Satellite Radio

[Taylor]

Looking to add xm radio to my 99 r/t, I really want one that is included in the head unit, I was using a little fm transmitter one in my c5 and it looks cheap having that sit next to head unit or sitting in the car with wires hanging out.

So does anyone have a flip out unit or just a updated stereo that has xm built in, that will fit a gen 2 car?


Best buy has told me no, and I'm not getting much searching online, I do not want to cut into the factory dash or placement of the car.

Im starting to think I might not be able to, maybe a depth issue.

- one more thing to, can someone that has updated the stock speakers please tell me what sizes I need to get for the car.

So far it's a 6" sub in waterfall or is that a 6.5", and then the tweeters? And the door speakers?


Thanks

Mike

[whitebeard]

Car speaker fit guide - DODGE VIPER 1999


http://www.factorychryslerparts.com/...4865432AA.html

I'm still working on the audio system, but you can install an aftermarket and not cut the factory cables. I've used products from Metra out of Florida (plastic ring adapters and brackets) to fit an audio head with more options in it. Same for factory speakers too. This will allow you return the car to factory when selling it if you did the upgrade. It is my recollection the head was an Alipine, but I don't think in 99 it had an option for XM. I am trying to find my factory books on it. I'm trying to call one of my old colleagues who is still in business on a factory replacement head option in case I can't find something locally.

Second option is to look for a replacement dash trim. Do the changes on that and keep OE aside in the garage.

[ViperGTS]

I once checked out an RT/10 in Chicago area which was for sale...well, besides that the car maintenance history was a nightmare (eg brake fluid was like tar...) the owner proudly presented me the upgraded stereo system for a zillion of $$$ in the RT/10!

Not that I would hear anything of the stereo when top down and at speed...but, the owner also put on an open exhaust after the stereo upgrade and was now complaining that he cant hear the music from the supadupa stereo anymore

[BlackSnake99]

A good stereo in a Gen II is as useful as tits on a billy goat.



Can I say that here?

[sparkrn]

All I need to hear from mine comes out the rear pipes

[crackleking]

I agree. I never really use my radio or put a cd in. I love the sound that comes out of the exhaust. SWEET MUSIC!!

[MoparBoyy]

All I need to hear from mine comes out the rear pipes

truth, haven't turned the radio on in months.

[HPmopars]

Just about any normal single din size flip out will fit with out cutting the dash. There is plenty of depth. I have an older Alpine flip out with XM that I installed years ago when I upgraded my whole system, and everything still works great!

[Bugman Jeff]

The biggest problem with replacing the head unit is that the amp cable is a DIN style, and obsolete. With some digging you can find an adapter, but no stereo place will have one on the shelf. You'll likely have to splice the radio radio plug too. The factory amp isn't the greatest either. Many modern head units put out as much power, with better sound quality, so you're often better off replacing the whole system. Don't overlook the speakers too, the factory ones are pretty bad.

[whitebeard]

Yes the amp cable is a proprietary set up. Usually all are depending on the manufacturer. Back in the day I had cables to replace all of this, but I closed shop in 99, so my access to them is non existent. I'm trying to see if those still in the field still have something sitting on the shelf under a bunch of dust(at this time). It's a long shot but there is nothing to lose yet.

[Leslie]

I have an aftermarket stereo in my 2001, I had to trim the dash a bit to get it to fit though. It has xm.

To be honest I had it all installed a few yrs. ago and never use it. I had a huge system and took the subwoofer and amp out because I track my car and just never put it all back in haha. The unit and speakers are still in though.

[Taylor]

Thanks for the help guys, and yes I plan on replacing all speakers and head unit.

My wife was going to surprise me for Christmas with a new radio but she was told by best buy that you cannot get xm radio for vipers, I did not believe that,.so I started this thread

[GGoody]

Here's a shot of mine. It's a Kenwood with built in Satellite Radio.
IMG_2409.jpg

[1997Viper]

A bit old of a thread but thought I would offer up one tip that helped on swapping out the radio without chopping into the wiring harness... After searching to no avail for a connector for the Alpine connector, I purchased a take-out Alpine unit that was worn, disassembled it for the connector on the back of the unit. I soldered wires to the connector (from an Alpine Head Unit) to the universal connector that can with and mated to the new single din head unit. Its worked for years and factory alpine can swap back in as no wires cut.

