With many of our Fieros reaching 'antique' status, we're finding that our audio systems are giving up the ghost, or we may just wish to upgrade to a better unit. The ACDelco units from late model GM cars is a popular upgrade. These radios incorporate a theft lock feature to discourage theft by allowing the owner to enter a personal number that is needed to reactivate the radio whenever power to the radio is interrupted.
These radios are readily available in the salvage yards at a very reasonable price. You may find that after installing one of these into your Fiero, the display shows LOC and the radio is inoperative. This was the case with a radio I just purchased at a local U-take-it-out yard. The previous owner had locked the radio with their own private code.
I called my local Pontiac dealer and asked if they could unlock the radio. Most certainly they could, but they cautioned that those radios wouldn't work in any other car except one that had the exact same options. The charge would be a non-refundable $50. I thanked the gentleman and called my neighboring Chevrolet dealer. Same answer, except that the charge was $75 due to the time required on the phone with GM. I thanked him, too and said "Goodbye".
Well, here's what I found: This is updated with a video link provided by Aerodonamic. The old code was no longer valid so I've listed the codes in the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AVQZk8-qs4PROCEDURE FOR UNLOCKING DELCO RADIO WITH THEFT-LOK
1. Press and hold presets 2 and 3 for about 5 to 10 seconds until you get 3 digits on your display. This is the first 3 of 6 digits you will
need, so write 'em down. If 2 and 3 doesn’t work, try 1 and 4.
2. After doing step one and writing down the code, immediately press the AM/FM button to get the last 3 of the 6 numbers you'll need, and write 'em down. (if you wait too long between steps 1 and 2 and the LOC code displays again, just start over).
3. Call this number, it's a prerecorded message, so don't worry about having to talk to anyone...1-800-537-5140. The voice will ask if you're calling for Chevy, Pontiac, Cadillac, etc... When you hear this, press 1, followed by one of these numbers (620529, 139010, 106010, 206053, or 202108) and hit the # key. If you are told the number is invalid, enter the next number until you have a valid code. He'll then ask you for the 6 digit code that you've written down from your radio screen. Enter that and press the * key. He will then give you a code, and the option to get additional 4 digit codes, but one should be sufficient.
4. Follow the normal procedure in your owners manual for unlocking the radio with your new code. The procedure is: Press the hour set button on your radio until you get the first two numbers of the code. If the first number is 0, ignore it. Then press the minute set button until you've entered the last two numbers. Immediately press the AM/FM button once the correct code is entered and the code SEC or "secured" will be displayed on the display screen. Now, just turn the radio on, and you’re ready to roll.
