Any experience swapping out OEM head-units on new GMs?

[St0rmD]

(Crossposted from Chevy/Malibu to here)

I just bought a 2004 Malibu LS (which btw, is very nice. The 3.5L V6 has got a nice bit of push to it for passing, while still behaving itself gracefully and QUIETLY the rest of the time. I expect good things for the 3.9L Pontiac coming out on this platform next year.) and I am intested in exploring options for stereo replacement.

However, in the new GMs the OEM stereo head-unit serves double-duty as a "Driver Information Center" which is the only way to access certain car features like your trip-odometer, Security system, remote-entry/starter system, basic engine diagnostics (fuel economy, oil life, check-engine warnings, etc) and in the case of on-star equipped vehicles (mine isn't), a lot of that system is in the radio now too.

This radio is a slightly different version than the model I have, but the basic idea is there, although the buttons on mine are labelled differently (GM press photo, probably from a pre-production vehicle or something):



So just ripping the system out and throwing in an after-market head unit doesn't seem to be a good option. I don't particularly want to lose access to these features, but would like to have a hard-disk based mp3 jukebox.

Among the options I'm looking at are, getting a Rio Karma and an extra docking cradle, which I will use to fabricate a custom car-dock which will feed into the line-in on the head unit (assuming it has one...I haven't ripped it out yet to check, but I think there is an option for a CD-changer).

Another option is an all-out ballz to the wallz CARPUTER project, which I could attempt to interface to the wiring harness under the dash (I'm guessing it's a standard radio harness, and an OBDII interface), with a touch-screen interface, GPS, navigation, more in-depth OBDII diags/displays, my whole music library, and whatever other blingtastic goodies I can think/figure out how to include here.

Option 1 is likely as a near-term project (by the summer, maybe). Option 2 is pretty far-fetched, and I imagine would take me a year or more of acquiring parts, fabricating custom bezels, integrating electronics, and doing patchwork programming and scripting which I may or may not be qualified for (probably I'd be biting off almost more than I can chew if I actually pursue this route).

But this thread is to get more ideas, both for other ways to approach the problem of how to I get my digital music collection into my car without losing the DIC that's already there, and for what I can expect when I tear open the dash. Does anyone else have one of these cars, or know anything about these new radios, what their interfaces are, or alternative ways to access the information and features they have, if you do decide to replace the unit with an aftermarket stereo system?

[sr20de4evr]

blingtastic, I like it

do you have a picture of the rest of your dash?
if you have an empty DIN (or have room to fabricate one) you could simply wire a new headunit in from scratch, leave the stock one there to do everything it does EXCEPT for the audio. Just wire your aftermarket unit directly to the speakers, constant and switched power, ground, etc.

[St0rmD]

Originally Posted by sr20de4evr

do you have a picture of the rest of your dash?
if you have an empty DIN (or have room to fabricate one) you could simply wire a new headunit in from scratch, leave the stock one there to do everything it does EXCEPT for the audio.

My digital camera has gone AWOL (which sucks), but here's a demonstration photo from GM:



As you can see, there's not really an empty DIN there. Directly under the stereo head-unit is the HVAC controls, and under that, the bottom of the dash (there's a little cut-out coin compartment and a 12V outlet there, but hardly room enough to cram in an aftermarket HU, although that's the area I'd like to mount the Rio-dock which I think I'm definitely going to pursue. I've been thinking about it, and the thought of being able to plunk down a Karma when I get in the car, and have it pump out the speakers, and then yank it out when I get out and still have my whole sound-set in my headphones is just very appealing.

Still...I'm more than a little annoyed at the trend among auto manufacturers to make it harder and harder to replace the factory stereo... It seems like a very obvious and cynical ploy to appease their suppliers (Delco) and get profit margins up on the higher-priced factory stereo upgrades, lest more and more people start requesting the base audio unit or no stereo at all, just to install an aftermarket system and save a few hundred. Unfortunately, it will probably take a lawsuit from the aftermarket manufacturers to reverse this trend.

[FYRHWK1]

Your best bet is going to be to relocate the headunit to somewhere else in the car, it seems unlikely given its size but you could try to stuff it behind the glovebox. If nowhere close can be found then a long harness extension is in order and the trunk is your best bet. The problem is though, that GM has been using data links to control more and more things lately, i'm really not sure how that affects the radio though.

[starkfu]

The radio has a class 3 databus that links certain electronic serial data to the rest of the car, the radio has to remain in there, if you wanted to keep the display up front youi could dismantle the face and rewire the display up front, then replace with your aftermarket unit. Your only other option is to wait a year or so for peripheral items to come out to allow expansion for the stock unit.

[MethodMan420]

I am just curious to know if anyone has tried to hook one of theses Delco "DE100's" up in a NON-GM car and exactly what problems you had and overcame. (i got a sweet deal on a 6-disc IN-dash changer