borworld.std (Alastair M Bor) writes: AM
>gregpinternetmci wrote: 
>: Does anybody know who OEM the CD auto changer that works with VW's 
>: radio with CD control.   Sombody tells me that it is Clarion.   Now if 
>: that is true  that could one get the CD changer from Clarion to work 
>: with the VW's radio. AM
>It depends what year your car is... 1993, 1994 and part of 1995 had units 
>that were made by Matsushita (Panasonic) and will only work with the VW 
>Panasonic changer. I beleive there is a company that sells an adapter so 
>you can use a generic Panasonic changer. Then in 1995, they switched to 
>Clarion as the OEM for the radio. To the untrained eye, the Clarion looks 
>exactly like the Panasonic, however if you look carefully, the "flap" 
>that covers the cassette hole will have a little divet on the Clarion 
>head unit, while the Panasonic unit flap does not.

A further note: German production cars still have Panasonic units.
Tom
* 1st 2.00 #3720 * I sell Volkswagen Audi & Porsche

>Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 15:24:35 -0600
>From: "Matthew Q. Phillips" <matthewpmindspring>
>Subject: CD Changer Guidance
>
>To The List stereo specialists -- especially Tom Doblmaier :)

Ah, thanx. Not really that much of a specialist, I just installed one. Much
of the credit goes to Dave Gruber and his informative web page
http://www.cyberenet.net/~atlantic/clarion.html#Mounting

>
>After a couple logically empassioned posts in favor of the Clarion CDC 635
>CD changer I decided to go for it for my 97 GTI VR6.  I called Great Lakes
>and the $175 changers were back ordered, but expected in right after the
>1st of the year.  So far, so good.  Unfortunately, I later encountered a
>few deal-bustin' questions at Mickey Shore (said with mud-bog racing
>announcer's tenor) that I am hoping to clear up:
>
>1) Who makes the head unit for the '97 GTI VR6: Clarion or Panasonic?  I am
>told the that the VW "Premium Sound System" I have in my car is a Panasonic
>and is not compatible with the Clarion CDC 635 -- or any Clarion, or
>anything but the overpriced factory unit for that matter.  True or False?
>(If true, I'm done and you can ignore the rest of the questions...)
>

Ok, my understanding is that on a 97 car, it should be a Clarion unit. The
older cars were Panasonics. Clarion units are identified by a small plastic
semicircle on the left side cassette door. Panasonic units have flat
cassette doors.


>2) The standard CD changer wiring harness (to the back seat) was apperantly
>a running change for '97.  My early '97 does not have one.  Any ideas on
>how much it is thru VW(?) and how involved it is to intsall for the
>quasi-lamen?  Or, can I get the necessary wiring from Great Lakes AV?  (I
>understand VW has made it obnoxiously difficult to circumnavigate the OEM
>parts and I want to make sure I get what will work.)
>
The CD Changer actually comes with a fairly long cable with 2 13pin DIN
connectors. Since my 98 was prewired, I didn't use it at all. If your car is
not prewired (also check under the carpet in the trunk), you would run this
cable from the back of your car to your head unit. You then need an adapter
cable to go from the 13pin DIN connector to the VW connector. Crutchfield
sells this cable. I think Crutchfield wanted $15 or $20 for the adapter. I
do not know if Great Lakes sells this adapter.

>3) If I do the install myself will I need any other parts -- like the the
>VW mounting kit -- in addition to the stuff that comes with the Clarion
>changer?
>

You do not need anything else from VW. The CDC635 Changer comes with a
mounting kit, including brackets. As I mentioned, I stuck mine on a board to
make it easier to pull out of the trunk, but that part is up to you.

>4) I would like to mount the changer vertically, tucked neatly on the right
>side of the hatch area behind the fender bulge between the taillight.  Will
>(can) mounting it vertically screw with the shock absorption of the changer?
>

The CDC635 is capable of mounting horizontally, vertically, or in between. I
don't know if it is any more likely to skip - I doubt it though. The CD
changer is designed to be mounted vertically (there are two levers you set
depending on the direction you mount the changer in. Don't forget to set the
levers).

