[Zarathustra19]

Hey all,
I'm about to come into a car (1998 Plymouth Neon) which my grandfather is going to give me for use during law school. The problem is that it has a stock stereo system with nothing but radio and cassette. The good news is that I have the money in my budget to get a decent quality head unit with iPod input, but I'd rather not pay to have it installed as the cheapest prices I've found are on Crutchfield. The question here is, does anyone know of a good source of basic information on how to install these things? I've googled for about an hour now and all I can find is a bunch of places trying to sell me install guides. I just need to get grasp on how to do basic installations myself, so if you guys have any sources of information that say something other than, pull the old radio out and put the other in with the mounting kit, I'd be very grateful. Thanks in advance.

 

[ljokerl]

You might wanna pick up one of those 300-pg (Haynes, etc) complete repair manuals. I have a 1998 Nissan Maxima and mine had great instructions for replacing the stereo and speakers. Look through it before you buy, but you can always return it when you're done.

 

[thisbenjamin]

Car audio is pretty easy. The adpaters to use exisitng cables are whats going to be the issue. In this case, I would say, buy new power, run it right form the battery, re-run speaker cables, obviously replace the speakers and the deck and this way you can use the basic breakout cables that come with the deck that you buy. The on/off might be a fun trick to sort out, as well as the hookup for the antenna - if you care about such things. I would say get the stuff you want to use, if you know and just have at it - it's pretty simple electronics work. Worst case, hit us up mid process if you get stuck.

best of luck on school and the new toys

 

[thisbenjamin]

I think at most you need basic wrench set, wire strippers, eletonical tape, good cable to run for the power and speakers and adapters for the ignition, ground (or make one) and antenna (again, if you care) - maybe a screw driver or two.

 

[linuxworks]

my advice: pay to have at least ONE good install.

make it a condition that you 'help' in the shop so you learn things.

seriously. you can find places like that.

don't do your fist install on your own. even if you are 'smart' - its knowledge and not intelligence. you can learn a lot and NOT ruin things if you watch pros.

(I used to do installs. now, my back is too ruined for that but I can still *design* the install and have some kid with a strong back do the real work)

keeping signal away from power, good grounding, all that - takes experience.

don't do it yourself.

 

[linuxworks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thisbenjamin /img/forum/go_quote.gif Car audio is pretty easy.

the devil is in the details.

a 'slam job' is easy.

a clean install is HOURS of work and lots of experience.


slam jobs suck.

 

[MD1032]

It's much easier than most people make it out to be. I did a "clean install" in mine (no detectable modifications, wires anywhere) and it took about two hours the first time and an hour the second time (after my first car got totaled by someone and I had to rip it out and put it in the new car). Use the wiring you already have, buy from crutchfield so you get the necessary adapters and instructions, and hack away at it. Very easy DIY job. Less painful than some other car repairs.

 

[linuxworks]

once you start to add boxes (processors or anything more than a single amp and head unit) you get alternator whine. then you spend a long time figuring out how to minimize it.

you also have to set various gain levels. that can be challenging.

not even talking yet about eq'ing things (every single car needs massive EQ to sound good).

its not trivial unless you are doing a single head unit and 0 or 1 amps. add some real boxes and you get 'issues' that even many stereo installers can't do.

its NOT trivial unless you are talking about a very simplistic install.

 

[Zarathustra19]

Luckily, right now I'm just installing a head unit. In the future I might put the set of alpine speakers I bought back in high school as well as a 10" sub and amp, but right now, that prospect seems too difficult, as I can't see any way to remove the door panels. Anyway, the head unit upgrade is really just to have something other than a cassette player to listen to music on.

 

[linuxworks]

one trick I like (that has saved my butt more times than I'll know) is a stealth install.

I took my stock car radio, sawed off the front panel (really) and then put the REAL stereo behind it, offset in the dash, so the fake faceplate covers it. when I park, the fake FP goes over the real one (just press fits in its hole) and NO ONE (not even the dealer) can tell from the outside. nothing shows.

a month ago, 2 cars were broken into in my parking garage; one to the left and one to the right. my car was spared. I had 'nothing of value' shown so they passed me by.

best design I ever came up with, I think. I can't show photos (though I'd like to) since that kinda gives away the security aspect

but you can imagine what I'm describing.

stealth.

consider it.

coming back to a car with broken glass SUCKS!!! (been there more times than I'd like)

 

[thisbenjamin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by linuxworks /img/forum/go_quote.gif the devil is in the details. a 'slam job' is easy. a clean install is HOURS of work and lots of experience. slam jobs suck.

