1990 K2500 Radio/Equalizer Upgrade

[movietvet]

Ok, time has come to address the dash radio and equalizer problem of my girl's 1990 K2500 truck. She does not want to get another stock radio and equalizer replacement. She wants a radio and cd player in place of the radio or a radio in place of radio and cd player in place of the equalizer. I am open to any and all recommendations. Preferably it is not the radio/cd alone in place of the radio and just let the old equalizer sit in the dash. Best case scenario is the radio in place of stock radio and a cd player in place of the equalizer. Thanks.

Sorry, I also posted this at the GARAGE. Any mod can cancel there if needed.

 

[johnckhall]

I've been more than happy with the Retrosound Santa Cruz (there's 3 models to fit your needs) that fits in the stock radio compartment. But yes, I left the non functional cassette/equalizer in place to look factory. With today's streaming capabilities, CDs are becoming obsolete. Even if we have tons of CDs, just about every song you can imagine can be streamed by Bluetooth from your phone via Apple/Spotify/Amazon/or the like. I even stream Sirius/XM from my phone app to the Retrosound unit. If you're dead set on a CD player, you'll be hard pressed to find something that interfaces in the head unit and the player. It'll be one OR the other. BTW, for the best sound you'd need to replace the factory speakers while you're at it.

Santa Cruz Radio

The Santa Cruz is the first and only radio ever designed for 1988-1994 GM trucks and features an OE-Style aesthetic to replace the factory stereo. The Santa Cruz replicates the original factory radio and adds all the features of a modern car stereo. The Santa Cruz installs seamlessly in the dash...

www.retromanufacturing.com

 

[movietvet]

Looks good to me and I had already expected to have to leave the equalizer alone. I see it will fit and look great. I read as much as was supplied but is it a plug and play or will I need to do some wiring in there? I had already expected new speakers.

 

[johnckhall]

Looks good to me and I had already expected to have to leave the equalizer alone. I see it will fit and look great. I read as much as was supplied but is it a plug and play or will I need to do some wiring in there? I had already expected new speakers.

The unit comes with a harness adapter for our wiring harness. Look for it in the packaging. Don't do like me and cut and splice your factory harness because you didn't see the adapter till afterward. You have to get to and remove the "brains" of the head unit located a little farther back in the dash that connects to the factory faceplate. The retrosound unit fits the same way with a processing unit and the faceplate for function. I was able to use the old factory bracket for the processing unit to secure the new Retrosound "brains". If ordering from Crutchfield, they send good instructions for tearing our dash apart and Retrosound sends great instructions for the install.

If you go to page 2-3 of my build thread, you'll see the during and after replacement.

1994 K1500 ECSB "The G Wagon"

Man, that truck is gorgeous! Thanks a bunch. I’m trying to get the underside to match the rest of the truck. It’s a process for sure.

www.gmt400.com

 

[movietvet]

The unit comes with a harness adapter for our wiring harness. Look for it in the packaging. Don't do like me and cut and splice your factory harness because you didn't see the adapter till afterward. You have to get to and remove the "brains" of the head unit located a little farther back in the dash that connects to the factory faceplate. The retrosound unit fits the same way with a processing unit and the faceplate for function. I was able to use the old factory bracket for the processing unit to secure the new Retrosound "brains". If ordering from Crutchfield, they send good instructions for tearing our dash apart and Retrosound sends great instructions for the install.

If you go to page 2-3 of my build thread, you'll see the during and after replacement.

1994 K1500 ECSB "The G Wagon"

Man, that truck is gorgeous! Thanks a bunch. I’m trying to get the underside to match the rest of the truck. It’s a process for sure.

www.gmt400.com

Thanks a bunch for this info. She will be home later and I will have her look this over.

 

[johnckhall]

Thanks a bunch for this info. She will be home later and I will have her look this over.

By the way. If you saw the brick sized object in my install picture with Quadraphonic on it, that's not necessary just for the head unit. It's an inline amp that amplifies the sound over what the Santa Cruz unit already does. I bought it because I was installing a subwoofer and felt like I needed the mid/high range a little louder as well.

 

[AK49BWL]

And if you want to keep illumination of the cassette deck with the lights on, simply ground the black wire at pin 8 of the cassette deck extension connector and connect the gray wire at pin 7 to the illumination circuit. The wire colors may be different, they changed at least once between 88-94 so you may be dealing with a black and a yellow wire. But they're pin 8 and 7 respectively. Pins 2, 3, and 4 are audio and fairly obviously so - you want the other end of the connector

 

[movietvet]

And if you want to keep illumination of the cassette deck with the lights on, simply ground the black wire at pin 8 of the cassette deck extension connector and connect the gray wire at pin 7 to the illumination circuit. The wire colors may be different, they changed at least once between 88-94 so you may be dealing with a black and a yellow wire. But they're pin 8 and 7 respectively. Pins 2, 3, and 4 are audio and fairly obviously so - you want the other end of the connector

Thank you for that info.

 

[movietvet]

Santa Cruz Radio

The Santa Cruz is the first and only radio ever designed for 1988-1994 GM trucks and features an OE-Style aesthetic to replace the factory stereo. The Santa Cruz replicates the original factory radio and adds all the features of a modern car stereo. The Santa Cruz installs seamlessly in the dash...

www.retromanufacturing.com

Just ordered this radio for my girl's truck. Hope it is as easy as it sounds to install.

 

[johnckhall]

Santa Cruz Radio

The Santa Cruz is the first and only radio ever designed for 1988-1994 GM trucks and features an OE-Style aesthetic to replace the factory stereo. The Santa Cruz replicates the original factory radio and adds all the features of a modern car stereo. The Santa Cruz installs seamlessly in the dash...

www.retromanufacturing.com

Just ordered this radio for my girl's truck. Hope it is as easy as it sounds to install.

Great choice. It was easy to install and I’m no electronics expert myself. With new speakers, she’ll certainly be pleased.