Got my first car, needs a new CD player ....

BoozerDawg

BoozerDawg

BoozerDawg

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Right, so im a complete car noob. Recently bought a Ford Focus 1.6 Ghia 2001, and the CD player in it is broken (knew this when i got it). So, time to get a new CD player for this thing.

Im now learning about all these different adapters i will need, along with DINs/Double DINs and how my focus is a DIN and a half :rolleyes:

So, from what i can tell, i basically needed a blanking plate for half of the hole, and some adapters for the wiring to make it fit into a new stereo. If i went the halfords route i would have paid £32 for this stuff, but i found someone selling kits on ebay for £8.50 which look to be the exact same things (im pretty sure they are right, anyone wanna double check for me ? :p - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350299671483&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT )

So once that arrives, im assuming the only thing i need (bar an adapter for wheel controls, but they seem quite expensive, and well, not worth it), is the stereo itself. Im told new stereos come with a mounting cage which goes in first, and you fold some pins around to lock it into place. Seems simple enough ? I wouldnt mind buying second hand for cheapness sake, any reasons not to ?

Thanks to anyone who replies :)
 
This is the fitting kit I bought. Having the slot under the stereo can be useful for throwing your phone, ipod or similar while driving, or a car park ticket etc.

I would very much recommend buying a steering wheel adaptor though, it makes things so much easier.

As far as head units go, if you have an iPod, then buying one designed to work with them is brilliant. I have the Alpine XDA-311, which doesn't have a CD player, but instead is designed specifially for ipod and usb. You can search artists, playlists etc direct from the head unit.
 
I am in a similar boat. But struggling to find one with rear USB and front Aux input from either Alpine or Pioneer which are pretty much the only two companies I will touch for a headunit. It also has to black/silver with orange or red lights.

But yeah, Alpine or Pioneer.
 
Also, from my experience, the Focus speakers are total cack. I noticed, even with the new head unit, that they sounded worse than my 14 year old Fiesta's sound system. Might be worth dropping £50ish on a new pair of coaxial's for the front doors.
 
Buy an iPod, CD's were (note past tense) a pain in the ass, The damn things filled every available space and cubbyhole in the car, they skipped when going over speed bumps or in pot holes, the scratched ones that didn't get put back in their wallets skipped even worse and trying to find the right CD from the glovebox whilst leaning over and driving one handed...

****ing forget it and buy an iPod..
 
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I've just replaced my head unit in my Focus. I'll sell you my old stock unit :D

Any questions, give me a shout. The job cost me about £170 all told, for a JVC unit with bluetooth, rear USB and built in iPod functionality, and all the fitting kit.

The only thing I couldn't get working was the steering controls, but that's a quirk of the JVC unit I got not using their standard jack input for those controls. FFFFUUUUUUUU
 
Right then....

Got myself a JVC KD-R311, along with PC99-X07 & PC99-JVC bits. PC99-X07 was a piece of cake, but the PC99-JVC doesnt appear to be working, and i cant find diddly squat online about correct installation :/ Any tips ? It looked like a straight forward thing (wire from the car connected to the box thing, along with a 2 bit adapter from the PC99-X07, which then all plugs into the stereo via a 3.5mm jack), not working however.
 
BoozerDawg said:
Right then....

Got myself a JVC KD-R311, along with PC99-X07 & PC99-JVC bits. PC99-X07 was a piece of cake, but the PC99-JVC doesnt appear to be working, and i cant find diddly squat online about correct installation :/ Any tips ? It looked like a straight forward thing (wire from the car connected to the box thing, along with a 2 bit adapter from the PC99-X07, which then all plugs into the stereo via a 3.5mm jack), not working however.
Click to expand...

I can't find an installation manual online... Does it definitely have the 3.5mm input for the steering remote? Or is there a blue and yellow wire in the bundle with a "Remote" tag on it?
 
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