Using Vauxhall Radios.

[Robsey]

Hi all,

Rather than having a mish-mash of different topics about late 80's and 90's radios, I thought I would put all info in one place.

All operation instructions are taken from an SC804 booklet dated in 1993.

All wiring info is taken from the 2011 version of TIS2000.

The discussion thread is here: -
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=16622





As most Cavaliers are over 25 years old, chances are that most owners no longer have a radio manual.

Most functions are basic, but stuff like security functions or ignition logic are not so obvious.

WIRING INFO
First up is the general ISO plug pin out.
As in the name, the plug is configured to an ISO standard layout adopted by many manufacturers from the mid eighties upto approx 2004.

This is the GM version of the ISO standard.





AFTERMARKET WIRING CHANGES
If fitting aftermarket radios, you almost always have to swap pins 2 and 8.
(Ignition live and battery live respectively).

On the GM loom,
Battery Live is red.
Ignition Live is black
Ground is brown.

On aftermarket equipment, black is almost always ground.

ALARM CONTACT
If you have a GM alarm, with radio contact.
The wire on pin 1 needs to be set to ground if you choose to fit an aftermarket radio. If you do not, you may get false alarms.

[Robsey]

HOW DO I KNOW MY RADIO IS CODED?

When you first turn on the radio, if it has an active security code, then you will briefly see the word "CODE" appear in the display.

If it is not coded, the display will go straight to the radio station or cassette infomation.

ENTERING THE SECURITY CODE.

After a battery disconnection, if your radio is still coded from the factory, you will need to enter the code from the car pass.

The process is as follows:-

Turn ON the ignition
Turn OFF the radio.
Keep the (AS) button pressed and turn ON the radio.
You should see " 10 - - - - "
For the first digit press Preset 1 repeatedly until you get the correct number.
The same goes for...
Second digit is preset 2
Third digit is Preset 3
And fourth digit is Preset 4.
Then hold the (AS) button pressed until you get a beep.
The radio should now work.

If the word SAFE appears on the display, the radio is locked out.
You have input the wrong code.
You will need to wait with the ignition on until the SAFE banner disappears.

When you are able to input the code, you will see a number and 4 dashes again.

" 10 - - - - "

The number 10 above at the front means you have 10 attempts remaining to key in the correct code.

Each time you get the code wrong, the waiting time doubles.

WHAT IF I DON'T KNOW THE CODE?
If it is the factory original radio, and it has never been "messed with", you can get a new car pass from your dealer at a cost of approx £25 to £30.
You will need to take proof of ID and your V5 / V5C.

Cheaper and easier is to use an online Code supplier.
You provide the serial number off the side of the radio, and pay between £5 to £20 via paypal or credit card.
Usually you will get a text or email within a few minutes with the factory issued code.

If ALL this fails (it once failed for me with a donor SC303).
In the old days, you would be told to take the radio to the dealer to get the radio unlocked. Sadly this has not been possible for about 10 years.
If you do not know the code and it is not the factory original unit, you will need to send the radio away to someone who can use an Eeprom / MCU reader.
They should be able to read the code from the chip for you, or flash it clear so that the code is disabled.

Cavalier radios have 42 pin MCU chips fitted. A lot more awkward to extract the code than using an Eeprom reader.

[Robsey]

DECODING THE RADIO.

If you have a poor memory for numbers, or wish to change the security code to one you can remember, the procedure is the same as for entering the code after battery disconnection.

Ignition On.
Turn Radio Off .
Hold AS and turn radio On.
Enter the 4 digit code as described.
Hold AS until it beeps.

The radio is now decoded.

TO RECODE THE RADIO.

This is the same as for Decoding, however it is up to you what 4 digit code you put in.

[Robsey]

IGNITION LOGIC and AUTO OFF.

Factory standard for all radios is that the ignition logic is on.
That is, the radio will turn on and off with the ignition.
Except if you turn the radio off with the ignition on.
In this case, the radio will need to be manually turned on again.

TURNING IGNITION LOGIC ON / OFF

Turn Ignition On
Turn the Radio Off.
Keep Preset buttons (1) and (3) pressed whilst turning the Radio On.
Keep 1 and 3 pressed until you get a confirmation beep.

