Mazda929.org

Here's the standard head unit. I have to laugh at the 929 sales brochure's description of the stereo:

THE SOUND OF THE FUTURE

Another enjoyable feature on this new Mazda V6i is the superb 6 speaker audio system. This system contains stereo AM/FM radio, electronic tuner, hig power amplifier, graphic equaliser and cassette deck.

All of these components are especially blended to offer the ultimate in listening and driving pleasure....

... yeah... about that... hahahaha

Let's rip it out



You'll need to remove the panel under the glovebox first so you can access the first of 2 10mm nuts to remove.





After taking these 2 nuts off, the unit should just slide out. Surround and all.





Now, one by one, starting pulling out all these plugs (takes a while.. there's enough there to keep a grown man busy! hahaha)



Once all that is done, you should see the pretty picture below:



OK, Don't lose the mounting bracket... you need that. So, unscrew all the "superb" components with a philips head screwdriver (or cordless tip).





You'll notice it practical falls apart once you unscrew it all. Now, you have your bracket, let's get down to business...

The unit I'm installing in MY 929 is the ALpine CDA-7998R. It's a 1.5 Din unit (which is the face size only, as the unit is still housed in a single din casing), so I'll need to take the clearance of the fold-out face into consideration. I'll need to modify my existing bracket, in order to get the head unit face sitting flush up front. I'm going to drill holes where I can fix the unit to the bracket.



Acquire the drill tip you need for the application (in my case, it's a 6mm tip) and drill to suit the screws you're intending on using to fix the unit to the bracket.





PLEASE NOTE: ALWAYS WEAR SAFETY GLASSES WHEN DRILLING INTO METAL!!



You should have the above picture once you're done. Now line the holes up to the unit, to make sure you're on the right track.



Once you're done, screw the unit to the mounting bracket for a "trial fit".





Now, I'm satisfied with how that sits. So, it's time to get the wiring organised

Now, to make life easier for you, I've attached a link to a wiring chart for the HC 929 HERE.
However, I'm a firm believer of finding things out for myself. So, I took out a test light and got busy.

I would USUALLY connect my test light to the battery's negative terminal, so I can find my constant and accesories wires. Once I've discovered these, I can find out my other wires. However, I discovered the illumination wire, which is actually a negative wire with everything switched off. However, in most cases, this wire will have 12v+ on it when the lights are on. So, don't go connecting your ground wire to it (as some do). I'll show you where I mounted my ground wire. For now, you'll see me locating the power/accessory wires below:





Too easy! I can start stripping these wires and getting ready to solder.

I use the following wire strippers from Jaycar @ $29.95:



Make sure your power loom is NOT connected when you do this.
Now I grab my wire and strip it back and twist them together, as pictured below:



I was slack once again, as USUALLY (and ideally), after you've stripped your wires back, cut off a small bit of "heatshrink" and place it on the wire you plan on soldering together. Then once you've soldered them, get a heat gun (or a cigarette lighter will do it) and heat the heat shrink onto the soldered area. But on this occasion, I was in a rush, so I used sparky's tape.

You're ready to solder. Because I'm not Goro from Mortal Komabt, I don't have another pair of arms to take pictures WHILE I'm soldering, so forgive me. However, your soldered join should look like this:



Now, do the same for the remaining wires:



Once you're done, all your wires should look like this:



The extra wires done are the Illumination and Antennae Trigger wires. Refer to the link at the top of this post to locate them and solder them with the according wires from your head unit.

Now.... Ground wire mounting....

Fix a open ring terminal to the end of your ground wire and this will make life ALOT easier with regards to mounting the wire.



Solder the wire and taped it (or heatshrink it) and I mounted it at the back of the radio mounting bracket. I put metal spacers in between the bolt head and the bracket, and the ring terminal and the bracket; finally fixing it with a nut to suit the bolt. You should have the following picture below:





Now... you should have power! To check, connect your power loom to the unit and flick on the ignition to accessories and hit the power button your your head unit. IF done correctly, you too can be happy to see this:



WOO HOO!!! Now, If you running an amplifier, you will attach your RCA leads (and stacker cable if you're running one also) to the appropriate pre-outs on your head unit and then feed them through to the back of the console. Once you're done that, DOUBLE check that all wires are connected (and none are exposed) and slot the mounting bracket back into place. Screw up the 10mm nuts at the back, and you should have this to look at now:

If you want a pocket to fit underneath, rush into Autobarn and ask them for either of the following items:

FP987599



FP9015



FP9008G




If you want to get a whole new install kit for your Mazda.. ask for the following:

FP997501



If you need wiring harnesses, Crutchfield in the States have harnesses.

Here for select Ford, Kia, Mazda, and Mercury models, 1983-up

Here for select Ford and Mazda models, 1989-up

Any questions.. please post up and I'll be happy to help

Hey thanks for the detailed radio removal and install it has been a big help

You are most welcome, my friend

good write up Jay

although i still dislike your ignorance towards heatshrinking

HAHAHAHAHA!

I was waiting for that one! Next build up, I will You have my word.

And thanks

I assume you've upgraded the battery to run your amps?
Can I ask what make/model you'd recommend as I think my sub is bleeding my battery dry.
Cheers.