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At 11:06 PM 6/6/98 -0700, Hendrik Susanto wrote:
>Has anyone mounted the Clarion CD changer under the front seats? Is
>there enough room at all? Any tips on mounting? Mine is on its way from
>Great Lakes Audio for $175 plus $8.95 shipping. Great price.
Aye. Seems like I've posted about this a hundred times. Can you maybe slide
some of this info in the archive, Andy?
Here's the scoop, Hendrik (and anyone else). I have a '96 GTi VR6 with the
Clarion factory head unit. I also ordered my Clarion CDC-635 changer from
GLAV, and was pleased with their price and service. I obtained the required
adapter cable (for pre '97) from a local source. I was able to mount the
changer unit under the passenger seat of my car, allowing me to easily
reach the unit to change magazines from the driver's seat, while also
keeping the changer out of casual view from outside the car. So far, I've
encountered no problems with this configuration, and have actually had no
skips from the changer caused by movement in the several months that I've
had it.
I'll detail what I did to mount mine, but first a few caveats. First, you
may experience a *little* rubbing of the seat frame across the top of the
changer. It's just enough to put a little scratch in one place. It can't
get more minimal than this. Also, there is a vent under that seat that
could spew hot air on the changer constantly if you're inclined to use the
heat a lot. I'd suggest a nice piece of black duct tape to close it off if
you foresee a problem. Finally, remember that there is no real place for a
back seat passenger to put their feet. Get into the habit of warning them
before they jam their feet into your changer. Or make them walk.
OK, so here's what I did: I pushed the passenger seat up as far as it could
go, and removed the rocker panel trim to allow the carpet to be pulled
loose from the clips that hold it. This allowed me to slide my hand under
the carpet to where the mounting brackets would go. Assemble the brackets
on the changer and test fit the changer. You may wish to put the seat at
the same position you would normally to make sure that it's not too far
forward or backward. I put mine *just* at the point where it's mostly
invisible from outside when the seat is adjusted to the same point as my
driver's seat. At any rate, slide the passenger seat forward again, leaving
the changer positioned. You can now take an X-acto knife or similar and
poke through the carpet at point that the threaded posts on the lower
bracket would go through the carpet. Then remove the changer and slide the
brackets up under the loosened carpet, poking them through the slits you
just cut in the carpet. You should then be able to put the changer on them
and fasten it down. Just take your time on this previous part and you'll
get it lined up ok. It just takes a little more patience as you don't have
very good access to the backside of the carpet. Don't clip the carpet back
down or replace the rocker panel trim yet, though. You'll need to route the
cable through it. Now, my car being a '96 didn't have the changer cable
already installed. If you have a '97, you should have a cable already
installed and then you're on your own as far as routing, but I'd think you
could apply some of what I'll say here. If you need to route a new cable
yourself, pull the head unit and also remove the knee pad on the passenger
side lower dash. This will give you nearly a clear shot to run the cable up
through the center of the dash and to the head unit. Put the adapter on and
connect the cable to the head unit. Now, run the cable across where the
knee pad covers and behind the kick panel trim. You can then route it down
and out via the channel under the previously removed rocker panel trim. Put
the cable through the little wire tie things and bring it back to about
where the front seat bracket is. Run it directly out to the hole in the
carpet for the bracket, and pop it out and pull it toward the changer,
enough to plug it in.You should now have PLENTY of slack in the cable, and
you can easily gather it up and bundle it to be hidden under the knee pad
panel. I'd strongly suggest testing everything before final assembly. When
everything works as advertised, just pull the carpet tight, clip it down,
and reinstall the rocker panel trim. Screw the knee pad thing back on and
pop the radio in the dash. This all took my about an hour, I'd guess.
*Whew* Y'all get all that? :)
--
Josh
xjosh@one<img src=/i/dn.gif border=0 width=35 height=15>
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Fri Feb 6 20:57 CST 1998
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