I bought a factory AM/FM/CD/Cassette radio off of EBay to replace my factory AM/FM; Both are 2005 Silverado, and the swap-out was less than
10 minutes.
My problem now is the radio is ?locked?. I talked to the original owner and he said he didn?t get an ?unlock? code when he bought his truck. (I checked my paperwork and I didn?t get one either, so I guess GM doesn?t furnish the code on a card in the glovebox like Honda?)
I found instructions (for 2000 Pontiacs) for retrieving six digits out of the radio that you use when you call a number to get the unlock code, but it didn?t work for my radio.
you may have to check the dealership for the numbers and the programming instructions, or you may be able to google and get them.....If I am not mistaken I saw them on this newsgroup awhile back
Here's the unfortunate truth: These new radios (2003 and up, as far as I know) are keyed to the VIN of the vehicle that they came from. I don't know how this is done, but there is some way that the radio gets a copy of the VIN from the vehicle. It would then be compared against the one stored in the radio. If they don't match--you won't get anywhere with the new radio. Even if you do get the radio working, you may be in for another surprise...it may need further programming to work properly or at all with your vehicle.
I am not so sure *all* of the "new" radios do this and I believe that there may be a way to bypass it. (I say that because I have seen these radios running and working in pictures that show it to be nowhere near the vehicle it came out of. If anyone knows how this might be done, tell me and I'll give you an e-mail address. I have the radio from my '03 S-10 and would like to use it as a shop radio.)
There are some companies on the WWW that claim they can unlock some or all GM radios. I don't know how trustworthy any of them would be. You can also go to your dealer and explain what happened. Both methods will probably cost money and dealers may be extremely reluctant to touch the radio. In the end you may do better to install an aftermarket receiver. I did exactly that with my 2003 S-10 (had a CD player and I wanted tapes) and have been very happy ever since.
What are you going to do with the original AM/FM radio?
Sorry but there is NO code to unlock that radio. It has to be reprogrammed to read some digits in the VIN number of the vehicle in order to operate. Only a dealer can do it and your going to need proof that it isn't stolen before they will do anything.
Actually they will work out of the vehicle by using a test setup that sends the power on signal through a pin on the data bus connector. Then it is just wired up normally. Plans for one are probably online someplace. They still won't work in a vehicle though without being reprogrammed to the correct VIN.
"" wrote: > Hi! > > > Can anyone help on this? > > Here's the unfortunate truth: These new radios (2003 and up, > as far as I > know) are keyed to the VIN of the vehicle that they came from. > I don't know > how this is done, but there is some way that the radio gets a > copy of the > VIN from the vehicle. It would then be compared against the > one stored in > the radio. If they don't match--you won't get anywhere with > the new radio. > Even if you do get the radio working, you may be in for > another > surprise...it may need further programming to work properly or > at all with > your vehicle. > > I am not so sure *all* of the "new" radios do this and I > believe that there > may be a way to bypass it. (I say that because I have seen > these radios > running and working in pictures that show it to be nowhere > near the vehicle > it came out of. If anyone knows how this might be done, tell > me and I'll > give you an e-mail address. I have the radio from my '03 S-10 > and would like > to use it as a shop radio.) > > There are some companies on the WWW that claim they can unlock > some or all > GM radios. I don't know how trustworthy any of them would be. > You can also > go to your dealer and explain what happened. Both methods will > probably cost > money and dealers may be extremely reluctant to touch the > radio. In the end > you may do better to install an aftermarket receiver. I did > exactly that > with my 2003 S-10 (had a CD player and I wanted tapes) and > have been very > happy ever since. > > What are you going to do with the original AM/FM radio? > > William The Guesser
Ouch, not what I wanted to hear! Guess I?ll just have to go to a dealer and bite the bullet; Hopefully they?ll help me out.
If I get the AM/FM/CD/Cassette working, I?ll probably stick the AM/FM on Ebay; Doubt there?s much demand for it, though.
