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DIY Car Stereo Installation

By David Wardell | Updated: May 3, 2021

Often motorists have to deal with the breakdown of the car stereo. Of course, trips accompanied by your favorite music become more exciting and improve the mood, so many drivers replace the music receiver by themselves.

To replace the stereo with your own hands, you need to know about the purpose of all the plugs and wires that connect to the head unit. Having dealt with this, you can install audio equipment without any problems.

Contents

  • The classification of the car stereos by size
  • ISO marking
  • DIY installation of car stereo
  • Tips for connecting your car radio

The classification of the car stereos by size

Before buying a new stereo, you should pay attention to the size of the head unit, which already installed in the car, or explore the niche designed for the installation of a music player. There are single-block and two-block stereo units, the dimensions of which are designated 1DIN and 2DIN respectively.

Single DIN head units are much narrower than double DIN, which in their form are more like a three-dimensional square or rectangle. The most common in Europe were single din head units with touch screen, while in Korea, Japan, car owners fell in love with double din stereos. Demand for 2DIN radio tape recorders https://carinmydna.com/best-double-din-head-unit/ began to increase in the consumer market because users want to expand the functionality of the purchased equipment, which is able not only to reproduce radio frequencies and recordings from electronic media but also to broadcast TV channels and show movies on a color display.

The combination of these functions in one device became possible due to the larger body of the multimedia player, and accordingly, and its screen, which can also be used to view road maps, if the head unit can act as a Navigator, which is very convenient during long journeys on private transport.

ISO marking

Pay attention! For the production of car stereo and wiring the international standard – ISO is provided. The design of the players provides for the presence of an ISO connector, and the wiring has a special adapter of the same name.

It happens that the manufacturers of automotive audio electronics produce devices that have individual plugs that do not meet international standards. However, every company that respects their brand ensures that the ISO adapters for the plugs were included with the radio.

The task of installing a new car player is much easier if the car already has a regular radio and wiring to it. It only remains to use it to connect the acquired audio equipment.

DIY installation of car stereo

The process of replacing the car audio player is simple. There are two methods to install it quickly:

Method 1. It is necessary to cut the wires coming either from the plug of the radio or from the car wiring harnesses. Then, the connection of the cables with the adhesive tape, depending on color pinouts, is carried out. Perhaps the main drawback of this method is that it is not aesthetic and such compounds are unlikely to be durable. Duct tape in winter frosts is a very unreliable lock, and therefore there is always the possibility of a short circuit, which will affect the entire electrical system of the car. To avoid this and make connections more reliable help shrink tubing and clamp terminals.

Method 2. You should mount the contacts of the ISO format. It is more expedient to choose this option of installation of the radio because it is the most durable and guarantees the creation of active connections. If there are plugs, connecting the audio player to the vehicle will not cause any difficulties. You need only to dismantle the old radio, switch the plugs to the new receiver and install it in the niche.

Tips for connecting your car radio

It is no secret that the source of electricity in the car is the battery, which at the same time is dangerous for the radio and the speakers connected to it. Do not allow the plus of the battery to fall on the minus of the music receiver or some speaker terminal.

Pay attention! It is recommended to be powered by both minus and plus directly from the battery. Often, many car owners who have decided to install the radio with their hands, ignore this rule, choosing as a source of electric an ignition lock or cigarette lighter. Of course, connecting an audio receiver to them is much more comfortable, but do not forget that the battery power allows you to achieve the highest quality of sound from speakers and the entire music system of the car at full capacity.

That is why you should pay particular attention to the selection of wires. So, to connect the plus requires copper, stranded wire having a cross-section of at least 4 mm², and its length should be as short as possible. You also need to take care to install on the positive wire of the battery a reliable fuse with a nominal value of 10-20 A. The distance from it to the positive terminal of the battery should be at least 40 cm.

The negative wire is desirable to make the same short so that you can lay the wires carefully, at a sufficient distance from other consumers of electric current. It is advisable to use wire terminals of different colors to understand where a particular wire is.

Pay attention! Another important point which you should remember is to connect a wire from the battery to the radio should be only after you connect the speakers to it.

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About David Wardell

I am a technical specialist with over 14 years of experience in the automotive industry. I am well versed in the field of computer diagnostics and car repairs of various brands and models, so I can solve complex issues while providing quality service. Read More.

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