I'm the biggest piece of useless shit in the ****ing world. Tried to install an Alpine CDA-9884 today with the Modifry DCI, plug n play harness and the SCV unit. After breaking the stereo door trying to get it off and breaking the passenger side dash panel trying to get it off, I hooked up all the connections (including t-tapping the SCV wire into the white and black wire of the black box thing on the passenger side) and tried to get the ****ing head unit back in. Wouldn't go. I don't have ****ing fairy midgett hands to reach in those cracks. Then when I decided to say screw it I found out my ****ing passenger window wont go up now.

So I guess my questions are how the hell do you get the damn headunit in? Do I have to take the brackets off the stock unit to screw the new unit in or does it just friction fit? And WHY THE HELL WONT MY ****ING WINDOW CLOSE!?!?!

i'M ABOUT TO START DROWNING PUPPIES GODDAMMIT!

 

reach around (passenger footwell) to try to yank some of the wires out of the way. also tuck them as best you can behind the head unit before sliding it in


yeah its a really tight fit but it is manageable

 

Is the window lock out switch activated on the driver's door? That is most likely the window.

 

yeah, haha, i feel like an idiot. after i had cooled down for a while that same thought occured to me so i went to the garage and sure enough, the switch was flipped. once the window was working again i was so relieved i was able to take my time and tuck all the wires behind. it was still a tight fit but i was able to get the cover back on and everything fit. this is definitely a good example of why not to attempt something like this while upset or angry!

 

Glad you got it in, other than the frustration, how do you like the new HU? How long did it take you to install? And was this your first HU install?

 

since i had the plug and play adapter there was really no cutting or soldering or splicing so it only took probably 20 minutes to do everything not counting all the time it took trying to get off the panels and contort my body in such ways so as not to leave a divot in the leather seats, hold a flashlight and hook up stuff. and yeah it was my first install.

as for how i like the headunit, sound quality is much improved over stock on my 07. i only played around with it in the driveway though. and the manual that came with the headunit is junk. it did come with a cd that i think has a manual. hopefully thats better. i did basic adjustments to bass, treble etc. but i'm sure its capable of more intricate adjustment.

 

It took me over an hour to get my head unit back in. Too many wires back there now! I kept tucking the wires differently until it fit but I NEVER want to do that again.

 

A helpful trick if you're using external amplifiers is to remove all the wiring for the internal amplifier from your harness - both the HU side and the adapter side (but NOT the stock wiring harness). Gives a little bit of space, and we know that every bit counts.

I think I have only 2 wires running between the HU and stock harness - constant +12V (memory) and antenna amplifier. Other than that, I have a dedicated power line off the battery for the HU, the HU ground, amplifier remote, and RCAs as the only things plugged into the HU...

 

Sputnik:
What gage wire you running for each application (at least I still do things proper or not at all....)? Also, what's your shop's website?

D

 

I don't have a shop. I do all this as a hobby and on an individual basis. Just knowledgeable because it is one of my passions and I've done a relatively large amount of research (and trial and error) each time I've had to replace any part of my system.

For the +12V HU constant power, I'm running maybe 12ga. Might be 14-16ga even. I run 1/0 off the battery, across the top of the firewall and into the driver side footwell through an existing grommet (the other option, and it's easier - run from the battery into the passenger side footwell, along the passenger side sill and have your distribution block behind the passenger side plastics). My distro block is mounted on the ECU. Here it splits into 2x4ga and the HU +12V constant. I run the 2x4ga along the driver side sill to my amps. One is mounted behind each seat (so one of the 4ga runs along the inside of the bulkhead). Grounds for each amp are, of course, 4ga run up to bolts in holes I drilled into the bulkwall (dremeled all 783297 layers of paint/rust inhibitor/primer off, then drilled the hole, then screwed the bolt into the hole so the threads are making contact with the inside of the sheetmetal).

Stereo Integrity's website is www.stereointegrity.com (Site for the Mag and the forum has a wealth of info on installs and specs, etc.)
Darkside Subs website is www.darksidesubs.com (WLAURENT's site)