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Just bought a 2000 Protegé... Need Help installing a stereo...

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    Just bought a 2000 Protegé... Need Help installing a stereo...

    Hey, as the subject says, I just bought a 2000 Protegé LX Touring Edition...

    I did have a 98 Cavalier coupe, but I totalled it

    Anyways, I had a somewhat decent stereo system in the cavalier, and now I want to put the deck into my Protegé.

    My deck is a Kenwood that I bought 2 years ago... basically, the questions I have are as follows: I already know how to get the factory deck OUT of the car, but the problem lies in this... My GM Wiring harness had a wire set aside for the ground wire, the Mazda harness (as I'm sure you experienced Audiophiles know) doesn't have a specific wire for the ground. Is there a wire in the slot that I can ground to? (Please give me some instructions )

    Also... what about preventing theft? Now that I know how easy it is to get a deck out of the car, I'm a little concerned...

    Anyways... any instructions would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks

    IC

    #2
    i dont need a ground for my pioneer, works fine with just the antenna as the ground, but i guess you could always drop a wire down to your cig lighter, and shhhh....dont let anyone know how easy it is to rip out head units out. bye the way congrats on the chevy to mazda conversion.
    According to my Anger Management Counselor, after 26 weeks of anger management class, I should be an expert when it comes to Anger Management...tell that to the guy who threw a starburst at my car in rush hour traffic...haha


    Todays thought of the day:

    Rice is great if your really hungry and want to eat 2000 of something.

    Mitch Hedberg

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by IdentityCrisis
      Hey, as the subject says, I just bought a 2000 Protegé LX Touring Edition...

      I did have a 98 Cavalier coupe, but I totalled it

      Anyways, I had a somewhat decent stereo system in the cavalier, and now I want to put the deck into my Protegé.

      My deck is a Kenwood that I bought 2 years ago... basically, the questions I have are as follows: I already know how to get the factory deck OUT of the car, but the problem lies in this... My GM Wiring harness had a wire set aside for the ground wire, the Mazda harness (as I'm sure you experienced Audiophiles know) doesn't have a specific wire for the ground. Is there a wire in the slot that I can ground to? (Please give me some instructions )

      Also... what about preventing theft? Now that I know how easy it is to get a deck out of the car, I'm a little concerned...

      Anyways... any instructions would be greatly appreciated.

      Thanks

      IC
      I would buy a Mazda Harness so you can just plug it in to the factory plug so you can just unplug it should you have to uninstall it in the future for any reason (upgrade, trade-in, service, etc.). Does your deck have a det. face? Nothing will detour a thief if they really want what you have in it. An alarm system may help, but simply not advertising your stereo whether it be from vendor stickers on your car to custom license plate, you just have to play it safe so that your car doesn't attract unwanted attention.
      2001 ES (Featured at SoundDomain)

      Pioneer/SoundStream/JBL/Coustic/Elemental Designs/Focal/
      KnuKonceptz/Lightning Audio/SoundQuest/Tiff/
      Gel America/Dynamo Deep Cycle Battery/
      Groundkit

      Comment


        #4
        I read in another thread that on the exisiting factory deck there is a ground on that somewhere... which wire is that, and could I ground to that wire?

        On the back of my deck there's a specific ground wire... wouldn't that mean I'd have to use it?

        Also, for anyone who's done this before... where is the best place in my new Protegé to run the RCA wires that will go to my sub (as well as the power wires)...

        Thanks for all your help... and oh yeah... before I forget, I'm very pleased with the Chevy to Mazda conversion.... I've always loved Mazdas!

        IC
        Last edited by IdentityCrisis; 01-23-2004, 02:27 PM.

        Comment


          #5
          I used the ground wire on the wire harness from Metra. As for RCAs and Power wires and such, you can tap in to the rubber gromet above the clutch area for the power wire(s) and run it along side of the driver's side and the RCAs on the passenger side for no noise. Poke a hole out of the gromet from the inside so that you can locate it in the engine compartment. You can easily get 4 gauge wire through it.
          2001 ES (Featured at SoundDomain)

          Pioneer/SoundStream/JBL/Coustic/Elemental Designs/Focal/
          KnuKonceptz/Lightning Audio/SoundQuest/Tiff/
          Gel America/Dynamo Deep Cycle Battery/
          Groundkit

          Comment


            #6
            I used a screw driver to poke the hole and then looked in the engine compartment to locate the other end. Run the power wire from the inside of the car to the engine comparment. You can hide wires under the plastic pieces of the floor alongside of the seats (they just pop right off). Just be sure to keep the power wires away from the RCA wires so noise won't get in your system.
            2001 ES (Featured at SoundDomain)

            Pioneer/SoundStream/JBL/Coustic/Elemental Designs/Focal/
            KnuKonceptz/Lightning Audio/SoundQuest/Tiff/
            Gel America/Dynamo Deep Cycle Battery/
            Groundkit

            Comment


              #7
              i believe the factory hu uses the antenna, but dont quote me, and as of right now i have 0 amps an 0 subs but i do still have the wiring ran from when i did and it was ran exactly how mister T is saying to. I have had 2 hu's in the protege and have just used the antenna, but then again, i dont know anything.
              According to my Anger Management Counselor, after 26 weeks of anger management class, I should be an expert when it comes to Anger Management...tell that to the guy who threw a starburst at my car in rush hour traffic...haha


              Todays thought of the day:

              Rice is great if your really hungry and want to eat 2000 of something.

