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Speakers, Amps, & Sub Upgrade Advice - 99 Deville

5K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  B.aguilar01 
#1 ·
Hi. I have a 99 Deville base model with am/fm cassette only. I just got this car, and had an awesome system on my old one (96 Ford Explorer). I want to upgrade, but am scared half to death to do so (I have been searching and reading posts on this site about upgrades for 2 weeks now).

Here is my question: Can you upgrade the speakers, add a sub and two amps without replacing the factory radio? Well, I know you * can physically do it *, but will it work, and will it sound decent?

I wanted to replace the radio as well (with a Pioneer DEH-P8600MP from my Explorer), but I don’t want to lose any functionality of any buttons, controls, sounds, DIC, memory, etc. I’ve been reading posts and it seems like it is hit or miss with many possible problems arising. Curses to GM! It seems like the best bet if I were to go that route is relocating the factory radio to the trunk but even then there are issues. The place I got to install the audio in my Explorer said they could do it using several different kits or whatnot, and they did a great job on my Explorer - but after reading all the things on this site - I question whether or not they can do it and have everything working. I don't really know what questions to ask them to make sure!!!!! Oh well.

What I wanted to pull from my Explorer to add (if it were possible and would work) were two Rockford Fosgate amps (P2002 and P4004), and a Rockford Fosgate 10” sub (P210S8). I would also get new speakers (haven’t researched yet).

So, again – is it possible to do all these upgrades w/o upgrading the radio – and will it sound decent enough w/o the radio upgrade? If you have any additional comments on the radio issue as well, I'm all ears.

Thanks!


William
 
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#2 ·
Yes I think it's possible bro -- and it shouldn't be too difficult.

I see you have Rockford equipment -- are you aware Rockford's 3.sixty? It's made specifically for integrating aftermarker gear like amps, subs & speakers with OEM head-units.

You should check out Rockford's website for more info.

I have a '97 Seville STS and I put some Rockford amps & other speakers in mine, and I kept my stock head-unit. I'm not done with everything, but it's already sounding good to me and the stock head-unit sounds good and works fine.

Car audio sites might be able to help you if you have more detailed questions. People on those are pretty good at figuring out how to get audio to work.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for your reply. Not sure what post you are referring me to look at or who “w” is. Just to clarify, you are talking about a post that explains how to relocate the factory radio and then add an aftermarket one? I found JL Audio Cleansweep – or several actually – but no Fosgate 3.60. I assume this is Rockford Fosgate? Still found nothing. What are these things for? To integrate the aftermarket radio to the vehicle?


If you read through some of the previous posted threads you'll learn that SOME 97~99 Devilles have all kinds of electrical problems after you remove the factory radio(but nothing that interferes with normal driving), so here's what u can do...remove the factory radio and drive it as-is for a few days and see if you encounter problems such as remote lock doesn't work, flashing digital dash, false security alarm and no power to interior until key in ignition. If you do then you'll have to do what I did - relocate the factory radio and extend the wiring harness to it, then run all new power/speaker wire for the new system AND new speakers, amps and headunits. You'll also have to tap the power antenna wire too to make it go up and down.
Thanks Weister for the reply. Yeah, I have been reading the posts, and that is why I am scared to do anything with the radio! :eek:

I never thought about doing a "test run" so to speak to see if removing it will cause any problems. I will check that out. So you are saying it isn't CERTAIN that it will happen on those model years, just sometimes... with no known factor that makes it happen on some Devilles and not on others? Strange...
 
#5 ·
If you read through some of the previous posted threads you'll learn that SOME 97~99 Devilles have all kinds of electrical problems after you remove the factory radio(but nothing that interferes with normal driving), so here's what u can do...remove the factory radio and drive it as-is for a few days and see if you encounter problems such as remote lock doesn't work, flashing digital dash, false security alarm and no power to interior until key in ignition. If you do then you'll have to do what I did - relocate the factory radio and extend the wiring harness to it, then run all new power/speaker wire for the new system AND new speakers, amps and headunits. You'll also have to tap the power antenna wire too to make it go up and down.

To remove the factory radio in your Deville is about as easy as it gets, gently pry off the rectangular trim surrounding the radio and you'll see four bolts holding it, remove them and you can pull the radio out. Unhook the rear wiring harness and you're done. Here's what the cavity looks like...

 
#8 ·
those "things"(JL cleansweep, RF 3.sixty) are to intergrate a STOCK radio to amps n such, and give a better signal and RCA voltage...rather then just a regular PAC that just hooks up to the speaker wires n converts them to RCA...basically the cleansweep n ect. give out better sound quality like an aftermarket radio would
 
#10 ·
Well, I removed the trim with no problem. I do not see the 4 bolts - although I see what looks to be 4 bolt holes that are not being used with my model radio. There are 4 brass things on each side. The second from the top looks like an actual bolt that is holding the radio into place (although it doest look like it can be removed from this side). I tried tugging on the other brass looking - I don't know what you call them - "catches" - which they bend in - some easier than others, but the radio doesn’t come out. I don't have three hands, so i obviously can’t pull them all at once, so I had to do it in pairs. I'm going to keep working at it - but not sure exactly what I need to do to get this thing out.






Any suggestions? Thanks!
 
#11 ·
Okay! We are making progress here!

I got the radio out - it was just REALLY REALLY stubborn. Cranked the car up and nothing strange happened (looked for all of those things mentioned in Weisters post). I will drive it over the weekend and see what happens.

Stay tuned...


William
 
#12 ·
Help!!!!!!!

Ugh. Okay - it didn't work. Car alarm is going off, lights flickering and flashing, warning messages, etc. I put the radio back in - it still did it. Finally, after several minutes - it stopped, and everything seemed normal.

I drove somewhere about 10 minutes. Car drove fine. Avg MPG and other displays had been reset - but other than that, no problems. I park - turn off the car, and open the door. The car alarm goes off again. I cant shut it off. I have to get back in the car and sit there and wait for it to go off in about 30 seconds. I did this about three times before unplugging the radio again to make it all quit.


How do I reset this mess?!?!?! I've got the factory radio back in but it is still messing everything up!!!!!

Is there a way to at least shut the horn off while I am troubleshooting this? The neighbors are getting ticked.


HELP!!!!!
 
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