My best friend has an RX7 his stereo just went out. (I don't know much about his car except its a 1990 convertable) I was wondering if it would be easy to replace as a Christmas present? Anybody know anything?

 

uh, a straight up swap for an aftermarket head unit, is about (depending on budget) is between 200-2000.
and its freakin easy. an hour tops

peace

 

Where would I find that? Internet... shop?? I don't know anything about this could I buy the stereo and give it to him?

 

hmmmmmmmm, maybe im just one of the few people who actually got certified and or know anything about stereo or electrical in general.
well, first, go on google, and type in "aftermarket stereo" and wait for the 10000000000000000000000000000000 results.
seriously, go to bestbuy, circuit city, and or fry's (cali store) and just buy a headunit (aka deck, aka stereo, just symantics). drop like 150 on a decent deck, a wiring harness for whatever car, and an install kit.
its quite easy. if he knows what hes doing, even better. or just have it installed wherever you buy the **** at.

peace

 

Not very easy to do especially if the car has those damn headrest speakers!

Also, the stock power antenna is a royal PITA, cause it's a negative ground trigger - it's opposite of what most aftermarket decks (+12VDC trigger) use, so you need a relay to flip the polarity backwards.

I'd suggest to go contact Crutchfield and talk to them about what you're trying to do...


-Ted

 

Just take it to a Circuit City.

If it had an aftermarket deck in there, easy swap.

 

OMG dont take that to circuit city. LOL! They have no idea on anything that is not new and wired like every other one. I have a radio out of a 90 vert working I will send you for ten bucks plus ship. Or you can use almost any pioneer deck I think I have a wireing diagram for the 90 vert somewhere I will look and pm it to you. Gives you all the correct connections. There is an inverter for the antena that can be purchased at a few places online.

 

its easy to do you just lose the headrest speakers as speakers unless you run them without the amp to a seperate channel on the receiver and keep the volume set conservatively.

you can buy a working stock one for like 100 bucks

 

im pretty sure the fsm has a section on troubleshooting the factory radio

 

Just sing to him...really loud when the tops down. Thats a nice Xmas present....wish my girlfriends woiuld buy me a stereo....I'll probably get tickets....2 of them...to like "Dancing with the Stars". Joy oh joy.

 

I don't suppose you might have any tips on how to wire those headrest speakers... The last owner pulled out the stereo and reupholstered the seats. It was the most ****-poor wiring job I have seen in quite some time. The guy who owned it was an electrician oddly enough. Anyways, I ended up pulling the headrest speakers and putting some 6x9's behind the seats. I really want those headrest speakers, but I couldn't tell you how to wire them properly back into the circuit. Are there door speakers in the convertibles? It looks like there are, but they are definitely not wired into the stereo, either.

 

I was an installer there for years, and I definitely know my ****, as did all the guys I worked with. Guess it just depends on where you go.

 

I had that exact problem with the polarity flip. I took it to Circuit City, and when I bought the 200 dollar headunit (its nice) I got a free install. The wiring harness and install kit was around 30 bucks, not real sure, its been a year. When I got it back, they didn't install the relay to flip the polarity, so I took it back, and they installed it, free. The guy knew what he was doing. Unfortunately, whenever the stereo is on, the antennae is up, even if its on Auxiliary or CD and not AM/FM like OEM stereos. Only when the stereo is off will the antennae go down. (Kinda lame, wish there was a way to fix this)

 

yea i let circut city install only the head unit ... and i paid the extra 30 bucks for the antenna kit ... and my antennae worked before ... but afterwards the **** is fubarred and no longer working

 

Sorta the name of the game with negative antennas and aftermarket decks unfortunately.

 

yeah two friends of mine work at Circuit City around here and they can do some really good ****, but it completely depends where you go.

 

i worked there too. but i do things that most people dont. solder, heat shrink, and trim any wires to match length. clean, and i always had business on the side.
so, back to point. just look up the factory wiring, cut out the dash speakers, cause on 99% of decks, only 4 speakers are allotted. have fun if its a vert.

peace

 

Thats a bummer, thanks for the answer.

 

Your best bet is google, there are millions of pages on how-to-install

 

You wanna take advice from anyone whose thoughts inclue "OMG" and "LOL" as conversation pieces?

Just go to a local place that does stereo installs, tell them what's up, pay the tab, and have him take his car in.

 

Well it is either that or take advice from a guy who lives in Ohio.

 

circuit city, best buy free install when u buy the deck from them and if they F it up they have to fix it not u, hell i had a deck reinstalled there for 30 bucks because the original owner decided to hack all the harnesses up and i didnt want to waste my time it was well worth it

 

Get him this

http://www.eclipse-web.com/avn/avn2210poverviews.html

They look great in our cars and don't cost too much money ($400 installed at circut city). I guarantee he will love it!

 

^^^
Hmmm.... thats pretty sweet. It looks like a good alternative to the $1000 navigation units.

To the original poster: go to www.crutchfield.com and have a look around. If you have any questions about anything, you can chat with someone from the company and they will tell you exactly what you need. Their prices are a little more expensive than some other retailers but they include very good instructions, free dash kit, and I think a free wiring harness with every order. Their service is great. You can also visit your local stereo shop and they will be able to help you out. Just dont let them talk you into buying the most expensive stereo package they have.

Good luck.

 

Not very easy to do especially if the car has those damn headrest speakers!

the headrest speakers weren't working in my vert when i bought it. so after fining out he factory amp was unplugged i plugged it back in now they work... all wired to some crappy clarion head unit