HOW TO: Removing SP20 Head Unit

[wheelo]

Could someone please point me in the direction of a "how to" remove the standard 6 disc in dash head unit from my 2003 SP20? I want to keep the head unit but I want to run the front speakers and a sub through an amp. So i need to re-wire.

muchos gracias in advance

[twilightprotege]

remove the surround by holding on to the air vent spots

remove the side tabs on the hu

big flat head screw driver in the side and the clips pop out.

and you're done. very basic explaination, but you'll get the idea when you see it.

ps - welcome! where are you from?

[wheelo]

Thanks for your help twilightprotege

I got the surround and the side tabs off but I'm not sure about the big flat head screw driver in the side.

Do you just slide it into the middle of one side and lever it out? The HU seems to be pretty well secured.

Thanks for the welcome, I live on Sydney's Northern Beaches. I've just reluctantly sold my MX-5. The SP20 was a decent compromise to get some more space for carrying passengers and junk.

[Fro-Daddy]

can the stereo be replaced with 2 single DIN units? anyone got a wiring diagram?

[anaerobic_animal]

you should be able to replace the double DIN with two singles. im looking at going teh standard deck and then one of those hard drive mp3players aswell from alpine if it can be done

[twilightprotege]

yeah it's just a leaver it out thing. you're actually pushing back spring metal thingies and they pop out. you then do the other side and the hu comes out. i can get mine out in under 30 seconds np.

[chicaboo]

i can get mine out in under 30 seconds np. :eek: That's our boy! :p

[bradsp20]

Noice!!!! cheers Wheelo for bringing this up... plus Twiggy and Gav for da advice..

looking at doin this down the track with an upgrade once i get more coin together

[wheelo]

I got the HU out with a screwdriver eventually but I would only recommend the experienced do it this way as I damaged the HU, rendering it inoperable until we took it apart and straightended it where the levering of the screwdirver had caused the front panel circuit to detach from the rest of the HU and put it back together again.

I think their is a tool similar to what comes with a blaupunkt HU that makes this operation easier and safer. A U-shape piece of steel similar to coat hanger wire.

The wiring up to the amp looks like it would be fairly complicated so I'm going to start with replacing the front door speakers with 6 1/2" JBL's to see what improvement I get prior to undertaking a major wiring exercise.

[twilightprotege]

the front panel shouldnt have been used as leverage. the leverage is on that spring clip and the plastic surrounding the hu on the dash.

[goldsp]

peoples you go to to much hassle. there is a proper tool that mazda have and they will do it for free if you ask nicely.

[twilightprotege]

seriously, to get it out takes 10 seconds tops using the screw driver method. peice of cake.

[arden]

ur just a genius twiggy..
i cant get mine out that fast....takes me at least 15-20min.
real PITA

[twilightprotege]

yeah i know. it's tough (being a genius), trust me! ;)

[chicaboo]

Atleast you phuckers with the SP20 don't have to go through what I did to change the headunit! Hmmm, I want climate control...

Gav.

[twilightprotege]

that was to change the HU surround.

[goldsp]

HU surround is a bitch of a job

[Fro-Daddy]

so what size are the front speakers? what power (rms) does the stocko h/u put out? im guessing about 16-20rms or summin at the most...

anyone got a wiring diagram for the wires goin into the h/u? is it a plug or MUST you cut the wires when you change over h/u's?

ta :)

[chicaboo]

The fronts are 5x7", if you need help getting the door skins off I can help out.

Gav.

[Fro-Daddy]

5x7" rect? thats a tad strange for factory's...whats the biggest round speaker you can fit in? ie, is it a 7" hole all round or get smaller in some places?

[goldsp]

you can fit a 6 1/2" speaker with a mdf spacer .

thats what i did

[twilightprotege]

yep they are 5x7's and as goldsp has done, can easily be converted to 6.5's. i used an aluminium plate in the same fashion goldsp did with mdf.

the hu puts out around 7-8wrms per channel from what i have heard. would you be suprised to learn even the best aftermarket hu's only put out slightly more?

there is a connector plug you can get i'm pretty sure, but no idea what it is. i just cut the wires as that's easier (and i still have the stock hu)

[goldsp]

however if you want good sound get an amplifier

[twilightprotege]

yes, that's what i'm referring to. amp > hu

[Fro-Daddy]

ima get a dvd player n screen i think...ive always wanted one...

my old pioneer h/u put out 18rms i think...and that was higher than most around...:P

[goldsp]

the amp in you headunit is good for nothing , except maybe powering your fill speakers

[dfvadr]

u only have to undo the 4 fillips head screws around the head unit an pull out the whole thing no damage

[wheelo]

u only have to undo the 4 fillips head screws around the head unit an pull out the whole thing no damage


ODD 21C - You're lucky your 2001 has screws in the front. Not one single screw in the front face of the 2003 HU, or around the HU for that matter.

[twilightprotege]

mine doesnt have any screws ?????

[Fro-Daddy]

i was looking in my workshop manual last night (all pdf files from the net) and it says the under the carbon fibre wannabe stuff there some holes or summin that you push some bent wire into and it pops out...just like the VT commodore factory headunits...

[chicaboo]

Yeah, I tried making the "Ford tool" with a coathanger as ppl suggested and it didn't do squat. A large twilight enhanced flatblade screwdriver did the trick...

