ICE in a mk2

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GingerNik
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ICE in a mk2

Post by GingerNik »

Can anyone tell me what kinda set up they've got in their mk2s?

I'm going to be investing in a new headunit soon and will probably be adding to it later on.

Incidentally, if I buy a modern headunit, will it be OK with the crappy little speakers that are in the back of the car already? I don't want them to blow or anything.

Cheers very muchly. :)
spankone
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Post by spankone »

yeh you'll be fine mate a head unit can run standard or s**t 6x9's happly
bluebaron
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Post by bluebaron »

When I had my mk2 coupe all I had in it was a set of sony 6x9's (185w) and an amplified 10" tube and it sounded mint. That was using the original rear shelf as well (bad mistake to make as they're expensive to replace or as rare as rocking horse do-do's).

The mk2 has only got a small boot so if you want to keep it practical I wouldn't go for much more than that unless you go for a decent strength after-market shelf and a couple of 8" or 10" free air subs.

If you want to do for an all out decent install give the guys at R&A Design a call, I think they used to do a set of door pocket replacement thingies to take speakers instead of the normal crud we all shove into pockets.
GingerNik
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Post by GingerNik »

bluebaron wrote:When I had my mk2 coupe all I had in it was a set of sony 6x9's (185w) and an amplified 10" tube and it sounded mint. That was using the original rear shelf as well (bad mistake to make as they're expensive to replace or as rare as rocking horse do-do's).

The mk2 has only got a small boot so if you want to keep it practical I wouldn't go for much more than that unless you go for a decent strength after-market shelf and a couple of 8" or 10" free air subs.

If you want to do for an all out decent install give the guys at R&A Design a call, I think they used to do a set of door pocket replacement thingies to take speakers instead of the normal crud we all shove into pockets.
Ah right, sounds cool. I take it you only had those because it's such a small car, and that the 6x9s were running straight from the head unit? I only listen to rock stuff so I don't think a sub would be necessary, and I quite fancy some front speakers too. Wouldun some components off the head unit with some amplified 6x9s in the back work/sound ok?
bluebaron
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Post by bluebaron »

GingerNik wrote:Ah right, sounds cool. I take it you only had those because it's such a small car, and that the 6x9s were running straight from the head unit? I only listen to rock stuff so I don't think a sub would be necessary, and I quite fancy some front speakers too. Wouldun some components off the head unit with some amplified 6x9s in the back work/sound ok?
The whole system was done on a low budget, the 6x9's were £130 fitted and the bass tube was a donation form a mate. Considering it cost so little it sounded mint.

I only listen to rock myself so I know what your on about. You could run some components off the head unit as well as the 6x9's depending on the output from the h/u, but i think you'd be better off running the whole lot through an amp.
GingerNik
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Post by GingerNik »

Ok, so my new head unit arrived today, and I'm anxious to get it put in the car.

Will I definitely need the ISO connector thing? The radio that was already in there is a Panasonic unit which I've managed to extract from the dash but the wires just confuse the hell outta me. Because it's a Panasonic I have a suspicion that there's an ISO connector of sorts already there.
GroovyCarrot
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Post by GroovyCarrot »

You'll probably already have ISO connectors in there. You may need to swap over the ignition 12v and the battery 12v lines to get it to work proplerly, not drain your battery when the car's off and not lose your presets every time it's turned on. Depends how it was wired before. http://www.installdr.com/Harnesses/VW-Wiring.pdf is useful if you find you need to rewire it.
GingerNik
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Post by GingerNik »

OK, head unit is in, but I think I've come across a couple of problems.

Firstly, it appears as though I have a speaker in the centre of the dash (I didn't realise it was a speaker as it didn't work with the old radio!). The problem with this is that even though I've used a brand new ISO connector, the left-rear speaker now isn't working. I've fiddled with the fader and it works fine between front and rear, when when I use balance it won't transfer any sound to the left. I'm pretty sure it's not the ISO adaptor because it's colour coded, so is the wiring in my car to blame?

Also, the aerial lead has gone crap. It worked with the old radio, and to begin with it worked with the new one when I turned it to a particular position. Now it's just crap and I get a very weak signal.

Any ideas peeps? I don't want to have to take the dash apart to rewire things.
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