If you decide to do something to your car because you saw it here, please give me credit where it is due! (link to my page w/ my name or something) Thanks.

Stereo, Speaker, Amp and Sub Installation, Page Updated January 27, 2008

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Project Completed in January 2008

On this page, I describe how to replace your CD player and upgrade your front speakers to larger ones.

Scroll down for information on how I installed my amp and sub.

First, take off the center console panel by removing the air conditioner knobs. The panel pulls out with enough force. Disconnect the clock, hazard button, and defroster button. Then, the panel comes out.

Then, take out the stock radio by removing the 4 screws holding it in. Disconnect the 3 wires from the back.

You will need the brackets from the stock radio to mount the new radio. There is 1 bracket on each side, and remove these by removing the screws. See the three bumps on them? Those help the bracket fit correctly on the stock radio, but the new radio has no place for these, so they need to be removed.

After thinking for a minute, I decided to smash the three knobs with a hammer on the concrete floor. That did the trick! Now, just use the same screws to mount the brackets the same way to the new radio.

Now for the wiring. On the left is the wire adapter, and in the middle is the new wiring harness. I used the strippers to expose the wires, and the wire nuts to fasten them together. You need to be careful, because the wire colors do not match. For example, the blue wire does not wire to the blue wire. I had to use the references that came with the adapter and the radio to match everything up. This car uses the 10 pin connector and the 4 pin connector. Remove the covers on the adapter, and connect the wires to the factory wires in the car and the radio. Don't forget to plug in the third black wire which plugs right in. If you have amplifiers, plug the connectors into their corresponding RCA jacks on the back.

Now everything is connected, and the radio slides right into place. Just screw it in with the 4 stock screws and put the center panel back on after plugging in the clock and two buttons.

As for installing the Sony speakers, It wasn't very hard to install the larger speakers in the door. First, pull out the armrest. Then, remove the two screws behind it and the screw holding in the door handle. Slide the door handle until it pops out, then pop the door panel off of the door by pulling on it. You don't need to take off the wires to the window switch. Unscrew the stock speakers, and cut the wires.

Since my new speakers came with wires, I wire-nutted them to the stock wires I had just cut. As for mounting the speakers, I removed the stock black plastic pieces that held the stock speakers. I decided to mount the speakers to the door panel instead of the door. Luckily, the opening was the perfect size for the speaker. The speaker actually held in there without any screws, but I put some short screws in there just in case. The door panel is actually strong enough to just screw through it and hold the speakers in place.

Luckily, the screws didn't poke through the carpet, since they came through behind the plastic speaker grille. I put the door panel back in place, and it fit no problem and the window still moved fine. Also, you can't see the speakers behind the grille, which is good because they are red, and everything else on the car is blue.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here, I describe how I wired my amp and sub.

Here is the wiring kit and amp I used. Both seem to be a very good deal for their low price.

First, I ran the RCA cables from the stereo to the trunk. In this picture, you can see how I had to remove the door sills and the glove compartment in addition to the stereo. You can see how the RCA cables plug into the back of the stereo and then will run behind the glove compartment and then under the carpet. IMPORTANT: You must route the RCA cables on this side, since RCA cables are not supposed to run parallel to ANY power wires (since that adds noise). This side of the car doesn't have any power wires (except for the door light), so it is safe to wire the RCA cables here. BUT you can't run the amp power wires here. These must be routed on the other side of the car.

This picture is better. The RCA cable is now in the trunk, and I ended up tucking it into the carpet there.

Now to run the low-gage power wire from the battery to the trunk to power the amp. It starts on the battery (make sure that the fuse is near the battery).

Then, it runs through the grommets into the fender and then into the inside of the car, as I have done with all of the other wires, as you can see.

While I was running the main power wire, I decided to run the remote power wire (the wire that switches the amp on and off). In this picture, the remote wire is the blue wire that connects to the red wires. Lots of wire nuts! You can also see the RCA cables.

Then I ran both of the cables on the other side of the car the same way I ran the RCA cables. I had to remove the door sills again and the dash piece under the steering wheel.

Now, the two power wires go into the trunk the same way the RCA cables did on the other side. I tucked these wires into the carpet, too.

Now, the only wire left in the ground! The ground has to be very short, and I used the wire that came with the amp. I drilled a hole in the metal under the rear deck speakers and sanded off the paint with my Dremel to expose the bare, grounded metal.

Now, the ground wire screws tightly into the new hole.

Then wire everything up! The RCA cables plug into one side, and the speaker wires and power wires screw into the other side. I set the amp in sub mode to maximize the bass, and it actually worked the first time I hooked it up! The LED was green, so I was ready to mount the amp. At first, I was going to mount the amp to the side of the trunk, which is why the ground wire is over there, but I decided it would be much easier to just screw it to the sub. With the amp screwed on, I slid the sub all the way back into the trunk and secured it with a black bungee cord and some Velcro.

Now, my stereo is complete! I've never installed any car stereo stuff before, so I was surprised at how well I did it the first time.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't forget that if you have any help, advice, comments, criticisms, or questions about my car and future mods, please sign my Guest book!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Table of Contents

My Corolla Today
Page 1: Current Exterior
Page 2: Current Interior
Page 3: Current Engine
Page 4: Current Audio

Corolla Time Lines
Page 5: Phase Time Line
Page 6: Detailed Time Line

Other Stuff
Page 7: Photoshop
Page 8: Look at this page before you buy replacement LED bulbs
Page 9: Details on my current and future mods
Page 10: For Sale!

DIYs and Project Write-ups
Page 11: Bumper light LED retrofit 1
Page 12: Third Brake light LED retrofit
Page 13: Diablo Mirror LED replacement
Page 14: Taillight LED Retrofit 1
Page 15: High Beam DRL Mod
Page 16: Bumper Light LED Retrofit 2, PLUS detailed description of how I do LED mods
Page 17: Painting preparation (details on my fenders, grille, trunk, and Bondo)
Page 18: Side marker LED retrofit and installation
Page 19: HID fog lights and headlights
Page 20:
Interior painting, modifications, and exterior trim painting
Page 21: Installing Halo/LED/Projector headlights
Page 22: Mirror cover LED replacement
Page 23: Installing a new stereo and speakers
Page 24: Body kit installation, front end conversion, and other body work for round 2
Page 25: Retrofitting LEDs into my third mirrors and front turn signals
Page 26: Putting interior LEDs behind the dash and in all the buttons and all over the interior
Page 27: LED tail light retrofit 2 and baking your lights in the oven to remove the lens