>5) Lastly, I have Kenwood KSC-WA801 Powered Subwoofer in the hatch (which,
>by the way, I highly recommed for those who want a full, bassy sound
>without he $$ of replacing the eight speakers -- less than $200 installed
>w/tax).  Will this thing affect my install in any way?
>

Nope. You should just get nice CD sound though that subwoofer.

>Thanks in advance for the assistance.  And, Happy New Year to all.
>
>Matthew
>97 GTI VR6
>Sequoia Green/leather
>

Have fun, let us know how it goes.

Tom Doblmaier
ahdixcom
98 GTI (VR6)

As far as the '98 Jetta goes, the "Premium Stereo," the one with the tab
on the left of the Dolby sign on the tape insert door, runs about $485
as an option, and the Volkswagen CD changer was offered from my dealer
for _$900_.  They would not budge on this price.  Fortunately, the car
comes wired from the factory for the CD changer, and the Clarion CDC635
changer plugs right in and works w/o any adapter needed; the plug from
the head unit to the CD changer is the standard DIN plug.  After getting
the stock head unit and buying the Clarion changer for $175 from Great
Lakes Audio/Video (www.glav? check Yahoo), I'd recommend doing not
as I did, but as I say, namely, get no stereo from the dealer, the car's
already wired and they're not going to rip the wiring out, and get an
aftermarket head unit and changer and DIY.  The head unit in the car is
woefully underpowered, IMHO.

Michael Allbritton wrote:
>
>  I'm planning to buy a 98 Golf later this year and am gathering information
> to use so I can get the best deal possible. What I haven't been able to
> find out is the manufaturer and price of the CD Changer VW puts in these
> cars. Can anyone out there help me out with this info, or point me towards
> a resourse on the net?
> Many Thanks,
> Michael
>
> --
> ____________________________
> "Ya know...There's something about a morning
> shower that's just the right temperature, with lots
> of suds, that's inherently good."
> Me
> ____________________________
> Get Zapped by the Raygun:
> http://www.raygun.org/
>
> mpbrittarkansas

If the plug under the back seat is rectangular, it's a Panasonic head
unit (the Clarions have a round plug).  As far as I can tell, nobody
makes a reliable adapter to go from this head unit to an aftermarket
changer.  The guy who installed the Panasonic changer I bought (and
later had removed) claims this happens to around 10% of all the VWs with
this head unit.  Ironically, he's still installing this same changer for
the dealership.  It didn't work for me, but you might give it a try!  If
you end up using the aftermarket Panasonic be prepared to pay 1/2 hour
of labor to have the head unit updated.  If it quits after 24 hours take
it back!

I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do.  I might try to find a
Clarion head unit floating around.  Does anybody know where I might find
one?

"Timothy Welty" <hotel_one_actualhotmail> wrote:

>If the plug under the back seat is rectangular, it's a Panasonic head
>unit (the Clarions have a round plug). ...snip...

In my '98, the CD-changer plug under the rear seat is rectangular and my
head unit is made by Clarion. It says "Made in Mexico by Clarion" right on
the side. I've been told that I have the "new" CD-changer cable (the plug is
about 2" wide and 1/2" high); maybe that explains it.

-Jason

On 6/1/98 10:15PM, in message <Pine.BSI.3.95.980601220632.17144A-100000table.jps>, jonathanktable.jps wrote:

> Hi - I just got my new crutchfield summer 1998 catalog and according to
> it, about the only brand CD receiver that will fit in athe dash of a GTI
> and most VW's is a Pioneer brand unit. Is this true? Has anyone installed
> other brand CD receivers in the GTI? I hope it isn't, I am not too fond of
> Pioneer brand receivers.

Naah, BS.  The reason for this is that Crutchfield lists the available depth in our dash
as being very shallow, which if true would indeed only accomodate very few
aftermarket heads.  But there's more room there.. my Kenwood went in without a hitch,
and there are people on the list with every brand under the sun.

