Hey people, long time Bonnie fan, I'm about to buy my second, 99 silver se. I have some questions on the radio though...It has factory tape player, with steering wheel controls.

If i bought a cd player for that car, would the steering controls work for it?

Do any of those radios come with, or is there some kind of adapter for RCA, for the amp?

Are there adaptors for aftermarket radios, that allow them to be controlled by steering wheel controls?

What kind of kit do i need to put in a regualr size radio if i need to?

Thanks very much, and help is greatly appreciated.!!

Probably not
Yes
I think so
Any audio store should be able to help you out.

That should help answer some questions. I'm not a audio guru, so I'm sure some others will chip in with their vastly superior knowledge.
Oh and welcome to the Club!

Have you considered getting a stock CD player stereo as a replacement?

Yeah welcome to the club, heres the link for an adapter, but it does have requirements that need to be met for the deck you are putting in,

http://www.virtualoutlook.net/Products/steer.htm

I don't know that much about it, and it works with a lot of cars. Your factory amps will not work with ANY aftermarket player, not well or good sounding, just pull it out, and then run new speaker wire, and get some nice 6x9'* for the back and a nice component set. If you amped those speakers you would be a very happy man. If you are thinking of adding subs later think about putting the wires for that down with the speaker wire for the backs if you decide to go that route.

no
you cna high level input it
no...some places say they can do it...but they charge a **** load and i dont htink they actually get it to work...unless your a wiring guru then maybe...
its called a mounting kit...walmart...target has htem...or a audio store...

hope it helps

No, it wouldn't work right away, you'd need to buy something else.

Yes, but make sure the aftermarket radio you get comes with a remote control.
I have an aftermarket deck (Kenwood Z828 Mp3) in my car, and my steering wheel controls still work.

There is a device you can get, that hooks upto the back of the buttons on the steering wheel, and allows them to mimic buttons on the remote. The device learns it'* commands, just like a learning remote for a TV/VCR, through IR. Once it'* programmed, it comes with a cord, like 6ft - 10ft long. Just place the end of the cord somewhere in "LINE OF SIGHT" to the IR on the new head unit. Sounds complex, it isn't really. A car audio shop should know exact models for you car, and shouldn't charge you more then an hour to install it.

I already showed the product up there, anyone worth their tools can put it in easy. How do you like the adapter merlin? Does it work nice? I'd have have to do the control fix for the buttons first, cause a couple don't work.

BonnieBoiMN,

Yea the controls work perfect (now)....
I had to program it twice, the first time I did it, some of the buttons didn't work too well.
I took my time when I programmed it the second time, that was last summer, and it'* been fine ever since.

There are only 2 things I notice about the adapter, first... when getting in the car in the morning, the first time you press a button on the steering wheel, it doesn't do anything. You press it again, and it works fine. I think it'* sorta like "turning it on" type thing. No real biggie. I say this only happens over night, it'* when the car has been sitting for many many hours.

Second, if direct really bright sunlight is hitting the head unit (IR port) the buttons sometimes don't work. I believe that'* because of the sun'* rays interfering, no biggie... only time it really happens is when I have the sunroof open and the sun is coming right in.

One good thing about the adapter, is once you have it programmed, it'* programmed. You don't have to worry about your battery dying or anything like that. While the car was in the body shop a few months ago, they had the battery disconnected for 3 days, and it remembered it'* settings. yay (Cause it would be a real pain to take the dash apart again to reprogram it.