Hi Jake21,

Any idea where I might get a circuit schematic for the Alpine HU in my '99 Daimler - believe it is an Alpine LNF4100BA. Hours of googling has proved to be unsuccessful.

Any help much appreciated.
Many TIA

Logis

 

Jake,
I got the harness and the head unit. Wired it all up using the list you posted and it works! Sounds great and even operates the power antenna. One problem - the unit does not switch on and off with the car so I did not completely install it in the dash. Any idea why this is happening? I connected the two yellows coming out of the harness to the one going into the head unit and the red (switched) to the red on the unit. But now I a have to manually switch off the unit or it stays on when I pull the key out. Just thought of something - if I lock the car with the remote will it turn it off? I know some cars like my wife's Tahoe does that. Also - where should I connect the ground from he head unit? The Jaguar harness does not have a ground. Thanks again for your help.

 

If you have a volt meter or test light, one of those yellows will be switched power. its common two have two yellows in those harnesses because most euro cars vary between the two which one is switched and which is constant. Also for the ground, attach the ground wire from the head unit to any piece of metal behind the dash, find a convenient screw (that is attached to metal) that you can take out a bit and wrap the ground wire around it, or crimp on a ring. Then tighten the screw down and you will have a ground!

 

Is this the head unit you have?

Jaguar XJR X308 AJ2001W Radio Audio RPT NAVIGATION LNF4100BA AM FM Tuner XJ XJ8 | eBay

If so, it looks like a Subaru connector, common in euro cars.

I couldnt find any information on the wire colors/pinouts on the head unit, but a simple $10 wire harness will solve all of those issues.

(I HIGHLY recommend using wire harnesses for aftermarket stereos. Less hassel, pretty much dumb-proof, and you dont have to cut the vehicles wiring at all)

To the best of my knowledge, this is the aftermarket wiring harness you would need to pick up to wire in a new stereo to the Daimler if the head unit above is the correct one.

BHA8901 Aftermarket Radio Install Harness in select 1995-08 Subaru :: Installation :: Car Stereos and components

Also, i could not find any dash kits that are made for the Daimler to allow an aftermarket head unit to fit. By looking at the above pictures, i can modify the current housing around your stock unit to accept any aftermarket stereo for you if ya sent it to me.

 

Unfortunately, it sounds like the internal amp has gone bad, its not amplifying anything. What you are hearing is the low level signal that is sent to the amp after DAC (digital to analog converter) converts the digital signal to analog, and the amp isnt "amplifying" it anymore. Id suggest replacing it with OEM or aftermarket head unit.

Anything Pioneer (except WalMart models) or Alpine, if you will be using an Ipod often, definitely go with the Alpines. Best Ipod sound quality on the market.

Give me a list of stuff you want the headunit to be capable of and a price range and ill pick one out for ya. (i.e. Sub? Bluetooth? XM/Sirius? etc etc)

Sounds like the unit is going into "Protect Mode." What that means is one of your front speakers, possibly both, is shorting.

Its called Protect Mode for a reason, it is protecting you headunit's internal amplifier from burning itself out by shutting it down.

Check the wiring for any broken wire and make sure the speaker wire leads that go into the speaker are not touching metal.

Another possibility is the speakers are blown and the voice coil inside has melted and is shorting. Also make sure you have the speakers wired correctly.

An easy way to check speaker wiring at the head unit is to take a 9v battery and touch it to the positive and negative speaker leads BRIEFLY. If its wired correctly the speaker will make a "thump." If it is wired incorrectly or one of the wires has broken, you wont hear a thing.

Keep in mind though, the speaker STILL may pop if its just shorting out to a piece of metal in the car, its more of a quick test for process of elimination.

Does it have a factory sub by any chance?

Can you post a link of what Line Level Converter you have?

If there is no stock sub, and you are putting the sub(s) in the truck/boot, hook it up to the rear speakers.


A simple way to find positive and negative on a speaker is: With the magnet facing you, and the terminals on the top of the speaker, positive is on the Left, negative on the Right.

Here is a pic i threw together for an example:


So, for the line level converter, hook it up to both rear speakers with your positive and negative leads respectfully and you will be good to go.

Also, if the converter is adjustable, NEVER adjust it past 3/4, you can/will damage the sub and amp. I like to set them between half and 3/4.

If you DO have a stock sub, do everything above, and just tie both positives and negatives from the converter to the sub.

 

Is this the head unit you have?

Jaguar XJR X308 AJ2001W Radio Audio RPT NAVIGATION LNF4100BA AM FM Tuner XJ XJ8 | eBay

If so, it looks like a Subaru connector, common in euro cars.

I couldnt find any information on the wire colors/pinouts on the head unit, but a simple $10 wire harness will solve all of those issues.

(I HIGHLY recommend using wire harnesses for aftermarket stereos. Less hassel, pretty much dumb-proof, and you dont have to cut the vehicles wiring at all)

To the best of my knowledge, this is the aftermarket wiring harness you would need to pick up to wire in a new stereo to the Daimler if the head unit above is the correct one.

