Changing Car Stereo

Neo#

Hi, im thinking of changing the stereo in my first car. Its a mark 1 punto. Im wondering could I do it myself or would I be better leaving it to a pro? Im thinking of something like: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-MEX-BT2500-car-head-Bluetooth/dp/B000NIZQEE/ref=pd_sbs_ce?ie=UTF8&qid=1203277495&sr=8-22. Would I be better off changing the speakers too?

colm_mcm

changing it should be simple, plug in/plug out. you may have to reverse the permanent live and ignition live. but nothing too involving. (presuming your existing stereo is a Blaupunkt that doesn't turn off with the ignition?)

Neo#

Yeah its a Blaupunkt and doesnt swith off with the engine. Thats sounds easy enough. What about speaker size. Would the originals be big enough to handle it do you think?

colm_mcm

the speakers will be able to handle it, don't worry. If the sound quality isn't up to scratch then change them - change the headunit first and see how you feel.

That headunit is pretty good. it's the model Hyundai are fitting to their cars at the moment. has bluetooth connectivity.

You'll need to swap two wires on one of the plugs going in to the radio. As far as I remember, Sony wiring leads (you'll get one with the headunit) have 2 wires with bullet connectors on them (like those pictured)

that can let you swap permanent live and ignition live wires easily.

The speakers in the dash in the front are 8.7cm

Pioneer do a custom fit speaker upgrade for the front speakers on the Punto
http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/products/25/132/201/TS-875/index.html
and if you have rear ones, they'll be 10cm

Neo#

Nice one. thanks a lot. Ill buy that unit in the next week so!:D

HJL

Colm, maybe you can give me so advise on my stereo:
I have a '98 Ibiza that had a Sony headunit in it when i bought it, so when i bought a better one for it [also Sony] i just done a direct swap. Neither radio switched off when car is turned off, and the radio i bought has 'auto dim' feature for the display when the lights come on.

Anything i can do to fix this on my car? Do i just swap one lead with the other to make it go on and off with the ignition? And how about the auto dim feature? My thoughts on this was that maybe my car is too old to have any wires on it to tell the radio the lights are on!

What makes it annoying is that you dont just press a button on a lot of Sony's to turn them off, but you have to hold the button in for a few seconds, like a mobile phone; if your late for work it adds vital seconds on getting out of the car and in the door!!

blastman

[picky mode]Colm, those aren't bullet connectors, bullet connectors are round.[/picky mode]

colm_mcm

meh, couldn't find a proper pic of bullet connections. I usually call a spade a spade, but in this case, I'll call a spade a bullet