I am no expert and never installed a stereo. Having done it successfully I wanted to share some of the things that were not too clear for me based on the posts I had read upon. (This is for a Pioneer AVH-P4200DVD to replace a 2009 stock non-infinity RES replacement radio)

1) Wire Harness for Aftermarket HU (in this case Pioneer)
The sticky on this forum notes 2 harnesses for the infinity and non-infinity radios. Both of those are pretty pricy, and so is the 60$ PAC one from crutchfield.
I tried and wanted to confirm that the 12$ option for the cheap harness does the job if you don't have navigation/camera in which case some of the Canbus items may be helpful.
I've hooked up the power to the driver side power outlet, which means that when I turn off and remove my keys, the HU stays on until I open my doors. The wire you want to tap into this the BLUE/PURPLE not the black one. It'll connect to the RED/White from your harness via an extension cable you'll need to get (FYI, the Scoshe connector below comes with the harness AND an additional 12 inch wire which includes an inline fuse...so that's sweet).

I believe the models are:

• Metra 70-6522
• Scosche CR04B

2) Need to cut/saw the top of the back metal braket.
I actually decided to remove the whole braket. I then decided to saw the top of an put it back in. That works fine, but if you don't feel like cutting it you might as well remove it altogether. You'll just need to secure two sets of wires which used that bracket as support.

Lessons Learned

• Remove any CD from your old stereo before installing the new one!
• You do NOT need the 18" antenna extension cable which is provided for free by Crutchfield. I'm saying this in case you're buying the parts from somwhere else.
• Go to your local car stereo shop and speak with the guys, mine where J&R Electronics in Miami and the guy gave me free connectors, wire, and was very helpful with everything.
• If you do the ebrake mod for the dvd, it is easy and cheap but is very dangerous in my opinion.

I hope this helps the next guy.

 

thanks for the tips, any completed install pics? I would love to have a unit like that in my JK, but around here it would be stolen in less than a week

 

Here it is, as good as I could get the picture, doesn't do it justice.

 

Not sure if you are aware but the following Double DIN stereos have detachable faces..

JVC KW-AVX830
JVC Arsenal KW-ADV793

I personally intend on getting one or the other. The only difference between the 2 is the 830 has built in Bluetooth and the other doesnt, although at a later date you can add the Bluetooth.


Nice little tips and tricks btw.

 

I had not seen these, but it seems that the one with bluetooth is just a tad bit more expensive. The other without BT is cheaper than the pioneer.
However for me the huge selling point for the Pioneer was the iPod integration speed and the speed of scrolling through songs/playlists. I like customizing the background and menus as well. Otherwise the JVC seems like a good alternative.

 

I went with a Eclipse ANV726E ( gps, dvd, bluetooth) love it - great setup though

 

nice write-up

 

I personally like to remove only what I need to, in this case only the top caused a problem, so I woud recommend keeping it back there. You'll have to remove (or I recommend it anyways) the bracket to dremmel out the top...so at that point you'll be able to dry-test the radio with or without the bracket, see what you prefer.

 

Cool. As it turns out someone broke into my car and stole mine yesterday...