[s-cars] Stereo Upgrades, etc.

[Franco Barber]

On Tue, Jan 07, 2003 at 04:25:38AM -0500, CyberPoet wrote:
> Something odd I noticed the other day at one of the local stereo
> dealers: the rear connector interface of the Blaupunkt Munchen was
> exactly the same at that of the Audi Gamma -- the plugs would fit
> directly into the same holes without any fuss. Now I'm regretting
> ordering the San Jose model instead (which doesn't have the matching
> outputs, but does play MP3's as well as regular CD's).


Don't be fooled by the similarity of the connectors.
The signals on the various pins of those connectors will not
be a perfect match, and you will still need to build a
wiring harness to fit between the two.

I ran into exactly this situation when I put a Blaupunkt Toronto
into my 95 A6.  The connectors physically fit, but of the three
connectors, only the speaker connector is an exact electrical
match.  The other connectors have some of the more common signals
right (e.g. power, ground, etc) but the more exotic signals are
in the wrong place or missing.  If you plug it in without an
adapter harness, you risk doing damage to the car and/or the radio.

Franco

--
Franco Barber                   feb at febsun.cmhnet.org
95 A6Q w/Gamma CD mit RDS!      Columbus, Ohio  USA
95 A6Q 5spd w/bluetooth car kit!