How-to install a stereo in a 2006 Impreza W/ PICS

[phibe1]

Quick question.... I solderered the wires coming from my receiver all onto the harness I picked up from Cruthfield...including the Ground wire and antenna wire (the only wires I have left loose are the remote on and something else I don't remember)... was I not supposed to do this? Please let me know.

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[Alan]

The "antenna" wire from the receiver should be power for a power antenna - and hopefully it's 12V power and will run the antenna amplifier that is in the 2006 cars. So it should be fine.

[phibe1]

I was more worried about the ground wire...was I supposed to clip it on to the chasis or solder it onto the wiring harness to connect to the car's harness? because I did the latter and I dont want it effecting sound quality

[jay25RS]

Originally Posted by phibe1

I was more worried about the ground wire...was I supposed to clip it on to the chasis or solder it onto the wiring harness to connect to the car's harness? because I did the latter and I dont want it effecting sound quality

There is a ground in the main wiring harness as well as the one that clips on. I left the one that clips on detached from my brackets because I was grounding through the one in the main harness... Either one should work fine.

-Jason

[Alan]

You can, and probably should, use both grounds. The harness wiring one is the main ground, but grounding the chassis with the clipped on wire can't do any harm.

[hbackstylez]

there is 3 ground wires on my 2006 wagon apparently, one in the main wiring harness, one that clips onto the right adaptor frame, and one more single grey wire that is screwed onto one of the screws on the right adaptor frame.

be careful with the bottom right screw that has the grey ground wire connected with it. the damn thing was in way too tight if you use the wrong screwdriver you can strip it like I did

my solution was to cut the ground wire, remove the factory changer in bring it into my house. I took off the opposite frame so it would sit flat on the carpet, then I took off the 3 good screws on the other side and went to town with a hack saw on that one screw, making a deeper slit in one side. Then, I took a big flathead screwdriver literally sat on top of that screw with all my weight, twisted and broke it loose.

I'm not actually sure what that ground wire is for, but I guess it wouldnt hurt to put it back on, it probably goes to the radio wave amplifier or something, so I dug up a connector and crimped it back together when I put in my alpine deck

job well done

[SVXdc]

Originally Posted by hbackstylez

there is 3 ground wires on my 2006 wagon apparently, one in the main wiring harness, one that clips onto the right adaptor frame, and one more single grey wire that is screwed onto one of the screws on the right adaptor frame.
...
I'm not actually sure what that ground wire is for, but I guess it wouldnt hurt to put it back on, it probably goes to the radio wave amplifier or something, so I dug up a connector and crimped it back together when I put in my alpine deck

The clip-on connector is part of the car's factory radio wiring, in addition to the ground wire in the 14-pin radio harness plug.

Subaru factory subwoofers have the screw-on ground connection. If your car doesn't have the factory sub, it might still have the harness. It's also possible Subaru has some other accessory that uses this style ground connection, but I'm not sure what it would be.

See the post about "old style subwoofers" in this thread: Stock head unit information -- pin-outs, aux inputs, and more

[spirited]

so im trying this, now bear in mind i suck at manual labor, but im going along and i cant pull out my radio. theres a white wire screwed onto my radio that is too short for me to pull out the radio, so i try to take off that screw and now i've gone and stripped it. i was wondering what that white wire was (antenna amp? ground?) and how do i remove the stripped screw. mind you the radio is still half in my car becuase i cant pull it out to really work on it.

[shemoves]

just a single white wire? Not sure on that one. From memory...there is the harness wires (could be a white one in there...but it's part of a group (harness), antenna wire (black, just a pull out...though it is difficult), and the one that clips to the side (black also, prolly a ground). Can't remember an independent white wire attached to the stereo.

[spirited]

hmm well its a white wire, on the passenger side that is screwed onto the side of the the radio. with my luck if i cut it, its something important and if i cont cut it, its somethin i dont really need.

[SVXdc]

Originally Posted by spirited

hmm well its a white wire, on the passenger side that is screwed onto the side of the the radio. with my luck if i cut it, its something important and if i cont cut it, its somethin i dont really need.

