Well, it seems that I do have a bit more luck then I first thought. My replacement head unit arrived much faster then I thought it would. So I consider today Round Two of the great truck stereo battle.

Same routine as the other day. Take the entire dashboard apart and start unplugging and plugging back in. All seemed well. I had everything hooked up, but not prettied up and installed back into the dash. A few more connections and then came the test.

Same problem. No sound from the auxiliary input jacks. I said a few kind words out loud and grabbed the phone. Again. While being on hold while “Cody” was researching the problem, I started to get a bit hot under the collar. He finally came back on and discovered the problem. There were two mistakes. First, it seems that my model of Durango already has its own internal amplifier installed somewhere. Lord knows where. With the old stereo, there was a small connecting wire that lead from the main unit to that amplifier that basically told it when to turn on. That was nice. It seems that this wire was not included in the wiring diagram I got from Crutchfield. He “looked up a few manuals” and found out what wire was what. After a few snips, strips, and crimps, all was working wonderfully.

Now, I just need to read the manual and figure out this thing’s crazy menu system. But, in the end, the list of features make it all worth it.

Now, what should I buy next?

Since I bought my Dodge Durango in 1999, I have enjoyed using the standard stereo head unit that came standard. It always sounded good enough and (on the plus side) it had a tape deck. I know that sounds silly, but I had enough of those tape adapters with the wire that allows you to plug in an external source. They were originally made for portable CD players, but they also work great for mp3 players, and my Sirius radio as well.

So it was time to buy a new head unit. I had some bonus dollars on my credit card and got some free gift cards at Crutchfield. I’ve dealt with them before and have never had an issue. I picked out the head unit I wanted. This baby has all of the extras. Extra inputs, extra outputs, even USB connectivity. That will allow me to load my USB thumb drive with MP3s and listen in the car without bothering to burn a CD.

At any rate, I had the whole dash of the truck taken apart and I hooked up the new stereo. At first, all seemed well. Until I tried to use the external input. No worky. Not even a crack, pop, or even static when that source was selected. Crutchfield is extremely proud of their tech support, so that was my next bet. He had me run through a few things to test, and was surprised that I actually hooked everything up correctly. Apparently, most people are stupid and can’t read directions?

Yes, I was shocked too.

After all of that, he called the unit manufacturer and they are assuming that the whole thing is defective. They are shipping me a replacement and I should receive it soon. Which means I get to rip the dash apart again, and attempt to make the new unit work.

I really have the luck. Bad luck.