Originally Posted by redeagle
I just put the exact same HU in my car - looks and sounds great. I was bummed about the non-vehicle specific install guide but it was not too difficult to figure out.
The 4 RCA plugs were correctly attached to the wire harness so you could hook up directly the the HU Pre-Amp outputs giving you a cleaner sound that is why Crutchfield website told you you would be able to use the factory amp and bypass the amp built into the HU and actually went the extra step to hook up the RCA plugs for you. (On HUs with less than 4Volts Pre-Amp it would not work well but this HU has the neede 4Volts).
Obviously the front speakers go to the front speakers but I could not decide whether to use the sub-woofer pre-amp outputs or the rear speaker pre-amp outputs for the rear speakers. Tried both thought using the sub woofer outputs sounded a little better so hooked it up that way.
The HU has tons of adjustments to dial in the sound exactly as you like it - or if you are like me drive you crazy trying to decide which sounds best.
Glad it worked out for you. Where did you run the cable for the Bluetooth microphone? iPod cable? Did you buy the satellite radio add-on? If so, where did you route the satellite antenna cable? I wanted to run all three of those cables. That's how I got sucked in with Crutchfield's non-existent "Master Sheet". It would have been great to have step by step instructions for safe removal of trim panels rather than figuring it out as you go or breaking interior trim pieces that are hard to replace and expensive or driving around with a damaged interior. Once I realized the master sheet was a scam I figured I'd just buy the HU off eBay and save about $75.
So, how long did it take to run the cables and what trim panels had to come off and in what order. We can make our own "master sheet".
As for the harness, glad you were able to figure it out. Once again, it would have been nice if Crutchfield had actually supplied the detailed instructions they claimed to possess rather than leaving it up to inexperienced driveway installers to figure it out (or not) for themselves. Or simply tell the customer at the point the order is being placed that they in fact do NOT have any documentation for a particular car. At that point, they are adding zero value and you may as well buy from the lowest price supplier and save another $5 - $10.
And that is likely why they choose not to disclose the truth to the customer until you receive the box from UPS and you're peeing your pants with excitement. They hope that you'll just keep the stuff and find a way to figure it out or take it to a local installer and pay to have it installed rather than give up your precious new toy. Well, not me. They got their stuff back and I kept my money. I did it partly on principle and partly because I simply didn't want to waste my time. If I come back at this project in the future, I'll just buy at the lowest cost and do what you did, figure it out.
On a positive note, Crutchfield refunded all my money. They didn't deduct for return shipping. That would have been the icing on the cake if they had charged me to ship the stuff back. And they have a wonderfully simple return process. Worked like a charm. I suspect it gets used a lot.