Having never seen my work, that's a mouthful. Not to piss on your work or profession, but car audio isn't that complicated. Home theater, basic hifi, hell building a computer is more difficult. Car audio is manually intensive to do but technically easy to accomplish. Sure if you want to compete in a sub db contest, that's complicated but notice the OP is speaking in terms of a new head unit on an old car - this isn't rocket science.

 

[thisbenjamin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zarathustra19 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Luckily, right now I'm just installing a head unit. In the future I might put the set of alpine speakers I bought back in high school as well as a 10" sub and amp, but right now, that prospect seems too difficult, as I can't see any way to remove the door panels. Anyway, the head unit upgrade is really just to have something other than a cassette player to listen to music on.

Focus on being clean, give yourself plenty of time to work on the project, don't rush and remember what screws went where (take pictures if that helps). You are more then capable of doing this on your own.

 

[taylor]

Building a computer isn't more difficult. Troubleshooting one, maybe, but the actual build process is simple.

Quote:

Car Radio Constant 12V+ Wire: Pink Car Radio Ignition Switched 12V+ Wire: Red/White Car Radio Ground Wire: Black Car Stereo Illumination Wire: Orange Car Stereo Dimmer Wire: Black/Yellow Car Stereo Antenna Trigger Wire: N/A Car Stereo Amplifier Trigger Wire: N/A Front Speakers Size: 6 1/2″ Front Speakers Location: Doors Left Front Speaker Wire (+): Dark Green Left Front Speaker Wire (-): Brown/Red Right Front Speaker Wire (+): Purple Right Front Speaker Wire (-): Dark Blue/Red Rear Speakers Size: 6″ x 9″ Rear Speakers Location: Rear Deck Left Rear Speaker Wire (+): Brown/Yellow Left Rear Speaker Wire (-): Brown/Light Blue Right Rear Speaker Wire (+): Dark Blue/White Right Rear Speaker Wire (-): Dark Blue/Orange

1998 Dodge Neon Car Radio Stereo Wiring Diagram

This site has a written install procedure, no pics without registration though:
how do i install a stereo in a 1998 dodge neon .... - JustAnswer

I've done installs in my '97 Maxima, and in my dad's '92 Miata.

In the Maxima, I needed to pop out the shifter trim and the vent piece, undo 1 screw for the ashtray, and undo 4 screws for the center dash piece, and then I could lift the whole thing out and access the sides of the radio.

In the Miata, I needed to pop out the "eyeball" vents, as well as remove the center console, but from there it was a similar install.

If you have an analytical mind, you can probably just dive in with a screwdriver and figure it out. If you can find a quick DIY guide, that helps too.

There are plenty of DIY guides floating around the internet. I'd suggest registering at a Neon forum and asking there.

IMO, it's not worth re-running the wiring, that's very time consuming and will require removing a lot of trim. If you were going for a real hi-fi system with amps and 2-way or 3-way speakers, then it would make sense. For using factory speakers, or $50 coaxial speakers from like Pioneer or someone, the easiest thing you can do is just get the Metra dash kit, wire harness, and antenna adapter. It's pretty plug-and-play from there.

 

[ronnielee54]

If you are buying from Crutchfield, they will send you everything you need to do the install yourself (hardware, instructions, ect.). Their instructions are very easy to follow. As stated in an earlier post it is not rocket science. I would recommend Alpine if you want the best for ipod control. I tried the Kenwood and Pioneers but the Alpine was by far the best.

 

[linuxworks]

I'll just restate that installing a single head and a single amp is not what I call 'an install'.

but once you have a few amps, processors (crossovers, eq, whatever) installed, the grounding is FAR from trivial. to get it as clean as possible requires experience.

sometimes you can use stock wiring. a lot of times, it works only so well and then you need to route the wiring somewhere else. or, if you are running discrete spkr drivers and amping each one actively on its own, you'll need your own wiring since the car wiring won't be enough (usually).

car line-level wiring is also not usually shielded and often needs 'high level' drive to avoid noise pickup.

this is not a trivial thing. those that think they know this probably don't. sorry, but it IS rocket science, to get it really right.

keeping analog noise down in a car is tricky. trivialize it all you want but I would be willing to bet your system DOES have alternator whine and higher white noise levels than is technically possible by an expert installer.

...not to even mention custom kickpanels for truly audiophile sound from car doors.