AUTO OFF.
Auto off is an integral function of the Ignition Logic.
When ignition logic is on, it is possible to turn on the radio for 1 hour with the ignition off.
The idea being that you don't accidentally flatten the car battery.

With ignition logic off, the auto off is disabled, and so the radio will not turn itself off after an hour (with the ignition off).
This does allow the risk of flattening the battery due to the radio staying on for an extended period, such as over night.

[Robsey]

SPEED DEPENDENT VOLUME CONTROL.
Only on some Grundig SC303s, some CD300s and All Philips SC804s.

In notation below - (SML) is for SC804 units. Equipped SC303 and CD300 units will have an (ML) button instead.

Hold the (SML) button for 3 seconds until you hear a beep.

Then within 10 seconds, you press either the < or > buttons to step through the 6 optional settings.

Factory standard is 2.

Options are 1 to 5 or Off.

Then save by holding the (SML) button pressed for 3 seconds.
Confirmed by a beep.

If you do not press and hold the (SML) button within 10 seconds, the changes are discarded.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is the "dealership" information on this as per TIS2000

Setting the Speed Controlled Volume Pulse Rate.
Adaptation to Odometer Signal.
(Speed Dependent Volume Control).

1 Switch the Ignition – ON
2 – Switch the Radio – OFF
3 – Hold Down the [SML ] for SC804 or [UML] for CD300 button and the required Pre-Set button 1, 2 or 3 ( 1or 2 for Cavalier)
Button [1] = 7,500 pulses for models up to 1993.
Button [2] = 15,000 pulses for models from 1994.
Button [3] = 25,000 pulses for Omega-A
4 – Switch Radio – ON. “Impulse 2” appears in the display.
5 – Continue to press the [SML ] or [UML] button and the required Pre-Set button 1, 2 or 3 for a further 3 seconds until you hear the confirmation “beep”
6 - The radio will return to normal play.

The speed controlled volume may now be set to suit the driver’s preference as described in the Audio Manual. (or as Follows).

Pressing the [SML] or [UML] button for longer than 3 seconds along with the “search” button allows five different settings for volume increase to be selected.
The display will show “VOL OFF”, “VOL 1” and so on to “VOL 5”.
Factory standard is “VOL 2”.
To store the setting, Press [SML] or [UML] for longer than 3 seconds until the confirmation “beep” is heard.

If ten seconds elapse without a button being pressed, then the setting process is stopped and no changes are made.

[Robsey]

REGIONAL SETTINGS.

The abbreviation for Regional is REG.

"REG ON" = Local / strongest stations only.
"REG OFF" = All stations within reception range.

Mainly used where RDS stations transmit upon different frequencies, dependent upon your location.

REG ON will try to use the appropriate / strongest station frequency for your location.

To turn Regional settings on, hold the (RDS) button pressed for three seconds.
"REG ON" is displayed.

To turn Regional settings off, it is the same procedure.
To confirm, "REG OFF" will be displayed.

If Regional is set to On, "REG ON" will be displayed briefly when you turn on the radio.

If it is not on, nothing is displayed.

SHOWING THE FREQUENCY OF AN RDS STATION.

This is done by briefly pressing the Dolby button.
The frequency will be shown for 5 seconds, before reverting back to the channel name.

[Robsey]

TRAFFIC ANNOUNCEMENT VOLUME.

It is possible to change the volume at which traffic announcements are played.

Invariably, the factory setting is very loud, causing you to have heart failure as soon as the radio jumps stations and cranks up the volume.

Obviously Traffic Announcements are only enabled when you are listening to an FM radio station.

To turn on announcements, press the (TP) button.
"[TP]" is displayed.
[TP] = Traffic Program.

Pressing (TP) again turns off the announcements. The square brackets "[ ]" disappear.

When [TP] is displayed, RDS is also enabled, so that you only get local traffic updates.

Setting the volume is as follows:-
Press the (TP) for three seconds.
"LEVEL - #" is displayed.
Where # is the current setting.
Turn the volume knob left or right to select between 1 and 6.
Confirm the setting by pressing (TP) for 3 seconds.
The display will revert to the radio station display after a confirmation beep.

If no buttons are pressed within 10 seconds, the settings are not changed.