Equinox Nav Radio Upgrade! (w/pics)

Doogie · November 11, 2009

I put a factory TNR in my Sierra and when we got the Equinox I wanted to put a factory navigation unit in it as well. So like I did with the Sierra I did a lot of Internet research on which radio would be compatible with my Equinox. Well guess what not much information at all. I joined several different forums beyond gm-trucks.com trying to find good solid information on how to do this upgrade.

I simply came up empty handed. I had nothing. Anything that I found on the web about putting a navigation radio in an Equinox was after market. In fact most people that posted about this mod said that the factory radio was not worth it at all. So I searched and found a radio on eBay that was from a 08 Pontiac Torrent. It’s the same platform so I thought it should work. My only concern with this was the Equinox did not have the upgraded Pioneer sound system with the subwoofer. With the radios that people put into the newer body style trucks (NBS) and SUVs there is much to confuse the issue with Bose and the premium Bose amplifiers. If you know anything about those trucks you need to do your home work on what you have verses what you need with doing this mod.

I made the purchase of the radio blind. Not sure at all if this radio would work with my non premium sound system. I was also looking at getting the subwoofer off eBay and making that upgrade too. First thing is first, when I got the radio I set out to install it just to check functionality and ensure I didn’t have a radio that was dead on arrival. Here again I thought with the past experience of putting the TNR in the Sierra I would be able to pull the radio fuse with the key in the on position without the engine running and bypass the theft lock. No go on that little trick. I pulled the fuse and it didn’t work. No audio no nothing. Just "THEFT LOCK"

So the next day I took it down to the Chevy dealer and spoke with a friend of mine. On the way it was a very quiet ride. However a few things caught my attention. One I could hear the turn signals that are a computer driven sound through the speakers. I got more curious about it simply because I thought I would not be hearing anything because the radio needed an amplifier for the audio. I then started playing with the OnStar, I could hear all the prompts and see the screen on the radio display numbers for a call. All this was encouraging. Once I got to the dealer I found my friend and told him what I was doing. He was able to hook the Equinox up to a Tech II tool and reprogram the radio to remove the theft lock. Surprisingly in programming the radio there was an option to select the type of speaker system the SUV had. So after 15 minutes I rolled out of the dealer with my tunes and a new toy.

Not knowing if this radio would be compatible with my Equinox I opted not to purchase the GPS antenna. Once I got back with a functioning radio I ordered a new antenna. That was a process in itself. It took about 9 days to arrive and once it did I set out to pull the dash out for the antenna install.

I had my friend at the dealer print out a exploded view of the dash. I really didn’t need it and wasn’t too helpful once I got into the project. The dash removes with 4 bolts. Two bolts located on each end of the dashboard and one on the top of each “A” pillar. I found it difficult to remove the plastic covers on the dash to get to the bolts. I took a plastic credit card that you get in the mail for promo purposes and used that to pry each cover up as to not scratch the dash. I also used two more to protect the dash and used a flat head screw driver to gently pull up the dash. I placed the two cards in the dash and the screw driver between the cards to get to the dash clips. I forget how many clips I had to pop but it wasn’t that bad.

The antenna installs in a very neat and clean spot. As you can see from the pictures it fits right in. The cable is easily routed behind the dash and connects to the back of the radio. Below are a few pictures of the install.

I hope this shines some light on the upgrade if anyone out there wants to attempt it. I am very satisfied with the upgrade and the wife loves it! I like the clean looks of the factory navigation unit and it also has some pretty cool features itself. The only thing is that it is from a Torrent and has red back lighting and a black face. I am also planning on doing a rear-view camera upgrade as well but for now that is it. I hope that someone finds this information useful. I found it very rewarding to do this project without knowing if it would be successful.

Antenna PART # 15859569

Nav Radio PART # 15942548

Doogie

Antenna

Passenger "A" pillar bolt

Driver side "A" pillar bolt

Passenger dash bolt

Antenna location

Antenna installed

Antenna and Radio Installed

Success!!!!!

greggyd12 · November 12, 2009

what year is your equinox?

I just joined the forum as well yesterday and am deeply familiar with GM integration especially on the radio side. I can help if you know anyone else who is interested in doing this. There are also many other options you can do with your navigation had you got the one with DVD built in.

Do you hae the voice prompt feature active? Meaning can you give your navigation voice commands? Also, does it give you your route by route guidance commands as well? If not, these require additional harnesses which i manufacture and sell. One is for the Onstar module that gives you a mic jumper so the nav can hear your commands. The other is a back up camera input as well as the voice commands. THis one connects to the main harness on the back of the radio to send the signal from the output to the input side of the speaker signal so the route guidance can patch thru your driver side front speaker.

If you want these let me know. They are cheap. about 60 bucks for both. They are GM specific and not knock offs. FYI>

The reason I was asking what year is if it is an 09 than chances are the factory bluetooth integrated in the Onstar has stopped working. That is due to the unit you purchased being an 07-08. If this is the case let me know. I can help you.

if not, congratulations on your successful upgrade.

