Delco CD Changer Install
by Steve Sochacki
96 DGGM - MISSL
If you have a 1995-1996 radio with the cassette player only (P/N 12370249 UL0 AM/FM Cassette
w/SCV and CD Changer Controls), it is relatively painless to add a CD-changer, and allow the stock
head unit to control it. The CD player radio will not control the CD changer. Also, '94 radios were
different and cannot control a CD changer.
If you are looking to buy a changer, contact World Parts or call Speedometer Services (ask for Hamp) in Georgia (1-800-241-2385) to get the stock factory changer for dealer cost (currently about $440). You wil need: P/N 12343958 ($400.00), 12-Disc CD Changer for UL0 Radio and P/N 12344015 ($40.00), Wiring Harness for 12-Disc changer / UL0). Dealer retail is over $800 and the best price I could get locally was $579 just for the changer. The connectors (harness) wire right into the stock radio with very little pain.
The first step is to decide where to place the unit in the trunk. It seems the two most common places are on the floor of the trunk off to one side or hang it from the rear deck lid. If you decide to hang it from the rear deck lid your obvious choice is the passenger side. This is because the trunk light is in the way if you want to hang it from the driver's side. I chose the passenger side and since I added a second trunk light on the passenger side, I had to fabricate two brackets to mount it deeper into the trunk behind the extra trunk light.
After you have decided where to mount it, you need to go inside the car. Remove the bottom part of the back seat. Get inside the car facing the rear of the car. Push in the bottom of the rear seat and lift at
the same time to release it from the brackets. This has to be done on both sides. Seems back seats have been
coming out this way for years. Then slide your seat belt buckets through the slots in the seat to remove it from the car. The back part of the rear seat is held in by two torx bolts where the seat belts attach to the
floor pan; one on each side. Once the bolts are removed the other part of the back seat comes out.
You can then choose which side of the car you want to run the cable to the radio. Since I mounted my
player on the passenger side, I chose to route it along that side. Fish the cable from the trunk to the back seat area. Looks like there are a couple of holes/gaps to do this in. I chose the lowest one closest to the outside of the car. A heavy rubber sleeve shields the cable so it shouldn't chafe the wires for a while.
Remove the plastic sill plate from the right rear doorframe. Remove the plastic trim piece that runs up from the floor along side the back seat. Carefully lift the carpet and you will see a "channel" for running
wires from the rear to the front of the car. Remove the plastic sill plate from the right passenger side
doorframe. You'll see a continuation of this channel. Remove the side panel type piece of trim which runs
from the floor to the bottom of the glove box. I left the piece of trim on that separates the front and back
doors and holds the seat belt. The channel that runs from the back door to the front door turns into a "tunnel" at this point. It's kind of a pain, but with a little patience, fish the cable through.
Now it's time to work on the dash and there is no better directions than Ed Runnion's on the Cheek tech page, cleverly disguised as ''Installing the Wagon Switch Module''. I followed them and didn't have any problems whatsoever. I've copied them here for easier reading.
1. First you must remove the dash. Start by opening the glovebox, ashtray, and driver's door, and
remove the fuse panel cover.
2. Remove the four screws holding in the ashtray. Pull it out, and unplug the light.
3. Remove the black bezel around the speedo cluster. It is two screws pointed up, then pull it out to
disengage it from the "prongs" holding it to the grey plastic below.
4. Remove the following screws:
1.One on the left side beneath the bezel removed in step 3.
2.Similar screw in the "fuse panel" that is screwed into the side of the air vent
3.Total of 4 screws along the bottom of the dash pointed straight up.
4.One screw pointed straight up that is inside the "ashtray area" basically below the ride
side of the radio.
5. Now just YANK on the panel, it should come loose from the prongs holding it in and practically fall in
your lap! Installation is the reverse of removal.
The radio is held in by the two screws on the front; one on each side. Take these out and you can then slide the radio out. I fished the factory cable back behind the glovebox and over to the radio. You
will see a place for the factory cable to into the back of the radio. It is on the bottom right when looking at
the back of the radio. Plug it in and test it out before putting anything back together. After I mounted my
radio back in, I pulled all the slack out of the cable, zip tied it in the trunk and tucked it behind the spare.
Now re-install the dash and ashtray.
All in all it took me 4-6 hours because I had to fashion and paint some brackets to mount mine away from the second trunk light. I'd guess it's a 2-4 hour job otherwise.