              Mitch Hedberg

              Comment


                #8
                MisterT

                Thanks for the tips... question on what you were saying about the wires running along side the seats.... I'm assuming you mean on the outside (IE, the door sides of the seats...) also, how much work is it to pop the plastic off... you'll have to remember that I just got this car, so I want to make sure I don't wreck it

                Also, I have already purchased a wiring harness from FutureShop it's made by "BestKits". So... how would I ground to the antenna?

                Thanks again

                IC

                Comment


                  #9
                  Anyone else? Please?

                  Comment


                    #10
                    misterT, you've got a different HU and harness. the '99-'00 has the ground seperate from the harness. there's the harness, the antenae, and a thicker black wire going into the back of the stock HU. that black wire is the ground.

                    like misterT said, run your power wired down the drivers side of the car. there is a rubber grommet above where the clutch pedal is bolted to that you can run 4 guage through there just fine.

                    run your RCA's down the passenger side. the RCA's and 4 guage cable will fit under the door sill trim just fine. or you can run it down under the carpet if you want.

                    you can run your RCA's with the power wire. there's been much debate about that on carsound lately, but they've pretty much come to the conclusion that with the thick jacket of the power wire, and the shielding of the RCA's, running them together is not going to induce any noise. you'll get more noise from the metal of the car than you could ever get from the power wire. but it's typically easier to run them seperate, since it's very bulky with both together.

                    the door sills just pull off. don't worry about breaking them, the clips are very tough. the cover over the fuse box is removed after you take the door sill off, and remove the fastener towards the front of the car. you have to pry the center circle out, and then the outer circle. you should be able to figure out what i mean when you see it. same thing on the passenger side for the RCA's.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Nicely said Blue man!! And Mr. T- you got that grommet stuff right on!!
                      Isn't all this in a sticky note yet?
                      Doesn't it need to be??
                      David A. Cameron
                      "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men
                      stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

                      Ex Protege Owner- and I still love em!
                      2004 Cooperworks Mini
                      2003 Acura TSX

                      And I swear not another car until my daughter gets a drivers license!!

                      De Oppresso Liber
                      Sine Pari

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Thanks for all your help guys... I've really appreciated it. Just one more question about the ground wire... is there something I can actually connect with, or am I going to have to slice some of the casing of the ground wire to get a connection?

                        Also, if anyone has a digital camera... would you be able to upload a picture of these side door sills you're talking about? At first I thought you just meant the little things near the bottom of the door frame... but now I'm not so sure I've got it straight.

                        Thanks guys.

                        IC

                        By the way... maybe this really should be a sticky post I'm sure other people have these same questions...

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by IdentityCrisis
                          Just one more question about the ground wire... is there something I can actually connect with, or am I going to have to slice some of the casing of the ground wire to get a connection?
                          Hey ... I finished the installation, everything seems to be working fine

                          Here's what I did for the ground wire. The factory HU is equipped with a flat metal tab that slides into a plastic sheath on the end of the ground wire. What I did was just take the exposed wires from my deck's ground wire and folded them into a sort of flat panel... then I shoved the wires into the plastic sheath and taped it all together so that it'll stay.

                          I think I did a good job *IC pats himself on the back* but if anyone thinks that what I did will cause a problem, please let me know...

                          Thanks to everyone who responded to this post to help me, I really appreciate it.

                          IC

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by dacinokc
                            Nicely said Blue man!! And Mr. T- you got that grommet stuff right on!!
                            Isn't all this in a sticky note yet?
                            Doesn't it need to be??

                            damn dave, trying to make me work i think some of it is in the stickies, and if not, i'll add it

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by blue LEDz
                              damn dave, trying to make me work i think some of it is in the stickies, and if not, i'll add it
                              Come on Blue, you are slacking! You need to stop ordering stuff and keep postings updated
                              2001 ES (Featured at SoundDomain)

                              Pioneer/SoundStream/JBL/Coustic/Elemental Designs/Focal/
                              KnuKonceptz/Lightning Audio/SoundQuest/Tiff/
                              Gel America/Dynamo Deep Cycle Battery/
                              Groundkit

                              Comment

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