Double-DIN radio in NG900 Success!

[Jeremy R.]

Today I finally finished the installation of a Pioneer AVIC-F700BT double-DIN navigation radio that I started last Saturday. Here's the long story of yet another radio installation in my Saab:

Wiring: I bought a cheap VW wiring harness off of eBay to hook it up with. Like a lot of others have found, the constant and ignition-switched wires were backwards, so I swapped them in the harness. There was also a wire looped from the antenna wire to what Saab uses for one of the bus wires, so I took that out. The radio also requires hookups to the reverse light wire and the emergency brake. The reverse wire is white and runs under the driver's side door sill. The e-brake wire comes up right next to the handle, so once you take the console off, you can see it and crimp a splice onto it.

Installation: Double-DIN radios aren't quite double the standard DIN height. The cage is, but the radio itself is a good 1/2" shorter than that, so don't use the cage (they seem to be optional for most of them anyway) . Physically fitting one into a NG900 only involves trimming two things. First, the shelf in between the SID and the radio has to be cut out. Second, the thin strip between the SID and the radio that's part of the dashboard fascia has to be trimmed. By leaving some of it, though, the SID can still snap in place. In the first picture you can see in red where the fascia has to be trimmed, and in the second and third pictures, before and after images of the shelf being cut out.



To secure the radio, I used the side brackets from a Clarion 2DBKT double-DIN mounting kit. Wulf in the 9-5 forum is where I got the idea for that from, so thanks Wulf! The cage it came with was too big, and the front bezel was too wide for some reason, so all I used were the side brackets, which are essentially right angle brackets with holes in the front for four screws each. I had to grind a small amount off of the edge of each bracket so they could fit into the radio's opening, and then drilled out each hole slightly to fit a #4 sheet metal screw. I also put an 1/8" thick plastic spacer behind each bracket so the radio would sit more or less flush with the dashboard. You can see the brackets and the spacers I made here.

With the brackets on, the radio slid right in, after some fussing around with the wires. This thing has a lot of wires! I secured each side with four #4 sheet metal screws.

The final trim piece I used was from eBay. I don't know what radio it came from originally, but it was the standard width, although way too deep. A band saw made quick work of the extra depth. As you can see, I also had to cut off the top, but I think it came out very well!

Now for a few thoughts about the radio, in case any of you are considering one of these:
I bought it for about $450 from 6th Avenue, so I think it's a great deal. Mine came with the latest 2.0 software update, and seems to boot up pretty quickly. It has a front panel SD slot, USB input, two auxiliary inputs (one back, one front), and a rear-view camera input. It also has four-channel pre-amp outputs and a subwoofer output. The key lighting can be set for any mix of red, green, and blue. I made it green since I'm a stickler for the stock look. I also bought the optional iPod cable (uses up the rear auxiliary input and the USB input) and ran that into the glove compartment. It shows album art and lets you search by anything you can search by on an iPod itself. It's pretty fast, too. The one downside is that it can't charge a 4G Nano. I'm hoping to get a Scosche Passport for Christmas, which should fix that. Navigation is great. One of the voices (not the default one) supports text-to-speech. In 2D mode, north is always up. In 3D mode, the direction you're traveling is always up. It gets a fix pretty much instantly and since the maps and POIs are all on flash memory, they come up very quickly. Sirius, XM, and HD-Radio tuners can be added optionally. Bluetooth is built in, and works well, although the microphone clip is huge and hideous. I have it clipped up by the mirror. You can sync your phone's contacts with it and it has a keypad that pops up on the screen. So far it's been great and I'm loving it!

[Meek]

Very nice.


Side note: Where did you get the CF dash trim from?

[Jeremy R.]

The carbon fiber trim was the old Saab accessory, part 0251421.

[Turboken]

Well done on a factory fresh look,the write up is very informative and cleared up a few grey areas ,for me, regarding the install. I will be attempting something similar in the near future but i dont think i will fitting the same unit as yourself as over here in the UK that unit is £600 ($900) which is double the price it is in the US.

Kenny.

[Route246]

Originally Posted by Jeremy R.

...since I'm a stickler for the stock look. ...

Pray tell me sir, what part of the photos above are Stock???

The install looks really good, as well as your explanations (you make the process seem simple - and I know it's not). I've been looking into options for a 2DIN unit myself when my SID started to skip pixels again. I'm not a iPod user, nor do i have a BT phone, so some of the bells and whistls may not apply to me, so I'm looking at alternative solutions (Mac mini in the dash, etc). Does the deck play movie files from memory media? (.mov? .mp4?)

