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Stereo Install on 2002 Trans Am Convertible (w/Monsoon) by wyo_vr4

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  • Stereo Install on 2002 Trans Am Convertible (w/Monsoon) by wyo_vr4

    Stereo Install on 2002 Trans Am Convertible (w/Monsoon) by wyo_vr4

    ***!!!Disclaimer!!!***
    The following information was gathered from various sites to provide you with some technical information. I've tried to give credit where it is due, in no way am I submitting this as my own information. Please use at your own risk and always follow basic safety precautions!!!!!

    Stereo Install on 2002 Trans Am Convertible (w/Monsoon)

    Unplug the negative battery cable before messing with your car’s electrical wiring.

    Remove Monsoon head unit. Pop the trim ring off from around the stereo and climate controls. Use a screwdriver or just do it by hand. Unscrew the mounting screws and partially pull out the stereo so you can get to the back of it. Make sure you don’t have a CD in there, unless it’s Celine Dion or some other sissy crap, in which case leave it in. Disconnect the wiring harnesses and antenna cable. Remove head unit. Easy.

    Getting new head unit ready for install. I installed a Sony MP-80 ($249.99 when I bought it) head unit I used to have in my VR-4. I used Scosche’s GM1503 install kit, GM02 wiring harness and antenna adaptor. Leave the speaker wires exposed on the wiring harness provided by the stereo or cap them, depending on whether you are going to hook up the pre-outs to separate amp(s) or not. Either way, I’m rewiring the whole car. You can use adaptors and factory amp bypasses and whatnot but that’s for lazy people. Running all new speaker wire is higher quality, more reliable and really not all that difficult. You’ll thank yourself later. Anyways, follow the included instructions and get your stereo ready to install in your house rather than in your car. I soldered and heat-shrank plastic on the necessary wiring harness connections. Plug it in to your car to check it powers up, operates the power antenna and all the functions work. Obviously, you won’t hear any sounds yet. Disconnect and set aside for later.

    Remove rear seat speakers. Unlike the door speakers, the plastic grills do not pop off and on. Remove the whole panel by unscrewing and removing the plastic part that covers the seat belt assembly and unscrewing the panel down on the door sill by the base of the seat. Then take a allen wrench and unscrew the part that the upright of the rear seats clips in to. You will need to unclip the wiring harness that powers the light then remove the panel. Unscrew the speaker and remove, first disconnecting the wiring harness by pressing the button or using your screwdriver to press it and pull away from the speaker to disconnect.

    Remove door panels and speakers. Look around the door panel and unscrew all the screws. There’s one smaller one, next to the door handle that holds the plastic trim piece in place, and 4 larger ones dotted around. Unscrew and remove the triangular panel that sticks up towards the front of the car. Remove the locking switch (the part that moves back and forth when you operate the power locks and has a visible red part when the door is unlocked) by pulling it towards you (away from the door). It may be stiff. You’ve just got to wiggle it and work it out of there. Next, pull off the small panel that surrounds the handle. You’ll need to pull the handle a little bit. Pry up the panel with the door locking and window switches up. There are two wiring harnesses and a lightbulb around the back. Pull the wiring harnesses out and unscrew the lightbulb. Work your fingers around the edge of the main door panel and pull the whole thing up and towards you. If it doesn’t want to move, maybe you forgot a screw. Compared with some other cars I’ve worked on, this was remarkably easy. Just a couple more things: you’ll need to unclip the tweeter’s harness before completely removing the door panel. Unscrew and pull out the plastic thing the woofer is mounted on. Don’t make the mistake of trying to remove the speaker itself at this point as you will most likely end up breaking off the speaker wiring harness. Reach back there and unclip the wiring harness after unscrewing the plastic mounting bracket. Then you can put the whole thing on a table and unscrew the speaker itself.

