let me get this straight does the GMRC-04 work with the bonnevilles that have the ribbon cable connection??? because an installer had told me I need the GMOS-05 I am confused on which one to go with, I trust you guy way more than the installer!

it depends of the car is equipped with ONstar or not i believe

well i know positively if you have a 00-05 with no bose or onstar system then you need the GMRC-04 but if you do not have that equipped ( dont quote me just call metra ) i think you might need that GMOS

Okay the best I can figure the GMRC stands for GM receiver and the GMOS stands for GM onstar. The ribbon cable has to have that kind of harness. It is the only one that will work proper. You don not have to run new power or speaker connection. Crutchfield told me I would but then I just made a call to metra and they hooked me up.

The GMOS-05 is prolly for the onstar systems but the GMRC is for the plain ol cd player, tape deck combo, or just the tape deck. Just be warned it is a tight fit and make sure to get the proper install kit. Go to a qualified audio shop and get that, don't do like I did and settle for wal-mart. You'll be sadly disappointed with the fit and finish, I am going to redo my dash install.

Adding a aftermarket head unit really seems to make the amplified speakers come to life.


Peace,
Tim (bonnevillemac)

so if i understand you correctly my car has bose sound but not onstar and the ribbon cable plug so i should use the GMRC-04 right
Thanks for the help

the specs for the GMRC-04 says that it retains onstar too. The only difference I see between the GM0S and the GMRC series is that the GMOS have RCA inputs for connections. the GMRC series does not. I'm really confused with what to go with too! I want to retain my steering wheel controls. The GMRC doesn't say it does that, but the GMOS does. argh. The GMOS also says it controls the BOSE amp, GMRC does not.

Does the radio or speaker grills say Bose?? If not I don't think it'* a Bose system.
From what I've gathered the 00 to 04 family will use the same ribbon cable harness.
The dock and lock radio also. Maybe the differnece between the GMOS and GMRC is the RCA'*, I'm not sure. I just know the harness I got from crutchfield was the GMOS and it had the two pin Onstar connector. The one I got from lafayette radio is the GMRC and it has no onstar connector. Maybe a little further investigative action would be necessary??..!! My car has no onstar and no steering wheel controls and the GMRC04 is the one I used and it worked fine.

Peace,
Tim

so your car has the ribbon cable harness and the GMRC04 was the one you used (my car has steering wheel controls no onstar and the radio display says bose when you first start the car)

yeah thats pretty much me. the GMRC-04 was the one I needed. With you having the onstar and bose It should still work for you though just give metra a call and they will tell you.

ok, as long as all the ribbon cables are exactly the same I should be safe. I don't care if I keep onstar or not because i'll be ripping out the box in the trunk anyways. (onstar control box.) I just want to make sure I keep my steering wheel controls and retained accessory power. I put a post on www.metraonline.com to see which adapter is appropriate. still waiting on a reply.