EEngineer

My radio went bust I think.
I'm getting almost no sound to the speakers.
When i crank the sound to the loudest setting, I can hear very faint sound. This led me to think that the amplifier broke, so I got a replacement unit and plugged it in. Still the same problem.
So this probably means that my oem radio/stereo is broken.

I went ahead and ordered a kit and harness for an aftermarket double-din. I'm just wondering, since I have a cd changer in the trunk, are there any double-din units that supports the function of the oem cd-changer, or does the cd-changer become useless with any aftermarket deck?

thanks!

ErikTheRed

Would most likely not work, as most OEM units would use proprietary connectors to reduce costs of needing different cable for different setups across their lineup. Same would go for aftermarket, they want you to buy their add-on components. It may be possible for an adaptor cable to be made, but would likely need to have a fairly large base of people needing it to justify a company making it.

Power6

Headunit and changer are Pioneer right? It is probably likely that they used the same protocol to control the changer as their aftermarket stuff.

What are the chances any modern Pioneer deck still using the same changer control circa late 90s? Probably not high, do decks even support changers anymore?? Of course as mentioned above you'd have to re-wire to match whatever aftermarket plug.

Probably file this one under "not worth it" get a deck that takes and iPod/USB and have many changers worth of music in your glove box...

EEngineer

thanks for the input. i got another questions about the factory amp.
i was told i need to bypass the factory amp if i want to install an aftermarket deck. is that necessary?

Power6

You don't necessarily need to bypass the amp. The stock deck puts out a pre-amp signal to the amp, just like an aftermarket deck (through its RCAs) Not sure if every aftermarket deck would work (they have various levels of pre-outs 2-8V) but worth a try they make harnesses for this for many Toyotas with the external amp, plugs to the amp and has RCA inputs from your deck.

If you want to use the built in deck amp you would have to bypass the stock amp. That may be the easier way to go. Who is to say which is better, deck amps are nothing special just like the stock amp.