Discussion:
Radio Replacement
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John Simpson
2011-11-07 21:20:05 UTC
Permalink
1990 420SEL ....

Just got back from our local Long Radio here in CT, and I'm not happy.
I was quoted $250 to install an Alpine CDE-121 radio. After two hours
they told me that 'there wasn't any sound' so they would have to rewire
the car (audio wiring) and replace the speakers. This according to the
outcome of a 'technical hotline' phone call. I asked going in, if they
had experience with this auto and they assured me that they did, but
not often.

I'm assuming that they can't use the existing amplifiers, and that the
speaker impedance is probably incompatible with the new radio.

Is what they're telling me true, or are they just attempting to rip me off?

Any insight will be greatly appreciated!

John
Tiger
2011-11-10 18:36:21 UTC
Permalink
That's a BS story. It shows how incompetent they are. I have installed
aftermarket head unit into 1988 300SDL... same setup as your. works
perfectly without any modification.

Everything hooks up as normal... speaker wires (you have to make sure the
polarity is correct. There are a couple extra wires... to power up the
amp... simply hook them up to the antennae or aux power hookup so they turn
on the amp when radio is on.
John Simpson
2011-11-10 21:26:37 UTC
Permalink
"Tiger" wrote in message news:4ebc19a7$0$13512$***@cv.net...

That's a BS story. It shows how incompetent they are. I have installed
aftermarket head unit into 1988 300SDL... same setup as your. works
perfectly without any modification.

Everything hooks up as normal... speaker wires (you have to make sure the
polarity is correct. There are a couple extra wires... to power up the
amp... simply hook them up to the antennae or aux power hookup so they turn
on the amp when radio is on.

Thanks Tiger. I suspected it was BS.

John
runbiodiesel
2011-11-11 18:59:10 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tiger
That's a BS story. It shows how incompetent they are. I have installed
aftermarket head unit into 1988 300SDL... same setup as your. works
perfectly without any modification.
Everything hooks up as normal... speaker wires (you have to make sure the
polarity is correct. There are a couple extra wires... to power up the
amp... simply hook them up to the antennae or aux power hookup so they turn
on the amp when radio is on.
Thanks Tiger. I suspected it was BS.
John
Agree with Tiger. Put in an Alpine stereo in my 1979 240D. Only
unusual thing was I had to bypass the in-console front/rear fader.
Does your vehicle have one of those? If they aren't aware of it that
could be a problem. But it's easy to bypass and doesn't require
complete rewiring.
John Simpson
2011-11-11 21:29:59 UTC
Permalink
Post by Tiger
That's a BS story. It shows how incompetent they are. I have installed
aftermarket head unit into 1988 300SDL... same setup as your. works
perfectly without any modification.
Everything hooks up as normal... speaker wires (you have to make sure the
polarity is correct. There are a couple extra wires... to power up the
amp... simply hook them up to the antennae or aux power hookup so they turn
on the amp when radio is on.
Thanks Tiger. I suspected it was BS.
John
Agree with Tiger. Put in an Alpine stereo in my 1979 240D. Only
unusual thing was I had to bypass the in-console front/rear fader.
Does your vehicle have one of those? If they aren't aware of it that
could be a problem. But it's easy to bypass and doesn't require
complete rewiring.

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it. ... You too Tiger.

I'm taking it to another place this coming Monday. They asked me if there
was a fader (refreshing!!). There is .. and they said that it could be
rewired
to work properly. Something about grounding. I'm senile and hard of hearing
so I didn't totally understand the problem. BUT, $259 Monday vs. $600 that
company #1 wanted to charge me for new speakers and a total rewire is again
refreshing.

John
t***@optonline.net
2011-11-12 11:36:16 UTC
Permalink
Post by runbiodiesel
Post by Tiger
That's a BS story. It shows how incompetent they are. I have installed
aftermarket head unit into 1988 300SDL... same setup as your. works
perfectly without any modification.
Everything hooks up as normal... speaker wires (you have to make sure the
polarity is correct. There are a couple extra wires... to power up the
amp... simply hook them up to the antennae or aux power hookup so they turn
on the amp when radio is on.
Thanks Tiger. I suspected it was BS.
John
Agree with Tiger. Put in an Alpine stereo in my 1979 240D. Only
unusual thing was I had to bypass the in-console front/rear fader.
Does your vehicle have one of those? If they aren't aware of it that
could be a problem. But it's easy to bypass and doesn't require
complete rewiring.
Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it. ... You too Tiger.
I'm taking it to another place this coming Monday. They asked me if there
was a fader (refreshing!!). There is .. and they said that it could be
rewired
to work properly. Something about grounding. I'm senile and hard of hearing
so I didn't totally understand the problem. BUT, $259 Monday vs. $600 that
company #1 wanted to charge me for new speakers and a total rewire is again
refreshing.
John
I agree with the other guys too. The fishiest part is probably
the need for new speakers. While new speakers may be a
good idea for a car of that age, if they were working before the
stereo change, no reason the new one will not work them.
But sound quality could be much improved with new ones
as the cones being exposed to high temps inside the car for
years dry out.

My car had the fader in the center console too and agree if
you have an installer that doesn't know what they are doing that could
be a problem. Like runbio, I bypassed mine and use the fader in the
stereo.
John Simpson
2011-11-14 21:35:41 UTC
Permalink
Post by runbiodiesel
Post by Tiger
That's a BS story. It shows how incompetent they are. I have installed
aftermarket head unit into 1988 300SDL... same setup as your. works
perfectly without any modification.
Everything hooks up as normal... speaker wires (you have to make sure the
polarity is correct. There are a couple extra wires... to power up the
amp... simply hook them up to the antennae or aux power hookup so they turn
on the amp when radio is on.
Thanks Tiger. I suspected it was BS.
John
Agree with Tiger. Put in an Alpine stereo in my 1979 240D. Only
unusual thing was I had to bypass the in-console front/rear fader.
Does your vehicle have one of those? If they aren't aware of it that
could be a problem. But it's easy to bypass and doesn't require
complete rewiring.
Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it. ... You too Tiger.
I'm taking it to another place this coming Monday. They asked me if there
was a fader (refreshing!!). There is .. and they said that it could be
rewired
to work properly. Something about grounding. I'm senile and hard of hearing
so I didn't totally understand the problem. BUT, $259 Monday vs. $600 that
company #1 wanted to charge me for new speakers and a total rewire is again
refreshing.
John
I agree with the other guys too. The fishiest part is probably
the need for new speakers. While new speakers may be a
good idea for a car of that age, if they were working before the
stereo change, no reason the new one will not work them.
But sound quality could be much improved with new ones
as the cones being exposed to high temps inside the car for
years dry out.

My car had the fader in the center console too and agree if
you have an installer that doesn't know what they are doing that could
be a problem. Like runbio, I bypassed mine and use the fader in the
stereo.

Successful install for $259. FWIW, for anyone in Connecticut I would
recommend
JO-Di's over Long Radio. The former did his homework, and got the job done
in
1 1/2 hours with no problems.

Surprisingly, the speakers were OK. At least to my bad ears, they sound a
whole
lot better than they did with the Becker radio and original amps. I've got
CHS, but
it sounds real good to me.

Thanks for all the responses.

John

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