Sounds like the ground wire for the subwoofer harness. Is the color perhaps really gray?

See post #106, above.

You can buy a special drill bit. It bites into the screw and then backs it out. Check your favorite hardware store.

[beastSTI]

awesome write up

[marccyberwiz]

thanks for this guide i was able to put in a harmon kardon ipod intergation kit in my friends STI

[AZRally]

No problem guys. I am happy to see this is still helping. Just think, if everyone did this with every mod...

[M-e-X-x]

Originally Posted by redevil

Hey were you able to pop it off without breaking anything? I will be doing mine in the next few days.

AZRally,
Thanks for posting the pictures
Alan
Thanks for the diagram

Here is the final install

oh snap! i got the same deck haha.. well, the GT200 lol...

Thanks everyone for the good info... Hopefully it won't be too difficult to put in the deck with a 4EAT...

[DRNWAGN]

Man that looks simple enough. Right, every time I have done a radio, I have screwed something up! Guess wireing just is not for me. Looks really nice though!

[M-e-X-x]

woohoo, deck is in! thanks to Naito for all the help (owe you many many strippers lol)... put in a 4EAT wagon for those that want to know and/or need assistance in installing... the front panel was the biggest pain in the @$$!! but finally got it out and everything is all dandy... photos will be up soon

edit: here you go!

http://naito.homedns.org/gallery/Ton.../deck_install/

[Shakes]

AZrally, thanks. I needed to know how to take that damn panel off and if the wires were an exact match and you answered both just fine.

here is mine.



http://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1777907

[byoung328]

Nice job. You're lucky the radio panel came off so easy. The two clips holding mine at the top were no joke. After getting scared that I would break the plastic I had to slip a little screwdriver up beside the clips to get the panel off.

[BrownBoy]

In the pics, you have a little "din" to place stuff in. Did you have to add this in or will it be like that on the stock '07's?

[Shakes]

The din pocket is something you have to buy. its about $15. The stock 07 stereo is pretty much the same setup as the previous years.

[cppchrisdh]

great write-up, only took me an hour to install my new HU. this should be a sticky!!!!!

[Outback_Yossarian]

I updated the CD player to have an AUX out


All opened up


sorry for the lousy quality. I used my cellphone to capture these.

The DIN I got from www.subarugenuineparts.com and had to do some modifications with a Dremel tool.
I shaved off the lip and flipped it upside down. I also made a hole in what is now the top of the DIN and wired the Sirius antenna up behind and over into the pocket.

I had to drill at least one hole in each of the mounting brackets to make it work. I broke a titanium bit in the process and I'm missing a screw driver somewhere.

The shape otherwise fits my cheep Sirius radio pretty well.

[Big Bastard Subaru]

What's up guys, new forum and new Subaru owner

Picked up my red 2.5i about 2 weeks ago, just got her all broken in and now it's cold and rainy out... oh well!

Anyway, I caught this forum post and wanted to bounce a few questions off of everyone here.

I see that most everyone here is soldering their wiring harnesses together. I'm wondering if there is any disadvantage to just using butt connectors for the wires?

Obviously soldering is far superior, but today's "fast food" install places don't solder (ie: best buy, circuit city, etc...) and their installs turn out just fine. I'm wondering if I get myself some gold-plated butt connectors, would this suit my needs?

I have no experience soldering, and while I could probably hack a decent job up using a soldering iron and some solder, I don't want to do half-ass job.

Thanks for the input, and hopefully I won't get flamed out too much...

[Alan]

If you use a good crimper then crimped butt splices should be fine. As an avionics technician, only two type of splices are FAA approved - airtight crimped connections and soldered. Both will do a fine job if done properly. I really recommend a crimping tool that has ratcheting positive action.I use an Ideal crimper that is quite good, but expensive. I also have about 6 other specialized crimp tools for special pins, network cables and other applications.

For most folks the Harbor Freight Crimper would be a fine tool - and it's only $10 or so. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93977