This might come in useful if you're planning to remove the boost gauge from an Abarth, replace the original single DIN radio, or replace it with an aftermarket double DIN mount.
First stage, remove the 4 dummy buttons on the radio. They're the unmarked ones which don't do anything. If you've got long, strong fingernails just hook one under the longest edge and pry them out, otherwise a butter knife in and appropriate place will do the job without damaging anything.
Next, insert some 'DIN removal tools' and pull the stereo out.
Personally I absolutely loathe those DIN mounts because inevitably the stereo sticks in place and then you damage something pulling it out, and the Abarth one was no exception - there are some sticky pads holding the stereo in place, so had to use a butter knife to lever it free even with the tools in place. No chance you'll ever get it out in a million years with home-made tools since you need something which clips into the DIN mount to provide a little leverage in addition to the butter knife, so I bought some of these:
Halfords DIN removal tool
Once the darned stereo had been wriggled free (thankfully without too much damage to the dash) it's simply a matter of unplugging the connectors from the back; the aerial lead just pulls off, the other three on the left hand side might need a bit of manipulation with a long screwdriver to free the clips since access is tight and the clips are too flexible / flimsy to work. The two grey ones will be familiar to anyone who has fitted a car stereo in the past 30 years, the other is a proprietary interface:
Note - though the rest of the DIN sockets is wired as you'd expect, there's no direct +12v switched power supply, so you'll need to run a new cable to an ignition-controlled +12v line to power a 3rd party radio.
Next stage is unscrewing the DIN radio mount (4 obvious screws plus a bolt at the back):
Then to remove the air vent facia remove the 2 freshly exposed Philips screws:
And and prise it out gently from the top with the trusty butter knife so it clears the spring clips:
Once that's done the air vent ducting will just pull out:
From there if you want to remove the Abarth boost meter, look to the right underside of the dash top next to where the ducting was, and you'll notice a little metal plate with a 10mm nut on it. Unscrew this nut (be careful not to lose it in the dash innards!) and carefully lever the plate off. Once this is done, the boost gauge can be wriggled free from the top of the dash, and then it's a simple matter of tracing it's cable back a few cm, and unplugging it, which will leave a lozenge-shaped hole:
First stage, remove the 4 dummy buttons on the radio. They're the unmarked ones which don't do anything. If you've got long, strong fingernails just hook one under the longest edge and pry them out, otherwise a butter knife in and appropriate place will do the job without damaging anything.
Next, insert some 'DIN removal tools' and pull the stereo out.
Personally I absolutely loathe those DIN mounts because inevitably the stereo sticks in place and then you damage something pulling it out, and the Abarth one was no exception - there are some sticky pads holding the stereo in place, so had to use a butter knife to lever it free even with the tools in place. No chance you'll ever get it out in a million years with home-made tools since you need something which clips into the DIN mount to provide a little leverage in addition to the butter knife, so I bought some of these:
Halfords DIN removal tool
Once the darned stereo had been wriggled free (thankfully without too much damage to the dash) it's simply a matter of unplugging the connectors from the back; the aerial lead just pulls off, the other three on the left hand side might need a bit of manipulation with a long screwdriver to free the clips since access is tight and the clips are too flexible / flimsy to work. The two grey ones will be familiar to anyone who has fitted a car stereo in the past 30 years, the other is a proprietary interface:
Note - though the rest of the DIN sockets is wired as you'd expect, there's no direct +12v switched power supply, so you'll need to run a new cable to an ignition-controlled +12v line to power a 3rd party radio.
Next stage is unscrewing the DIN radio mount (4 obvious screws plus a bolt at the back):
Then to remove the air vent facia remove the 2 freshly exposed Philips screws:
And and prise it out gently from the top with the trusty butter knife so it clears the spring clips:
Once that's done the air vent ducting will just pull out:
From there if you want to remove the Abarth boost meter, look to the right underside of the dash top next to where the ducting was, and you'll notice a little metal plate with a 10mm nut on it. Unscrew this nut (be careful not to lose it in the dash innards!) and carefully lever the plate off. Once this is done, the boost gauge can be wriggled free from the top of the dash, and then it's a simple matter of tracing it's cable back a few cm, and unplugging it, which will leave a lozenge-shaped hole:
