1995 golf GL mk3, installing car stereo

[dubdat]

hey all,
hope this is the right section to post..

im after some advise in installing a stereo in my 95 golf..
when it comes to wiring im pretty un-educated but i know ill b able to do it.

ive already got a head unit ( not installed)
should i replace all the speakers? and are they all pretty straight forward removing?
and the standard tapedeck as those little slits at either side which i asume a tool goes in to assist removal?
i might do sub/amp aswell but at this point im happy with head unit and speakers.

cheers for any help
tim

[Jmac]

Hey mate nothing wrong with having a stab but just be mindful not to short anything. If you havent done it before i reckon if you have your head deck itll be easier to grab yourself a a harness from jaycar or the likes. Firstly you will need to get the deck out you are right. Now you can buy the tools on ebay but the 2 prong ones you can buy pretty much anywhere. If stuck you can take it out without any tools but reqs removing the centre dash housing, pretty easy. That might actually help you if you are thinking of adding subs and the likes. You will free up space to do the work then put it all together. With a new harness you can match it all off the car and do all your soldering there, that way you will avoid shorts.
Happy to help futher
Cheers
Jmac

[paulie71]

agree Jmac, with the wiring behind the dashboard you can easily cause yourself some grief by not being prepared and and shoritng something in the process. There are harness adapters available to make it easy.

Re; the speakers, they are reasonably easy to replace, generally 4 screws each and the wiring at the back. take them out to suss out the size. I have left the genuine VW ones in (made by Nokia) for now and they pump out nice and clear even after 14 years of service.

[dubdat]

thanks for advise guys

[dubdat]

ok,
so turns out my new unit came with the prongs to slide the factory unit out no worries,

there isnt a great deal of slack (without dismantling any dash components) in the vw harness but it just comes out the empty hole,

so most the wires on the new unit are different colors to the vw ones,
the new unit has a guide to what wire is what, however im not sure whats what on the golf harness, nothing in the vw radio manual either,

im not familiar with a aftermarket harness and its benefits? are they made specifically for make/model?

thanks,

sorry if i sound a bit noob, you gotta learn somehow!

[The_Hawk]

You can get aftermarket harnesses to suit individual cars so you don't have to hack up the factory wiring. In some cases it's just a factory plug to bare wires and you have to solder in the wiring that comes with your new head unit. In other cases you can be lucky and get a complete kit ie "Golf Mk3 to Pioneer"

They talk about some here:

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/forums/f78/wiring-adaptor-mk3-golf-oem-radio-suit-aftermarket-28606.html

If you can get one of these harnesses they really are the best option for you. I'm always very happy when upgrading a radio (like I did for Dinjo the other day) to pull out the existing unit and find one of these harnesses. It means you just unplug the old then splice in the new connectors on the bench rather than trying to solder inside the dash !

[dubdat]

HELP CAR WONT START
I picked up that vw/Audi harness as recommended,
Wired it up normally,
Have had it working for a week however it wasn't quite rite, the stereo had to be turned on and stations retuned every drive..
So today I switched the two wires around mentioned I that thread, and it all works perfectly normal now,
However I just went to leave and my car won't start now,
It's turning, just won't fire up fuses appear ok..
Please any advise asap is appreciated

[team_v]

Have you chekced the battery?

[dubdat]

Have you chekced the battery?

Just did, 12.56

---------- Post added at 11:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:00 AM ----------

Still nothing,
Disconnected the stereo,
Visual check of fuses on fuse board and they appear fine..

Are there fuses anywhere relating spark/ignition?

[dubdat]

So the coil is fried, possibly more,
Gerting it fixed tomorrow
Still dont know what happened..

Once its fixed i think ill b too scared to plug the jvc deck back in :/

So when i put the key in the stereo turns on, then i turn to accessories and it remains on,
Is that normal in a golf for it to have power before turned to accesories?

All i have done is switched the red and yellow, orange to orange (allumination) ground to ground, and all the speaker wires

Advise please

[Gigitt]

Need to post pic of factory wiring diagram.

Generally:
Red is Switch 12V+ eg ON when you turn Key to ACC or ON, and OFF when you turn the key OFF or take out of ignition. It usually has a Fuse attached that is like 5 or 10A.
Yellow is usually the Memory wire ie, you connect it to Always ON 12V+. It draws bugger all power but keeps you stations in memory etc when you take out you keys from ignition. It can Have a fuse but wuold be like 0.5 or 1A. It will not drain you battery overnight.