Car stereo advice

[cue7467]

hey Scutter,


I have installed plenty of them so if you need help I am only mins away.

 

[Caleb]

I would install audio for people, it's so easy unless you have to run new wiring...Who ever owned my sister's saab before her really goobered up the install, I'm talking wires were bridged when they should not have(only one speaker worked out of four of them). They even wired the power and ignition wires together so the radio would never keep the setting when you turn the car off.

After a couple hours and running to radioshack to get needed connectors, I finally got all four speakers working and the reciever wired up right so any settings set while the car was running will remain when you turn the car off. I even got the dimmer wire to work. I wish I had pictures beforehand, it was a joke(and a rat's nest) and made me wonder why they hacked the harness to hell and back.

Just a little tip for any DIY'ers out there, do not cut the harness....they make plugs that connect to the factory harness.

 

[Scutter01]

I finally got the right installation kit in the mail today! This one is slightly curved and textured to match the curve and finish of the rest of the dash. The Metra kit was a complete bust. It was even the right part number but didn't come close to fitting. The one I ended up using was Scosch.

Criminy, what an ordeal! This is exactly the reason I just wanted to have it done by an installer. I didn't want to have to deal with any of this crap, and it was worth the $50 to me to avoid two weeks worth of headaches!

Oh well, it's done now. I'm not 100% satisfied, but it looks pretty good. There are one or two areas where there's a slight gap that I don't like. I might shim out the deck an eighth-inch or so to see if it helps. Not sure yet. Also, the rear post doesn't reach the post hole, so I need to figure something out there. The deck is pretty stable, though, so I'm not too worried about it. Plus, I rarely play CD's in it anyway, so it's almost a moot point. On the bright side, at least it's a standard 2-DIN hole and not one with a wacky cutout like most new cars these days. On my previous car (a Taurus), I'd have had to replace the entire dash section with an aftermarket one.

Here's a pic of the final product. Note I hadn't reset the clock yet...

 

[hotfarmboy1]

You did better by going with the scosch kit anyways. I've had much better luck with them. The one for my focus looks just like that. I had to do a bit of trimming on it though cause of the motorized fold out faceplate though. I'd say you got it looking pretty good. Yeah it may not be absolutely perfect, but it rarely will be with anything aftermarket. Good job though.

 

[Woo]

Looks Great!!!

 

[Indy317]

'm not 100% satisfied, but it looks pretty good. There are one or two areas where there's a slight gap that I don't like. I might shim out the deck an eighth-inch or so to see if it helps. Not sure yet.

Looks good...just wait till you what it looks like _after_ someone smashes your window and rips your dash to shreds. Get a loud, very loud, alarm system.