Joy of joys.. New stereo

[BEJinFbk]

NOT true. But pretty easy if you want it to be...
Look behind the HU for a couple of foam wrapped connectors.
Once you unplug them, they'll look just like speaker connectors!

V70 dash with HU wiring kit.jpg (81.62 KiB) Viewed 1806 times

And they ARE. Boom - Instant deck power to your speakers. I love that...
Here's an example of someone that's added an A/M HU with existing cabling.
They ARE in there, they're just plugged into the amp's output cable right now.

OR

Get an RCA to DIN adapter cable and use the factory amp. Like this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Volvo-Hu-Factory-Am ... 35a60acbc5

Both simple, Plug N Play options!

[CHicks]

Hello, I'm new to this forum. What a great source of info. I recently replaced the radio in my 1996 Volvo 850 Wagon, an SC-810, with an aftermarket Double DIN stereo. The replacement unit I chose is a Panasonic CQ 5800U. I paid about $130 shipped from Amazon. I was really considering replacing the SC-810 with a single DIN unit because of what I read about the modifications neccessary for an aftermarket Double DIN or a used SC-810 which are expensive and lacking a lot of modern features like an Aux port, etc.. Specifically, with regard to the double DIN replacement, I was concerned with sawing off the side support rails an creating a custom trim piece or faceplate. Neither modification as it turns out was neccessary with this Panasonic radio. I pulled out the SC-810. Slid the the metal mount/ support sleeve that came with the new radio into the unmodified opening about 2/3 of the way in. It was snug and the sides bowed in slightly which is why I couldn't slide it all the way in yet. Leaving in part way out allowed me to easily slide the radio into the sleeve as the entrance remained unbowed. I then connected the wires, and slid the whole assembly in the rest of the way, leaving enough of the frame exposed to mount the face trim that came with the new radio. It is snug and everybit as secure as the factory unit. It sounds great and I now have an Aux in and USB in. Also, it picks up weather channels. Point is, with this particular radio, a Double DIN swap worked just fine without mods. Again, great forum.
Chris

Volvo 850 Radio.jpg (76.21 KiB) Viewed 1720 times

[850 Turbo1]

It looks like this installed on a v90...I am really thinking of buying this..lol!

[CHicks]

The Pioneer looks awesome and I've owned Pioneer car stereos and they all sounded great. My reasons for going for the Panasonic are....
1. It's cheap, like me
2. It has the Aux and USB access built into the front.
3. The lighting and style are somewhat inline with the rest of the dash.
4. It has large easily identifiable buttons, allowing me and eventually my teenager to operate it without looking at it.

This last point was the most important for me. I was considering getting something with navigation built in like the
AVIC-U310BT. Oh how I wanted navigation built in but figured I or someone else would end up fiddling with it and not watching the road. If only they had a disable texting feature in a car radio. Has anybody built a Faraday cage for a car?
Chris

[BEJinFbk]

Okay, I'm doing the same install on my 98 S70.

Using a new Alpine from Crutchfield.

Just can't figure out why I have two antenna cables. The second is smaller and I have no idea what it goes to.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
~Shawn

The smaller antenna connector is only needed for the Volvo radios with "Diversity Tuning".
No Troubles - You can simply ignore it and just use the regular sized one.

[Mingari]

I have a 97 850 and i was wondering where you got the kit for the installation?