guy but from an electrical standpoint, I see no reason why the speakers sharing a ground wire would be a problem. Grounds are essentiall all tied together at some point anyway. The only thing you might want to do differently as far as connectin things, is if the head unit has 2 ground lines for the 2 speakers, splice them together at the head unit so any current passing through the ground line is safely split between the two connection points on the head unit.

I could NOT find an adapter to make the swap a plug in. But the splice is not very hard to do. There is a schematic stickered on the top of the stock radio (from the factory) that tells you what each wire in the harness is for. Pretty easy to figure it out once you ahve the factory radio out.

I don't think he was saying there is and adapter, but that you could buy a connector that will plug directly into the connector of the car and then splice the new unit into the connector you bought.

Something else you can look into are crimp splicers that allow you to join 2 wires with out actually cutting them. There might be a slight loss in audio quality but not likely one you'd be able to notice. These type of connectors can then be removed later down the road and with a little electrical tape around the slice in the wire insulation that they made and you are good to go.

 

[Fatboy 18]

Ok a freezing cold evening here at the moment, so Ive just been out to the garage and taken these pics of the stock raido pin outs and pics of my new set up

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Hope it helpes, click on the photo for a link to the full album

 

[KNG SNKE]

personally i bypassed the DIN cable. Most aftermarket stereos put out better power then the factory amp therefore making it a good paperweight. I ran all new wiring into my doors and to the rear of the car because of this and it sounds great

 

[72hemi]

Thanks for the pictures they definitely help.

 

[Fatboy 18]

Thanks for the pictures they definitely help.

Your very welcome

 

[hyatt]

What kind of phone/mp3 will you be using?

I have a an alpine like that one, not sure if is exactly the same, with an iphone 3gs

 

[Fatboy 18]

In my set up I use the Bluetooth for the phone and run a Ipod touch 4th gen via the mp3 plug.

 

[eurowalt]

I added a Kenwood slide out unit w Navigation cool unit. Install was a tight fit.

 

[72hemi]

When I go to wire in my new head unit should I wire in the RCA jacks (and if so how) or do I just run the speaker wires out of the regular new head unit harness?

 

[72hemi]

Nobody knows?