I posted this question about a week ago. I cant be the only person who has installed an aftermarket radio. I replaced my stock radio with a Sony XAV 601BT. When my stock radio was on a "radio on" message would display along with the station number (97.9 ect.). This would display on the info screen in the instrument gauge cluster. Now the message reads "Radio off" whether the radio is on or off. Anyone else experience this?

 

What were you expecting? The new radio doesn't communicate with the truck, as far as the truck knows - there either is no radio or it is off.

 

It sounds like your new radio was installed without an aftermarket harness interface.....

There are numerous aftermarket companies like; Pac-audio, Metra, and Axxess that make harness adapters that will allow you to install an aftermarket head unit without splicing wires and allowing it to talk with the car. It will allow your steering wheel controls, and communicate with other systems in the vehicle like you mention.

if you have a 2013... you're out of luck. The aftermarket companies haven't developed an interface harness yet......

 

My truck is a 2009. I cant remember which adapter I got, I think it was metra. No wires cut, everything matched color wise. I knew the stations wouldnt show up but I didnt know if, with the adapter, the radio on/off message should show up.

 

with a properly installed harness, any aftermarket radio will run with all controls functioning the way it was designed.

The problem with these new vehicles, is there are a lot of things that communicate through the deck. So the harness has to trick the truck to thinking certain things are working, and also route other functions through it. If you don't have a harness that does that correctly, your gonna have problems.

I have seen many aftermarket radios installed in the new rams, that means 2011s and 2012s. (nothing for the 13s yet as another user stated) They all function just like they were designed, those that had steering wheel controls had full control as well.

Now I have no idea how good/bad metra is because I have never used them. I know an installer and he swears by pac audio. I think he maybe has only but a few customers come back with issues, but I think it was all in deck settings, nothing to do with the harness.

My guess is it could be an improperly matched harness, or just the simple fact that metra is not up to the same standards as pac. But AGAIN I have never seen metra installed so I am just basing it all on assumptions.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll keep an eye on it