Hi, I have a 2003 monte carlo that currently has a stock cd player in it. no onstar and i do believe it has a factory amp. I was just wondering if someone could please tell me what wiring harness i have to have? what will happen if I just go to walmart and buy the cheep GM wiring harness, will it work? Do I absolutely have to but a expensive adapter?

 

you should probably not get the cheap wiring harness. it's not a good idea to cheap out when the computer is at risk.

some things we for sure need to know.

Is it an SS, does it have the premium sound? also, do you have steering wheel buttons? there's an extra harness to keep them. With an aftermarket headunit you will need the mounting kit, which is like $10, an antenna adapter which is about $10 and the wiring harness which will be $150-160. And the steering wheel button thing can be up to another $50 i think.

with that information you can go to crutchfield.com and use their chat, they will show you to the correct wiring harness.

if you order a headunit from them, sometimes they include some of the install stuff. not sure about the wiring harness though because it is so expensive, but only one way to find out, you would at least get the mounting kit and the antenna adapter.

hope this helps at least a little

 

I guess it depends on your definition of expensive. The harness you're gonna need is the GM09SR by Scosche, it's the cheapest one I've ever been able to find. It can be had at SonicElectronix for about $50. That's the cheapest route you'd be able to go. You definitely don't need a $150 harness as stated above.

 

I used a Scosche harness too. Just match the wires up.

 

I use the GM09SR , sadly i did not pay the 50$ sonic has it for :'( but good unit and i like its simplicity, that unit will not work with onstar though! WILL NOT!

 

yeah i went ahead and ordered the GM09SR thanks guys, i really hope it works im pretty sure i have premium sound but im not sure.. i think my car has a factory amp will this amp still work?

 

the harness that i am talking about is to keep as many factory options as possible, like i noted.

 

I used the GMOS 04 kit and everything works great

 

i think thats the one i used, isnt it more expensive tho?

 

So what factory options are kept when using a $150 harness that aren't kept when using the $50 one in a car that doesn't have OnStar or steering wheel controls (he made no mention of them so I can only assume he doesn't have them)?

Here, let me help you, NONE!

That's all!