[dmerkle]

I'm currently doing the stereo upgrade on my 2000 RT/10. I was able to find an 8 pin female DIN connector that fits the original DIN cable, but soldering 8 lines on a connector it is not for the amateur. I gave up and cut off the factory DIN connector, turns out there is a 12" extension DIN cable which services the factory head unit that could easily be replaced from a place like Scharf. I didn't go the XM route, but I'm assuming XM still relies on the stock antenna, which relies on the stock antenna, which relies on the stock antenna amp. AKA, lesson I learned is buy an aftermarket head unit that has 2 remote power outputs, one for your amp & one for your antenna amp.

[Luisv]

You can also leave the stock head unit in and go with an external satellite radio. I put an iPod into my Gen 2 using the Alpine head unit. I had done the write up before but re-did here.

http://driveviper.com/forums/threads...8802#post18802

[My98RT10]

I just finished the upgrade of the Stereo System in my RT/10. Basically, I replaced everything: head unit, amp and Speakers. I did not cut into any of the factory cables/connectors. I actually kept using the factory DIN cable as well as the Speaker cables. I think the creation of the required DIN adaptor is not a big thing if you have the adequate soldering Tools and a Little bit of experience.

Here's a Picture of the DIN Adapter I had to create twice for both Ends:



Here's how I connected the power cables from my new headunit to the factory connector. I soldered just a short Piece of normal solid cable that you normally use in your house for electrical installations to the cables of the harness of the new head unit. After some sanding I just inserted These into the connector. They sit very tight, just right. With this method, I am sure you can easily connect any type of head unit to the factory connector.





And here's my new head unit:

[dmerkle]

Looks like a great fit 98RT10, good choice of illumination too.
From the picture it looks like you didn't run anything from the ANT connection of the car harness into your new HU, correct?
If that's correct, how are you able to pull off radio reception?

[My98RT10]

... From the picture it looks like you didn't run anything from the ANT connection of the car harness into your new HU, correct? ...

No, the previous pictures just don't show it. Connecting the stock antenna cable (male antenna plug) to my new headunit was plug&play, as the Sony radio came with the right female antenna connector.

Here you can see the stock antenna cable/connector:

[dmerkle]

Mmmm, I think we're on different pages.
So on the "square" harness, pin 9 is dedicated to "ANT", which I believe is a 12V send to the antenna amplifier.
The seperate antenna cable in your picture just carries the amplified "data" I believe.
My new aftermarket HU is only picking up one station and I'm guessing it's because I don't have a power line to run to the antenna amp.
The only remote power line it came with I'm using to run to the speaker amp.
I'm debating using the "Add-a-circuit" (Oreillys) to tap into fuse 3 on the fuse block.
My concern is the amperage, it looks like that fuse runs the wiper control, the washer fluid pump, and the electronic locks.
Granted I'm never using the wipers, washer fluid, or the electronic locks when the car is on...
Schematic.JPGStereo.jpg Fuse 3.JPG

[My98RT10]

Ok, now I know what you mean. I think I have not connected that one as my new head unit has not such connection either. When I tested the new radio after installation I did have radio reception and could listen to all stations I usually listen to in even better quality (I believe). Since everything seemed to work, I did not bother any further with the radio and its connections. However, I have to admit that I never tested AM reception, only FM. I am scratching my head now.....

In my previous cars the antenna amplifier was provided with 12V by ignition on, never directly from the radio. Looking at the wiring diagram, it seems to be different here, I don't see any other 12V connection than the one to/from the radio.

