1999 LC stereo installation help (1 Viewer)

[synchromash]

I am hoping to get in touch with someone who can just give me some straight answers to some questions I have about stereo installation in my 99 LC. It is well optioned with wood trim, has the basic factory stereo, and I need to install a Pioneer AVH-1550NEX.

I currently don't have the best sound coming out of the speakers with the radio, and I want to know a few things.

1. What do I need to plug and play this head unit in with minimal to none cutting or splicing?

2. What can I do to diagnose where the low quality sound is coming from before installation? I don't want to buy an amp if I don't need to. I am hoping that the newer stereo improves things.

3. Where is a good routing path for a satellite radio antenna?

I am happy to pay someone for their time if they can give me detailed, correct answers to these questions. I also plan on installing a back up camera that plugs into the stereo, and need to figure out routing but that can be done at a later date.

Thank you in advance for any helpful advice.

 

[CBdeJ]

I purchased my new head unit from Crutchfield and got a metra harness in the deal. I then payed Crutchfield $25 for their custom harness service. When both the head unit and harness arrived it was as easy as prying off the surround, unscrewing the stock head unit (4 bolts) transferring the side plates from the stock to the new head unit and plugging in the harness to the new radio and the stock wiring. Took about 30 minutes total.

I also bought speakers from Crutchfield and again adapters were included.

Both situations were plug and play. 1/2 banana job at most.

 

[tincan45]

I purchased my new head unit from Crutchfield and got a metra harness in the deal. I then payed Crutchfield $25 for their custom harness service. When both the head unit and harness arrived it was as easy as prying off the surround, unscrewing the stock head unit (4 bolts) transferring the side plates from the stock to the new head unit and plugging in the harness to the new radio and the stock wiring. Took about 30 minutes total.

I also bought speakers from Crutchfield and again adapters were included.

Both situations were plug and play. 1/2 banana job at most.

Curious what equipment you went with from Crutchfield? I'm looking to do this sometime soon and I don't want to spend a fortune, just have a decent sounding system. I'll probably spend more chasing down rattles and sound dampening.

 

[synchromash]

I purchased my new head unit from Crutchfield and got a metra harness in the deal. I then payed Crutchfield $25 for their custom harness service. When both the head unit and harness arrived it was as easy as prying off the surround, unscrewing the stock head unit (4 bolts) transferring the side plates from the stock to the new head unit and plugging in the harness to the new radio and the stock wiring. Took about 30 minutes total.

I also bought speakers from Crutchfield and again adapters were included.

Both situations were plug and play. 1/2 banana job at most.

Thank you for the details. I didn't know that they offered this service. I have heard that if you want to do anything with an aftermarket amp you need to cut into the stock harness.

I will try to get in touch with them and get this harness. Care to share the details of your order?

 

[ramangain]

Metra makes kits to hook up the Pioneer to the stock plug for ACC and 12V power, ground, power antenna, and remote turn on lead. You need to tap the ILLU wire yourself. Since you don't have NAV on the 1550, you probably don't have to tap the speed pulse wire near the ECU either.

Additionally, Metra also makes a kit to bypass the factory amp to power the speakers from the internal HU amp.

The Metra part numbers are littered throughout many posts in this forum, easily found by parsing threads with the search function.

 

[CBdeJ]

Curious what equipment you went with from Crutchfield? I'm looking to do this sometime soon and I don't want to spend a fortune, just have a decent sounding system. I'll probably spend more chasing down rattles and sound dampening.

I got the cheapest JVC head unit that had CarPlay and a rear usb input. I think it was $299. Out the door with the harness I think it was $325 plus tax. I got JBL coax speakers for $69 per set and put them I. The front and rear
doors (disconnecting the separate tweeters in the front doors at the time of instillation.

if I were to do it again I’d look at a different head unit. I don’t like the UX on the one I have.

 

[synchromash]

Metra makes kits to hook up the Pioneer to the stock plug for ACC and 12V power, ground, power antenna, and remote turn on lead. You need to tap the ILLU wire yourself. Since you don't have NAV on the 1550, you probably don't have to tap the speed pulse wire near the ECU either.

Additionally, Metra also makes a kit to bypass the factory amp to power the speakers from the internal HU amp.

The Metra part numbers are littered throughout many posts in this forum, easily found by parsing threads with the search function.