Doogie · November 16, 2009

Hey GDelgado I send you a pm.

Doogie · November 23, 2009

Hey GDelgado checked your pm yet?

Mynox08 · December 17, 2009

I'm glad you posted this info. I replied on another forum, but it hasn't been approved yet.

Anyways, this information is going to come in handy when I receive my radio and antenna. I especially like the photos. I also like the nice clean look of the factory radio. I have a 2008 with onstar. Was there any extra parts you needed other than the two listed? I ordered part #'s

15942543 - radio

15255334 - antenna

my next upgrade will be a back up camera as well.

Doogie · January 1, 2010

Hey GDelgado checked your pm yet?

Sorry I haven't gotten back to this post in a long time. Its been crazy around here lately. I didn't need any parts other than what is listed. The wife is thinking about getting another car so if your interested in the radio let me know.

jmeisler · December 24, 2010

what year is your equinox?
I just joined the forum as well yesterday and am deeply familiar with GM integration especially on the radio side. I can help if you know anyone else who is interested in doing this. There are also many other options you can do with your navigation had you got the one with DVD built in.

Do you hae the voice prompt feature active? Meaning can you give your navigation voice commands? Also, does it give you your route by route guidance commands as well? If not, these require additional harnesses which i manufacture and sell. One is for the Onstar module that gives you a mic jumper so the nav can hear your commands. The other is a back up camera input as well as the voice commands. THis one connects to the main harness on the back of the radio to send the signal from the output to the input side of the speaker signal so the route guidance can patch thru your driver side front speaker.

If you want these let me know. They are cheap. about 60 bucks for both. They are GM specific and not knock offs. FYI>

The reason I was asking what year is if it is an 09 than chances are the factory bluetooth integrated in the Onstar has stopped working. That is due to the unit you purchased being an 07-08. If this is the case let me know. I can help you.

if not, congratulations on your successful upgrade.

Hi GDelgado, I hope you still read these forums as I need some help, and I think you may be the guy I am looking for.

I was reading this forum and made decisions based on the info I found. I bought a used Nav Radio gm part#: 15942543 for my 2007 Equinox (w/ON Star and Pioneer Radio System). I have seen this part number as compatible with my suv on multiple sites. I installed the radio without GPS antenna and I could hear all the chimes, bluetooth prompts (add-on), etc ... but the radio was in theftlock mode. I brought it to the dealer and paid the $50 to have it unlocked. They were not able to do it. They said the radio is not compatible with my truck because the radio was rejecting the program codes being sent to it. SOunds very suspicious to me. They told me the radio needed the GPS antenna installed in order for the programming to be completed as well as the backup camera and a BOSE speaker system. I know for a fact it does not need the backup camera as this was an extra feature. In 2007 the BOSE system was not an option. I have the premium Pioneer system which I would have to say is compatible since I was hearing sounds. So I go back to the car and now the radio is dead (no power). I asked the dealer about this and the technician said the radio was not broken, just that it had been erased and because the codes could not be programmed the radio is rendered powerless. Again, sounds suspicious.

Can you help me here. How can I find out if this radio is compatible and still ok? If the broke it, I will go back to them, but I need info to support my assertions. Also, I think I will need some of those wiring harnesses you spoke of. Please let me know if you receive this and we can connect in or out of the forum.

Thanks

Jeff

oldscsc · December 24, 2010

Not sure how I have missed this post for so long. I have tried researching putting a nav unit in my mother's '07 Equinox. Figured it might be difficult to find a Pioneer w/ rear DVD unit, but maybe not. Thanks for posting this guys, even if it is a year old.

#1Bamafan · December 31, 2011

what year is your equinox?

I just joined the forum as well yesterday and am deeply familiar with GM integration especially on the radio side. I can help if you know anyone else who is interested in doing this. There are also many other options you can do with your navigation had you got the one with DVD built in.

Do you hae the voice prompt feature active? Meaning can you give your navigation voice commands? Also, does it give you your route by route guidance commands as well? If not, these require additional harnesses which i manufacture and sell. One is for the Onstar module that gives you a mic jumper so the nav can hear your commands. The other is a back up camera input as well as the voice commands. THis one connects to the main harness on the back of the radio to send the signal from the output to the input side of the speaker signal so the route guidance can patch thru your driver side front speaker.

If you want these let me know. They are cheap. about 60 bucks for both. They are GM specific and not knock offs. FYI>

The reason I was asking what year is if it is an 09 than chances are the factory bluetooth integrated in the Onstar has stopped working. That is due to the unit you purchased being an 07-08. If this is the case let me know. I can help you.

if not, congratulations on your successful upgrade.

I'm in the process of installing a GM nav radio purchased on eBay into my 2010 Tahoe Z71. My Tahoe currently has voice prompts and rear camera (picture on the r.v.mirror). I would like to direct voice prompts and rear camera picture to the nav radio. I can provide the part number for the nav radio if needed. Will the witring harness you described in this post work on my Tahoe? If so, give me the ordering information and I will purchase.