[goldsp]

mazda or a good stereo shop will do it for free. this saves putting screwdrivers in where they are not ment to be put

[Fro-Daddy]

but then you have to drive home with your headunit hanging out :P i spose you could just unplug it haha

[twilightprotege]

jonno you havent seen where the screw driver goes have you? there is no chance of damaging the hu if done correctly.

hell guys tomorrow i'll take pics of what to do. it's a piece of cake

[goldsp]

no i have no idea how to install or take headunits out at all twiggy.

[chicaboo]

Oh Joy, I will be trying to remove my headunit again on the weekend, I'll see if I can do it without removing the h/u surround again...

[goldsp]

gav you dont have to remove the headunit surround at all

[chicaboo]

I know I don't have to, but the "ford tool" wasn't strong enough to push back the clips to release the h/u on one side, which means I have to remove the face surround to access with a large flat blade screw driver. Now that means because I don't have climate control, I need to remove the glovebox and steering undertray to access the vent cables and release them so the face surround can move free of the h/u.
OR I can just take it to Mazda and get them to do it, not likely to happen on a weekend though...

[twilightprotege]

blah, just pull the surround out and put it off to one side. should give you enough room

[goldsp]

or instead of playing bush mechanics take it to a stereo shop so they can remove . then come home and all the fun of installing is yours.

the surrround does not need to come off so why bother.

[platypus]

http://www.floptical.net/mazda/
that one will tell you under service

check section 09-20-06
also lists that you need 4x part number 49 D066 801A

that would be the dealer SST part number - so you may not be able to order over the counter....

[astinafeva]

hey i got the front ogf my 1999 astina surround loose but its connected to the airconditioning controls and clipped on and allen keyed on i can undo it because it wont come out far enough wat do i do

[chipa]

1st: Doesn't look like you have a BJ, much less an SP20.. A new thread would help getting some answers!

2nd: A pic might help as you have got me stuffed what part you are talking about...

Also, welcome to the forums :)

[astinafeva]

its my sisters car its a bj i got a bg the one in the pic and im trying to put a head unit in and the phucking airconditioner controls wont come off the bak

[chipa]

ahhh, okies. Well 1st of all is it an SP20 or standard 1.8 BJ? If so, the controls are different as the SP20 has a different system. but the plugs should come out fairly easy. I doubt it is using any sort of bolt to hold the plug in, the bolts you are looking at may be what holds the controls onto the surround. But hopefully one of the 1.8 BJ owners can let us know what the go is.

[astinafeva]

i looked on the link above and it said i have to take out the wires coz it aint climate control just the dials and said to take out the glub box i didnt know if there was an easier way

[chicaboo]

You got to remove the phucking glovebox and shrouds under the steering wheel. Then unclip the phucking HVAC cables so you can bring the centre console/ac type thing forward. Then you're going to have to use a phucking huge flatblade screwdriver to jamb down the side of the headunit to get the phucking thing out.

Hope I was of some phucking help :p
Gav.

[chipa]

no phucking plugs behind the surround!! ewwww... glad I got an SP20 :p

[chicaboo]

You phucking phuckers with phucking climate control.................phucking! :D

[astinafeva]

yay i phucking did it my hands are phucking sore but i did it now to change the wiring to pioneer lol phucking mazda so phucking difficult

[2brag]

dont get me started on the fkn h/u haha, my mate and i spent an hour (we both work @ mazda) using the mazda tool....we put it on on the wrong angle and pushed the metal bracket the wrong way, we broke one of the tools, i ended up ripping the front metal cover off and my mate literally rammed screw drivers down the side, i then run upstairs and dropped it onto the workshop floor :D

ME - 1
H/U - NIL

needless to say i never plan to put it back in :P

[2brag]

oh and i covered half a rag in blood from cutting my hand on the metal facia and my mate nearly broke my nose when pulling the mazda tool and it let go and i was looking a little too close to the action

kinda sad when i had the tech docs and the genuine tools, working in a mazda workshop and it took us 2+ hours

[platypus]

yeah not a proud moment.... you work in a dealer .... :eek:

[lowrider]

ive heard the 6 disc cd players dont last so long i had mine in my sp20 for a while and had trouble with it, so i changed the whole set up, now i got an alpine headunit, alpine ea2000 amp, alpine front speakers, and an eclipse sub now.

[Rupewrecht]

You got to remove the phucking glovebox and shrouds under the steering wheel. Then unclip the phucking HVAC cables so you can bring the centre console/ac type thing forward. Then you're going to have to use a phucking huge flatblade screwdriver to jamb down the side of the headunit to get the phucking thing out.

Thanks for that Gav - every how-to is SP20 orientated.

I only needed to remove the RHS cable though, which then gave enough room to slide the centre stack cover forward.

[trent188]

Could someone please point me in the direction of a "how to" remove the standard 6 disc in dash head unit from my 2003 SP20? I want to keep the head unit but I want to run the front speakers and a sub through an amp. So i need to re-wire.

muchos gracias in advance

easiest way is to
bend come coat hanger wire in to a U
remove the 2 covers on the far left and right of the head unit
insert the ends in to the holes on either side under the covers u just removed
place pressure on the U shaped coatahangers in the outward direction and pull


mine was a b*$ch becasue the clips on the inside were bent becasue the previous owner had ovbioulsy had a crack at it.

if u ever need a hand with any thing send us a PM cos im always more than happy to help and i also live on the northern beaches and work as an apprentice auto electrican in brookvale :) check out my working log to see if i have done some thing need help with http://www.astinagt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16593

[Hammo]

Diggin up an old thread sorry guize but this needs to be posted

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Mazda_Guide/Protege_5/Removing_Factory_Stereo