How to Install a CD Player in a Chevrolet Truck

Chevrolet offers a variety of stereos and media players for their line of pickup trucks. When upgrading your factory system with a CD player, there are a few procedures that will ensure a successful installation. You can choose to have a technician at an aftermarket retailer perform the switch, or you can do it yourself and save the cost of labor. The following steps will tell you how.

Things You'll Need

• Trim panel tool
• Wiring harness adapter
• Phillips head screwdriver
• Double-DIN faceplate adapter

Instructions

1. Pop the hood and disconnect the negative battery cable (or grounding cable) from the Chevy's battery. The grounding cable is the black cable that connects the battery to the frame or chassis of the truck. Use a Phillips head screwdriver to loosen the bolt holding the cable's clamp around the negative battery lead. Remove the clamp from the lead.

2. Inside the truck, remove the steering column trim panel. Unscrew the two screws found just beneath the steering column on either side using a Phillips-head screwdriver. Use a trim panel tool to gently pry the panel free from the dash.

3. Remove the trim panel surrounding the stereo deck. Pull out the ashtray and remove the two screws inside the tray (at the top) with a Phillips head screwdriver. Use a trim panel tool to gently remove the trim panel that surrounds the stereo deck.

4. Unscrew the four screws (two on each side; stacked vertically) holding the stereo in its dock.

5. Pull the stereo from its dock to access the wiring connections in the rear. Disconnect each of the four wiring groups connected to the unit by hand. The four groups are for the antenna, the amplifier, the speakers and the power supply.

6. Connect the wiring harness adapter to the Chevy wiring connectors. The wiring groups should be connected to the clearly marked corresponding outlets of the adapter.

7. Slide the faceplate adapter into the vacant dock in the Chevy's dash. The adapter will allow the aftermarket CD player to fit into the dash of the truck.

8. Connect the wiring harness adapter leads to the color -coded corresponding outlets at the rear of the CD player. Slide the new CD player into the opening of the faceplate adapter. Screw the four screws into the dash to hold the stereo in its dock using a Phillips head screwdriver.

9. Replace the trim panel that surrounds the stereo dock. Screw in the two screws on the dash panel, inside the ashtray compartment, with a Phillips head screwdriver.

10. Replace the dash panel under the steering column and screw in the two screws with a Phillips head screwdriver.

11. Reconnect the grounding cable to the Chevy's battery. Place the clamp around the negative lead. Use a Phillips head screwdriver to tighten the clamp's bolt. The clamp needs only to be tightened so that the clamp cannot be moved around the lead by hand.

Tips & Warnings

• You can choose a double-DIN CD player or a single-DIN deck. For a single-DIN unit, you will need to purchase the appropriate faceplate adapter.

References

• Crutchfield: Car Stereo Installation Guide