[pdxa4]

Hey guys,
Looking to take my radio out so that I can fit a carkit to my car...I'm going to use the dashmount metal piece for the phone holder...

Anyway I made the radio removal tools from a credit card, and proceded to try and remove...

Here you can see the tools inserted, but the radio never popped out at all which is my issue, I try to push from the back with the tools inserted but it has zero movement like it is still latched in...

Here are the tools..one set official, and the rest was a old credit card...

What am I doing wrong guys ? Is there a special method that I am missing out on...any help or advice would be greatly appreciated...Thanks :bow:

Instructions to remove the plastic face unit are here...http://www.dashmount.co.uk/additsjune/71304.htm all I need is to get the radio removed...

 

[NU_Passat]

Well...my advice is going to find an audio store to do it with the special tools.
I spend $10 to remove in Boston with the help of my friend.
You need 2 people to do this job.
It is paining your ASS to do this just yourself,
because you have to pull it both side together.
I've tried it with my friend for 30 mins but nothing except many cut on our hands.
Some people here may think it is easy...
but I think it is worth to spend just $10~15 bucks to get someone to pull it for you.
It is all up to you.
Here is my advice.

---Alex---

 

[pdxa4]

Thanks for the advice NU_Passat, but I was really hoping that I could remove this myself...surely they do not need two techs to remove a double-din radio...

 

[RL331]

Where did you get those "official" ones - they do not look OEM. They should have a notch on them which is what pushes the latch in and releases the tab.

 

[pdxa4]

Where did you get those "official" ones - they do not look OEM. They should have a notch on them which is what pushes the latch in and releases the tab.

I got them for a while from another friend...your ones look much better though...would you have dimension of them so I could try to cut them out ?

Thanks for the response...

 

[rollininstyle2004]

I have a Single Din for my early B5.5, but you def DONT need 2 people to remove it. When you push the keys in you have to make sure it clicks and opens the latch on the inside. Once the keys are latched in they wont be able to be pulled back out without hitting the release on the side of the radio after its removed. I used a hanging file folder i just took the metal top piece out and used the hanging clips on the end. It worked great. It took around 12 seconds to remove :lol: :lol: Maybe the Double Din is harder to remove???
HTH

 

[Johnny B5.5]

Yeah, my single din was a snap to uninstall.

 

[Tom Parish]

I removed my wife's double DIN and it was a snap. I bought the tools from Crutchfield.

Use the right tools and it works, REALLY!!!!!!!

 

[pdxa4]

I removed my wife's double DIN and it was a snap. I bought the tools from Crutchfield.

Use the right tools and it works, REALLY!!!!!!!

Yea it should be super easy...it's just near impossible for me to find these right tools over here...the dealers are not allowed to sell them...

 

[Coyote]

At work we have many engineers going round the country fitting cell phone kits.
Removing head units is a real issue. With the right tool the job is asy, with the wong tools, the job can be delayed and damage to the HU and surrounds can cause problems. In extreme cases the customer ias asked to take the car to the approprite dealer to get the HU relased. Most dealers or even professional audio installers will have all the right tools and you can usualy convince them to do the job for free - takes all of about 30 seconds.

 

[geordie]

Does it help to see the latch in detail? The problem I had was that there was enough of a gap for the key to ride over the latch instead of disengaging it. You can see the gap on the top left latch, both these pictures are of the left side with the head unit sitting upright:

Notice in the lower picture that the slots in the front align to just inside the metalwork of the head unit rather than half way down the tabs, so if the key can get out of line it only has to move a mm or so to miss unlocking the catch. I think I bent the end of the key down in the end. Once all four were locked in I just pulled it out by the keys. If you are using keys without a notch then that's going to be a problem.

 

[geordie]

Here's the radio being removed with the Crutchfield keys:

 

[Mr_Mike]

The credit card keys are not stiff enough.

Using the spines from hanging file folders does work though.

You do know that the long edge of the keys goes outboard?

What you are trying to do is move the little vertical portion of the tab inward.

You do not have to be terribly accurate with the angle of the cut on the end of the keys, but slightly sharper is better than slightly blunter.

You do not have to cut the notch in the keys. That just keeps the key locked in place. In fact, its better to not have the notch.

 

[pdxa4]

Well thanks guys for your help, I got the correct set of tools this evening from a fellow V-Dub guy...and naturally with the correct tools it came out immediately...

Now I just need to get the correct harness for my carkit and all will be good...

 

[Mr_Mike]

What makes you think there is a harness for this application? What phone kit are you using?

I'm interested because I had to make my own harness. For what its worth, you have to add a pin to one connector (for mute) and you need to source a connector for the currently unpopulated phone connector.

 

[RL331]

Where do you source connectors?

 

[Mr_Mike]

Where do you source connectors?

The connector is similar to the CD changer connector. Either one of these connectors will work. The keying on the connector might be wrong, but its not tough to get around. If the keying feature is wrong, just use a razorblade and cut off the keying feature. Its real easy. The part numbers are 3B7 035 447A or 3B7 035 447B. Just buy the cheaper one.

You also need the pins for the connector. For the phone +/- pins, you need one repair wire 000 979 003. You cut it in half and each end has one pin on it. Thats all you need for the audio lines.

You also have to connect the mute line to the existing connector on the radio.

Unfortunately, I don't know the part number for the repair pin for the mute line. I used pins out of the connector I cut off to do the W8 overhead light mod. Its a much bigger pin that the tel +/- pins. Just go to the dealer and look through their repair wire collection.

 

[pdxa4]

www.dashmount.co.uk makes them...

 

[Coyote]

I've got a fitted Nokia cark91. All connects to ISO connectors on back of HU, with mute and cell phone audio out through car front speekers rather than the standard cellphone speaker. My company fits kits in the UK; we source cables from Autoleads / CoStar and mounting brackets from Dashmount / CoStar.

Using the right leads and kit makes the job so much easier and such a better overall result.

 

[RL331]

Where do you source connectors?

The connector is similar to the CD changer connector. Either one of these connectors will work. The keying on the connector might be wrong, but its not tough to get around. If the keying feature is wrong, just use a razorblade and cut off the keying feature. Its real easy. The part numbers are 3B7 035 447A or 3B7 035 447B. Just buy the cheaper one.

You also need the pins for the connector. For the phone +/- pins, you need one repair wire 000 979 003. You cut it in half and each end has one pin on it. Thats all you need for the audio lines.

You also have to connect the mute line to the existing connector on the radio.

Unfortunately, I don't know the part number for the repair pin for the mute line. I used pins out of the connector I cut off to do the W8 overhead light mod. Its a much bigger pin that the tel +/- pins. Just go to the dealer and look through their repair wire collection.

Thanks I'm actually looking for a connector that the existing Monsoon CD-changer plug goes into (on the dash end) - any idea if there is a part number? :???: