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Car audio install question.

Demon-Xanth

Demon-Xanth

Lifer
My grandma has a '96-98 range Nissan Altima with an aftermarket Clarion tape deck. For Christmas we got her a JVC MP3-CD deck. How hard is it to swap these?

Specific interest in:
Cable harness swapping. (pinout info on the Clarion if it's not just yank and plug)
Dash/console disassembly.

edit:
corrected model
 
If it mounts to a bracket in the car, then it's a piece of cake. Crutchfield's carries wiring harnesses.
 
I was hoping to do the swap on Saturday for her birthday. The local audio shop (which does good work) can't fit in a saturday appointment. A mail order harness adapter won't make it in time.
 
I was supposed to install an aftermarket stereo into a '98 Altima last weekend, but one of the screws on the console would not come out and I ended up stripping the screw. I'm going to try again this week, and probably have to drill out the screw. The actual process looks simple enough, esp. since I ordered it from Crutchfield and got everything I need. However, I think you will need an aftermarket antenna as well. The one Crutchfield sent me was pretty damn long, so I'm going to have to see if it's an issue installing it in the car.

Dash disassembly looks like it'll be simple enough - take out the paneling around the clutch, find two screws there, unscrew 'em. Two more screws are below the heating vents. Then theoretically, it comes out easily.
 
Note that this is aftermarket->aftermarket. The stock stereo was gone a long time ago. How standardized are aftermarket stereo pinouts/connectors?
 
They have one. Just a universal "crimp the pigtails together" connector type of thing. This could be doable if it's marked well. But I never bet on that.
 
Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
They have one. Just a universal "crimp the pigtails together" connector type of thing. This could be doable if it's marked well. But I never bet on that.
Click to expand...

its color to color, you cant mess it up.

Radio should come out by sliding the "keys" in between the deck itself and the can that holds it in place. That car might be an isomount, where it is screwed in from the side. Any chance of a pic so I can tell you for sure?
 
I just realized I wrote the wrong thing above. Crutchfield would only sell one type of connector per car since that's the wiring that connects to the car itself independent of the stereo. The issue is how did the person who installed the Clarion connect the wiring. Perhaps if it was done with electrical tape, you could just easily remove it and connect it to the JVC wiring.

The stereo setup is an isomount with screws on the side.
 
Heh, I'm an electronics tech and my dads a system tech. If it's just electrical taped together neither of use would dare leave it that way.
 
Actually, all you have to do is switch wires.

Since the car already had an aftermarket HU, I'm assuming it already has a harness already.
You'll see that the JVC, has a bunch of wires coming out of the back of the unit.
YOu'll only have to take out the Clarion(which all of its wire are connected to the Harness) and match the color coded wires from the harness to the JVC.

BTW, you must have a modern grandma to even know what MP3 is.
 
It should be a pretty simple job, especially for someone with any electronics experience. Feel free to prove me wrong and post an entertaining rant about the stupidity of the car/stereo/etc. 😀
 
With the internet these days, you can DIY on just about everything.
And the gratifying feeling of learning new things is priceless.
 
Actually, she's completely f'ing clueless. I don't think she's ever used a computer. I planned on cramming all her CDs onto a single disk for her. But then she proceeded to lose the CD caddy after the changer for the old stereo broke. So I'm not sure if she even has any anymore.
 
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