Volvo 480 Club Europe

I want to fit my Sony 10 disk CD changer and head unit into my new 480. I have removed the old radio but it seems tricky to get the audio and cd changer leads down through the dash and out into the floor area so that I can route them through to the boot. Has anyone done this? Did you take out the dash front? I want to conceal the cables on their route to the boot -has anyone done this? Did you have to take the seats out? Where is the best place to put the changer?
Lots of questions I know but any advice much appreciated as usual!
Thanks!

I don't own a 480 so i can't be very specific. But in my 440 i took the headunit out. I then removed the underdash trim (driver side), this is just a case of using a screwdriver to open the plastic pin thingys and pulling them off and then the trim itself. This will then allow you to put your head in the footwell and look for light from the hole where the headunit was. You can then feed the cables from the headunit position to the underside of the dash. I then removed the side kick panel trim (undo screw and pull) and other side trims (pull upwards) that hold the carpet in place. Just be careful not to break the tabs. Put the cables underneath the carpet and replace the trims. Feed the cables into the boot. Make sure you mount the changer securely and have the changer on the correct angle setting (otherwise cds may skip easily).

Alternative places where you could mount the changer could be the glovebox if it was small enough or under the passenger seat.

Ed

Hi Ed - thanks for the reply - will take a look at my dash fixings and see if I can apply your technique to the 480 - miss my CDs so want to get it sorted!

Put a 10 CD Sony changer under the passenger-chair in my previous 480, had to be in the highest position, but I never sad in it so that was fine

i've put mine under the passanger seat, its a 6 disc so it fits right in,

i ran the cable under the carpet, then under the door plasic sill strip, up to behind the glovebox, the into the radio.

i had to take the seat off to bolt the cd changer in place, it took me about an hour to do it all.

this is what i took when i fitted it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v615/ ... hanger.jpg

its easy-peasy!

you push the wires through to the glovebox from the stereo opening (with a flexible stick or hard nbit of wire..) (remove the glovebox first) then remove the little bit of trim by the left hand side of the passenger footwell run the cables down through there, them remove the black plastic trim on the bottom of the door frame (don't run the cables under this tho or it'l never go back on quite right) move the carpet out a bit from this, run the cables under the carpet in the crease where the floor joins the side of the car through to the end of the door frame bit and then up behind the rear passenger side storage bin, curl up any excess cable under the rear passenger side seat and run short length of wire into the boot. (if you are mounting it on the side of the boot remember to make sure that when the seats are fully back you can still get the magazine out!)

Job done! and no wires to be seen! Hope that makes sense!

depending on the size of the unit....
ive just put the sony 10 cd changer in the rear passenger bin.....the one that is sometimes a speaker?
ive got an old bin anyway, so i took this out, cut all the actuall bin bit away, and mounted it in there (with some foam packing!) and replaced the top trim i now had made from the bin......the whole changer doesnt show, but the bit where the caddy comes out does, so job done...

rgrds
rob

robkendall wrote:ive just put the sony 10 cd changer in the rear passenger bin.....

I like this idea!! have you any pictures of the finished product?

piper1st wrote:

robkendall wrote:ive just put the sony 10 cd changer in the rear passenger bin.....

I like this idea!! have you any pictures of the finished product?

lol...nope, but i can get some i suppose......ive got hardly any pics of my car
rgrds
rob

Thanks for all the advice - sounds like I can get away without taking the dash off which is a relief! Looking forward to listening to some fine CDs on my way to work - will try and get the changer under the passenger seat of it will squeeze in.....

Hi All

Well I have fitted my CD changer and thanks to your advice it was not too bad to do....Only problem I had was getting the wiring to the head unit OK - my head unit needed a switched live on one of the pins but the standard ISO connector in the car only had a constant live so at first I couldn't switch it off!. Anyway - if anyone else has this problem then I solved it by using a relay to switch the constant live as there is another low output switched live (for dashboard illumination) which I used to drive the relay. Make sure you use fuses on the relay though!

robkendall wrote:lol...nope, but i can get some i suppose......ive got hardly any pics of my car

that would be good, just when ever you get a chance! You too Cooper!