Felicia Head Unit Woes

[TehRin]

I was thinking of buying a new pair of speakers this morning, so you can only imagine my joy when one of my friends offered me a sub, amp and wiring for £50.

I later discovered the Skoda head unit (Grundig) did not feature RCD's for the subwoofer itself, so I'd have to invest in a new head unit.

As I took the head unit out, I put my arm round the back of the dash to simply push it out (After moving the cig lighter and the ashtray), but as I took it out it still had a black plasic casing round the metal of the head unit, and also a metal like cage on the back. I fear I may need to take both of these off as it seems the metal on the back is holding the clip with the wiring in, and the plasic casing may be needed to fit the new head unit.

Does anyone know how I'd go about doing this, or if it's even necessary?

[J242]

new head unit will come with metal cage.

take the old unit and cage out of the plastic tray (cage will be held in with bent bits, bend them back with a screwdriver or something suitable)

insert new (right way around) and fix in place, stereo should slot in nicely

There is a little hook on top of the connector you have to push to disconnect it.

Also may be of use to know, there is wiring upto behind the front kickpanels for rear speakers, had my old sub hooked up here with original stereo

ill give you a hand with it if needed, being so local and all

Edited 24 September, 2012 by J242

[TehRin]

Cheers mate I appreciate it, but I'm not gonna call in the Skoda people yet :p

I've just had a quick look behind the quick panel, do the connectors have to be modified for RCA cables? Because I can't see any RCA ones :/

Also if I get a new head unit do I have to do anything about the constant live?

I'm useless at stuff like this.

Edited 24 September, 2012 by TehRin

[RainbowFire]

The standard Skoda wiring is on ISO blocks only, so 4 speakers and that's it*. Any requirement for RCA (e.g. for an amp) would have to be met by yourself, assuming the headunit has an RCA out (or two). You'll need to run some RCA cables from the headunit to the amp. (Effectively the wiring for the anp is completely separate from the speakers, hence not being in the ISO block.)

I seem to recall someone showing a picture of a spade connector going into an empty slot on the relay board to get a constant live. Although, if it's an amp, I'd suggest going through one of the gromets in the bulkhead and straight onto the battery (with the requisite fuse and cabling of course)

A decent headunit should have an "amp trigger" as part of the wiring (don't recall it being part of ISO block). If not, you should be able to take a line from the ISO ignition on to turn the amp on at the same time as the headunit.

*yes I know you *can* take a sub/amp feed from the speakers, but it's a lot less bother if you have RCA connectors

[TehRin]

Cheers, so far I've only got the power cable through the bulkhead...

New head unit it is then. Gettin paid tomorrow, so may buy one and fit it on the night.

Thinking of getting this head unit:

http://www.halfords....tegoryId_165474

Seems alright for the price, also changing the door speakers whilst I'm at it. Only going to cost around £110 so I'm chuffed!

Edited 24 September, 2012 by TehRin

[RainbowFire]

I would humbly submit (having been bitten on the a$$ a few times) do each piece in turn, instead of the whole lot in one go. i.e. do the head unit first, power up, make sure it does everything you expect. Then do the speakers, and check. At this point you'll know that you've mirrored the OEM spec and that everything is working ok, before you go on to do the "extra" bits.

(When I did my speakers, I had the headunit on and playing, so I knew they worked as they went in. The premise being: just because it's new, doesn't mean it *will* work straight out of the box. There is still the odd DOA in this day and age.)

Can't comment on the head it self, but if you get all the wiring sorted properly the first time round, upgrading in the future will literally plug and play

If you do get stuck, a picture is worth a thousand words, so we can see what you see

Good luck

[uma1998]

hi there i am here for your needs as for ice in a felicia is dead easy you can by a high to low converter for speaker wire to rca but not the best way you best bet is to get head unit with rca out and run amp on these you get your remote wire for amp from the black wire thats on airel lead in and ground from seat belt bolts. A good set off 6x9s are best for rear speakers mine are amped same with fronts as all vibe and sounds spot on even with 1600w sub

[TehRin]

Cheers fellas. It would have been done by today and I'd of posted the progress, but this is not the case due to career reasons.

Should be done by Friday, I'm going to set the head unit up first to see if it's working and all the features (cheers for the advice)!

I've only seen one earthing point and that underneath the rear lights, but I'll end up wiring it to the seat-belt as it'll probably look tidier. As for the airel lead, do you mean the thick black cable or the black wire on the connector?

Probably the thin black wire, to begin with I'll just trial connect it.

Edited 26 September, 2012 by TehRin

[uma1998]

the black one that goes in the iso block thats on ariel wire

I FORGOT to say the stock spearkers are wired up wrong as well when you come to upgrade speakers in and head unit you need to swap wires on speakers in door when you come to put your new speakers in you will need the crip conectors or it will sound **** when you got new speakers in

[TehRin]

Just decided that i'm not getting a subwoofer at all. It drains too much power from the alternator (even in standby) and the car instantly cuts out. Also when I started it up with the sub connected to the battery my dashboard dimly lit up at the first turn of the key, also the heated rear screen, rear fog light and side lights on the dash where dimly lit, is this common?

Edited 29 September, 2012 by TehRin

[uma1998]

sounds like you done some think wrong to me or there is a wire wrong some where

Edited 30 September, 2012 by uma1998

[TehRin]

It's fine now. Also think I did something wrong. I'm surpised how litte rattling the car does. Compared to the 106's and clios I've been in that rattle without the subs, just with the bass turned up, the only part that rattles is the number plate, that's a giv'en though.

[uma1998]

thats the only thing that rattles on mine even tho i am running four subs the felicia is good holds the bass well just found out tho my donnor engine is knackerd at only 70k what a bummer looks like i going to be breaking it soon as tax runs out

[uma1998]

thats the only thing that rattles on mine even tho i am running four subs the felicia is good holds the bass well just found out tho my donnor engine is knackerd at only 70k what a bummer looks like i going to be breaking it soon as tax runs out

got another engine now what a still at £80 with 85K so not going to breaking now love it to much