I understand how good forum etiquette works and that I should spend some time searching. But I have spent way more time searching for parts for this truck than I ever imagined. I will happily e transfer you $5 to list all the relevant Metra part numbers, and $10 if you include the details for each one. I just need to get this thing working. I really want to know before I buy it what I need to splice/tap/cut into. I would rather spend a little more up front to have something that is complete plug and play than to have to break the jacketing on any wires that I don't have to, or make removal more difficult later on.

Is the HU amp better than the stock amp in the truck? How difficult is it to get to the speed pulse wire and how essential is it? I don't have nav enabled on the unit, but it is capable of it. I mainly just want satellite radio and apple car play.

 

[ramangain]

This may be your best resource for parts and instructions: PabloCruise write-up on Nakamichi HU replacement on 99

I have an 01 LX with the Mark Levinson stereo that I completely swapped out. I had to procure different wiring interfaces than you'll need to procure and/or modify. I can't help any further with specifics for your rig.

 

[kgrove]

I went on a stereo bender and did three different Pioneer AVH-2660s this winter - one to my 2002 LC and one each into my two oldest kids cars. The 2660 and 1550 you're installing are pretty similar.

There's a little bit of a trick to all the touch screen systems like the 1550. The manufacturers don't want you playing with settings while driving, so many will disable certain menus until you jump through a couple hoops to prove you aren't driving. I think for Pioneer that hoop is applying, releasing, then re-applyijng the parking brake... then you can access the settings menu (I might have this wrong so try to confirm elsewhere). What this means for installation is you'd need to tie into a parking brake wire even if you've used Crutchfield to build your wire harness.

There is an alternative, but it would mean some cutting and splicing: there are some override "dongles" you can buy on Amazon for about $15 that bypass the stereo's safety traps by tricking the stereo into thinking you did the parking brake thing as soon as you start the car. They are manufacturer specific - there's one for Pioneer, one for Alpine, etc. There are three wires you need to integrate into the wiring harness you create to attach the Pioneer to the Metro harness, which then attaches to the factory harness. I think this is the dongle I used:
Amazon product ASIN B00A9AQPUU
Crutchfield does offer the wire harness service, but I doubt they would install one fo the bypass dongles I described, plus you'd still have to tie into a parking brake wire somewhere. I think they tie the Pioneer pigtails to the Metra harness, so you'd also need to decide up front what amplifier solution you will use. You can either use the factory amp, replace the factory amp with a new aftermarket amp, or use the internal amp on the Pioneer. Audiophiles will always tell you that you'll get the best sound with an aftermarket amp. I've done it both ways... On my LC I went ahead and replaced the factory amp with an aftermarket version, but on one of my kid's car, I just used the internal Pioneer amp and to be honest, it sounds pretty good - won't win any awards for sure, but it works well and is cheap and easy.

 

[synchromash]

I went on a stereo bender and did three different Pioneer AVH-2660s this winter - one to my 2002 LC and one each into my two oldest kids cars. The 2660 and 1550 you're installing are pretty similar.

There's a little bit of a trick to all the touch screen systems like the 1550. The manufacturers don't want you playing with settings while driving, so many will disable certain menus until you jump through a couple hoops to prove you aren't driving. I think for Pioneer that hoop is applying, releasing, then re-applyijng the parking brake... then you can access the settings menu (I might have this wrong so try to confirm elsewhere). What this means for installation is you'd need to tie into a parking brake wire even if you've used Crutchfield to build your wire harness.

There is an alternative, but it would mean some cutting and splicing: there are some override "dongles" you can buy on Amazon for about $15 that bypass the stereo's safety traps by tricking the stereo into thinking you did the parking brake thing as soon as you start the car. They are manufacturer specific - there's one for Pioneer, one for Alpine, etc. There are three wires you need to integrate into the wiring harness you create to attach the Pioneer to the Metro harness, which then attaches to the factory harness. I think this is the dongle I used:
Amazon product ASIN B00A9AQPUU
Crutchfield does offer the wire harness service, but I doubt they would install one fo the bypass dongles I described, plus you'd still have to tie into a parking brake wire somewhere. I think they tie the Pioneer pigtails to the Metra harness, so you'd also need to decide up front what amplifier solution you will use. You can either use the factory amp, replace the factory amp with a new aftermarket amp, or use the internal amp on the Pioneer. Audiophiles will always tell you that you'll get the best sound with an aftermarket amp. I've done it both ways... On my LC I went ahead and replaced the factory amp with an aftermarket version, but on one of my kid's car, I just used the internal Pioneer amp and to be honest, it sounds pretty good - won't win any awards for sure, but it works well and is cheap and easy.

Thank you so much for the detailed response. So I have a few questions.

