Pioneer FH-P5000MP into '98 V70 - Tips?

Post by **E Showell** » 16 Apr 2013, 07:36

A friend gave me a Pioneer FH-P5000MP which, in its day (2004) was a reasonable double din CD/Cassette Am/FM radio. It is certainly more capable than my stock Volvo Headunit whose CD player quit long ago. Any tips for installation I should be aware of? Any preferred face plate? How can I add an Ipod connector? Thanks

Post by **mikealder** » 16 Apr 2013, 11:19

Has your car got a Volvo Amp in it, look at the rear of the Volvo headunit and is there a DIN plug in addition to the cable to the CD changer? If so would be best to use an RCA to DIN socket then connect the RCA pre-out connectors from the Pioneer to the adapter and in to the Volvo amp as this avoids having to re-wire all the speaker cables.
Not too sure for the iPOD, I use Bluetooth in my car for the phone and other audio accessories via a system known as iO-Play_2 which is great with its own amp - Mike

Post by **E Showell** » 16 Apr 2013, 11:39

Wouldn't know a DIN cable if it bit me in the ass (or an RCA connector for that matter). The car is a base model so I am fairly certain it has no fancy audio components and would virtually guarantee that it does not have a separate amp. My intention was to purchase a car-specific install kit from a U.S. audio supplier (Crutchfield) so that I'll have plugs that just mate up with one another and get a fairly painless install out of it. I'm replacing either an 813 or 816 Volvo unit (that I pinched from an 850 after my original V70 unit's CD player expired [of course the replacement unit's CD player expired as well]). I don't recall the number off the top of my head. Since the Pioneer will support it, I am toying with the idea of a satellite radio install as well, which I think can be plug and play even using the car's existing antenna, but I want to check that out.

Another thing that suggests bare bones audio is it's rather lame quality, since folks have commented that the Volvo high end stuff tends to be pretty good.

Post by **E Showell** » 17 Apr 2013, 07:27

The plot thickens. . . Before buying cables, and Satellite radio box, etc. I decided it would be a good idea to check the fit of the proposed replacement unit. Double din equals double din, right? Well, not exactly. The Pioneer unit is about 1/8" wider than the stock Volvo unit (plus there is no aftermarket faceplate available for this unit). It appears that in order for the unit to fit, I will have to remove, as in permanently shave/chisel/saw off the molded in horizontal bars that the stock unit slides slot into.

Anybody else been down this road before? What's the conventional solution (apart from simply replacing with another Volvo unit?)