You *can* get the new "stock" radio to work. It's just likely to be time consuming and expensive. In the time it takes I'll bet you could install two or three aftermarket systems, maybe even with new speakers. (I chose to keep the factory speakers. See
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ifyou really care...)
I'd have an interest mainly to see what characters are present in that AM/FM only radio's flourescent display. Perhaps if you've got it handy you could shine a good strong light through the display window and tell me.
Its not just a code on the 03+ The radio now reads the vin from the BCM and if they don't match it locks. The dealer who removed the radio the OP bought should have cleared the vin so it would learn his when he plugged it in.
AFIAK the displays are different for each radio family with GM. The front bezel is different and the display size as well. Are you looking for a particular display? I might have one laying around.
I thought the security code is entered by the "owner" and is activated in that way. Or you don't set a code, it is a default code but I know the "owner enables the security option. it not set necessarily, from factory might be by the dealer (if high theft area?) nor does it read the cars VIN. You the owner, initiate it, if you read your owners manual, (don't have mine handy) don't you set it by pressing a button or combination of buttons on the radio, and Don't you enable it as you to give it the code you want, just like the old keyless entry on car doors used to work? (that code could be stored in the ECU I guess, but really doubt it).
so now when the key is turned off the radio locks itself, and displays the locked to supposedly deter theft. IF you blow a fuse to radio, or lose battery, radio is locked up and unusable. Again I didn't set mine, so unless you can unlock it with a code you gave it, or if you forget, you goto a dealer and pay 25-50 bucks? Oh! Looky here...
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It is kind of typical in some areas, owners turn on this feature... and then when car is salvaged it is locked (loss of battery power).
DallasRetro enlightened us with:
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"" wrote: > PlowBoy wrote > > > Careful you guys, this is a Dealer Myth IMHO... > > No it's not...many of the radios now do exactly > that. They are tied to the VIN, but can be reprogrammed > if necessary. > > Ian
The dealer told me that the truck is ?programmed? for the equiptment on it, and was told that if I bring it in, they will get the program from GM that will make the radio work.
Sounds plausible, but also questionable, and at this point I just want to get it to work. They said it?d take about an hour(?) to reprogram, but didn?t know what if any charge there would be. I?ll post the outcome Tuesday afternoon.
Oh, they did say I needed a receipt for the radio, and it needed to include the VIN of the vehicle it came out of; to keep them clear of legal problems, I suppose?
Your HO is wrong for the 03 and up. 02 and below your info about the owner programming a code is correct, but 03 and up they switched to reading the VIN from the BCM.
Nope, Not a dealer myth. Fact. The 2002 and up use a signal from the class 2 data buss to read the VIN coding inside the radio. If that number matches the vehicle VIN then the radio works, If not it locks up and doesn't work. No way for the owner to alter any of that, you need a dealer scan tool and the correct coding to alter the programming. The partial VIN is stored in the radios memory and is read by the vehicles computer. If that radio loses power or blows a fuse it is no big deal, when power is restored the radio will be scanned and work as it always did.
On the vehicles that had owner programmed codes, the owner could push a couple buttons and enter the code they got and give them to a dealer who would run them and then give them an unlock code. If this type radio loses power and locks up the above will work to unlock it.
My advice to people that believe the dealership is ripping them off somehow is to simply not go into the dealership and get your radio problem fixed elsewhere! And when you discover that you can't, then I would suggest the following mantra become an important part of your life: "I will not assume the dealership is ripping me off until I do more investigation and become more educated about my new vehicle.....becoming educated about my vehicle will not include listening to every wingnut on the internet spout unsubstantiated nonsense about dealerships and my vehicle in general".
A radio that doesn't require unlocking. Meaning if he'd done his homework and discovered the problem that would occur with this radio, and then bought an aftermarket product instead, then he wouldn't have had to take this radio to the dealer and get (according to some) "ripped off" to have it made to work in his vehicle.
Or maybe he meant to buy AFTER he went to the MARKET. Your choice.
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