--
Kevin Collins
collinsksprintmail
'97 GTI VR6

I've got a Panasonic CQ-DP 875, others I know of have Kenwood, Sony,
Blau., etc. Mine fits fine.

Rich
'97 GTI VR6

[...]

No Way Dude! Alpine fits the best from what I have seen. I have the TDA-7558
in my Jetta. Looks damn stock. No Gaps, No Dash Kit, No Mess..

[...]

[...]

Sure.  The VW dash uses a fairly common sized opening (forget the
designation), but it's very much a standard size that most aftermarket
cd/recievers fit into.  I've got an Alpine CDE-7827 CD/Reciever and it has a
VERY stock looking fit and appearence.

No need to worry;-)

Andrew
96.5

If any of you out there are considering an aftermarket head unit for your
GTI, there is only 1 choice- Eclipse.  These units are the only ones that
sit flush in the dash, (I've seen all the other brands, and they protrude
noticeably) and the black texture of the finish matches the GTI's dash
perfectly.  They look nearly stock once installed, and Eclipse will replace
it for free if it is ever stolen!

Greg

On VW's, the depth of our cars factory heads is relatively shallow. But
this is only due to a metal bracket in the back. This bracket/plate can be
removed relatively easily to allow a much, much deeper head unit. Roughly
any size you want. I'm sure any qualified installer can do this in under an
hour. The new, audio installer at strictly foreign told me this. I hate
them and the way they run their business but at least this should be of
some help.

geoffhenter
Donkey

>From: jonathanktable.jps

>Hi - I just got my new crutchfield summer 1998 catalog and according to
>it, about the only brand CD receiver that will fit in athe dash of a GTI
>and most VW's is a Pioneer brand unit. Is this true? Has anyone installed
>other brand CD receivers in the GTI? I hope it isn't, I am not too fond of
>Pioneer brand receivers.

No, it is not true. Crutchfield lists the maximum depth for our cars as 6
and 3/8 inches. I just measured the factory radio, which I removed a couple
of weeks ago, and it is 6 and 1/2 inches deep, including the plug for the
antenna. It looks like you could go as large as 6 and 5/8 inches without too
much trouble. I say "too much" because my Denon was the *exact* same depth
as the factory Clarion but, with all the wires back there, it's still a
tight fit.

This may help if you're going to install a "deep" stereo, or one with a lot
of wires in the back (RCA outs, etc.):
1) pop out the two plastic molding pieces to the left of the radio.
2) connect all the wires from the new stereo to the factory harnesses and
hold the stereo in front of the dash opening (or place it up on the dash, if
the wires are long enough)
3) tie the wires together and to one side with some string and leave about
12 inches of string hanging
4) snake the string through the opening for the stereo, around the mounting
sleeve, and through the opening where the plastic molding pieces were (an
old shirt hanger would be helpful)
5) while pushing the new stereo into the mounting sleeve, pull the string so
that the wires are pulled to the left of the stereo
6) push stereo all the way in, toss the string into the hole, and you're
done

Hope I've helped. Let me know if any of this is unclear.

-Jason

My '98 (built 3/98) is the same way. I replaced my factory head unit with
an Alpine CDM-7836 head unit. I unscrewed the rubber "nub" from the back
of the factory unit, and screwed it into my Alpine. I was able to fit the
FUBA power adapter, two sets of leads off of the pre-amp outs, the wiring
harness, and the adapter for the CD-changer behind the head unit without
breaking off any brackets. It took some patience, but it all fits with the
head-unit flush in the dash. No skips, even with the Koni's dialed to full
firm.

> Actually, in my car, there is a plastic piece behind the radio that is
> *riveted* to the inside of the dash. The factory radio has a nub on the back
> that slides into this plastic piece for support.



Jeff Traenkner
Network/Integration Engineer
IKON Technology Services
Tampa, Florida
(813) 261-2000 ext.181