2004-2005 Saturn Ion & Vue MP3 Radio in 2000-2002 Saturn S-Series

[DracoAzule]

You think your radio is impressive, I have a Pioneer X930BT in my 04 ION. Built in bluetooth, DVD, SD card slot, GPS, touch screen, and USB.

[ruley73]

Your point??? I took a radio from a newer, completely different Saturn (2004 ION) and installed it into this older one (2000 SC2). It is a Saturn factory radio, but not a simple plug & play swap. Anybody can install an aftermarket radio, but this one retains that factory-installed look that deters thieves. This radio cost me $42.50 - a fraction of what yours probably did. My intent was only to show people how to use the radio and not to gloat about the obviously limited features it does have.

[DracoAzule]

@ruley73 You can go to Walmart and get a cheap yet still decent aftermarket deck with more features for about that same price range. Yes, mine was about $600. But I deliver pizzas - in my line of work when you're on the road a lot you come to appreciate features like bluetooth, GPS, and backup camera. Sure, you had to shave off some plastic. But I still wouldn't have paid that much and put so much effort into a sorely outdated system.

[ruley73]

@DracoAzule By the time I buy a radio that is decent quality and has what I would want (a good built-in EQ, USB, aux input), the wiring harness (which Wal-Mart doesn't sell for my car) and the mounting kit; I'm already well over $100 and probably closer to the $150-$175 range - far more than $42.50. Also, the radio I used actually puts more power than yours 14w RMS/ch (yours) vs 20w RMS/ch (mine); both ratings at 1% THD.

[DracoAzule]

@ruley73 Well I don't actually have a system hooked to mine. I'm just using the stock speakers. They sound good enough for me already and I don't feel like dropping even more cash just so I can ruin my ears even worse lol

And you don't actually NEED wiring harnesses. They make it easier, sure, but on most cars, especially Saturns (mine is an 04 ION) the wire colors are industry standard so all you gonna do is cut and splice, matching up the colors as you go along.

[ruley73]

@DracoAzule Car makers don't use the EIA standard color codes that the aftermarket radios use. They use whatever they want. You must've removed a base AM/FM radio or single disc CD player that had the pocket. Both of these use an intermediate harness that connects between the car's harness and the back of the radio. That harness does use the EIA standard. Most factory radios don't use a harness like this. Sounds like this is the harness you hacked - not the car's harness.

[DracoAzule]

@ruley73 Not really sure actually. I bought the car wrecked off Craigslist and fixed it up. It came with a stock radio but it was in the floorboard. It was broken anyways so I tossed it, and used the wiring the guy gave me with it.

[DracoAzule]

@ruley73 He had another aftermarket radio in it but it belonged to his brother so he had to take it out, and gave me the wire harness he had attached to it. I've had two aftermarket radios in my car and both of them have worked with that harness with almost the same wiring config. But I'm not really an expert on the matter. It's something that interests me though.

[ruley73]

@DracoAzule My intent was just to make 2000-2002 Saturn S-Series owners aware of a cheaper option which gives them the ability to play MP3 files burned onto CDs and keeps the factory look; as well as show them how to use this radio. Many people like myself don't like the flashy look or complexity of aftermarket radios, and don't want to worry about it getting stolen. If you are happy with your feature-packed radio that's fine, but it is a moot point with regard to my video.

[DracoAzule]

@ruley73 I actually thought they could play MP3 discs. I used to have an old 98 SC2 and used the stock deck the whole time I had it, and it played all my MP3 discs just fine. They must have changed it in the newer models. Oh well.

And I'm sure you know this but a lot of aftermarket decks have anti theft features. You can usually pop the face plate off them. On mine I have a password set if the power becomes disconnected and the controll panel pops off.

[ruley73]

@DracoAzule The first car radios that could play MP3 files didn't come out until 2000. Your '98 SC2 factory CD player was playing regular CDs. The MP3 files were converted to regular CD tracks during the burning process. With this method you are limited to 80 minutes of music; usually around 20-30 songs. MP3 CDs have the actual MP3 files burned on to them, and the files are decoded with the device they are played in. I can usually fit about 130 MP3s encoded at 192kbps on one disc.

[DracoAzule]

@ruley73 Well I eventually started putting my MP3's on my PSP and using a car charger/fm adapter I got for it to listen to my music through my FM radio. Really amazing devices when you think about it. Now I just play my music over bluetooth when I'm not listening to regular FM

[DracoAzule]

@ruley73 Also my radio wasn't exactly plug and play either lol...I had to get a mounting adapter for my car. I could have gotten a proper wiring harness adapter for it but I just decided to use the stock harness and splice the wires. Then I had to install the mic for the bluetooth, the GPS antenna, and the hardest part of all was ripping up all the trim on the passenger side of the car so I could cleanly run all the lines for the camera I mounted on my license plate.

[MrKellzSwagg]

How do you put a new stereo with a cd player in a 200 saturn because i got a tape player

[DracoAzule]

@MrKellzSwagg It's not that hard you just have to pull off the front part of the dash to get to the bolts, and most of that part of the dash just snaps on and off.. The more complicated part will be actually hooking in the new radio. But most of the time the wires are standard colors so it's just a matter of matching the colors on the wires.

[shalamarie83]

Man your car is pimped out! I wish I had your ride. You da bomb.