Does the bypass dongle still require you to attach to a parking brake wire? It seems like you would just need to pic up a positive wire somewhere. What exactly does crutchfield do to build the harness? Just crimp the necessary connectors together from the metra and the pioneer harness? Or do they do something more extensive?

What did you have to do in order to use the pioneer amp to power the speakers? This is what I would like to do, but I really don't want to get into pulling panels and cutting into things. If there is something I can buy that just plugs in to factory locations then great, but I don't plan on upgrading speakers any time soon so I don't have any need for an aftermarket amp.

 

[Rad26rio]

Replace the speakers. The current ones have been shaken and rattled and subjected to dirt and dust for 20 years. Couple that with the fact they were a POS when new and there is no good reason not to replace them.

 

[kgrove]

Thank you so much for the detailed response. So I have a few questions.

Does the bypass dongle still require you to attach to a parking brake wire? It seems like you would just need to pic up a positive wire somewhere. What exactly does crutchfield do to build the harness? Just crimp the necessary connectors together from the metra and the pioneer harness? Or do they do something more extensive?

What did you have to do in order to use the pioneer amp to power the speakers? This is what I would like to do, but I really don't want to get into pulling panels and cutting into things. If there is something I can buy that just plugs in to factory locations then great, but I don't plan on upgrading speakers any time soon so I don't have any need for an aftermarket amp.

Unless you are going to install a backup camera (not recommended if you're trying to keep your install simple), the bypass dongle would eliminate the need to tie into any other wire harness other than the factory stereo harness.

As far as using the Pioneer amp as your sole power source, I have to admit the two cars where I did that were both old Hondas that relied on the OEM head unit amp and did not have a separate amp in a different location like the LC does. I can answer conceptually how I think you'd do it, but not with specific part numbers or direct experience on an LC. I have done 3 LCs (my '07 that was subsequently totaled in a wreck, my sister's '00, and my current '02 that replaced my '07), but in each of these I added a separate amp under the passenger seat to replace the factory amp.

On an LC, factory amp is under the passenger seat, so the first non-amplified point you can attach to the speaker wires is the under the passenger seat using the plug where the factory amp output connects. To use your Pioneer's amp and bypass the factory amp, you need a direct connection between the speaker outputs from your Pioneer and the plug under the passenger seat. The problem I see is the Metra harness you would use behind the dash to connect your Pioneer to the factory radio plug in order to connect your head unit to accessory power, battery, ground, etc. also will send the speaker signals to the factory amp. To bypass the amp, you would either need to not connect the speaker wires on the Pioneer pig-tail to that Metra harness behind the dash and instead run speaker wires to the passenger seat area (and then connect them to the factory amp output plug) or you would need to have a second harness that connected the factory amp input plug to the plug connects to the factory amp output. In other words, to avoid cutting and splicing, you'd need two different Metra harnesses - the one that connects to the factory head unit harness behind the dash (i.e., the Pioneer pig tail and the parking brake bypass wired together with the Metra harness, which connects to the OEM head unit plug), and a second Metra harness, if it even exists, that connects the factory amp input to the plug connected to the factory amp output. That's kind of a mouthful to write out, so hopefully I worded it clearly.

By far the easiest install as it sounds like that's your goal is to leave the factory amp as part of the system. To do that, there is a Metra harness that would connect your Pioneer pig-tail to the same plug that your current OEM head unit plugs into (the parking brake bypass dongle would be part of this harness, so 3 parts: Pioneer harness + Metro harness + parking brake bypass, so most of the connection would be butt splices connected just 2 wires and 3 connections would be 3-way connections linking all three parts) . If you did that, you would not have to remove the passenger seat or run wires from behind the dash to under the passenger seat. This would be the simplest solution, but does leave your factory amp as part of the process.

I would agree with one of the previous posts that recommended replacing the factory speakers. At 20 yrs old, they probably don't sound anywhere near as good as new speakers would. That said, if you're not a music guy and mainly want this new head unit to listen to news radio, hands free calling, or navigation directions from CarPlay, then the factory speakers are just fine. It would only cost about $200 to replace all your door speakers and would make a sizable improvement in the sound quality.

