Hi

Bought a double din head unit to replace the standard Blaupunkt unit. Figured out the wiring and the unit works, however the supplied cage has nothing to attach to [not without butchering the single din cage which I'm keeping intact to refit when selling on].
The connects2 facia I bought also has nothing to fit securely onto, infact it has a job to fit into the recess left by the original unit.

I'm wondering if I need to buy a new facia and double din cage unit which are pretty pricey even on ebay and seem to include the same facia I've already got or is there some part I'm missing ?

I'd appreciate any help or advice anyone who's done the job could give me on this one.

Thanks

John

This is something I want to do with my panda at some point. What facia did you use as I'm looking at one like this ( http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/con-ct23ft03a-ct23ft03a-double-din-facia-plate-for-fiat.html ). This has all the bits you would need I think.

Cam

CameronF said:

This is something I want to do with my panda at some point. What facia did you use as I'm looking at one like this ( http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/con-ct23ft03a-ct23ft03a-double-din-facia-plate-for-fiat.html ). This has all the bits you would need I think.

Cam

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Basically I have the cage which came with the stereo and a connects2 facia panel which I got off ebay for less than £9.

The problem was the facia panel needed a little bit taking off the rear top left and right interior as this was stopping the panel fitting flush into the dash. Far better to adapt the accessory than the car dash itself I think.

First step though was removing the Fiat HU and the cage and the metal screw holders from the plastic, [the facia panel will snag on these if you leave them in].

Once the original cage is removed and the facia panel has been tweaked the new HU cage and facia fitted together quite snugly into the space, in fact so good a fit I didn't feel it warranted any other fixings to hold the cage and panel in place apart from bending a few of the cage tabs back to grip the sides. Sliding the HU into place straightened out the cage and facia plate which looked a bit saggy.

The wires supplied with the HU clipped into ones left dangling in the dash [apart from the three small plugs along the top, not a clue what they do], aerial clipped in and ipod lead got tucked down to reappear in the glove box.

Tricky job is keeping the wires out of the way so as the unit sits well back into the cage. Fit the surround to hide the edges of the cage and basically I was done.

One aftermarket stereo fitted. Position of the unit makes it an ideal candidate for a touchscreen all singing and dancing sat nav mp4 player but havent found a decent make for a reasonable price so will leave that for now.

Probably a bit of a cowboy job and the boys on the ICE section will be tutting, but if it starts to rattle I may revisit a few extra fittings but for now it's in and working. I was considering the full fitting kit but glad I saved myself a bit of cash just buying the facia panel for now.

Head Unit is an alpine I got off ebay so won't be a huge loss if it gets nicked, I've kept all the Fiat bits to refit at a later date too.

Hope this helps

Interesting, when I get round to doing mine I'm going to get a touch screen as I think it would look great in the current head unit place. Just need to save up some money as I have other things I want to do to the car!

Cam

CameronF said:

Interesting, when I get round to doing mine I'm going to get a touch screen as I think it would look great in the current head unit place. Just need to save up some money as I have other things I want to do to the car!

Cam

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Absolutely, position is ideal for a touch screen unit.

It can't be long before someone comes up with a detachable tablet front on one of these?

Decided I wanted some alloys with good tyres more than a posh head unit

BTW once I'd fitted everything I found a bag of clips to hold the facia panel in place :doh:

The one I'm looking at ( http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290708103664?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 ) does have a detachable anti-thief screen. Uber cool!

Cam

CameronF said:

The one I'm looking at ( http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290708103664?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 ) does have a detachable anti-thief screen. Uber cool!

Cam

Click to expand...

That unit is half the price of the units I'd seen

I would have been very tempted had I seen that one.

Looks like a bargain though the TV tuner won't work now the UK's gone digital

Hope you go for it