Fitting new stereo in the B5

tony8028 · Jun 9, 2016

I am looking to upgrade the stereo in my B5 which is still the old CD player type that came with the car....will a standard off the shelf head unit fit the wiring connectors that are already there or do i need to get an adapter? If so, which one?

many thanks

cuppie · Jun 9, 2016

Single-DIN (or single-DIN cassette w/ separate single-DIN CD player), or double-DIN radio in the car?
The single-DIN setup is not a CAN radio. You'll just need an adapter harness (or, Blaupunkt head units are basically plug-and-play, with maybe a minor pin reassignment.)
Double-DIN (used, IIRC, as of 08/2001 or 09/2001 production) is a CAN radio. You'll need an 'interface adapter' - an adapter harness with a "magic box" included. (the CAN radio doesn't have a switched power supply - instead, a bus signal tells the radio to turn on. Non-CAN radios still had switched power.)

If it's a CAN radio, you can also find switched power at (IIRC) the ignition switch. But, getting the adapter greatly simplifies the install. Just build up the adapter at the kitchen table, and go plug it in.

tony8028 · Jun 10, 2016

cuppie said:
Single-DIN (or single-DIN cassette w/ separate single-DIN CD player), or double-DIN radio in the car?

Single DIN. Are the adapters readily available?

jjpark · Jun 10, 2016

Crutchfield is the way to go. The off the shelf head unit will not fit your cars wiring harness. I don't know of any off the shelf radio that would be a plug and play with any car.

If you don't hook the wiring up correctly with the correct aftermarket harness you will certainly have issues with not only the radio but with other electronics in the car.

VAGguy · Jun 10, 2016

The blaupunkts do have the iso plugs. It's kind if a standard in europe. Some will plug right up.

That said, any car stereo place will sell you the correct harness to use for your car. Check out the install sticky in the mobile electronics section here.

jjpark · Jun 11, 2016

VAGguy said:
The blaupunkts do have the iso plugs. It's kind if a standard in europe. Some will plug right up.

I totally forgot about Blaupunk :thumbup:

That said, any car stereo place will sell you the correct harness to use for your car.

Any stereo place? You keep believing that

oke:

scotts13 · Jun 10, 2016

Remember that you'll also need a powered antenna adapter, assuming the car still has the factory antenna. If your car has steering-wheel controls, you MAY be able to get an adapter to continue to use those; If you have a trunk-mounted CD changer, that won't work anymore.

captain_video · Jun 11, 2016

Be aware that if you install an aftermarket head unit and decide to take the car to a VW dealer to have it worked on, they may charge you to remove the head unit so they can connect the diagnostic reader to the car. Some units may use one of the pins in the connector that feeds a black box on the car. If the head unit is connected and they try to run a diagnostic, it could damage their equipment. This is what the dealers claim in any case, even though the vast majority of aftermarket stereos won;t ever use this pin for anything.

Even if your antenna is not powered you'll need an adapter to mate the unit with the antenna lead. The cable has a button snap-type connector vs the standard Motorola plug used on American cars.

egovreau · Jun 11, 2016

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/aftermarket-radio.html

Here's the skinny on the aftermarket stereo problem and how to check for it.

Sent from the 7th Galaxy.

FrescoGreen01.5 · Jun 11, 2016

My two cents...

If you're happy enough with the sound quality (and Monsoon, in particular, isn't bad) and just want to connect your iPod, etc., then there are aftermarket iPod interfaces that plug right up to the factory radio, electrically in place of the external CD changer. The iPod behaves as if it were the changer, so you have some controls right on the factory radio. No hacking, cutting, or kludging.

VAGguy · Jun 11, 2016

Should I elaborate? Professional Car stereo shop. They should have access to most car audio install supplies to sell.

captain_video · Jun 12, 2016

If you don't want to upgrade your head unit then I highly recommend installing damping material like Dynamat or Raammat in your doors. You'd be amazed how much better it will make any system sound. However, the stock head unit in the B5 kinda sucks, but the speakers sound surprisingly decent with a better head unit.

jjpark · Jun 12, 2016

Do you have personal experiance as to using the Dynamat? I have been looking into it for a good while but haven't been able to talk with anyone that's using it.

Do you put it on the inside of the doors behind the panels or do you remove the inner metal panel and put it on the inside of the door (behind the glass)? How much does it actually take?

captain_video · Jun 12, 2016

I have not specifically used Dynamat, but I have used Raammat, which does basically the same thing. You pull the door liner panel and apply the Raammat directly to the metal skin on the door facing the interior. I bought a box of the stuff and have enough left over to do several cars. You can buy it directly from the source here:

RAAMaudio - Automotive sound deadening products

I've got a fairly high end system and I noticed the difference right away. The bass was much tighter and the overall sound was much cleaner. The stuff basically deadens any vibrations in the doors and eliminates road noise that can affect the quality of the sound.

Fitting new stereo in the B5

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