I took my 2003 XK8 Convertible/Alpine sound system (all original) to Best Buy today to hunt up a new stereo - I’d like Bluetooth, Satellite compatible, simple radio, aux port, USB port. There are three units on the BB website that say they’ll work - Alpine, Kenwood, Sony. BUT, when I talked to the techs about installing one of these (liked the Kenwood the best) they said the original radio communicates digitally with the amplifier and so they’d have to replace the amp and all the speakers, and they did not have a faceplate that would work. They checked on Crutchfield, their secondary source of parts, and said there was nothing there that could be used and they could not help me in any way. This whole ‘digital communication’ thing threw me, and having to replace the speakers as well as the amp???? What?? Was this total bs? What options do I have to put in a new stereo/radio?? I really don’t want to replace the amp and speakers. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

they are correct - if you replace the head unit, you would need to replace ALL for anything to communicate. You can buy an adapter and faceplate kit from Incartec

https://incartec.co.uk/product/Jagua...jmRaFPVR38po80

 

Naw, it's not difficult at all if you have the premium Alpine system. You just have to be tenacious.
Please add (Solved) to this thread title.



Note: The following instructions only apply to Alpine premium systems and is NOT applicable to Harman Kardon amplified systems.

The key is that the Jag line-level speaker harness plug is connected to the stock amp in the boot, not in the center console in front at the head unit where they are normally found on most other cars. So you have to run new line-out speaker signal wires from the head unit in front to the boot (hence the #3 25' 7-wire harness below) and connect them to the plug in the boot. At this point, it might be just as easy & way cheaper to just run individual line-out wires from the new head unit to the individual speakers. But I didn't want to do that, I wanted to use the stock jag stereo wire harness.

I was able to ditch the stock head unit, amp, and CD changer and install an modern single-din aftermarket BT touch-screen stereo at home without chopping up the stock jag stereo harness using these:

1. https://www.discountcarstereo.com/arh-jag2p.html $65
2. https://www.discountcarstereo.com/aih-jagrca.html $35
3. 16 Gauge 7 Conductor 25FT, UL 2464 16 AWG 7 Wire Cable
   16 Gauge 7 Conductor 25FT, UL 2464 16 AWG 7 Wire Cable
   $36
4. https://poweracoustik.com/products/cp-71w $155
   The CP-72W was very popular with the S2000 crowd

I recall doing the following:

1. I removed the stock head unit & rear amp+cdplayer stack.
2. cut the 25' 7-wire harness in half and ran a 2x7 harness from the head unit area to where the amp+cdplayer stack used to be in the trunk.
3. In front: install the new head unit using the yellow and small white plugs from aih-jag2p to bring power to the head unit.
4. In front: hooked one #2 aih-jagrca connector from the head-unit rca subout to the stock jag data cable.
5. in front: connected the head unit speaker line outs to the 14 wires in the 2x7-wire harness
6. In boot: hooked the other #2 aih-jagrca connector from the jag data cable in back for when I install an aftermarket amp & sub this summer. I may have reserved one wire in the 7-wire harness for the sub on/off signal
7. in boot: connected the 14 wires to the remaining arh-jag2p large white connector that plugs into the jag stereo wire harness.

It's been awhile and I may be missing a step or two. I had limited time, so I didn't bother to figure out how to hook up the steering wheel stereo controls. The little leaper is from an XJ40 dash. I duplicated this install: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...7/#post2869308

I am very happy with the result and it'll be even better once I add a real sub & amp.

If I was to do it again and had more time, I would:

1. Use a single din touchscreen stereo with a rotary volume knob instead of up/down buttons.
2. Figure out how to connect the steering wheel controls to the head unit volume
3. Move the head unit to the top of the console stack; right now it is too low and inset too far. Similar to what Beacham did in their XKR-based XKE update

Some helpful instructions from DiscountStereo:

 

Thank you, I will read and sort this out. Appreciate the photo!

 

The excellent arh-jagd2p install guidance document from Discount Car Stereo: www.discountcarstereo.com/pdf/arh-jag2p.pdf
I added the final RCA connector image at the end from my files, but I don't have the original link. It includes the blue sub amp remote on/off wire, so I didn't have to run that signal through my 2x7-wire harness back to the boot..
Note: If you are doing this install on a 2000-2003 XJ X308 sedan, you will need to run a 2x8-wire harness from the head unit to the boot to feed the rear door midbass speakers that the X100 doesn't have

I found Discount Car Stereo products and support to be excellent and highly recommend them.

 

I went a different route and got the jagaux adapter from jagaux.com (use coupon code 20off to save $20!) and installed an android tablet that has an aluminum heat sink on both the tablet itself and the DC->DC converter behind where the GPS used to be (my trim plate was garbage so I grabbed one from the parts XK8). I ran an aux cable to the tablet so I could still use my phone for other things as well, but mainly I use the tablet. I use an OBDLink MX+ and leave it plugged in since it has an auto-sleep function that only draws about 2ma and wakes up with the ignition. More info is better. I have everything I need in front of me except oil pressure, which I'm working on figuring out the telemetry for.

UI I settled on: Car Launcher Pro, Torque Pro Widgets for gauges.

How it looks fully mounted

Bracket screwed onto plate.

How it looks with the trim reinstalled

thick Aluminum plate (behind is the power supply, switched, wired into the old GPS harness), acts as heat sink

 

Thank you. I have purchased what you suggested, and located a local car audio shop to take everything to.
My last question is about the faceplate - to be clear, this is going into a 2003 XK8 convertible, with a premium Alpine system. The faceplate unit recommended by another poster is for the standard setup, not the premium that I have. What should I look at for the faceplate? (I don’t know what the new head unit will come with.)

Thank you.

Caris

 

the head unit for the standard and premium systems is the same

 

nitpicky correction - the form factor for the standard and premiums systems is the same, so you can use the same faceplate to replace either.

 

Flick a switch to change head unit from standard to premium, that's more than simply form factor.