Installing newer Saturn CD player into 92 SL2

My sister decided that she wanted a CD player in her car for Christmas. It
seems that a newer Saturn CD player is the a good choice without spending
alot of money on a aftermarket unit (she may not keep this vehicle for that
long). My quetion is that is there any harness/wiring adapters available
that can plug into the vehicle and a Saturn CD player (from a 2001, model #
21025330). If not, would it be extremely hard to splice it in? Also, will it
fit into the opening?

Any help is appreciated.

 

If it's better sound you are looking for, new speakers will make the biggest
difference. The wiring adapter should be available in any automotive store,
as a GM accessory. The installation adapter should be available at any car
stereo supplier.

 

You can find new aftermarket CD units for under $100 these days. Their
standardized size, combined with a installation kit for your vehicle ($10 or
so), will tend to fit the dash opening much better than what you may be
wanting to do. But if you do want to install that Saturn radio...


It appears that Saturn changed the wiring harness connector for the radio
for year 2000. If you're putting the 2001 radio into a 2000 or up S-Series
Saturn, it should plug right in.

If you're putting it into a Saturn that is from 1999 or prior, you will need
2 wiring harnesses. One plugs into the car's connector to allow wiring of
aftermarket radios. Example here:

http://incolor.inebraska.com/weisinator/install-kits/metra/wiring-harness-adapter/70-2002.htm

The other one that you will need plugs into the back of the Saturn radio and
provides bare wires to allow it to be wired to any vehicle you like (often
called "reverse harnesses"). A 5 minute google search didn't turn up any
for your 2001 radio. These are not very common items, because few people
put stock radios into cars they weren't made for. Do some web searching and
you may eventually come across one. Or, stop by your local car audio shop
and they may be able to order one from their harness supplier. Either way,
it should be $10 - $15.

When you have the two harnesses, you'll just have to match up the bare
wiring and connect them. Then once you have the wiring working, you'll have
to fab something to fit the radio in the dash opening. It's unlikely you'll
be able to find an install kit to fit that stock radio in a dash opening
other than the one it was made for. They're simply not made. While it's
easy to secure it with some metal backstrap and screws, it's another thing
to make it look decent in that opening.

Heh, actually - I did this whole business to put my '92 Saturn CD player
into my '93 Dodge truck. I bought a dodge harness for around $6 from
Wal-Mart, and cut the harness which connects to the radio out of my '92 SC
(It's a race car, all the wiring's been pulled). Joined them, and popped it
into the opening in my Dakota and it fit perfectly with minor plastic
trimming. Hey, what the hell - I had it laying around so I put it to use.

http://www57.pair.com/lane/Pics/radio.jpg

Good luck,
Lane [ l a n e @ p a i r . c o m ]