Installing a car radio& Connect: Here’s what to look out for
The time has come: The new car radio has arrived, now it just needs to be installed and connected. But you have to go to a workshop?
Not necessarily!
If you have some manual skills and a detailed manual for the installation and removal of the car radio at hand, you can also do the installation and connection yourself.
You can find out what to look out for in this guidebook.
We refer here mainly to 1-DIN devices. However, the installation of 2-DIN radios is very similar. If you install your car radio yourself, you save unnecessary installation costs. The installation of a car radio is really no witchcraft and should be no problem even for inexperienced people. Nevertheless, there are some dangers and pitfalls that we point out here. The time required is only 15-30 minutes. The necessary tools are often included. Nevertheless, we have compiled a small list of tools that you will need to install in your car radio:
- Tool for removing the old radio
- Screwdriver, possibly. various
- Installation frame
- ISO adapter (if needed)
Installing the car radio
First, disconnect the car battery from the mains supply. This step should never be omitted for safety reasons. If you still have the extraction tool from your old car radio, insert it into the holes provided, which are usually located to the left and right of the display. If not, you can also try with a paper clip or a wire. Often several attempts are necessary until it works out.
The rest of the procedure:
- Carefully pull the radio out of the mounting frame and remove all cables.
- Use the screwdriver to bend the metal clips that hold the mounting frame to the radio slot upward.
- Now pull out the mounting frame.
To install the new radio
Basically, the new car radio is installed in reverse as previously described. There are still a few things to keep in mind, as the following step-by-step guide shows:
- Insert the new mounting frame (if available) into the radio slot.
- Use the screwdriver to bend down the metal clips provided on the frame to secure the frame in the slot.
- Now connect the ISO plug as well as the antenna cable to the new car radio. With many car radios the exact details for the connection are in the manual supplied by the manufacturer.
- Carefully slide the car radio into the new mounting frame and apply slight pressure until the unit locks firmly in place.
- Reconnect the car battery to the vehicle power supply.
Provided you have followed all the steps correctly, the new car radio should work fine. If not, refer to the car radio manual to see if any further steps are required for your model.
Possible pitfalls& Problems
If there are any problems with the installation of the new device, it is usually only due to one small thing. Thus, before inserting the radio, the cables must be arranged correctly so that no cable is pinched. Sometimes there is very little space behind the radio, so the cables will be squeezed quickly if you push the car radio into the slot with a little more force.
To avoid a short circuit, you should also make sure that the positive and negative poles in the ISO plug are not reversed. You can recognize the poles especially by the colors – usually the plus pole is marked red and the minus pole black – but sometimes also brown or blue.
Conclusion
The mere installation and connection of a car radio is not witchcraft and can be done even by people who otherwise have nothing to do with electronics. With the tips presented here, you should also succeed without any problems.