Swapped OEM stereos; new one is locked, sort of... (?)

Stereo, security systems, vehicle electronics, and electrical-related discussions
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VanishingCave
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Joined: Mon Jul 29, 2019 8:00 pm

Swapped OEM stereos; new one is locked, sort of... (?)

Post by VanishingCave »

Hello, all. A while back the stereo on my 2004 AWD lost all the backlights on its display (a problem I'm sure you're all familiar with) so I have been on the lookout for a replacement head unit. I was hoping to find a OEM model from a few years prior to mine that had a tape deck as well as a CD player, and after a while I found a reasonably priced one on eBay that came from a 2001 Grand Am. Aside from the presence of tape deck and the slight rearrangement of the buttons, the stereos were identical, so I figured it would be a good fit.

Once the stereo arrived, I swapped them out and ran into a few issues. Half the display is burnt out (I was expecting that) and the stereo also appears to be locked. Sort of... It doesn't display LOC like in any of the numerous tutorials or requests on this forum. No codes appear when I hold down 1/4 or 2/3. Instead, the stereo behaves much more like the one in this post: viewtopic.php?t=39661

The display only lights up for five seconds at a time, and only when I press the recall button or the clock adjust buttons, then the backlights turn off again. The theftlock light flashes slowly the whole time, just like it does when the car is off. I can insert and eject CDs and tapes no problem, but they don't play. I can't get the radio to tune in. All these things match the situation in the above post, however I am not having issues with the cigarette lighter, like he was. The charger I have plugged into the lighter still works just fine so I know there is not a short in that circuit, but just for fun I replaced the fuse. It did nothing.

Also curiously, I swapped back to the old radio and it still worked just fine. So I'm guessing it's somehow related to the theftlock on the new stereo, but I'm not sure why it doesn't actually display LOC or give me any codes when I hold down the preset buttons. Perhaps the Grand Am stereo isn't as compatible with my Vibe like I had assumed. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
VanishingCave
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Jul 29, 2019 8:00 pm

Re: Swapped OEM stereos; new one is locked, sort of... (?)

Post by VanishingCave »

So after doing some more reading in these threads, I'm wondering if the issue is due to compatibility with the true GM stereo I bought and the "fake GM" Vibe. It looks the same as my old Vibe stereo, but it came out of a Grand Am that actually has the theftlock programming built in. But I would think that this incompatibility would fully lock the radio, not make it just behave like this. Any thoughts?
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joatmon
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Re: Swapped OEM stereos; new one is locked, sort of... (?)

Post by joatmon »

Welcome to genvibe! (your first posts ;) )

i think you might be out of luck on the replacement radio. GM used radios that were nearly identical to VIbe radios, but with a significant internal difference. Other similar model year GM cars have a databus that the radio ties in to, in conjunction with the theftlock system. On those cars, some of the various chimes and beeps come through the stereo. Vibes being a joint Toyota/GM product don't have that databus, and the chimes, such as seatbelt alert, are built into the instrument cluster. A non-Vibe radio can't find the databus in a vibe, so it won't work, can't be unlocked

viewtopic.php?p=305146 has instructions on soldering in new lights, which might not be all that useful if you're not comfortable soldering, and doesn't get you a cassette player.

Vibes never came with a tape deck, but the 03-04 Matrixes had that as an option. I bought one off ebay and put it in my Vibe, was plug and play. I used it with a tape adapter to play music from my phone through the radio. eventually the tape deck part died, so I bought a cheap bluetooth FM transmitter, which was a lot more convenient and reliable.

There's one on ebay for $75 at https://www.ebay.com/itm/304220588577?h ... SwUPxhjFD4 That one has some serious wear on the buttons. If you go for it and decide that the buttons in your current radios are in better shape, you can use the info in that radio light replacement thread to take the front panel off and switch the buttons. Just remember that if you do, when you get to the point of taking the circuit board off the front panel, have the front panel down or all the buttons will fall out.
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VanishingCave
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Joined: Mon Jul 29, 2019 8:00 pm

Re: Swapped OEM stereos; new one is locked, sort of... (?)

Post by VanishingCave »

Thanks for your reply and the welcome, Joatmon! I had read many of your helpful comments in other posts and was hoping you would have some insight. It wasn't what I had wanted to hear, but I'm very thankful for your knowledge. For now I guess I'll try to solder in new lamps to my old stereo and perhaps in time I will replace it with a contemporary Matrix stereo, like you recommended. Thanks again! Looking forward to learning and sharing more things on these forums!
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