Hey fella's,

Just purchased a '95 dakota. The guy that owned it before me had an aftermarket sound system in it but kept it when he sold the truck to me. However, he just put the stock one back in, but did not hook anything up. I just want to know how to fully access the back of it to get it hooked up. Im thinking just pull the screws of the dash plate, pull it off, and then be able to access the radio. Correct? Any help appreciated.

Thanks!

 

You need to remove all the screws that are around the wood trim face plate. You may need to remove the lower plastic panel under the steering wheel. Then unbolt the radio and pull it out. If you need more info check the FAQ for service manuals.

 

you do have to remove the little kick panel under the steering wheel as there are 2 screws holding the dash panel on behind it. theres 2 screws on the bottom of the kick panel. as for the dash panel, theres 10 screws in total, 4 on the left side, and 4 on the right side, and 2 under the kick panel like i described. once those are removed, you may want to shift the truck into 1st (if its an automatic), it makes it easier to pull the panel out, it can be kind of a PITA. but once your in there, theres only 2 screws holding the HU in. extremely easy (ive had to do it like 20 million times on my truck now.. going for 20 million and 1 soon lol).

the only hard part is finding the wires. after you find your constant wire, your accessory wire, and your ground, take a AA battery and start touching wires together until you hear a scratching sound in the speaker, then you know which speaker you have found

 

Sounds like the PO just hacked the wires off factory plug. I don't understand why people don't spend a couple bucks for the wire adapter. Factory radio pops in like it was never out that way.

 

Most likely because they figure they will never get rid of the vehicle or that they'll never need to put the factory radio back in.

For the $5 extra dollars and a little solder, I always get the adapter. It just looks finished that way. IMO

 

I got the panel and kick panel pulled, pulled out the radio and luckily the factory connectors were fine and already connected to the radio, but the ground and antenna werent. SO after hooking the ground and antenna back on, it still wouldnt work. So i did some head scratchin and figured I'd check the fuse thats under the hood, that was the problem. After replacing that, the radio clicked right on. Now if I could just find some speakers...

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

i just hacked the wires, i found it easier. and some of us are cheap =P. but really, i figure, that if im gunna sell my truck, then i will at least leave the deck in. whats the point in taking your deck out? it came with one, why sell it without one?