removing radio dash

[justinraz]

i looked on the boards couldn't really find anything on how to take the dash apart. i got this sirius starmate and i want to put an fm direct audio transmitter. so i need to get the radio out so i can get to the antenna. i have a 1.8s stock versa. so nothing special. any help would be appreciated.

[Jemdawg]

This is pretty simple. There are only two panels you will have to remove; the middle one on the top of the dash, and then the one surrounding the stock HU. The top one pops right off, it will definitely feel like its about to break, but I assure you that it will not. You just need to get a good grip on it and pull it off starting from the front, a screwdriver should not be necessary for this step. Once you get this panel off, put it to the side somewhere, you should now see two phillips head screws holding the front panel in place, remove them and put them somewhere safe. You can now proceed to remove this panel, there will be two wires holding it in place, you can disconnect the wire attached to the hazard lights, but the airbag light itself must be removed, do not disconnect the wire attached to the airbag light. Removing the light should be self-explanatory; just squeeze the two tabs you see on it, it will take some force, but it will come out. Now you should have full access to the head unit, however, I cannot assist you any further unless you remove the brackets from the HU and take a gander at the wire harnesses plugged into the back of the unit as I have an SL model, not an S model. With any luck, they will be the same as in my car. In any event, do this and take a picture or at least, with elaboration that will suffice for my understanding, describe what you have. If yours is the same as mine, you should have three harnesses, two with multiple wires, on your left hand side of the HU, and one with only two, on your right hand side of the HU. I hope this can help you insofar, I'll be in class for a lot of the day today, so please be patient if you get back to me sooner than my expectations.

[justinraz]

thanks im not going to attempt today or even the next few days. i probably wont get to it til tuesday. but thanks for the info.

[Jemdawg]

No problem, I'll be here.

[Ever Victorious]

Jem... I dub thee Versa Audio Nerd.

[Jemdawg]

Awesome, can you change my title?

[Ever Victorious]

That's a good question. I'll have to ask a supermod.

[Jemdawg]

Glad to see that it was approved, haha. Now I stand out from the crowd in the most subtle way.

[marleyfan]

Too funny. Hey EV can you change mine to "Posts too much about too little?? When I'm ready to work on my stereo I'll definatly be looking up the Versa Audio Nerd.

[brownbrix]

i think you should create a DIY thread great info

[justinraz]

ok by front of dash do you mean closest to the windshield or by the stereo? i think i am going to attempt it tonight

[Jemdawg]

Top...

[Jemdawg]

Two screws...

[Jemdawg]

Front...

[justinraz]

ok i got all the stuff off. now do you know what the antenna cord is? i see something a yellow cord, black and something kinda clear

[Jemdawg]

There should be a few things plugged into the back of the HU, how many are there?

Something kinda clear?

[justinraz]

the only thing plugged into the back are 3 harnesses. yeah the other colors i was talking about were like below the stereo itself. dont know where they go

[Ever Victorious]

Too funny. Hey EV can you change mine to "Posts too much about too little?? When I'm ready to work on my stereo I'll definatly be looking up the Versa Audio Nerd.

Hehe... I can't modify them... they have to be run through the supermod staff, but I felt that Jemdawg truly deserved that title. Apparently so did the supermods.

Let me go back to the supermod forum and see if I can get Matt to post the audio install stuff that I sent him (Written by Jemdawg a month or so ago)...

[justinraz]

here is my situation. i need to get that direct fm modulator to hook up. all i need to do is get the antenna to plug into that and plug the modulator into the stereo. but none of the wires i see are big enough and there is no place to plug the modulator into in back of the stereo.

[Jemdawg]

The antenna harness has a grey plug and two wires attached to it, it's a weird plug for an antenna because they usually are like banana plugs.

[justinraz]

thats what i figured. so then this thing wont work

[Jemdawg]

Not without adapting it. I don't know why Nissan made their antenna different, it just doesn't make any sense for them to have it like that.

Try bringing it to Radioshack or a local car audio place, maybe they can give you the correct components to make it work. The route I would go is to buy a set of banana plugs from Radioshack and the female end of the antenna that usually recieves a banana plug, splice the thicker wire on the harness, put a banana plug on one end, and the female counterpart on the other. This way your device can plug in there and you can plug the factory harness back in, and when you want the regular radio back, you can just plug that banana plug back in. This is just an idea, I'm not sure if you want to go that route.

[justinraz]

well first off let me say thank you for the help with the dash. it was super easy. and yes i was thinking about getting the ends to do it. it just sucks i checked with the dude and he was like "yeah it installs easily". but i will figure something out. i have off this tuesday.

[Jemdawg]

Ok, glad to hear that I could help. The guy who said it was easy probably assumed that the HU had a normal plug.

[justinraz]

another thing i was thinking was if i cut the antenna cord and just put two regular male/female connectors on that should work wouldnt it? i just wouldnt be able to use my radio until i plug the connectors in. cause i guess all this fm transmitter does is cut the car antenna out.

[Jemdawg]

Yeah, normally there would be a jack on the back of the OEM HU where your plug would go right in, so you'd detach the antenna cable and put yours in.

[MyFirstNissan]

Hey found out the antenna is actually a subaru adapter. They got it on crutchfield for $20 plus s+h. I found a full kit (female and male needed to install my sirius antenna) for under $11 on ebay including shipping. Ill post after i install it to let you all know how it worked.

I didnt investigate much more than that but the antenna plug is for a 2005+up subaru. Perhaps the whole HU is based on subaru(ie the other 2 or 3 wiring harnesses)

Hope this helps

Great info btw on the dash removal BUMP

[Jemdawg]

Good find!

Perhaps it is, because Clarion is the OEM for Subaru and Nissan, at least the Versa and my '95 Sentra.

[justinraz]

i just tried the subaru ones and they didnt work. im starting to get frustrated with this simple little project.

[Jemdawg]

Figures. Yep, I always end up with problems when things should be simple, but it all resolves with time. I hate to say this, but take your car over to a reputable audio shop, see if they're willing to take a look at your situation.