I've been told that replacing the head unit on the MK2 imports is a royal pain in the ar$e so rather than do it myself I've decided to let the pros have a go at it.
I've been to two companies and they've both told me that to replace the head unit the whole system has to be re-wired.
Is this the case? I'm not really looking forward to shelling out an extra £100 on top of the cost of the new CD player, but if it's a big job I'd rather have someone do it properly than me cocking it up.
Cheers.
Replacing the standard head unit on a Mk2 Import
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Re: Replacing the standard head unit on a Mk2 Import
PumpinChimp wrote:they've both told me that to replace the head unit the whole system has to be re-wired.
"whole system re-wired" is one way I suppose, or you could use a wiring harness (adaptor).
PC2-17-4 if no active speakers (around £12 from Halfrauds),
PC9-406 if active speakers & Apr 1990 to Jan 1994 (approx £35),
PC9-411 if active speakers & Jan 1994 to Apr 2000 (approx £35).
And here's a link so you can do it yourself (not difficult with good instructions):
http://internettrash.com/users/jinstall/mr2_1.htm
Re: Replacing the standard head unit on a Mk2 Import
My new head unit did not have pre amp outputs (amp is built in) and the autolead adapters did not quite do the job for me. In the end I ran some wires from the head unit to the factory amp to connect to the speakers at that point by-passing the amp entirely (but retaining the sub). Sound was much better than before and it only took about two hours tops to do a proper job.
Re: Replacing the standard head unit on a Mk2 Import
I've had two head units fitted to my imported car whilst I have had it - both pro installs - they didn't seem to complain too much although they did use an adaptor. A complete re-wire may give some performance gain, particularly if you are going to add an amp at some stage as the standard speaker cable is a little bit skinny.
The biggest problem is finding a headunit that looks right as the original unit was near enough flush, whereas aftermarkets tend to stand proud of the dash.
I had a Sony first off and it didn't look right with or without the surround.
I have a Pioneer DEH P77MP now which sits well proud but looks good with the surround on.
It sounds superb in the MR2 too.
The biggest problem is finding a headunit that looks right as the original unit was near enough flush, whereas aftermarkets tend to stand proud of the dash.
I had a Sony first off and it didn't look right with or without the surround.
I have a Pioneer DEH P77MP now which sits well proud but looks good with the surround on.
It sounds superb in the MR2 too.