Looks good, hows the sound. did you only upgrade the radio.

 

Sound seems to be a little better than the stock. Yes, so far I have only upgraded the head unit.

 

That is one of the cleanest installations I have seen. Makes me want to do it.

 

Not real easy but it will fit with modifications.

 

I have an Alpine WD987 with a 7" screen, it's sat in a box after taking out of another (not Jag) car, it's in the box because I didn't think it would fit in my 1998 XJ8? Do you have any detailed advice on how to do it, the screen on the Alpine seemed too big to replace the factory head unit?

Paul

 

That looks great, did you have to butcher all of the factory connectors?

 

No, I didn't have to butcher the original harness. I made a short harness that plugs into the Jag harness. There are two connectors on the original harness. The yellow one has all the steering wheel controls, phone, antenna etc. I only had to use two of the original wires on that one. One for the antenna and one that goes to the steering wheel controls on the wheel. The main connector has the power and all the speakers.

 

THATS my attempt - infinity reference speakers, 4x130 watt amp in boot plus 500 watt sub

 

Might I ask which model your head unit is? Looks good. Also, did you use a spare factory plug from another car or wherever, to create your own harness, and did you have to modify any of the supporting structure in the dash? Just curious!

 

My Pioneer AVH-2330NEX is a full size Double Din unit with a 7" screen. If mine will fit I think yours will. Several modifications have to be done to make it fit but nothing so bad that you couldn't put it right back to original if you wanted to.

1. Air bag module is in the way. All I did on mine is unbolt it from the trans tunnel and push it back. I never disconnected it. This allows the bottom of the back of the radio clearance all the way back to the trans tunnel with about 1/8 to spare. I put velcro across the tunnel in this area for the radio to sit on. I also put a strip of velcro across the bottom of the radio. So the radio ends up being velcroed to the tunnel in the back.
2. Section of plastic going across the top (few inches in) has to be cut out to allow clearance for the top of the radio. There is two small bolts there that go in to clips that will be removed. I cut mine just large enough for the radio to squeeze in. This gives the radio support at the top.
3. The metal brace across the bottom of the radio has to be bent. You basically just push down the top of it just above the two white plastic grommets. I used a normal sized pair of vice grips to do this. Adjust the vice grips in such a way that the bottom jaw grips the bottom of the brace and the top jaw folds the metal down. You are basically using the vice grips like a pry bar. You ARE NOT squeezing the brace with the vice grips. You don't move the location of the two white grommets because you are going to still use those when you put the plastic radio surround back on.
4. The original plastic surround has to be heavily modified. I had several of these that I got from the local pic a part so I practiced on one for mock up. This is the only part that you are modifying to the point that you couldn't use it if you were to put your original stereo back in.

 

Thanks, it is an AVH-2330NEX. I bought a female plug that plugs right in to the original Jag harness. So I started with two pigtails...one that mates to the Jag harness and the one that comes with the stereo. I hooked the appropriate speaker and power wires together. I also added in an Axxess module to make the original steering wheel controls work, the chip that allows the DVD player to work while driving, a lighted switch on the console to control the power antenna and another lighted switch that turns the rear view camera on. I ran the USB and Aux to the cigarette lighter location in the console. And yes supporting structure was modified. Please see my other post I made today about that.

NOTE: My car is a standard stereo car. The wiring I describe above would be different for a car with premium sound.

 

I've got a luck fitting there 1din joying head unit, also added new speakers and subwoofer in the boot, the thing sounds and looks great
It is a single din so no problem with the tight space behind

 

I've been waiting to see if anyone would use one of those Joying units!
I have a few questions...

Which model did you go with?
How do you find it to use?
Does it integrate with the steering controls?
Do you miss having a volume knob?

 

Smallest 6.2" (UMS04N model) unit fits just right, i only had to add veneers on the side of the screen to cover space left after original radio. I think anything bigger than 6.2" wont do or would have to be fixed under substantial angle which i didn't like, Steering wheel control is seamless, just hanged relevant wires and configured buttons in the head unit i use steering wheel volume it is even better than the knob! Overall it is nice piece of hardware, sounds great and is well thought and done, on the software side it could be a bit more polished but being android is enough configurable to DIY. if you are so inclined.

 

That is a beautiful install xjack. Here are my questions...

1. Do you have a backup camera installed? If so, did you figure out a way to automatically activate it? The left switch on my console turns the camera on. I almost installed a micro switch to turn it on automatically but I kind of liked the idea of being able to turn it on any time.
2. Does that unit properly control the power antenna? The right switch on my console brings the antenna down. If the switch is on it operates with the radio. I didn't like the antenna going up and down all the time for no reason.
3. Did you use the Axxess steering wheel control module? Did you program the telephone on and off hook buttons?
4. Did you have to modify the plastic surround?
5. Great job on the veneers, it looks like they match perfectly. What did you have to do to accomplish that?

 

I'm still searching for backup camera that i could mount somewhere on the bumper because i don't like to drill holes in the boot lid, it should work fine, head unit have camera control line which is hanged to the reverse light and back up camera, i used cd changer cable to connect head unit with the amplifier in the boot and and left connection ready for camera, As for the antenna it goes up and down every time i turn on/off the unit so control is fine, also there is backlight line which turns radio illumination when car lights are on and it also works fine, no need to use modules for steering wheel control it just works, there is procedure for assigning buttons to radio options, quite few to choose from, i have it configured vol+, vol-, next track/hang the call, previous track/pick the call. The whole thing is a quite straight fit, no need to modify anything in the console, it drops into place under right angle with no spaces at the top or bottom of the screen (given that mounting clips are in correct lowermost position). I did laterals out of plywood and fixed them to the back of the screen, burr walnut veneered and varnished on the top, really hard to tell the difference. got my walnut veneers from ebay (oakdale i think) time ago, they look greyish brown while in raw form but get perfect matched deep brown color once varnished. I liked them ever since,
Joying comes with the two usb connections so i wired them to the center arm rest, now i can charge mobile etc, also here it is burr walnut over plywood but covered with clear epoxy instead of varnish, (less job and looks better)

And in spare time i made this little subwoofer, fits neatly in the corner of the boot and don't take much space, almost veneered it too..

 

Thanks 2001 White XJ8, knowing that your radio has the 7" the same as mine I am confident I can tackle this. Especially as I am lucky enough to live within 6 miles of a Jaguar breakers that will have lots of radio surrounds I can practice on.

Will take me a while due to other more urgent repairs but I will post you a few pics when I eventually get it done.

Once again, thanks.
Paul

 

Hi 2001 White XJ8. Totally inspired with your fabulous looking installation I attempted it with my INE-W987D unit, I'm sure the 'body' of my unit must be bigger for some reason as it simply wouldn't go in without some serious mods to the heater ducts inside the tunnel. I moved the Airbag Controller backwards towards the rear of the car (under the Armrest box) as that was also in the way. Here's the reults:-



I'm pleased with it, after I clean my finger prints off it I'm sure it will be fine? Thanks so much for the inspiration and advice....
Paul

 

Did the Kenwood DPX501BT w/ mine the front side is about 2 din size but it scales down to about a single as it travels back, professionally done so I'm not sure of the work required to do so.