How To: Stagea Headunit/stereo Removal

[AlexCim]

Updated the first post of this article, good to see we have basically finished off the whole thing for any new comers.

[EGA41T]

anybody know where i can get an adapter for the aerial plug to suit a normal cd player???

[EGA41T]

i had screws holding the square surround at the bottom, so i found that the only way to get the square surround off was to take out the cluster (gauges, aircon, radio) via the two screws at the top, and two at the bottom.

[AlexCim]

JB sells adaptors, about $15 bucks.

[EGA41T]

do you know if jaycar sells them?

[AlexCim]

www.whitepages.com.au

search -> call -> ask

[EGA41T]

www.whitepages.com.au

search -> call -> ask

lol.

jaycar doesnt sell them, got one from JB Hifi for $12

...stereo is done...well the cd player is anyway

[EGA41T]

i was surprised at the quality of the standard speakers, i can actually turn the volume up quite high whilst still maintaining the same clarity

[tRUkbOY]

Can anyone tell me whether the rear aerial has a power amplifier & if so which colour wire I need to plug into to with the 0.1A aerial wire from my Headunit

[AlexCim]

Yes, the rear antenna has a power wire.

Its the yellow/black stripped wire that is taped to the antenna wire.

Attach this to the power wire.

[tRUkbOY]

Thanks AlexCim.

Just out of interest; where is the amplifier? In the LR 1/4 below the Cargo glass?

[ian]

finally did mine... The wire descriptions Alex has put up in the first post are the same in My S2 fours S, so it saved me a lot of time!

On the rear speakers, 1) the speaker covers don't seem to come off 2) there doesn't appear to be any screws on the whole door panel (as mentioned earlier in this post). Ideas anyone??

Ian

[AlexCim]

tRUkbOY - there is no standard amplifier

Ian - To do the speakers, you need to remove the door skins. From memory, the only screws holding the rear skin on are under the top part of the hand holder part.

Start from the bottom of the skin and unclip it from the metal door. Finger strength will be more than enough. Move along until all the clips are undone, then lift it UP off the frame. Be sure to unplug the window switch and away you go.

The rear speakers are screwed into the spacers they use, so you will be able to basically directly replace the speakers.

The front speakers are moulded into the plastic spacer. I used two 16mm spacers glued/screwed together as spacers for my speakers.

The paper is just there to give a better seal between the two layers of MDF. The heads of the screws holding both plates together are in between all the screws for the speaker and the heads are sunk into the wood.

[Terminal]

man that reminds me of when i installed 6 x 9's into the parcel shelf of my R33. how come you needed the spacers so big? i got all my speakers in using the stock holders

[beastien]

i got all my speakers in using the stock holders

Yep me too, a little tight, but they fit, i also had to trim a little out of the back of the spacers aswell, to fit the larger magnets in.

[AlexCim]

Firstly, my speakers the magnets easily didnt fit in the stock areas, i had to cut the back out of both the front and rear spacers.

2nd, due to the fronts being moulded into the plastic, after cutting out the stock speaker with a dremel, i found my speakers were just a little over sized (I could get 2 of the four screws in, not all 4.)

I tried so hard to use the stock holders, but they just wouldnt hold. Also, the front plastic seemed pretty brittle, but hey.

So, i had to use massive spacers to fit my speakers in without hitting the door. The stock spacers are ~36mm front and 32mm rear.

[beastien]

I used to fit car stereo's for a living, and personally i think wood or MDF is a better sound producing material than plastic anyway.

As Alex can probably confirm, it's quite easy to make MDF spacers, they dont have to look spectacular, as it's all hidden.

[AlexCim]

they are "easy" but "long" to produce

my hand just wouldnt stop vibrating! Thats what a $12 jigsaw does to you

[Sydneykid]

Yes, the rear antenna has a power wire.

Its the yellow/black stripped wire that is taped to the antenna wire.

Attach this to the power wire.

Mine has no wire attached to the antenna wire

The only yellow/black wire I can see is very thick and wanders off the direction of the steering wheel.

The best choice I have left is to trace the wire back from the amplifier (that's the antenna signal amplifier).

The question is where is the antenna signal amplifier?

Cheers

[AlexCim]

You are quite lucky that i have a big hole in my dash.

Here is a photo of the power antenna wire. As i said, the wire for it is taped to the antenna wire (which in my case bends downwards). The two wires are then covered in some foam stuff and go up and to the left...or the right, i cant really tell.

That black/yellow wire is what you attach to the antenna.

If that wire is not attached (like mine), you will get terrible reception (in dips in the road/under bridges etc, reception will cut out. When you do attach it, it really REALLY makes listening to the radio a lot better.

I am just lazy to fix it for now.