I plan on getting a new cd player soon to replace my old alpine and im one of those "do everything myself" people so i plan on putting it in myself. Looking at all of the instructions though it looks like a real pain in the asshole to do. My components took me two days to install (mostly running around looking for parts) and that was like hell. How hard is installing the head unit compared to components?

 

The head unit is very easy to do... Cehck out www.installdr.com for detailed pics and wiring info....

 

If your working with a Honda and your a big guy... see if you can pursuade a small friend to help out. I'm only a little over 6' but couldn't quite reach some of the spaces that needed to be reached.

Seriously though, once you have the wiring all done... it took us about 1.3 hours for my first one. That included us making a custom bracket (bent metal with 2 screw holes) to hold up the rear end of the HU.

 

Installing a basic HU isn't all that hard. It takes me 1/2 hr to do a complete HU install. It really depends on how long it takes u to take the dash or console out. What car you putting it in? Hondas and really easy. I would have to say the accord is the easiest because you don't have to worry about "bending" metals and all that crap. You can just use the factory kit and fasten the HU. If you don't have an accord, they have kits and harnesses for your car. Just gotta specify to the place u go buy it. In terms of hooking the wires up, it's a matter of color coordinating it. If u don't wanna go ghetto and use black electric tape to connect them, go to radio shack and buy a pack of 16 connectors for under 2 bux.

If you don't kno how to take the dash apart to remove the HU, tell us what car u got and we'll help. www.installdr.com doesn't help that much. I think it's overrated

 

yes, tell us what car its going into... make, model, year and sub-model (ie: 1994 Honda Civic LX sedan)

Most Honda's you can get away without an ugly dash kit. A wirring harness is great for simplifying things... as they are basically a matter of matching colors... (both the harness and deck will come with a wirring diagram to simplify things)... they are also great for leased cars, you dont have to cut any wirring... when you go to return the car, everything stock just plugs back in!

 

I would be doing this on my 1994 accord lx. Right now there is an aftermarket alpine 3de-7886 3 disc player in there. Do you think if i took that unit out, the new one would slide right in w/ its mounting sleeve without any problems? How do i know if there is a dash kit in there already or not? As for a wiring harness, yeah i plan to use one of those just because plugging stuff in is real easy.

 

If theres a dash kit in there, the factory pocket will not be in there... in its place it will be a cheap looking molded pocket and a "frame" that goes around the "sleeve" of the deck. The deck, as it is, will probably also tend to stick out of the dash a little too much.

Being theres already an aftermarket deck in there... it could just be a matter of swapping the sleeves, and sliding the new deck in. Although, thats the ghetto way to do it... as I said, they tend to stick out of the dash too much, and there is no rear support... which can make the new deck skip too easily.

If theres no dash kit in there now, keep it that way... but figure that out first, and i'll help you based on your situation.

 

But it's a 3 disc player....isn't it bulker than a normal a disc HU? I don't kno how it looks like so i can't say whether or not the dash kit is right for the new HU. Go ahead and remove the old Alpine and see if it's the same size as your new HU. If not, they sell accord kits at almost any audio store for like $15.

 

the alpine 3 disc in dash player was a standard DIN size... it never caught on though, as you can see.

 

Ill try to post some pics of my alpine unit right now (as soon as i get a hold of a digital camera) so i can confirm with you guys if there is a dash kit. Right now, the alpine unit in there does stick out a little bit so i think there might be a dash kit being used. As for this unit not catching on, i can understand why. It was working good for a while, but now it can barely read ANY burned cds anymore. I think the laser is just getting old (i have tried using a lens cleaner, didnt work that well). Sound quality wise though its really good for a 4 year old head unit.