That makes me think of two more pieces you need to think about before you launch into this:
1) you're going to want to mount the microphone for hands free calling somewhere. It appears most people route the wire from behind the dash, under the drivers knee area, up the side wall, up underneath the A-pillar, and then under the edge of the headliner so the mic is near the rear view mirror. There's probably a way of mounting the mic right above the steering column as part of the dash bezel, but I didnt to that and can't comment on how to do so. The mic is included with your Pioneer.
2) for CarPlay or Android Auto (or whatever the Android equiv is called), you need to have a USB input directly to the back of your Pioneer unit. Your Pioneer comes with a USB extension that you could leave exposed somewhere... maybe somebody else can share where they did this. I did mine differently and instead used different USB extenders to make it look like it was integrated in the dash. In one case, I cut a small hole near the shift lever and left a USB plug flush mounted with that bezel, and in the other ones I instead replaced the cigarette lighter with a round USB plug that fit in the same hole.

The easiest way for all of this, of course, would be to hire a stereo installer. I'd guess that just the basic head unit installation including placing the mic someplace might cost you $200ish, adding in wiring a flush mounted USB port somewhere might be another $100, and if you had them install new door speakers it might be another $200? This is just pure speculation on my part.

 

[kgrove]

I almost forgot two adaptors you would need. I'm sure the '99 must be the same as the '00, '02, and '07 I worked on and has two different radio antennas where your Pioneer only has one antenna input. On top of that, one of the LC antenna inputs is a smaller size, so you will need both a Y adaptor and a "size converter" in order to utilize both antennas. I don't know how much difference there is in reception by using both vs one antenna... if you're going satellite radio or Spotify, maybe you want to save the $15 in adaptors and only connect the one standard size antenna input. Here are examples of the two adaptors:
Amazon product ASIN B01I97Y49I
Amazon product ASIN B00009UHRI

 

[synchromash]

Unless you are going to install a backup camera (not recommended if you're trying to keep your install simple), the bypass dongle would eliminate the need to tie into any other wire harness other than the factory stereo harness.

As far as using the Pioneer amp as your sole power source, I have to admit the two cars where I did that were both old Hondas that relied on the OEM head unit amp and did not have a separate amp in a different location like the LC does. I can answer conceptually how I think you'd do it, but not with specific part numbers or direct experience on an LC. I have done 3 LCs (my '07 that was subsequently totaled in a wreck, my sister's '00, and my current '02 that replaced my '07), but in each of these I added a separate amp under the passenger seat to replace the factory amp.

On an LC, factory amp is under the passenger seat, so the first non-amplified point you can attach to the speaker wires is the under the passenger seat using the plug where the factory amp output connects. To use your Pioneer's amp and bypass the factory amp, you need a direct connection between the speaker outputs from your Pioneer and the plug under the passenger seat. The problem I see is the Metra harness you would use behind the dash to connect your Pioneer to the factory radio plug in order to connect your head unit to accessory power, battery, ground, etc. also will send the speaker signals to the factory amp. To bypass the amp, you would either need to not connect the speaker wires on the Pioneer pig-tail to that Metra harness behind the dash and instead run speaker wires to the passenger seat area (and then connect them to the factory amp output plug) or you would need to have a second harness that connected the factory amp input plug to the plug connects to the factory amp output. In other words, to avoid cutting and splicing, you'd need two different Metra harnesses - the one that connects to the factory head unit harness behind the dash (i.e., the Pioneer pig tail and the parking brake bypass wired together with the Metra harness, which connects to the OEM head unit plug), and a second Metra harness, if it even exists, that connects the factory amp input to the plug connected to the factory amp output. That's kind of a mouthful to write out, so hopefully I worded it clearly.

By far the easiest install as it sounds like that's your goal is to leave the factory amp as part of the system. To do that, there is a Metra harness that would connect your Pioneer pig-tail to the same plug that your current OEM head unit plugs into (the parking brake bypass dongle would be part of this harness, so 3 parts: Pioneer harness + Metro harness + parking brake bypass, so most of the connection would be butt splices connected just 2 wires and 3 connections would be 3-way connections linking all three parts) . If you did that, you would not have to remove the passenger seat or run wires from behind the dash to under the passenger seat. This would be the simplest solution, but does leave your factory amp as part of the process.

I would agree with one of the previous posts that recommended replacing the factory speakers. At 20 yrs old, they probably don't sound anywhere near as good as new speakers would. That said, if you're not a music guy and mainly want this new head unit to listen to news radio, hands free calling, or navigation directions from CarPlay, then the factory speakers are just fine. It would only cost about $200 to replace all your door speakers and would make a sizable improvement in the sound quality.

