New Head Unit?

[khisel]

I have a 2006 w/Harman Kardon system. The car is still great with low mileage but I'd like to upgrade the head unit. Does anyone have any experience with this? I ask because I did the same with my 2000 Lesabre and apparently some of the HVAC circuitry lives in the stereo and I lost the dual climate control. That wasn't a big deal (annoying but liveable) but I am concerned that GM has done the same on the Lucerne and I could lose something more substantial by swapping out the old-timey stereo.

Any thoughts?

 

[jaymu104]

I would love to know also cause I just bought one yesterday and want to yank system out now

 

[91gslee]

Ok, I've got to Chime in, I too have an 06, cxl, love the car, hated the sound system, yanked everything out, each speaker and changed to an Alpine bt265, very very nice head unit, with Alpine MRV 300 amp and a kenwood amp for a single sub. After lots of research and work swapping it all out, it was realitivly easy. I have lots of pointers and advise for anyone with questions. I used to work in the stereo install industry long ago so this stuff is actually quite fun for me and with working ony own cars I do each step with extreme care and pride. At the end of the project you will be quite pleased with the changes. Unless you have the Harmon Kardon unit these stereos aren't that good, let me rephrase that, it's mainly the speakers that suck, have the exact same stereo in a colbalt that all I did was a total speaker change and it sounds really good. Just limited features. Any questions please give me a buzz!

 

[nil2thebrain]

Ok, I've got to Chime in, I too have an 06, cxl, love the car, hated the sound system, yanked everything out, each speaker and changed to an Alpine bt265, very very nice head unit, with Alpine MRV 300 amp and a kenwood amp for a single sub. After lots of research and work swapping it all out, it was realitivly easy. I have lots of pointers and advise for anyone with questions. I used to work in the stereo install industry long ago so this stuff is actually quite fun for me and with working ony own cars I do each step with extreme care and pride. At the end of the project you will be quite pleased with the changes. Unless you have the Harmon Kardon unit these stereos aren't that good, let me rephrase that, it's mainly the speakers that suck, have the exact same stereo in a colbalt that all I did was a total speaker change and it sounds really good. Just limited features. Any questions please give me a buzz!

Can I connect an oem navigation radio from another Lucerne that isn’t a Harmon Kardon? From a 2006 Buick Lucerne to another Buick Lucerne 2006. Though not Harmon Kardon. Please help!

 

[2007LucerneCXL]

The radio can be swapped from same year to year no problem, but unless it's been wiped / reset to new install it will be a trip to the dealer to have match your car ID. If you have a stock radio and want to upgrade to a sat nav stock Lucerne that can also be done but it requires pulling the dash apart to install the satellite navigation antenna in. The problem comes in when you try to mix different years and or other GM models as other components start to get into the mix. Check that the radio part# was used in that year(s) and you should be good. As far as a HK system I'm not sure what the control would be on a stock sat/nav VS a HK unit due to the addtional speakers, center and rear doors, so maybe someone who has a HK OEM can answer that. Yes the stock oem non HK speakers are junk LOL.

 

[ironllama]

My two front speakers stopped working. I went to salvage yard, got two used speakers from another lucerne, and those didnt work. So now I have 4 speakers that either don't work, or it's a wiring issue in the harness or head unit issue.

 

[2007LucerneCXL]

To find 4 non working speakers is pretty high, not impossible, but high. Is it a stock or aftermarket, the reason is if it's aftermarket check the interface cables and make sure that they are secure. If factory it's the same thing as making sure that the wiring harness is mounted. If you have a simple continuity tester you can check both ends + & - of each speaker wire to harness radio end to see if they are shorted. If the pillars aren't still working then it's more than likely the head unit if all wiring harness are working properly. If it's a HK system hopefully someone else has had experience with them.

 

[Punarni Pumper]

Hey dude , I recently switched out my head unit , and after running all my amp wires rcas and wiring up a 20$ harness of eBay, I had no sound in my interior speakers , do I have to use a special harness for this car bc of the remote controls on the wheel or the Mostar or something. I read something about chime too. I’m trying to hook up a pioneer double sim head unit. Any tips would be great

 

[2007LucerneCXL]

I suspect it would be the interface harness is the problem so check Crutchfield.com as they have recommended GM Lucerne interface cables to aftermarket radios. These will retain the steering wheel control, chimes, speakers and power.

Note there are two different interface harness one for the base radio and another for Harman Kardon system, I'll assume you had the base radio. Another tip is confirm what the wires on the interface harness and the head unit do as sometimes the colors on the two don't always match to the actual function.

 

[century61]

Hey dude , I recently switched out my head unit , and after running all my amp wires rcas and wiring up a 20$ harness of eBay, I had no sound in my interior speakers , do I have to use a special harness for this car bc of the remote controls on the wheel or the Mostar or something. I read something about chime too. I’m trying to hook up a pioneer double sim head unit. Any tips would be great

Hey, I just completed this on my GF's 2007 Lucerne 🙂

The wiring in the door and pillar speakers is funky. Buick has the tweeters connected to the door speaker wiring but reverse polarity. So, I ran separate wiring for the pillar tweeters but kept the original door speaker wiring intact. The speaker cable for the tweeters runs down the pillars and across the top of the dash just under the top. Then splices into the door speaker wires. I also noticed that the color code for the door speakers where correct in the doors but different colors at the GM radio connector. Took a bit of tracing to find the correct pinout for the door speakers but not too bad.

I also have a Pioneer double din head unit - The DMH-2660NEX.

The only connector you use is the 14 pin one that plugged into the OEM radio. There is a 16pin and I left that alone.
Steering wheel controls I used the PAC module. Its very simple and just works. Set the dip switches and connect the wires. Done. As for chimes, I do not care about them as the module for that is too pricey for me.

 

[G-418185]

Ok, I've got to Chime in, I too have an 06, cxl, love the car, hated the sound system, yanked everything out, each speaker and changed to an Alpine bt265, very very nice head unit, with Alpine MRV 300 amp and a kenwood amp for a single sub. After lots of research and work swapping it all out, it was realitivly easy. I have lots of pointers and advise for anyone with questions. I used to work in the stereo install industry long ago so this stuff is actually quite fun for me and with working ony own cars I do each step with extreme care and pride. At the end of the project you will be quite pleased with the changes. Unless you have the Harmon Kardon unit these stereos aren't that good, let me rephrase that, it's mainly the speakers that suck, have the exact same stereo in a colbalt that all I did was a total speaker change and it sounds really good. Just limited features. Any questions please give me a buzz!

I have a 07 Buick Lucerne CXL my after market will not get power. I put factory back in and it plays. Returned it case I thought it was defective! Still the same issue. Wat am I doing wrong

 

[smooth12321]

Ok, I've got to Chime in, I too have an 06, cxl, love the car, hated the sound system, yanked everything out, each speaker and changed to an Alpine bt265, very very nice head unit, with Alpine MRV 300 amp and a kenwood amp for a single sub. After lots of research and work swapping it all out, it was realitivly easy. I have lots of pointers and advise for anyone with questions. I used to work in the stereo install industry long ago so this stuff is actually quite fun for me and with working ony own cars I do each step with extreme care and pride. At the end of the project you will be quite pleased with the changes. Unless you have the Harmon Kardon unit these stereos aren't that good, let me rephrase that, it's mainly the speakers that suck, have the exact same stereo in a colbalt that all I did was a total speaker change and it sounds really good. Just limited features. Any questions please give me a buzz!

Do I need an adapter to install an aftermarket deck and amp? I can't get a straight answer from anyone

 

[02LTD2.0]

For ease of installation an aftermarket harness adapter is the way to go!