As for the amperage: since radio signals are very low Level, I don't think, that the antenna amp will pull that much current (I don't remember, if this cable in the OEM harness was any bigger than the others, indicating more power transmitted over it). Maybe it would be an option to just connect this line also to the remote connection for the power amp. I have currently 3 devices connected to the remote of my HU, 1 digital pre-amp and two power amps and no issues at all.

I am curious what you'll find out Thanks.

[My98RT10]

Now I had to check this out.

I removed the knee bolster on the driver's side to access the antenna amp. I provided 12V to it via fuse 4 (radio fuse) shown on the wiring diagram. However, I noticed only a very little improvement of reception for FM and none for AM. If you (dmerkle) wouldn't have brought this up, I would not have noticed that I forgot to power the antenna amp.

But it may look different with any other headunit. I think the difference pretty much depends on the quality of the radio tuner in the headunit. Although I am using quite an old headunit (Sony CDX-C910) it is of very good (sound) quality even compared to today's top radios.

[dmerkle]

Interesting, especially good to know that it didn't blow the 7.5 amp fuse with both the radio AND the antenna amp running simultaneously.
After some testing, I decided to redo my harness so I haven't got to experiment yet with the antenna amp.
I plan on just splicing off of the speaker amp remote line to power the antenna amp.

As for the speakers question originally asked...
The stock door grill is 6.5" in diameter though the stock speaker is more like an actual 5" cone with a frame around it to fit the grill.
Mounting depth is 2 1/8".
The tweeter is 1 13/16" in diameter and 9/16" deep (not the actual speaker size, measurements includes the grill/frame).
Tweeter grill would have to be ruined to remove it from the speaker.

I'm looking at the JL C2-600cw 6" component woofer in hopes that I'll be able to use it with the stock grill.
As for the the tweeters, I'm thinking JL's C2-075ct.
The subwoofer was already aftermarket on mine, a Kicker F6.5C, so yes, it's a 6.5" waterfall woofer.

[My98RT10]

Hi,

As for the door Speakers (mainly the woofers), I also did quite some Research to find a high Quality component System that will fit without any modification of the Panels. It is not easy and as mentioned before, most 6.5" woofers will not fit for a couple of reasons:

a. they usually require a larger cut out Diameter
b. the stock grill will no longer fit the new woofer
c. the new grill coming with the new woofer will not fit flush and would have to be mounted "on top" of the door Panel which usually creates an issue when closing the door as it will hit the side of the knee bolsters

I found the following Systems, that should fit the Gen 2 stock Speaker Location (doors):

- Alpine SPX-17PRO (little modifications required, either slight enlargement of the cut out opening or usage of an adapter ring)
- Kicker QS60.2 (drop in)
- JL Audio C3-600 (drop in)

The Alpine is a 6.5" System with a significantly smaller basket Diameter (unusual for a 6,5" System). The other 2 Systems are 6.0" Systems and should just drop in.

I ended up installing an Alpine SPX-177R which is a predecessor of the SPX-17PRO but with the same cut out Diameter. Unfortunately, it has a higher depth which I overlooked so it hit the window glass in the door (when lowered). I had to create Adapter rings to reduce the Installation depth. But I could still install it flush enough to not hit the knee bolster when closing the door.



I could also use the new grill but without the frame. The neat Thing was, that the meshed metal Piece fits perfectly the OEM Location and snaps right in. Also, I think it looks much better compared to the stock grill.



As for the subwoofer, I finally had to conclude that the waterfall solution will never provide satisfactory bass. So I ended up in creating my own footwell Sub, which to my mind is the only Option for the Roadster. Again, I did quite some Research picking the right woofer for the Job, based on the enclosure volume I could realize. I went for a high class 8" woofer from Wavecor (SW223BD01), aluminum basket, aluminum cone and perfect Thiele Small Parameters for small volumes of approx. 10 Liters.

Here's the end product (it sounds much better than it Looks, LOL):

]

[dmerkle]

So with the weather warming up in the midwest I finally got back to this project. I was able splice off of the speaker amp remote line from my head unit harness and send that to the antenna amp and BAM, instantly gained access to stations that I was no close to receiving before.