1994 Volvo 940 CR 718 radio with ipod

[chrismj]

There are a few ipod hook-up posts out there but I couldn't find one for the CR 718 radio. This is a AM/FM/cassette radio in my 1994 940 wagon.

What you'll need:

theft prevention radio code (from the dealer)
two small flat screwdrivers
small regular screwdriver
headphones or audio jack with 1/8" input
wire stripper
soldering tool and rosin
blank cassette tape

1. Disconnect battery.

2. Remove radio: Move shifter to lowest position. Insert two small flat screwdrivers into the slots on the left and ride side of the radio, you're trying to press the clips inwards towards the radio unit before you can pull it out. The clips are pressed against the outside wall away from the radio unit so the difficult part might simply be getting the flathead behind the clip. You have to get both clips and pull at the same time. And the clips are only an inch or so in from the slot so don't jam the screwdrivers as far in as you can. Here's a video I found on youtube: [/url] or search 940 radio removal.

3. Unplug the two cords and wiring harness. The wiring harness can be in there tight enough to make you think that it's clipped in or some sort of lock but it's not, you can pull it out.

4. With the radio out you can work outside the car. Remove the top two screws on the back face of the radio to remove the top cover. This will expose the tape deck unit.

5. The tape deck unit will be held in by two small wire clips, one on each side, and four screws. Unclip the wires and remove the four screws holding the tape deck unit. Remove tape deck unit.

6. Get some headphones or any mp3 jack with an 1/8" input and strip the wires so that there are two positive leads (R and L) and the ground(s).

7. The wire clip on the right side (looking from the front of the radio) will have 6 wires: white, black, red, and three gray/brown ones. You need to solder the stripped headphone/jack wires to these wires in the following manner: R positive lead to the red wire, L positive lead to the white wire, and the ground wire(s) to the black wire.

I'm not a great circuit/solder guy so you have some freedom to improve on what I did here. I removed the red, white, and black wires from the base board connection (it's yellow) and soldered the stripped wires in the correct order to the inputs of that yellow connector. If you forget the order of the wires you can reference back to the wire clip going to the tape unit. Removing these wires however disconnects the tape player from the speakers which won't affect the ipod or the radio but you won't be able to listen to your favorite cassettes anymore. You can have both though you just have to solder the wires in a different manner.

8. You're all done with the hard stuff. Now it's time for reassembly. You have some flexibility again with how the ipod jack comes out of the radio unit. I took mine over the side wall closest to the solder points and ran it along the outside towards the back of the radio unit. Depending on where you take it you might have to make a hole in the top or wall of the radio.

9. Put the tape deck unit back in with the four screws and wire clips. Put the top back on with the two back screws. It's going to be a tighter fit with the wires hanging over the side if you didn't make a hole.

10. Back in the car you have to decide how you want the ipod jack to come out. I threaded mine along the side of the radio unit and down through the back wall and back out from underneath the cigarette lighter area and above the fuses. Some people take it through the glove box but you'll need to make a hole. Don't forget to plug in the two cords and wire harness in the back of the radio. Insert the radio being mindful of the ipod jack.

11. Reconnect the battery and input your dealer provided radio code.

12. Rock out.

I have to have my ipod turned way down otherwise it's real fuzzy. Once you get the volumes adjusted the sound is so much better than the tape decks and transmitters you used to use.