Im thinking about changing from a stock radio to a kenwood radio. All the places are telling me I need a ( Metra-Chime Retention Interface for Select vehicles(LC-GMRC_CL29)) is there any way around that? I don't care if the chime noise goes off. What would be a cheaper alternate route? 05 Monte Carlo LS

 

Hello and Welcome to the forum.

I looked up the item you posted and it's like $30 on eBay. Thats actually pretty cheap, almost to cheap. Wonder about it's quality level.

I would imagine you can install the aftermarket head unit and not do the steering wheel / chime interfacing at all if you don't mind not having those features. I wanted them for the ease of use while driving.

What model is the Kenwood unit your looking at?

 

The easiest way to avoid buying the chime module is by tapping into the ignition wire for the red "Switched" wire. I'm not sure what color it is on the Monte Carlo, but on the Grand Am and Alero it's a thick brown wire. you simply would strip a little bit (don't cut it) and wrap the "switched" wire from the radio there. That's exactly how I did it on my old Grand Am and worked great in the year I owned it. The only issue is no chimes.

I want to say easiest way to find it is look for the thickest wire going to the ignition wiring. But googling the schematic would be the safest!