One thing about the Pioneer... My wife has a Pioneer deck in her great big white car (...that you know so well), and that multi-function knob is just a ***** to use. I don't know how often your model needs input via the knob, but we really hate it - Turn, Push, Tilt... Not a great UI for people who are most likely preoccupied. What's your take on this?

[99Saabnut]

Originally Posted by Route246

Pray tell me sir, what part of the photos above are Stock???

I am pretty sure he just meant Stock as in "Matching Factory Interior Light Colors" IE either green or orange

[Jeremy R.]

Originally Posted by Route246

Does the deck play movie files from memory media? (.mov? .mp4?)

One thing about the Pioneer... My wife has a Pioneer deck in her great big white car (...that you know so well), and that multi-function knob is just a ***** to use. I don't know how often your model needs input via the knob, but we really hate it - Turn, Push, Tilt... Not a great UI for people who are most likely preoccupied. What's your take on this?

Ha ha! I'm going for the stock look if the car was 10 years younger.

Installation really was fairly simple. Some of it was because I already had the backup wire and a rat's nest of RCA preamp cables in there from a previous radio, but it wasn't too bad once I figured out how I was going to do it. I probably did spend a lot more time just thinking about how it was going to be done. If I had a 9-3, taking out the cupholder and using the double-DIN cage would've been an option, and if I didn't have the carbon fiber trim, I might have just cut out the dashboard below the radio opening and used the cage.

It does play videos from SD cards or the USB input. I haven't tried it out, but I'll be sure to try it soon! The AVIC-F900BT also adds a DVD-ROM drive, but it costs a lot more and the front panel is glossy. I didn't think that would match the car as well, and playing DVDs wasn't worth another $200-$300 to me.

Is your wife's an aftermarket Pioneer or a factory option? It sounds like they completely redesigned the interface on this one. The knob really doesn't have to be used for anything but volume. Entering addresses on the GPS is all done through an on-screen touch keyboard, the iPod interface has a touch wheel on it and menus, and the radio has all the buttons on the touch screen. You can press up, down, left, and right on the knob to do various things, though. Sometimes skipping tracks is easier with that, and it will also tune the radio. Overall I really like the interface. It's pretty easy to use and looks good.

[nikoleman]

thanks for this post man!

[Rogozhin]

Great write-up and detailed pictures Jeremy! I'm seriously thinking about adding that unit to my Viggen!

Sticky?

Rogo

[nikoleman]

i'll ask again later when i have the stuff on me, but does anyone have any pdf repair manuals in order to know how to disassemble that part of the car?

[Route246]

Originally Posted by Jeremy R.

...Installation really was fairly simple...It's pretty easy to use and looks good.

THIS is what I wanted to know Thanks!
The wife's deck is aftermarket via Crutchfield (adaptor harness, yay!), and the multi-function knob looks very much like what is on your 2DIN. On her deck, it is user-unfriendly, but it gets so much use that I'm afraid the fragile plastic part will break, soon.

I need to take a look at this gem, soon. Meet at the usual hangout in SODO sometime?

[Route246]

Originally Posted by Rogozhin

Sticky?

Sounds like it's worth it!
Your Viggen loving the arctic intake temps, Rogo?
Stay warm - let us know when you're on THIS side of the mountains, won't you?

[hkayssi]

Originally Posted by Meek

Very nice.

Side note: Where did you get the CF dash trim from?

Those OEM dashes are rare and there are 2 OEM kits on ebay right now
http://cgi.ebay.com/SAAB-CARBON-FIBE...ayphotohosting

[hkayssi]

Jeremy that project turned out fantastic

[Jeremy R.]

Originally Posted by Route246

I need to take a look at this gem, soon. Meet at the usual hangout in SODO sometime?

We definitely should! I haven't seen the Viggen since the last XXX meet!

[watkins]

I was checking this unit out at work the other day. Im really thinking about putting in a double DIN system, since its the only thing that looks even remotely like it belongs in the car.

[Meek]

Originally Posted by hkayssi

Those OEM dashes are rare and there are 2 OEM kits on ebay right now

Thanks.

[Route246]

Originally Posted by Jeremy R.

...I haven't seen the Viggen since the last XXX meet!

The only things that changed are the Wheels (back to OEMs) and the front markers (clear), and the tyres (P-Zero Nero), so nothing to really show off from my side.

OT: Whatever happened to my OEM swaybars? Did they go to your friend?

[Jeremy R.]

I still have your swaybar. It's supposed to be going on my friend's car one of these days, but first we need to get out of these sub-freezing temps!

[watkins]

As I get more interested in getting this unit for myself I wonder, is there a way to hook it up to the steering wheel controls? Or does it end up working through them anyway? All I really care about is the volume control, and to a lesser degree the scan buttons