    Front component speaker install. I used Sony’s XS-D170SI (currently $98 shipped from www.hookedontronics.com ). Unscrew and remove the factory tweeter from the door panel if you have not already done so. Replacing it with your aftermarket tweeter should just be a matter of popping it in the hole and screwing it in, running the wire out back. Likewise the woofer mounts easily into the plastic bracket, using the existing screws and holes. Make sure the old wiring is either out of the way or removed. Unscrew and remove the kick panels/door sill plastic trim. Thoroughly clean the metal of dust and black sticky crap and Install Dynamat Xtreme or other sound deadening product in the door at this point. With the door wide open, pull off the flexible rubber grommet that goes around the wiring from the inside the car to the door. You should be able to reach from each side and touch your fingers together. That’s where you’ll run the new speaker wire. Run wire from the speakers inside the car and tuck it away in preparation for crossover mounting. Optional: Hook up the stereo and test speaker operation. Reinstall door panel and kick panel by reversing the above directions. It can be a pain to line back up but keep trying – you’ll get it!

    Rear speaker install. I used Sony’s XS-S160CX (currently $74.06 shipped from www.6ave.com ) Run speaker wire first. You shouldn’t need to remove any further parts than you already have. Use appropriate (3/4” thick 6 ½” wide, in this case) spacer and Dynamat between the speakers and the mounting surface for convertible top clearance. If you were dumb and broke off the rear speaker plastic covers like I did, use the new covers you got with the component set or rear set in their place. Et voila! Check operation before putting car back together.

    Crossover mounting. There are a number of spots you can mount them. I chose to remove the dash panel under the steering wheel and affixed them to the inside of it using Velcro. There’s plenty of room, they’re out of the way and it’s relatively easy to run the speaker wire from the head unit (or amp) and the doors.

    CD Changer install. The factory changer won’t work with your aftermarket unit so remove it by unscrewing the brackets and unplugging the wiring harness. Install your new changer in its place. I bought a Sony CDX-757MX (around $110 shipped from an eBay seller). Along with Pioneer and Alpine, Sony offers changers that are fully compatible and controllable with their brand of head unit. The 757 is a 10-disc unit with CD-R/CD-RW/MP3 capability. 10 CDs full of MP3s is roughly 50 hours of music, give or take a few! After mounting the changer, run the supplied audio wires and power/control wire to the head unit while you’ve got your car torn apart anyway.

    Factory Monsoon amp removal. The amp is located near the power antenna, a little bit further towards the front of the car in the wheel well. Remove this dead weight by first removing the spare tire and the plastic trim panel that conceals the amp mounting bracket. Unscrew the mounting bracket, unplug the large wiring harness and work it all out of there.

    Sell all the shit you removed on eBay! Don’t bother keeping it to maybe one day reinstall when you sell the car. It’ll gather dust and unless you have far too much time on your hands, you’ll end up tossing all of it. Make some cash now to help pay for everything and look good in the eyes of your significant other. I’m betting they’ll prefer you spending less cash on new shit and not clogging up their garage with old shit.
    I got $150 for the changer, $85 for the head unit, $25 for the amp, $23 for the front woofers (one of which was broken), $10 each for the tweeters and rear speakers for a grand total of over $300!
    The install cost me $98 for the front components, $74 for the rear speakers, $110 for the changer, $20 for a good deal on some Dynamat Xtreme, and maybe $30 for wires, wiring harness, head unit mounting, speaker spacers, miscellaneous supplies, etc. I had the head unit already, that I paid $250 for. So, that’s about $330 in new purchases and $580 total. Net total cost = $280. Yes, I’m a cheapskate bargain hunter. And yes, I know Sony is not exactly the best out there but it’s good enough for me.
    There’s still a lack of bass but the sound quality vastly improved. Next up: amp + subs! (when I have the time, money and inclination…)

    ***!!!Disclaimer!!!***
    The following information was gathered from various sites to provide you with some technical information. I've tried to give credit where it is due, in no way am I submitting this as my own information. Please use at your own risk and always follow basic safety precautions!!!!!
    Last edited by meissen; January 20th, 2007, 09:48 PM.
    2005 Goat - Grass fed.

    1996 Camaro RS Vert. - Parted out and sold!

  • #2
    Thanks! I'll be needing this...

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    • #3
      Originally posted by pheonix_rising
      Thanks! I'll be needing this...
      welcome
      2005 Goat - Grass fed.

      1996 Camaro RS Vert. - Parted out and sold!

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      • #4
        spammer
        Last edited by meissen; January 10th, 2015, 10:17 AM.

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        • #5
          ^^^^^^Uh..... What?

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