Hey guys,

I just ordered a new head unit for my car and the wiring harness that came with it from crutchfield has a long red wire that says that the harness does not include accessory power. It has a long red wire and says for me to go all the way to the fuse box -- this can't possibly be right is it?

Thanks for the information.

 

in my experience, Crutchfield has very good support over the phone or via the chat on their web site

give it a try . . .

 

The purple/blue wire is the accessory lead.

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/6...upinoutzi4.jpg

 

Assuming you work out the wiring issue, Can we get a photo of the new unit installed?

 

Okay...first thank you for the wiring diagram. Using that I was able to add a wire and pin for pin 16 for accessory. I went to RadioShack and they do not sell those pins...not wanting to drive around I searched the store for things I could rip a pin out of (cheaply). So I grabbed a speaker terminal...it required me to dremel the tiny ridge down so that it would pass all the way through. I soldered a wire to it and was all set...so if you get a harness that is missing a wire for accessory power, you can simply add a pin just below the constant power.

So the head unit is a Blaupunkt Toronto...nice unit, fit my requirements...mostly based on wanting blue tooth. I used blaupunkt in the past because they made head units that are a matte finish...unfortunately this one is not, so it may be going back. Wasn't expensive $149.99.

Fitment with the crutch field kit looks fine from the front...from the side, not so good. I'm wondering if a unit that doesn't have a detachable face would fit better, and or if I can make any adjustments to the mounting points to make it fit better...I haven't tried yet.

Pictures for all..maybe more this weekend when I have time to play with fitment.

 

Glad you got the head unit installed. I think it's cool you want with Blaupunkt, since it's a German brand. Understand about the matte look; I don't see many units like that.

 

Hey jumping jack..sadly the blaupunkt was awful. The navigation took way too much effort, the Bluetooth audio for calls horrendous..it's going back and an alpine unit with external mic is on the way. Bluetooth streaming is awesome...and helps clean up the interior lots, so the new unit will have that as well..will post pics when I get that one installed.

Stay dry out there

 

Alpine all the way!! I have a head unit for sale. Has dash kit, harness, etc. all wired up ready to go. Posted in the classifieds.

 

Gotcha. Yeah, I bought an older Alpine unit myself, CDA-9885. Got it brand new off E-Bay for $130. Could not be happier.

 

Here is what I did:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-question.html
Post #5
I have been using this for the past 4-1/2 years and 60k miles! Only watch movies while parked, of course.

 

As promised I sent back the crutchfield unit even though I wanted to love it.

Ended up getting an alpine 133bt. Here are some pictures and some tips.

1) make the harness as short as possible..there is room back there but not heaps. Since you are already adding a big connector and then some wiring you need to minimize. I trimmed all the wires on each side the crutchfield side and the radio side down by more than half.

2) using the install bezel works just bend the tabs on the din sleeve up so they pull the unit as flush as you can get it.

Here are the pictures have not figured out where to mount my Bluetooth microphone yet. Will share when that is finished.

I took apart the faceplate last night to see if I could change the illumination color..will need to hit an electronics store and find some orange LEDs...and see if I can give it a go. Will need a fairly precise soldering iron I think.

 

Run the mic to the spot near the sunroof switch/ dome lights

 

I thought about that and I have little interest in running wiring all the way up there... But maybe.

I was thinking maybe under the dash mat up out through the center vent.

Or directly in front of the driver next to my tach

 

Glad you got it installed. Looks great.

 

That is we're I put mine, works great.

 

So I am still optimizing...am not getting the best audio out of this thing. What I did decide was I would put it in the factory location...however just like our R56 cousins...the R53 has the vent for the mic on the wrong side.

I had to flip flop the sunroof switch and the grille where the stock Bluetooth would have been. Pretty easy job just takes a few minutes to drop the trim on the sunroof.

Pic for clicks...I ran the wiring up through the a pillar just pull the door seal back a little to get access then i ran the wire along the front of the headliner. Used a coat hanger to thread the mic wire through.

So for now that's where it will stay. I will play with it some more to get better audio..thinking of putting a "cup" of some sort behind it to keep road noise coming from the roof at bay.