installing head unit in holden cruze

[Troy711]

as the title suggests, anyone got any tips or better yet... a guide? my sister wants a decent CD player in her cruze

PS i am aware this is a commodore forum, but i thought i would try my luck anyway...

[Tasmaniak]

First, I need to make you aware of something. I have NEVER done work on the Holden Cruze/Subaru Justy/ChevyYGM1 this following guide is what I worked out from this picture....So once you've done it let me know how close I was!...or was I miles away?!


around the CD player is a peice of dash the contains..

CD Player
Ciggy Lighter
Ashtray.

That needs to be removed. Remove the ashtray and have a look right at the back of it...there may be a screw! Other then that...try pulling from the bottom and wriggle(we know you know how to wriggle ) it out from the bottom up. If that fails to work...slide some sharp flat bladed screwdrivers behind on the sides..but at the top (make sense?) I say sharp because blunt screwdrivers will mark the dash around it.

If you feel any tension anywhere....give it a good pull. If that doesn't work. Look harder. There must be a screw. But, I can almost guarantee. There are no screws holding it into place.

Once you have it out, there should be either two or four screws holding the cd player and the pocket underneath into place. Remove them and then the unit should come out with the pocket still attached (not sure about the pocket) Unplug it (You knew to do that right? LOL)

Unscrew the cd Player from the brackets that connect it to the pocket and then screwe the cd Player into place. The holes on there should line up with the new cd player. (SHOULD being the operative word. Be prepared to drill new holes)

Now, times to figure out the wiring on the back of it.....get out your multimeter!

Earth - Don't worry about finding the cars original earth wire. You should always create your own unless instructed otherwise. So, screw this onto a metal part of the car (I often use where it the radio boltsinto the car but sosmetimes thats not metal so is useless)

Constant - Use your multimeter to search for a constant 12Volts no matter what position the key is in.

Acc/switched - This wire will have 12Volts on it when the car is running or switched to acc. It will not have power when the car is switched off.

Illumination - Not mayn new cd players have this option but just incase yours does...heres how to find it. None of the other wires will have power on them...go through and check them incase any do have power on them...elimanate them. They are not your wire. Now, switch on the headlights and check all the wires again. This time, one wire will have 12Volts on it whilst the headlights are on. This is your illumination wire. It tells the cd players to dim it front when the headlights are on. Leave it disconnected if you like big flashy lights of a night time.

Speakers... go inside and take a battery out of the remote control. Next, locate your speaker wires (usually run in pairs. e.g. Green and dark green) to work out which one is which place the wires on either end of the battery MOMENTARILY do not hold them there for a long period of time. Each time they make contact the speaker they are connected to will give a pop....Bingo, you just located your speaker wire. As for poplarity...well...your on your own for that one BUT if they are in pairs like the green example I gave you. Try to make all the dark colours negative and all the lighter colours positive. (essentially it doens't matter if dark is positive and light is negative but try to keep a standard)

Antenna....your own your own with that one.

[Troy711]

cheers you yanky mofo, ill report back if/when she gets me to do it!

[1fasttruck]

I changed the deck on my wife's cruz, very easy installation.
Change the speakers as soon as you can as well.

[Tasmaniak]

np troy, glad to help.

1fasttrack....how close was my description?