Aftermarket audio head unit installation - Saab 9-5

[frestylmotox01]

Finally finished my woofer box. It was a pain to find matching carpet, but it looks great now that it is done. I've also had to redo the trim around my stereo, the one that came with my kit broke and after modifying to it work, I mangled it. Instead of buying a new one I bought some 1/4 inch abs plastic and had it cut to size. Works great, still need to paint it then mount it for good and I'll get some photos up.

[GREYFOX]

Great job Mr.Wulfers-Even I can follow it so it must be good- looks great too!

I have a 2008 9-3 2.0T Aero and awaiting delivery of a used Pioneer Avic F900BT.

Would you happen to know if all the above will apply/work on my car?

[Karleast]

Hi,

I have recently acquired a 2002 9-5. And whilst I love it the audio is a bit of an issue. The guy selling it didn't have the original unit so got another from another Saab when I viewed. Naturally this was locked, which wasn't a problem as I wanted to install my Alpine unit anyway.

It is pretty clear that a third party unit has been installed in the car previous and someone has done their best to return it to its original state.

With this in mind we think we have identified it having an AS1 system as it has no speakers in the shelf at all.

My Alpine unit allows configuration of the Power etc without a new harness. The power for the unit is fine (it retains settings etc when the car is switched off) but when playing a CD there is noticeable noise, like a constant hiss in the background.

Do I need to configure anything else?

It is right hand drive so I assume that means the amp would be the drivers side if it would have one? With an amp I guess it wouldn't produce any audio anyway unless I was using the pre-outs from my unit?

Any help greatly appreciated

[unclemiltie]

Don't know where the amp is on the right drive systems, sorry. Hiss and noise is a function of something between the amps. The AS1 systems had only 7-channel and not 9-channel with the subs on the deck. You can switch them out but you have to run the wires from the amp to the deck since they aren't in the car (and find someone with a harness to pull a few pins out. Getting them out is a pain in teh neck and you will likely break the plastic. putting them in is easy, they snap right in)

BTW to everyone on this thread. I'm sick and tired of the GLI's that I've been using, they fail about 6-months in and start buzzing. I'm in the middle of designing an op-amp circuit to convert the 4 single ended RCA's to 4 differential and non-common ground outputs with a gain of about 1. If anyone wants to test when I get done with the board let me know

[Karleast]

Thanks for the swift reply. I'm right in thinking it shouldn't have an amp though right?

Is it in the footwell on the left hand drives? Covered by a carpeted cover that has plastic clips on?

The cage and new SID comes today, I'll get everything tidy and then work out where the hiss is coming from, thanks again for the reply.

(The previous owner actually ripped the ribbon in the SID, a terrible attempt at fixing it it wasn't even worth trying to repair.)

[nordwulf]

There is no amp with the AS1 system (a.k.a. Popular) so you won't find one in the foot-well. Here is more information about the location and equipment for the different systems: http://saabworld.net/f144/saab-9-5-a...-2005-a-25402/

[stevenxx]

Hi Johan,

regretfully your link for the amplifier wiring diagramm isnt working, could you post which wires I would need to tap into from the AMP so that i can use them as a Line in, best with wiring colour and location if possible. im trying to install a DDX9025 into the car as my display went bad,but want to use most of the original equipment as it was working fine. Additionally this solution would mean that i can retrofit without to much hassle (if I ever decide to do so), but need to rewire from the amp due to the missing audio wiring from the head Unit location.

thanks for your help

Steve
[QUOTE=Johan Kristian Olsen;50843]Im partly done installing a Pioneer AVH-3500DAB in my 2003 9-5 Vector 5D, this was abit more challenging than I first tought. This because the fabric navigation edition of these cars have different wiring than the normal non-navi AS1, AS2 and AS3's. There's little to no documentation to find, and I have not found anyone else who has exchanged their navi system.

First
The Pioneer amplifier down by the A-pillar has no cables connected to the ISO connectors in the dashconsole.

Solved
Installed new cables(audiosignal and remote for the amp) from the dash down to the amp. I actually used a CAT5(network cable) with 4 twisted pairs for the audiosignal and a single 0,5mm cable for the remote. In the dash I connected the CAT5 pairs to a male 8-pin ISO harness to match my new player.
Pinout off the amp can be found at http://www.mitt-eget.com/saab/faq_audio.shtml#amplifier
NOTE: I used the "Line in" on the amp and did not connect directly to the speaker cables. This means I cant verify if connecting the speakers directly to the new player is a good idea.

[stevenxx]

Good Evening,

OK this Installation is now definitely driving me nuts. I got the radio to work in no time, but for some reason it wont turn on the amplifier, thus no sound... I connected the remote to the green wire from the Amp, so this should normally turn on the Amp, but it doesnt :-(
If I connect the radio to a normal speaker I get sound, so the radio seems to be OK, I also noticed that I have a Harman Amplifier in the Car, and not a Pioneer, dont know if this makes a difference. I connected only one output to my Amplifier Input as a test but just dont know what else I can try, except throwing the whole thing out and just rewiring completely with a new Amp, but that is just what I wanted to avoid as it would blow the project out of Proportion.

I would appreciate any help on this install!

Thanks

Steven

[aeronaut]

See below for a few pictures of my installation of a Kenwood DDX-616 in my 2000 Aero.

Thanks to this thread everything went very smoothly and I was able to complete the install for the cost of a trim piece($10), RCA cables($15), antenna adapter($10), wiring connector($8) and a pair of ground loop isolators($35, not shown in the picture of the wiring harness). With the Kenwoods the work around for the emergency brake is easy, all you need to do is to ground the connection and you will have access to the contact list in your phone and video anytime. The sound is great, better than the stock unit, mainly due to the equalizer controls in the Kenwood deck I would say. The gli's are an absolute necessity as without them there is a loud thump when turning off the unit.

[Jacob Ilkka]

Took the carpc install out of my car, and am going to buy and install the Pioneer AVH-X2500BT. I'll be sure to document it like this. I never did get the install write up of the carpc uploaded... but thats past now, too much work, not enough time.