Thanks to all those who have posted previous information and photos – all a fantastic help, particularly getting access to the cd tuner unit.
I thought I would just list some of the minor issues I ran into. I am a complete novice at this stuff so the experts probably know all the below but I couldn’t find it written anywhere – and it might help someone else new to this sort of job.
I only had to buy an Alpine unit, two wiring harnesses from Aerpro [one was for the Alpine unit, the other for 2004 landcruiser [not Prado].
The two didn’t quite just plug together but because they are same manufacturer it was just a matter of joining the same coloured and named wires together.
I ended up cutting off the black plug [there was a black and a red one] and just joining the wires up [I wasn’t happy with the ignition power connection so did it directly].
Yes, you do need to join the plain blue power antennae wires or you only pick up very strong local stations. I was left with 2 wires left over – for Bluetooth and power to antennae motor – different to above antennae wire and neither needed by me]
You also need to get the fill in bits for the fascia and a single DIN pocket – I used DNA Designer Audio Part number WHO 702 which has all three bits needed.
I strongly recommend removing the A/C cables so you can take the whole section inside and take you time getting everything as you want. Don’t worry re electrical connections as they are all different sized plugs so you can’t mix anything up.
Inside I removed the side metal brackets to remove the original unit then put them back on. The new unit will not fit with the fitting sleeve on so needs to be removed. That just means it is a lot harder for the radio to be stolen as is bolted directly to the car.
I originally tried the radio on top and the pocket underneath – all good until right at the end when I realized the bloody surround would not go on due to the top ‘lip’ – so put the radio on the bottom.
I worked out the best way is to firstly loosely bolt the unit onto the metal bracket, then put in the side filler bits and one bolt goes thru that into the unit itself on both sides.
Then the pocket can be dropped in. I found I had to drill a new hole in the plastic bracket for the pocket to sit where I wanted [probably means I did something wrong but result looks fine].
I didn’t bother with a second screw as the pocket actually sits flush against the radio so isn’t going anywhere. Make sure you can get the radio surround on and it sits flush – don’t take it off again as there is no need.
One other drama was when I put everything back in the car and turned it on – nothing happened !! Very traumatic. I noticed I had no clock so checked all the fuses – all good. I eventually worked out the problem – the wiring harness bolt has to screwed all the way in to ‘seat’ the connections properly – I had just pushed the connection together in my excitement to get it working.
I ran the ipod cable into the rear of the glovebox. The Alpine unit I used just needed a cable [not a whole separate unit] to allow me to operate the ipod from the head unit and it charges it at the same time.
Knowing what I know now could probably do the job in under 2 hrs but allow at least ˝ day if you have not done anything like this before. I am so impressed with the result [and that it works] I would happily do it again.
Oh – one last thing – I replaced the original because the missus got a bit impatient over Easter and forcefed the cd player rendering it useless. So now I have a new radio / cd / ipod friendly unit and a stack of brownie points !
I have taken photos but haven't worked out how to post them as yet - I can have a go if anyone is interested.[/img]
I thought I would just list some of the minor issues I ran into. I am a complete novice at this stuff so the experts probably know all the below but I couldn’t find it written anywhere – and it might help someone else new to this sort of job.
I only had to buy an Alpine unit, two wiring harnesses from Aerpro [one was for the Alpine unit, the other for 2004 landcruiser [not Prado].
The two didn’t quite just plug together but because they are same manufacturer it was just a matter of joining the same coloured and named wires together.
I ended up cutting off the black plug [there was a black and a red one] and just joining the wires up [I wasn’t happy with the ignition power connection so did it directly].
Yes, you do need to join the plain blue power antennae wires or you only pick up very strong local stations. I was left with 2 wires left over – for Bluetooth and power to antennae motor – different to above antennae wire and neither needed by me]
You also need to get the fill in bits for the fascia and a single DIN pocket – I used DNA Designer Audio Part number WHO 702 which has all three bits needed.
I strongly recommend removing the A/C cables so you can take the whole section inside and take you time getting everything as you want. Don’t worry re electrical connections as they are all different sized plugs so you can’t mix anything up.
Inside I removed the side metal brackets to remove the original unit then put them back on. The new unit will not fit with the fitting sleeve on so needs to be removed. That just means it is a lot harder for the radio to be stolen as is bolted directly to the car.
I originally tried the radio on top and the pocket underneath – all good until right at the end when I realized the bloody surround would not go on due to the top ‘lip’ – so put the radio on the bottom.
I worked out the best way is to firstly loosely bolt the unit onto the metal bracket, then put in the side filler bits and one bolt goes thru that into the unit itself on both sides.
Then the pocket can be dropped in. I found I had to drill a new hole in the plastic bracket for the pocket to sit where I wanted [probably means I did something wrong but result looks fine].
I didn’t bother with a second screw as the pocket actually sits flush against the radio so isn’t going anywhere. Make sure you can get the radio surround on and it sits flush – don’t take it off again as there is no need.
One other drama was when I put everything back in the car and turned it on – nothing happened !! Very traumatic. I noticed I had no clock so checked all the fuses – all good. I eventually worked out the problem – the wiring harness bolt has to screwed all the way in to ‘seat’ the connections properly – I had just pushed the connection together in my excitement to get it working.
I ran the ipod cable into the rear of the glovebox. The Alpine unit I used just needed a cable [not a whole separate unit] to allow me to operate the ipod from the head unit and it charges it at the same time.
Knowing what I know now could probably do the job in under 2 hrs but allow at least ˝ day if you have not done anything like this before. I am so impressed with the result [and that it works] I would happily do it again.
Oh – one last thing – I replaced the original because the missus got a bit impatient over Easter and forcefed the cd player rendering it useless. So now I have a new radio / cd / ipod friendly unit and a stack of brownie points !
I have taken photos but haven't worked out how to post them as yet - I can have a go if anyone is interested.[/img]
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