Hi everybody,

I've got high on my list of mods installing a double DIN DVD/Nav unit. I'm not technically challenged, but don't have any experience in car audio, so I'm a little hesitant going forward in spite of the excellent and various write-ups on the subject. But one thing differs in my situation than those in the write-ups: I bought the car with an aftermarket head unit, amp, and subwoofer already installed.

So my question, then, is whether replacing the existing aftermarket head unit with a different one will be much less involved than going from stock to aftermarket? I'm hoping that since the subwoofer and amp are already all taken care of, it should be a piece of cake. But that may be wishful thinking.

If the question can't readily be answered without knowing the specifics of my setup, I apologize in advance for my vagueness, but can provide the specifics a little later.

Any input on this would be very helpful!

Thanks!
Greg

 

You're right - if the current head unit is plugged in using the RCA connectors to the amp (and this should be easy to verify), you should be able to simply unplug the existing unit and plug in your new head unit - 20 minutes work.

 

If the aftermarket radio was installed correctly using an aftermarket wiring harness it should be a piece of cake. The aftermarket harnesses have a plastic molex plug on one end that matches up with the cars' factor harness, and loose wires on the other end that are color coded to match after market radio wiring (red for power, black for ground, etc.)

Technically this is just as easy as replacing the factory radio, except that someone has taken the time to run the RCAs and power wires for the amp for you. I replaced the factory Bose radio in my 996 with a Kenwood double din with an Ipod interface, and Nav system in about 3 hours, so to just swap the radio an hour or two max if you have absolutely no idea what you are doing. 20 - 30 minutes if you have some previous experience and the original install was done correctly.

 

if it wasn't done correctly - let me know. I just did mine and my wiring harness was hacked up by someone installing a satellite system. while the plug was still intact to the back of the radio the wires were cut and spliced all around it. I opted to remove the plug and solder/butt splice the wires to the new harness for the new DD head unit.

it isn't hard at all - once you know what all the wires do and where they go.

 

Thanks for all your input gentlemen!