BHA8901 Aftermarket Radio Install Harness in select 1995-08 Subaru :: Installation :: Car Stereos and components

Also, i could not find any dash kits that are made for the Daimler to allow an aftermarket head unit to fit. By looking at the above pictures, i can modify the current housing around your stock unit to accept any aftermarket stereo for you if ya sent it to me.


Many thanks for this info - very helpful.
Best regards
Logis

 

Hi, I have caused a little fault, whilst replacing my stereo, the supply cable (red and pink) that goes to the ignition shorted while I ran the car for a while. The cable has melted a little bit with in the loom but luckily caught it in time before it melted all the others(Dumb *** I know!!) Do you know the best solution for this? Run a new cable in to the ignition/fuse board and disconnect the old one. I have chased back as far as I can but get lost behind the dials, where about does this wire connect to??

 

So - I disconnected both yellow leads from the harness and then reattached them one at a time into the head unit. Both provided power with the car turned off and the key out of the ignition??? The harness also has two RED wires coming out of it marked switched power that I spliced together and connected to the RED lead coming out of the head unit. Could these be the culprit? Getting frustrated as I can't seem to get the unit back in and my dash is all in pieces laying in the passenger footwell. Help....

 

Hi Jake

I want to replace my system without getting carried away

Ideally I want -
- something that looks good, conservative, not flashing lights etc
-takes my iPhone and its music
-maybe plays a CD
-maybe will still connect to the CDchanger in the boot/trunk if that's possible - not a deal breaker though
-preferably does hands-free for incoming calls
-gives good sound through the existing speaker set-up - ie: 4x door speakers - need upgrading

I dont want to put a 'boom-box' in the boot.

I do want to be able to listen to, say Led Zep or the Who or the great Keith Richards fairly loudly without going deaf, and still hear a bit of bass above the loud road noise we have in NZ (coarse-chip seal roads are very noisy and are our standard)

Is that a possible combination of 'wants'?
Are there 6inch speakers that will swap straight in that have adequate bass? the current set-up has no bass whatsoever, even with the bass turned up to 5

thanks, Al

PS I have found a fascia plate adapter for the curve of the 'ski-slope' on UK websites

 

Thanks Jake,
As far as price range, middle of the road would be good. I don't have any idea what the cost of stereos are these days. As far as features, must play a cd, usb for Ipod I guess, I don't have one but I have a terabite external harddrive that is almost full of music from a retired DJ's collection that I would like to load from. I was thinking of maybe 2 smaller subs in the compartment behind the seats (car is conv) & maybe a smallish amp. Hook me up with some model #'s if you get a minute.
Thanks Bill

 

.... looking around the net I found the Parrot Asteroid - any first-hand experiences with this unit?

thanks, Al

 

Jake, I've ordered a JVC single din KD AVX77 wide screen touch screen audio system. I actually checked it out at a local audio store and it had everything I was looking for. I want to route the aux and mp3\ipod under the ski slope and into the center armrest and all of these cables are accessed from behind the unit. I hate seeing an aux cable sticking out of the front.
Bluetooth, music streaming, iPod, aux input all the bells and whistles. And a slim touch screen face so it's very clean.
I assume the power supply from the original will be sufficient for the new unit. My speakers sound great so I'm hoping they'll work with this unit, although the sales person said the unit has much more power than my factory, so the factory speakers can't handle the higher volume level but as long as I don't blast, it should be fine.
I also purchased a "universal" harness from ebay, similar to one you discussed in a previous post, the one with two different plugs. (One white and one black) I'm hoping one will plug into the factory harness and I can use the loose wires to wire new unit after cutting off other end.
Any advice?

 

Jake , I have had another thought - I am keen on the Parrot Asteroid, but interent reviews complain that it can take a short time to power up again, if the car has been turned off for more than about 1o mins

I wondered about the possibility of wiring it directly to the 12V and by-passing the igintion switch, but having a little manual switch wired in so it could be left turned on and powered up day-to-day, but turned off for longer periods - this idea came to me after I rummaged around the boot/trunk and discovered the battery is big enough to jump start a Shermann tank...

 

Find the fuse in the vehicle that pertains to the radio, and run a new wire from that fuse. Trust me, if you ever try to trace a single wire in a car, you WILL get lost lol.

If you cannot find the fuse, run a new ignition lead from the ignition harness coming from underneath the steering wheel, and make sure you fuse it with a 10 or 15a fuse

Yes try the red wires individually to see if either of those work. One of them should be switched

Ok here is a solid deck that has the features your requesting: Alpine CDE-HD137BT
And few things to note:
- Aftermarket Decks are NOT compatible with any OEM cd changers

- You can swap your speakers out to achieve "somewhat" more bass, but the downside to aftermarket speakers is that they are designed to be used with some sort of Sub. The less range a speaker has to play in the sound spectrum, the better they will sound, thus they are made to be paired with a sub.

