Planning on spending some quality Saturday garage time installing a new Pioneer AVH-P4300DVD in my '06 GT with a factory Shaker 500. Let me preface this by saying that I'm new to car stereo installation, but I know my way around wiring and a soldering gun. Figure with the wiring guides and answers to some questions below, I should be just fine.

I picked up all the essentials from Crutchfield:

- Pioneer AVH-P4300DVD Head Unit
- Double-din dash kit
- Antenna adapter
- PAC C2R-FRD1 wiring harness adapter
- Pioneer iPod Cable CD-IU200V
- Sirius Connect Pioneer Package (Pioneer CD-SB10 and Sirius SC-C1 universal tuner)

I've read through as many of the aftermarket stereo install writeups as I could possibly find (both here and elsewhere) and in addition to the above I believe I need the following items:

- 1 amp diode soldered into the white/green wire between the PAC unit and the hardness (per PAC TSB to prevent the system from rebooting at higher volumes - 4th page)
- 1.5K ohm resistor soldered into the white/blue Amp turn on wire between the head unit and the PAC harness (per Taco Bill and others to keep the door subs from popping when the unit turns on)
- 12VDC/40A SPST Automotive Relay (to bypass the parking brake lock out for the DVD player per this YouTube install video) NOTE: Not required and completely illegal. Got it.

And of course all the standard install stuff, like:

- Some additional 10 gauge wiring and connectors.
- Solder & gun
- Heat shrink tubing
- Heat gun
- Zip ties
- Etc, etc.

Now for the questions:

1. Is my shopping list above complete or am I missing something that's going to cause me to run out to Radio Shack at midnight so I can finish the install?
2. When connecting the Pioneer Sirius adapter CD-SB10 to power, can I tap into the wiring for the cigarette lighter in the center of the dash?
3. Do I need a Y-adapter for the sub inputs on the head unit? Or can I simply connect the white/blue wire along with the L/R sub outs and be just fine?

Thanks in advance for any answers and additional insight you all could throw my way!

 

I installed the Pioneer AVHP4000 DVD several years ago , not same unit but the same principles , and it looks like you've got it covered. As for the parking brake , all I did was to run the wire to a switch then to ground. Then when it asks me to lock the parking brake I flip the switch on/off and it's always worked for me. On my unit I just wired the white/blue wire to the metra harness and plugged the L/R sub outs into the rear and the subs work fine. I had to use the resistor for the popping , but I believe the new metra harness takes care of that for you and a couple of other things like display dimming and etc. However , they cost a lot more than the one I got when I did mine ...

 

Thanks for the info Steve. I thought about using a switch for the parking brake defeat, but I think the relay will allow it to happen more seamlessly. And if the relay doesn't work, I'll go with a switch

Tempted to try not using the resistor for the sub popping to see if it's necessary with the new harness. Might be a good science experiment. Being that they're a whopping $1.20, I'll pick up a pack JIC.

 

I believe the new metra harness takes care of the popping , the need to run the additional wire for the dimmer and also has the wire for the volume speed control if your new head unit has it. That's the one thing I miss about the old shaker , most units don't have the volume speed control ...

 

I would have never thought about volume speed control (until I missed it, of course). I'll have to check in to see if that's a feature of the 4300. Again, thanks for the info!

 

Do you plan on doing a write-up of the install? Just curious why you went with the 4300 over the 4200?

 

Thanks for the reminder on this - slipped my mind because I'm traveling this week.

I decided to go with the 4300 only because it's the current model that replaced the 4200. Have no idea if there's a difference in features.

I hadn't planned on doing a full writeup, as pretty much all of the information to complete the install exists in other places on this forum (like TacoBill's Alpine head unit install) and on YouTube. But I'm happy to share what I learned in response to my own questions and some other tips:

1. The antenna adapter is totally unnecessary (glad it was free). There's no need to use one and especially no need to buy one.

2. The double DIN dash kit that Crutchfield included with the deck looks like it was meant to be part of the dash. Great match.

