First post on this site after finding so much useful information...info that is helping me bring my 2009 1LT back to life (I've cleaned contacts on master window switch to fix broken windows, I've corrected broken cruise control by replacing wire harness in CHMSL, replaced four speakers, and I've even added radio control buttons on the steering wheel with new wire harness! Will soon add the roof racks following a great tutorial elsewhere in this site).

Now I need help though after researching all day. I am replacing stock radio with radio from another 2009 LT. Of course I am getting the "Locked" problem. I have the recovery code but can't enter it as other sites suggest (using HR and MIN clock buttons) because the radio won't power on to let me get to those softkeys. Nobody on this site talks about entering the recover code using this method, so I am skeptical it can work for my radio.

I noticed my new radio, model number 25964501, has a USB port on the front of it. Gathering from this site I suspect that means the car I took it from had UUI as a code. Mine doesn't . I'm taking it to my mechanic and he is going to try to program it with the scan tool next week.

I've read a lot about the radio model 25964502. Mine new radio is model #25964501. Can anyone tell me the difference (notice the last digit is different) in the two models? I can't find any data to read?

Thanks in advance.

 

Anything you read on the internet about "security codes" has nothing to do with HHR radios. You need a Tech2 or equivalent and the knowledce of how to erase the old VIN and insert your new VIN into the radio chip.

Alternatively, IF the new radio has a discrete security chip you can either remove it or replace it with a "virgin" chip.

The way it works is: a factory new radio has a chip with no data. when it is installed the BCM interrogates the chip, if the answer is "no data" the BCM inserts the VIN, if the answer is "some other VIN" it refuses to let it work, if the answer is "the correct VIN" everything is cool. If there is no chip the answer is "no data".

The other way is to get an after market radio and a GMLAN adapter.

The BCM controls the power supply to the radio. The radio supplies the chime sounds (turn signal, door ajar, key in etc).

BTW, if you expecting a full serviced USB port, it is MP3 only and particular flavors of that.

I found quite a few references by GoOgling the part number. I didn't look very far, but it seems like one has USB and AUX the other has only USB.

 

The USB port will also charge some devices.

 

And if I remember correctly, the USB version came out in 2009 model year and won’t work in earlier model years because the VIN’s are not available to the new radio.
So, your 09 should work fine after it’s programmed to your VIN.
The trick is finding a dealership that still has a Tech II scanner and an employee that knows how to use it!

 

Thanks for the assistance. I spent the morning at a good auto mechanic with a tech II. It recognized the theft deterrent but wouldn't wake the radio up to do anything else. Maybe he didn't know how to get it to do what it needed to do. I've seen a couple of videos and posts here on the chip. I'm ready to remove it (if I can find it on this model). I still have the original radio if I get desperate. But since I had already planned to go with aftermarket in the future to get bluetooth, backup camera functionality and real USB support, I may go that route sooner than anticipated.

A different mechanic that I also visited this morning found something on the internet (for HHR!) that said to disconnect and reconnect the radio power multiple times with vehicle turned to accessory power) until the clock displays (replacing the "Locked" message. I saw the video myself at the shop and watched the radio change from locked to clock.. We couldn't get that to work at the shop. But I never came across that video myself before punting to the mechanics, so I'm back home now and that is my last hope (since I won't ever pay a dealership for this type of thing!) I am still skeptical!

 

I don't know if you saw this in our how-to section https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/how-...w-radio-49106/

 

Perfect! I had seen that post at a time when I hadn't had the intention to go this route so I didn't remember any of the details. But this is exactly the location and chip I have in my radio. I had to remove not only the CD drive but also the USB card to locate it. But it was there! With the radio apart I'm now trying to decide if I should try to put a new chip on, or reprogram the existing chip....possible without even removing it using a tool such as this ! (and it is still Amazon prime day for the discounts!!!)

I'll commit to posting an update when complete as additional motivation to complete this mod!!!

 

Try installing with NO chip, that should work. Just clipping the correct pin on the chip should do it, you would need the data sheet to figure which one.
Unless you know how to program I would not bother with a chip programmer (You still need to remove the chip to put it into the prgrammer). The blank chips are available and they are cheap (10 for $1.78 https://www.ebay.com/itm/10-PCS-AT24...wAAOSwtnJe~vLd).
Hint: to remove and install surface mount chips: use a heat gun with a fine tip to melt the solder.

If I was experimenting with somebody else money I would just clip pin #7 the write protect pin. That permit the BCM to re write the VIN. If that didn't work #8 is Vcc, power in.
http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/e...oc/doc0670.pdf

 

LOL!!! Thanks for the additional options! I'll use these as my next "last results"

This shows how (and where) to locate the VIN in the eprom memory (for a 24C08 chip). My chip is a 24C128N, but since I do know the VIN of the original vehicle this radio came out of, so I should be able to find it in the data!


I've already ordered the CH341A programmer. It contains a clip to connect to the chip on the circuit board so that the chip doesn't need to be removed to reprogram it.

 

The programmer came today and it took me all of 10 minutes to read the chip, backup the existing data to a file, edit the VIN, and burn in the new data. (I used the no suffix version of the chip in the software..."24C128".)

I had a problem when testing the radio after this first attempt. The radio briefly showed locked, then the clock came on. But nothing worked except the clock! When programming the chip, I had noticed that the first character of the VIN in the original data was '"0", which was not the actual value for the VIN that the radio came out of. But I plugged in my entire VIN though, including the actual first character. I figured that if my entire VIN didn't work, I could come back and plug a "0" into the first character of the VIN.

Based on how the radio behaved after this first test, I decided instead to just erase the chip completely and see what data the BCM would create if it looked like a brand new chip. This second attempt worked like a charm! I now have a new (and, actually upgraded) working radio!

Thanks for your assistance (and those from other posts on this site) and the confidence to tackle this project! ($25 junkyard radio pick, $10 programmer, free software and drivers from internet, and some great internet advice!)