- There are ways to get Bass out of 6" speakers, but it requires alot of sound deadening and completely sealing the inside of your door panel. Essentially, you are making a "sealed speaker box" inside of your door, just like you would with a subwoofer.

-If i were to steer you into the direction of aftermarket speakers with adequate bass, i would Opt for the Alpine Type S 6" They sound great and have decent lowend response

Deck: Alpine CDE-HD137BT (using a 1TB harddrie is along shot, Decks dont hae the processing power to read that big of a drive)

Sub(s): Kicker CVR 10" (If you build the correct box, or have me, or a stereo shop build you the correct box, you will only need 1 sub in the car and it will sound like you have 2 or more, the box is the most important part of the setup for bass, not the sub itself. Granted you do not want to buy a cheap sub as it will sound muddy and easily blow)

Amp: Alpine M500 (Best amp ever made, sounds clean, will run almost any sub, very competitive price, ALPINE!)

That would be a very good sounding daily driver setup. The only other thing i would do would be to replace the speakers already in the vehicle.

The salesman is trying to upsell you, what i always tell my customers. "Put the deck in first, see how it sounds, if ya like it? Then you just saved yourself some money on buying new speakers"

The deck will put out more power, but its nothing too crazy to the point where your speakers will commit suicide.

And yes, the power system in the car will easily handle the new deck.

Here is my point of view on this, or anything wired directly to 12v:
- I HIGHLY recommend that you do not wire it directly to 12v. You will drain your battery if you forget to turn it off. Everyone forgets at least once, trust me. It will happen in the worst of times too...

- Lets look at a scenario, how often do you get in your vehicle and IMMEDIATELY need to make a call? The startup time is probably something you will barely notice.

- If it were me, I would just opt to buy a deck with Bluetooth built it. The Alpines have Parrot Bluetooth built directly into the unit, so of course it is very good quality.

If you are dead set on the Parrot, I will let you know that it is a PITA too hook up, even for a seasoned installer like me, my language gets very colorful installing them

 

Jake, couple questions
First, can you steer me towards some plate or surround to hide the sides of the opening in my wood stereo fascia? The shop that installed left the sides open where the new JVC unit is smaller. I'm used to a shop doing this for me but they didn't. Very disappointed.
Second, this JVC unit is supposed to flip open to gain access to the CD player. It tries but can't open. At first I thought it may be due to the stupid vent control below the unit but from the photo of the unit, it doesn't move down but tilts out. I'm wondering if the idiot that installed damaged the unit. Obviously he didn't check the unit after installing. (Although he did scratch my brand new wood stereo unit fascia!!) and he said he had to destroy my factory radio to use the housing to install my new unit.
He also said my original stereo power supply kept cutting out, which never happened to the factory unit, so he had to tap into the power supply from the cigar lighter. Huh? Then doubled the estimate for more labor. I think I'm going back to discuss with manager. Not happy! This is a major USA chain and I expected better.
BUT the unit is amazing, to flashy, very discreet ( although it does stick out about 1/4 inch more than factory) and sounds great with factory speakers.
The streaming Bluetooth works great with phone and iTunes, pandora, and such.

 

Send me a picture or two of the gaps/fascia if you can.

Im guessing you took it to Best Buy didnt you?

Just an FYI, Best Buy is the ABSOLUTE WORST place to take your vehicle for car audio.

 

And yes, your stereo should fold out with ease, and he most likely did not have to destroy your old radio to make the new one fit. I would return to the store and ask for a FULL refund and you OEM radio back. If they did not give you your old radio back, broken or not, that in itself is illegal.

 

thanks Jake

I read your replies too late - I went for the Parrot Asteroid, installed today, so far so good.
I needed new speakers - check out the attached photo of the old ones - explains the 'tinny' sound I was getting.
They have been replaced with 4x JVC 6" speakers which sound OK but lack adequate bass.
the installer thinks a subwoofer in the boot may not work because the petrol tank is between the trunk/boot and the rear seat, and the bass may not get through. I am going to live with the 4x 6" speakers for a few weeks and see how it goes.. if not happy, is there a small subwoofer that could go under the passenger's seat?

 

Thanks Jake,
I actually used Freeman's Audio. I've since checked the box of pieces left and found the instructions un opened! He never even looked at them. There is a provided trim plate listed clearly on the page and it would have hidden the gaps. I'm demanding they find it. He also didn't read that the unit needs very specific space top and bottom but he didn't leave enough, AND the plate would have covered space!
During installation, he called me and said he needed to use the original stereo mounting bracket to install, then when I asked where my factory unit was, he said he drilled it out to get the mounting bracket. I think he put the unit too far in the mounting bracket so the portion that flips is getting caught by the mounting box. He didn't even test it!!

 

Thank you Jake,
I will start buying in the near future, it will be a while before I install as I am doing a complete on the car.
As far as the harddrive, I only meant that I would download some of the music from it to an Ipod or something else to take in the car with me, not the whole drive itself.
When it comes tome for the sub box, I will get in touch with you to have it done right!
Thank you Bill