Headunit replacement

[vampire222]

Hi guys, the 1986 headunit with tape recorder in it failed me, so i bought me a brand new one.

What conversion harness do i need to convert the weird 9 pin connector i have in my wedge to the din ones used by car audio today, the same goes for the antenna.

Anyone got more info?

[mrzigazaga]

Hi Mate..Is it a white one like this..If so then when a friend went to fit a stereo for me it was tested for power and then cut off and chocolate bloc used...

[vampire222]

This is the one, just need to know what car its from so i can get a conversion harness, dont wanna cut my wedges wiring up!

[CoolC]

Does the antenna cable go into the block, or is it separate?

It's been a fair few years now since I did radio fitting, but that block doesn't ring any bells with me, sorry.

[vampire222]

Nope it's a seperate antenna plug i've got that one sorted

[hallsie]

If you really want to keep the connector then I would say the only way to do it is to get some male bullet connectors and crimp straight to the new stereo wiring.

Ive never seen one of those connectors and I reckon you will struggle to get a harness for it!

Stu

[jmorgan]

I chopped the crap out of mine and matched up the new type and soldered it in getting rid of the old connector.

Edit. Mine was the result of a boy scout knot tying competition in a sailing ships rigging.

Edited by jmorgan on Tuesday 2nd October 18:44

[mrzigazaga]

Plus most like mine are probably speaker wire's with the top one having power although i cant remeber if it was switched or continuos..Best to check before if you are going to chop...Ziga

[Wedg1e]

It's a standard connector, similar to the ones used on the rest of the wiring loom - NOT a specific audio one though.

Vehicle Wiring Products used to sell them, not sure if they still do.

[jon haines]

I did this job several years ago and got the connector from my local auto spares shop, he did say it was a ford part but not which.

[Grady]

I used the plug from my old head unit in place of the one that came with the new one. Of course there were extra wires for the 2nd pair of speakers which I ran to my headrest speakers.

[matt-man]

When I replaced mine, I chopped it off and replaced it (with a choc block connector) to the new style harness. Far easier and neater plus you can push it down the dash and then use the length of the new cable to navigate around everything!

One other thing, alpine do green colour buttons on their stereos still I believe (some are blue) and these look good at night as they match the interior lights

[vampire222]

I got a nice green one

I'm gonna cut up and solder the old radio harness so that can in turn connect to the new radio harness and i don't have to cut up and of the cars wiring itself.

[vampire222]

Sorted without any wire cutting or soldering at all, how you ask?

ordered two items from fleabay:

-Antenna conversion from DIN to ISO
-Ford to iso wiring harness

The antenna converter is pretty straight forward, my new radio's antenna connector was different so i needed one of those, then what i did was cut apart the "Ford" side of the connector cables gently with a bolt cutter. They had little spade terminals on that end and i was able to rescue those from their evil plastic prison!

Then those plugged straight into the "radio" side (3x3 square connector, mine was a 1986 Alpine cassette player) and earth cable (the earth connector went to a spot on the body of the old radio but also fitted one of those harness spades perfectly.

Then to finish it all off i tested it (wired the front left and front right the wrong way around) and tied them together with some cable ties and electrical tape!


Job done! Well almost, didn't put the radio in the slot yet cause it's 11.30pm and that'd probably end up with the police thinking i was removing instead of installing it!

Hope it helps some other wedgers out when they want to replace their radio.