Radio Replacement

1990 420SEL ....

Just got back from our local Long Radio here in CT, and I'm not happy. I was quoted $250 to install an Alpine CDE-121 radio. After two hours they told me that 'there wasn't any sound' so they would have to rewire the car (audio wiring) and replace the speakers. This according to the outcome of a 'technical hotline' phone call. I asked going in, if they had experience with this auto and they assured me that they did, but not often.

I'm assuming that they can't use the existing amplifiers, and that the speaker impedance is probably incompatible with the new radio.

Is what they're telling me true, or are they just attempting to rip me off?

Any insight will be greatly appreciated!

John

Reply to
John Simpson
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That's a BS story. It shows how incompetent they are. I have installed aftermarket head unit into 1988 300SDL... same setup as your. works perfectly without any modification.

Everything hooks up as normal... speaker wires (you have to make sure the polarity is correct. There are a couple extra wires... to power up the amp... simply hook them up to the antennae or aux power hookup so they turn on the amp when radio is on.

Reply to
Tiger

That's a BS story. It shows how incompetent they are. I have installed aftermarket head unit into 1988 300SDL... same setup as your. works perfectly without any modification.

Everything hooks up as normal... speaker wires (you have to make sure the polarity is correct. There are a couple extra wires... to power up the amp... simply hook them up to the antennae or aux power hookup so they turn on the amp when radio is on.

Thanks Tiger. I suspected it was BS.

John

Reply to
John Simpson

Agree with Tiger. Put in an Alpine stereo in my 1979 240D. Only unusual thing was I had to bypass the in-console front/rear fader. Does your vehicle have one of those? If they aren't aware of it that could be a problem. But it's easy to bypass and doesn't require complete rewiring.

Reply to
runbiodiesel

Agree with Tiger. Put in an Alpine stereo in my 1979 240D. Only unusual thing was I had to bypass the in-console front/rear fader. Does your vehicle have one of those? If they aren't aware of it that could be a problem. But it's easy to bypass and doesn't require complete rewiring.

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it. ... You too Tiger.

I'm taking it to another place this coming Monday. They asked me if there was a fader (refreshing!!). There is .. and they said that it could be rewired to work properly. Something about grounding. I'm senile and hard of hearing so I didn't totally understand the problem. BUT, $259 Monday vs. $600 that company #1 wanted to charge me for new speakers and a total rewire is again refreshing.

John

Reply to
John Simpson

I agree with the other guys too. The fishiest part is probably the need for new speakers. While new speakers may be a good idea for a car of that age, if they were working before the stereo change, no reason the new one will not work them. But sound quality could be much improved with new ones as the cones being exposed to high temps inside the car for years dry out.

My car had the fader in the center console too and agree if you have an installer that doesn't know what they are doing that could be a problem. Like runbio, I bypassed mine and use the fader in the stereo.

Reply to
trader4

I agree with the other guys too. The fishiest part is probably the need for new speakers. While new speakers may be a good idea for a car of that age, if they were working before the stereo change, no reason the new one will not work them. But sound quality could be much improved with new ones as the cones being exposed to high temps inside the car for years dry out.

My car had the fader in the center console too and agree if you have an installer that doesn't know what they are doing that could be a problem. Like runbio, I bypassed mine and use the fader in the stereo.

Successful install for $259. FWIW, for anyone in Connecticut I would recommend JO-Di's over Long Radio. The former did his homework, and got the job done in

1 1/2 hours with no problems.

Surprisingly, the speakers were OK. At least to my bad ears, they sound a whole lot better than they did with the Becker radio and original amps. I've got CHS, but it sounds real good to me.

Thanks for all the responses.

John

Reply to
John Simpson

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