3. Wiring up the PAC harness couldn't have been easier. I do recommend connecting all of the wires before starting your soldering, JIC. Also, there were a few wires in each harness that were unused (VSS because the deck didn't support it, steering wheel controls because I don't have them in the car, etc), so they got taped off.

4. The 1 amp diode recommended per this PAC TSB is totally necessary. I decided to try installing without (as a science experiment) and when I got the volume up to around 17 or 18, the system would reboot. Adding the diode resolved the issue completely.

5. The 1.5K ohm resistor was not needed (05YellowGT - you were absolutely right!). Even without this, there is no popping from the subs when you start the car.

6. The RCA Y-adapter was not needed. I plugged in both the sub outputs RCA cables from the PAC harness to the L/R sub outputs on head unit and both subs worked perfectly.

7. Installing the relay to bypass the parking break and allow you to watch DVDs at any time per this YouTube video worked perfectly. Totally worth doing just so I didn't have to pull the parking break while testing the system.

8. I used tap in connectors to tap into both power and ground from the cigarette lighter 12V outlet in the center of the dash to power the Pioneer Sirius adapter. Worked like a charm.

9. The Pioneer iPod adapter (CD-IU200V) is long enough to run the dock cable to the center console storage area if you wanted to put it somewhere other than the glove box.

The only real issue I had was troubleshooting why the left front speaker had no sound. Turned out the left front negative speaker wire came loose and fell out of the PAC harness connector after I test-mounted the head unit. As soon as I saw it, I snapped the loose wire back in and all worked perfectly.

Pictures to come after I get home this weekend.

 

Finally got the chance to snap some pics of the finished install:



Opened:



On with background pic:



I ran the iPod connector cable into the center console storage, so I can either pull it out and rest it on the seat or the center console to control it or I can just let it stay hidden:





And it will play video directly from the iPod:





Still very impressed. The sound quality is far beyond the stock Shaker!

 

Quick question on the install.

Were you able to use the factory dimmer? I just completed the install and the dimmer functionality doesn't seem to be working.

Also, when I turn on the headlights the screen brightness oscillates bright and dim.... very odd.

Thanks!
Anthony

 

I'll answer, I've got the 4200 unit, and love it! Great Head Unit for a great setup.

you may want to double check the connection

you do use the factory dimmer, but it doesnt get very dim at night. However, the Pioneer people have thought it out, and it has a function (2nd button from left) that allows you to turn the screen black. Wonderful feature.

 

The aftermarket units sometimes have difficulty recognizing the signal on the factory dimmer wire.

I found a wire going to one of the dimmed lights on the computer control button (info/setup/reset) and spliced into that. Now it dims when my headlights are on just like all the other lights in the car. It is not variable however. At least not on my HU. But it's not a Pioneer.

 

Honestly, it's probably been a year since I've driven the car at night, so I have no idea if the dimmer is working (or my headlights for that matter!). I'll check when I get home this weekend.

 

Bit the bullet and installed the AVH-P4300DVD in my ride. Your write-up saved a couple of possible headaches. All has worked well, so thanks again. Only issue is the shaker 1000 subs in the rear not getting any audio. Will figure this out (hopefully).

 

Finally got around to checking, and yeah, my dimmer works fine. Its a slow dimming when you turn the headlights on and a slow brightening when you turn the headlights off. But I agree with StangMahn, even with the dimmer it's not all that dim.

With the brightness oscillating, it sounds like you've got a loose connection in your harness. I'd start checking there.

 

I remember seeing a writeup on getting the Shaker 1000 subs to work on here, though it may not have been with a 4300. If the wiring is correct, I believe there is a setting for rear seat audio in the head unit's menu - thought that had something to do with it...

 

Here it is:

https://themustangsource.com/f692/ju...1/#post6072328

 

Sweet!!! will try this out tommorow and see what I get.

 

ok just looked this radio up on best buy an checked to see if it fits my 2006 v6 mustang an it says it doesnt...... can anyone clarify on this?

 

I installed this radio in my 06 V6 and everything went fine, i can tell you that the unit is compatible.

 

Ok i just wanted to make sure lol. An the radio works w a camera if i wanted to hook one up? An how about the motionx app?