Car stereo gurus, please help!

[sflrainmaker01]

I might have missed it but did anybody ask if there were amplifiers installed anywhere in this setup? That will be important to know when he starts changing equipment and wiring everything back up.

Good question. There isn't any amps that I could find. Except, I don't know where to look for the factory one. There is a ton of wiring, especially in the trunk.

BTW, I am keeping an eye on the CDA 9827's on eBay. That seems like it might be the quickest solution just to see what works without having to start from scratch (which might be an option). Also, I do like the Audiophile stock upgrade. I am still not sure as to how I could expand that stock unit with a sub setup. Would I have to find a Powered sub to work with stock unit?

[JBFTech]

Yes you would need a powered sub to work with the stock head unit, otherwise use those RCA converter boxes and mount any amp, sub, and box of your choice in the trunk. You may already have power and ground wiring ran to the trunk, possibly remote leads too, all you would need then is a set of RCA cables. Let us know what all you see in the trunk, and of any wiring you see added under the hood.

[sflrainmaker01]

Yes you would need a powered sub to work with the stock head unit, otherwise use those RCA converter boxes and mount any amp, sub, and box of your choice in the trunk. You may already have power and ground wiring ran to the trunk, possibly remote leads too, all you would need then is a set of RCA cables. Let us know what all you see in the trunk, and of any wiring you see added under the hood.

Only other stuff are the speaker wires, power wires and RCA cords in the trunk (laying there). Under the hood, there is a nice fused power supply off the battery for the stereo with nice thick cables.

[JBFTech]

Sounds like you already have what you need for a nice amp and sub setup. All you have to decide is whether you want a powered sub, or put together a box and an amp, and pick a head unit! You should be set either way you go.

[8UWITH6]

Looks like someone had it all wired up then took all the stuff out. You could pull all that stuff out if you wanted and just wire in the factory plug to your new radio.

HOWEVER, you need to find out if your door/rear speakers where run off an amp (speaker wires going to the trunk) or if they where ran off the radio that you pulled out (factory wiring).

That is what you need to figure out. Pull up the carpet on the drivers side and see if there are speaker wire runs to the front doors. HTH

[sflrainmaker01]

Just to follow up. I just dug out a bunch of old stereo equipment I had acquired over the years to see if I could make a "system". I started with an older Pioneer CD deck 50x4 and it looks like it is CD changer compatible. It just so happens I have a Pioneer CD changer. That's for later. The Alpine speakers in the rear have 2 connections on each speaker. Of course, they were connected by the wire being twisted on the tab of the speaker. So, I fixed that and while I was in the trunk, I noticed that there is NO sign of anything factory stereo wise. There are a couple of connectors that might go to the amp and sub. But, both are long gone. So, the rear deck speakers have wires running to the front and the side door speakers are running thru the harness (after I reconnected everything).
Then, I followed the wires to the dash and also ran a RCA cable from the trunk to the deck while I was at it so I could hook up an amp and sub. From there, I disconnected the Alpine with no faceplate and hooked up the Pioneer and had sound to the back speakers! However, the guy had the two rear speakers running off of ONE channel of the stereo. Fixed that too. Then, I cut out those RCA adapters for the front speakers and reconnected that nightmare wire setup and now I have fronts too!!
Last, I hooked up the sub. Not sure which set up I should go with, but for now there is a 10 inch tube running off of my 140 watt Alpine amp that I bought 10 years ago and never used. I put in on the shelf in the trunk. The whole thing sounds decent, but, not great. I will play with it after I get back from my little road trip this weekend. I also have a pair of 6" Kicker Subs in boxes (like tubes) and a box with a pair of Sony Xplode 12" subs that I can mess around with later.
At least I will have tunes and a clock on this road trip!

[sflrainmaker01]

Just to follow up. Then, I cut out those RCA adapters for the front speakers and reconnected that nightmare wire setup and now I have fronts too!!
Last, I hooked up the sub. Not sure which set up I should go with, but for now there is a 10 inch tube running off of my 140 watt Alpine amp that I bought 10 years ago and never used. I put in on the shelf in the trunk. The whole thing sounds decent, but, not great. I will play with it after I get back from my little road trip this weekend. I also have a pair of 6" Kicker Subs in boxes (like tubes) and a box with a pair of Sony Xplode 12" subs that I can mess around with later.
At least I will have tunes and a clock on this road trip!

Well, I didn't reply earlier because I have been too busy to figure this out some more. But, wouldn't you know it, the next morning neither front speaker worked. So, never bothered to listen after all. Couldn't get it to sound close to good with just backs and sub.
I figured a couple wires came loose since I ran out of connectors. I just went out and redid the whole wiring thing with real nice connectors and all. Now I only have the left front. No right front whatsoever. I double and triple checked connectors and measured output from speaker wire from radio. There's power out to the right. I guess it must be a loose wire in the door or something. How much trouble is it to Remove and REPLACE door panel on Passenger side?

[8UWITH6]

It is a 2 beer job

[sflrainmaker01]

It is a 2 beer job

Well, two beers go down pretty quick on a steamy Florida afternoon!