Hi, im a new LS owner, i have a 2005. I have terrible reception for my radio, should i get a new antenna? will than help? i live in the inner city and all my previous cars had no problems with reception? is this a common problem with the ls? and i was also thinking about installing a new stereo, but when i went to circuit city some guy working there told me her would have to rewire the whole car just to put in a 100 dollar detachable faceplate in polace of the factory single cd player w/ tape deck. i reallyw ant a new stereo but will settle for a new antenna if you think that will improve my radio reception let me know. also, if anyone has had a new radio installed, where can i get the dash kit and did it cost you to have the car rewired...i could go to best buy and buy a radio and have it installed for an extra 50 bucks, plus 10 for new wires i would need and 20 for the dash kit.... any feedback would be great! also, anyone know of any good touch screena s with dvd, cd, at a good price? thanks!
looking to install new stereo for 05' LS
- Thread starter MartaB
- Start date
rickztahone
Dedicated LVC Member
my cousin got a clarion touchscreen dvd playback and it's a good flip-out indash. it only cost about 500 bucks. i recommend it, but once you hook up an aftermarket deck i believe you lose your rear door speakers. i don't know
That guy is a moron. Don't let him look at your car, let alone touch it. We've had plenty of members install aftermarket stereos without rewiring the whole car, and I'm sure one of them will chime in eventually; in the mean time, there are lots of threads on this, so if you search, you might find something useful.
The antenna is built into the rear glass, so I'd check the connection between the glass and the antenna lead, then check the head unit and make sure the antenna lead is plugged into it. I'd also look to see if there's an FM adapter (the kind used for CD changers, etc) plugged in between the antenna and head unit; it's possible that one of those could cause reception problems.
im def gonna check the leads out
i knew the guy saying he had to rewire was an idiot, i will be visiting a stereo install shop so i can really find out what its gonna cost, i would rather not buy a new radio if i didnt have to, but my heart tells me the car would look so much hotter with a new one, thats why i figured i could get a single disc cd player for like a hundred +, because my radio has a tape deck, which is completely useless these days, but i didnt want to pay big bucks for the installation. I also have some new speakers i could have put in, i just cant beleive the car could have such bad radio reception, hopefully if i check all the connections i will get it to be better because it needs major improvemnet.
anyone know if u add a new antenna does it improve the reception any if im still having problems, thanks! and i was looking at the kind that you dont have to drill a hole in the car for, i think it was a suction cup antenna or a magnet? are they worth it, will they fall off?
i knew the guy saying he had to rewire was an idiot, i will be visiting a stereo install shop so i can really find out what its gonna cost, i would rather not buy a new radio if i didnt have to, but my heart tells me the car would look so much hotter with a new one, thats why i figured i could get a single disc cd player for like a hundred +, because my radio has a tape deck, which is completely useless these days, but i didnt want to pay big bucks for the installation. I also have some new speakers i could have put in, i just cant beleive the car could have such bad radio reception, hopefully if i check all the connections i will get it to be better because it needs major improvemnet.
anyone know if u add a new antenna does it improve the reception any if im still having problems, thanks! and i was looking at the kind that you dont have to drill a hole in the car for, i think it was a suction cup antenna or a magnet? are they worth it, will they fall off?
Mexican3001
Car audio guru
I would not trust that persons opinion;I used to be an installer, he probably assumed you had some type of "premium" system in your card and wanted to charge you a whole lot to rewire, but you only need the wire harness and dash kit, i believe they changed the antenna style from a universal in the gen 1's to a ford specific or IIRC a Chrysler antenna which will require an adapter to a universal fit for an after-market radio. i would make sure if you go to a shop check the reputation of them, do remember sound shops don't always give you the best deal, although they make it seem that way, and they might not always do the job right; i would suggest trying to do it yourself. to make the job easier go to circuit city ask for a ford harness 03 and up and get a smart harness for the radio brand your looking to install, then you just plug in the two harnesses and your set.