That makes me think of two more pieces you need to think about before you launch into this:
1) you're going to want to mount the microphone for hands free calling somewhere. It appears most people route the wire from behind the dash, under the drivers knee area, up the side wall, up underneath the A-pillar, and then under the edge of the headliner so the mic is near the rear view mirror. There's probably a way of mounting the mic right above the steering column as part of the dash bezel, but I didnt to that and can't comment on how to do so. The mic is included with your Pioneer.
2) for CarPlay or Android Auto (or whatever the Android equiv is called), you need to have a USB input directly to the back of your Pioneer unit. Your Pioneer comes with a USB extension that you could leave exposed somewhere... maybe somebody else can share where they did this. I did mine differently and instead used different USB extenders to make it look like it was integrated in the dash. In one case, I cut a small hole near the shift lever and left a USB plug flush mounted with that bezel, and in the other ones I instead replaced the cigarette lighter with a round USB plug that fit in the same hole.

The easiest way for all of this, of course, would be to hire a stereo installer. I'd guess that just the basic head unit installation including placing the mic someplace might cost you $200ish, adding in wiring a flush mounted USB port somewhere might be another $100, and if you had them install new door speakers it might be another $200? This is just pure speculation on my part.

Wow, thank you so much for this extensive write up. it definitely explains and confirms everything that I was thinking about. Thank you for linking me to the connectors too.

The point I had gotten to for powering the door speakers from the new stereo was that if I wanted to do it, I was just going to have to pull through a 9-wire and splice it in to the new harness and the post amp harness. You bring up an interesting point though. I may be able to just unplug both side of the stock amp and bridge the two harnesses by splicing in there. It would prevent me from having to pull a wire through from behind the dash to under the seat, and would be fairly easy to remove later on.

I was intending on running satellite radio. Although these days it kind of makes more sense to just have a subscription that runs over cellular data and get music from there. I would rather not have my phone plugged in all the time but it might be the better option. The tricky thing there is where to run the sat radio antenna.

I will probably run the USB extension just into the ashtray but your method does sound nicer. It is really nice that these trucks come with two in dash 12V outlets. At least mine does.

What do you recommend for speakers? I don't need top of the line but I don't want cheap ones that I'm going to regret either. Given there are tweeters up on the dash, I assume that I don't need those in the door speakers?

 

[kevin2i]

I run this from my pioneer - one for CarPlay, one for Android. I cut a hole and mounted in the plastic side panel on the right of a/c controls.

Speakers - I replaced my fronts with Polk Audios (woofer and tweeter) much improvement. Pioneer hooked up with factory wiring with crutchfield cable, running everything through factory amp. I do need to replace/re-cone rear subwoofers.

 

[dbfw]

Yes, I used the above round USB extension (except a single USB one as my Pioneer only has one USB input) and replaced one of the 12v sockets with that. It will fit right into the stock hole, plus you'll be able to charge whatever you plug in there so you aren't really losing any functionality by removing the original. Plus, you aren't cutting any holes or doing anything that can't be easily reversed.

 

[synchromash]

I run this from my pioneer - one for CarPlay, one for Android. I cut a hole and mounted in the plastic side panel on the right of a/c controls.

Speakers - I replaced my fronts with Polk Audios (woofer and tweeter) much improvement. Pioneer hooked up with factory wiring with crutchfield cable, running everything through factory amp. I do need to replace/re-cone rear subwoofers.
View attachment 2625457

Thanks for the explanation. What speakers specifically did you go with? Do they need to have tweeters in them given that there are some up on the dash?

 

[Rpreme]

Ok It brings me to believe that this static humming noise is a sign that my stock amp is going. Is there an amp bypass kit for the 1998 cruiser? Can't seem to find one. I just installed a sony carplay about 7 months ago and would like to bypass the stock amp to get rid of this static/ humming noise. I would be happy connecting the speakers to the HU. Sound quality doesn't matter to me, as long as I can operate my HU as intended without this irritating static noise.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[gregnash]

Ok It brings me to believe that this static humming noise is a sign that my stock amp is going. Is there an amp bypass kit for the 1998 cruiser? Can't seem to find one. I just installed a sony carplay about 7 months ago and would like to bypass the stock amp to get rid of this static/ humming noise. I would be happy connecting the speakers to the HU. Sound quality doesn't matter to me, as long as I can operate my HU as intended without this irritating static noise.

Any help would be appreciated!

Not necessarily. If you go through the EWD for the stereo system there are multiple ground lines. I have replaced the headunit, amp and front speakers and still have the hum. I will eventually have to go through and ground not only the stereo independently but also ground the ground wires in the system from the harness itself. If there is a backup camera in the system, you could potentially be getting feedback through that.