1999 V70 wagon--CD player replacement

rosawoodsii · Post by **rosawoodsii** » 10 Feb 2015, 13:05

I was happy to see a CD player in my "new" Volvo--until I tried to play a CD. Turns out it will only play commercial CD's, no CD-R's or CD-RW's, which is what I listen to all the time. So it's back to the drawing board if I want to listen to my audiobooks downloaded from the library.

My son is looking at the large hole an aftermarket radio/cd player will leave and is not happy. My question: what's the best choice for an inexpensive (less than $150) radio/CD-player combo that will take minimal effort to install. Meaning, is there anything out there that will just plug in or will everything available require rewiring?

Seaway · Post by **Seaway** » 10 Feb 2015, 13:21

Take a look at Crutchfiled. You can get a cheap CD player plus a wiring harness for under $150. All you have to do is connect the harness to the new CD player and then plug it into the car harness. Will probably take 20 minutes. The other thing you will have to do is file down (I used a dremel) the rails on the inside of the hole where the CD player fits. The aftermarket radio will not have the slots that the stock radio does. It's very easy.

Most of the double DIN (stock sized radios) that Crutcfield sells come with free wiring harness.

Post by **j-dawg** » 10 Feb 2015, 13:35

Everything will require rewiring - as far as I'm aware, nobody makes an aftermarket radio specifically for middle-aged Volvos. You'll have to make a wiring harness adapter that will connect an aftermarket stereo to your factory wiring harness. This is a matter of soldering or crimping wires together and doesn't take more than 20 minutes if you aren't colorblind and can solder or crimp.

I think aftermarket stereos are one of the best bang-for-buck upgrades you can make. I now have Bluetooth for phone calls and navigation, and I put audio files on a USB drive instead of burning CDs (I've never used the CD player function). The JVC unit cost me ~$120 to install. That includes the stereo head unit itself, the harness adapter, and a mounting kit that fills the space under the small head unit with a storage cubby, so there's no big hole left in the dash. Entirely worth the money. My only complaint is that just about all aftermarket stereos are incredibly ugly.

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 10 Feb 2015, 14:10

You might also dig a little deeper into playing CD-R's with the Volvo deck.
IIRC, if a CD-r isn't "finalized", it may not play in the OEM stereo.
Could save you a few bucks on an aftermarket HU.

You can also buy a magic box that will allow your outboard music
device ( iPod, whatever...) to port in through the OEM unit's disc
changer input. Search Grom and USA-Spec.

Post by **tryingbe** » 10 Feb 2015, 14:54

CD player? Get a head unit that reads SD card instead! No more skipping, no more buffering, no more changing CD every 74 minutes, & no more having a bunch of CD disc around!

Then get a factory tray from Volvo.

9150773: S70 Storage Tray (might be gray)
9132775: 850 Storage Tray (definitely black)

Head Unit I bought
https://www.amazon.com/Dual-XR4115-In-Da ... B004U299S8

Radio harness.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VOLVO-CAR-STERE ... 22&vxp=mtr

rosawoodsii · Post by **rosawoodsii** » 10 Feb 2015, 19:42

tryingbe wrote:CD player? Get a head unit that reads SD card instead! No more skipping, no more buffering, no more changing CD every 74 minutes, & no more having a bunch of CD disc around!

The aftermarket unit I have in my Toyota plays MP3 CD-RW's, so I get a lot of playing time per CD. A flash drive would work well, too, but not an SD card.

I've sent a link for this discussion to my son, so hopefully something will happen soon.

Post by **tryingbe** » 11 Feb 2015, 06:02

Buy the tray only from Volvo. Other makes' tray has a much smaller opening.