Some rumours and why they're false
GM's new wiring can be scary - ask a few installers who
haven't worked on a 2000+ J-body, and you might hear one of
the following rumours:
* Your oil light will stay on (nope, sorry!)
* Your car will not start (go ahead, try it)
* The factory security system will no longer work
(different module altogether, if you even have one!)
* Your air bags will deploy (unless you wire into them,
they won't! I have proof!)
* The oil life sensor system can't be reset without the
factory head unit (this option was not even available on
Cavaliers or Sunfires!)
* Your automatic transmission will no longer shift (not
connected to the radio)
* RDS radios are wired differently (no they're not)
I'm sure there are more "bad rumours" out there, but those
are the common ones I have heard of. Simply put, the only
thing different between the Class 2 wiring and conventional
pre-2000 wiring, is that the radio is always powered up and
now the BCM controls when it turns on and off. It's that
simple. As far as the Class 2 wiring is concerned, the
factory radio only receives
data, it
doesn't send any. So you can safely remove the factory deck
and no real harm will occur.
There have been a few cases reported of air bags going off,
however I can't seem to confirm ANY of them. The only real
reason why the airbags would go off is if the air bag
system had not been properly disabled, or if the wrong
wires had been tapped for the install of the new deck.
If you take your car somewhere to get the radio replaced,
and they tell you one of the above rumours, either tell
them to get their facts straight or take your car somewhere
else (I will work for beer!!). They obviously don't know
what they're doing. And I honestly wouldn't recommend
letting someone who has no idea touch YOUR car!
Your options
...are simple! You can either remove the factory
deck, and install a new deck using a harness, or keep the
factory deck by re-locating it to the trunk (or somewhere
else) using a T-harness. Either way, you get a new,
after-market deck in your dash.
Got an RDS radio? No problem! The wiring is EXACTLY THE
SAME as the non-RDS models. Everything on this how-to page
still applies to you. RDS is a radio FEATURE, and has
NOTHING to do with the wiring.
As far as deck size is concerned (who says size isn't
everything?!?), GM increased the size of the stock deck
from 1.5-DIN to a double-DIN for the 2000 model year.
However, the dash opening is only large enough to fit a
1.5-DIN unless you do some cutting. I've seen it done, and
it looks nice. I only know of a flush-mounting kit for a
single-DIN deck, though. (That's not to say there aren't
some out there!)