Okay, I have a couple of my questions figured out... but now I have an issue.. which is kinda vital to the whole process. Removing the deck I guess it's called. I can get the very top part off no problem; vents out deck away from the radio.. but I can't remove the bottom half where the buttons and dials and everything are. I took the dials off and removed the two screws... but it all feels fragile.. I don't know the word, but I feel like if I pull on it too much or too hard it's going to break or something will break. Am I just worrying too much about breaking pieces of my car that aren't going to break or am I right in feeling like something is going to break and I should just let someone else do this? ;) Please let me know! If you have any tips... please help. Thanks.

 

It felt the same way the first time i took it off but it's pretty sturdy. For an xB, there are clips that are holding it in on the bottom corners, just pull staight out one side at a time and they will come out.

 

not bad tutorial other than how you ran the power wire through that grommet and using wire nuts behind the radio.

 

My friend and I couldn't get the power wire through the grommet.. not sure why not. The car doesn't seem to get hot down there enough to burn the wire or anything.. but I also haven't had the power running through the wire... so I guess we'll see? Any alternatives to running it through the grommet?


And thanks ben.

 

Either I misread something or the car used for this tutorial is different than mine.. or I'm an idiot, which could be just as possible as the afore mentioned... ;) Doesn't matter either way.. but I figured out why it was so difficult to remove the lower half!


The reason it wouldn't come off like I thought it was supposed to is because these



were to be snapped off and separated from the deck here

.


I actually found this by accident.. ;) I was pulling a little bit from the left side and it popped. It scared me for a second until I saw a screw that would allow me to remove the rest of the deck... so I removed the little cover thing on the other side, undid the two screws and voila.. it was off!


So I decided that I'd head out to a friend's to celebrate and let him see what I'd done.. I came back inside to update with pictures, which I am doing now.. but I'm too tired to drive (busy day), so I won't be finishing this for a few days. Maybe Thursday. Not sure yet. Excited no less. And feel happy for myself I did this without breaking anything.. lol.

NOTE: This is after I screwed the radio and the piece back in and put the dials back on.. don't worry, they were off. ;) You can see the output converter in the passenger's seat also. And the flashlight I had to use when I was trying to work on this in the dark last night... And my camera bag with the big ol' lens.


Question, though.. is doing all this installing on your own and not having it done by the dealer going to void your warranty(ies)? Seems like a silly question but I was always under the impression that self-modifications would void warranties because your own work could've corrupted something. Anybody know for sure?

I keep getting more and more excited as I find out things about my car that I never knew. :D

Thanks.

 

Is it crucial to have the fuse up front ? I was not aware and have has my fuse in the back for two years in my car, no problems but I would like to know what problems might occur.

 

The fuse should be within 12" of the battery.

Its there to protect your car. If that big ol' power wire (100~200+ amp capable) were to short out, it could start a fire and total your ride. You want that as near the + battery terminal as possible to have the least amount of unprotected/unfused cable that can short out.

In your scenario, you could short the wire anywhere between the battery/engine compartment and fuse/trunk with major consequences.