vw indash cd changer

sylvester · Post by **sylvester** » Fri May 02, 2008 1:16 am

There are far better sounds out there than the standard vw offering, I'm sure a few members will point you in the right direction, and the display will be the same colour.

RUM4MO · Post by **RUM4MO** » Fri May 02, 2008 11:03 am

biggy wrote:It was advertised as indash, I think im going to ask for a refund. If I buy the blue, yellow and green connector cd changer, will I only have to buy the cable I listed above for it to work with my gamma stereo?

thanks for the part numbers btw.

Yes, I'd go for the refund as its not, as sold suitable for indash use - maybe an innocent mistake, but you should not carry the cost - I'd also use the "its suspension is set up for vertical fitting" fact as well as the connector issue. I'd still bid for a CD player without the cable and support though as quite a few are from people upgrading to a multichanger indash - especially as you now know the p/ns for the cable and support - I'd think that they would be go for less money if just a CD player - so you could be quids in!! I think that Â£20 should get you the cable and support - phone a VW dealer for prices first before taking the plunge so you know what differance to expect. Meanwhile ask each sellar if these bits are included if they are being cagey about their existance - if these comments end up on the items listing it would hold the price down for you to pounce it!!

biggy · Post by **biggy** » Fri May 02, 2008 11:43 am

thanks for all your help, The seller has agreed to refund me once I send the item back, thanks for your advice, Ill start looking for one now. Cheers

RUM4MO · Post by **RUM4MO** » Sun May 04, 2008 12:22 am

I see that the cable finishes soon and there is an indash 6CD changer up for grabs as well!

biggy · Post by **biggy** » Sun May 04, 2008 1:23 am

managed to pick up a right bargain, got a 6 cd changer (the proper one) boxed with the tray, loom, manual and removal keys for only Â£65 delivered!

Cant go wrong with that. I offered the seller and he accepted. Should be sent to me on tuesday, willl keep you informed.

RUM4MO · Post by **RUM4MO** » Sun May 04, 2008 10:02 am

biggy wrote:managed to pick up a right bargain, got a 6 cd changer (the proper one) boxed with the tray, loom, manual and removal keys for only Â£65 delivered!
Cant go wrong with that. I offered the seller and he accepted. Should be sent to me on tuesday, willl keep you informed.

Indeed, removal keys - yes they are very handy to have to hand - they save you making up impossibly thin things to release the radio first. I assume that you will move the radio up to the top slot while you are fitting the CD changer - the radio needs to come out anyway to fit the new loom and to plug in the CD changer lead - its a bit of a balancing act this lot due to the length of the leads - but obviously very do-able - it just might cause a bit of cursing, that's all! One thing, I noticed that due to the radio now sitting angled upwards a bit, the viewing - ie field of view is affected a bit - just the usual LCD panel problem I suppose, which might explain why VW, in the past, have insisted that the radio stays in the lower slot - it just means that in the dark, the radio panel does not look quite so clear - that's all - I can't see any way round that other than actually rotating the inner panel of the radio back up to vertical - and that would not be easy!

biggy · Post by **biggy** » Sun May 04, 2008 2:25 pm

yes, I need to remember that when fitting my changer, how long will it take to fit? is it a straight forward job?

GaryUK · Post by **GaryUK** » Sun May 04, 2008 4:14 pm

There is very little room for all the wires at the back so be prepared to try to tuck as much in the gaps in there. A number of times thought I had got it right and slid the changer back only to find it wouldn't sit flush.

My changer used to jam occasionally and would have to go through a bizarre sequence to tempt the discs back out. It wasn't detecting a cd when there was one, hope you don't have as much trouble.

Finally as you have found out there are two types of 6 cd changer, an older one out of mk4 golfs and polos etc and a newer version that was fitted in mk5 golfs arm rest so be careful when buying second hand.

Cheers,

RUM4MO · Post by **RUM4MO** » Sun May 04, 2008 10:33 pm

biggy wrote:yes, I need to remember that when fitting my changer, how long will it take to fit? is it a straight forward job?

Probably only took 15 minutes, but as pointed out, you need to work out where the cable runs are best placed - not too demanding but just something to watch out for - maybe need to pass the cabling back behind the rear of the fitting cage to avoid trapping it. Oh and make sure all the connectors "click" together otherwise they will "creep" out and cause problems. Getting the radio out might involve moving it across to one side while easing out the opposite side and then reversing this action for the other side. My biggest problem when first fitting the radio and CD was finding a bit of wood, cutting it to size and shape and colouring it black to blend in - as I did not originally have the shelf part - then there was the disapointment about the illumination not originally working as I did not have the extra cable either. I was trying to be smart and complete all this work while my wife was collecting her old car at the airport (we had driven her new one back from Holland)! The only trouble we have had with CDs was with my daughters Ibiza (has remote VW changer) - there was one band's original CDs that always needed copied by computer before they would play reliably.

biggy · Post by **biggy** » Thu May 08, 2008 11:57 am

just received the cd changer today and its absolutely mint! not a mark to be found, boxed with everything I need to get it up and running. Will be fitting it in on the weekend. Do you think I will require the stereo code once fitted as it probably will be linked to another car?

RUM4MO · Post by **RUM4MO** » Fri May 09, 2008 8:06 am

biggy wrote:just received the cd changer today and its absolutely mint! not a mark to be found, boxed with everything I need to get it up and running. Will be fitting it in on the weekend. Do you think I will require the stereo code once fitted as it probably will be linked to another car?

No, the CD changer has no security built in, as long as the radio is "known" to that car it will also be okay. If you don't have the security code for your radio, I'd get that seen to asap as you never know when you might need it - if the radio was fitted to the car by a VW UK dealer, then with proof of current ownership, VW should retrieve the code from VAG records for you - might cost you though. When you bought the car the paperwork wallet should have included a "radio key code card".

biggy · Post by **biggy** » Fri May 09, 2008 6:33 pm

I dont think I have the code card as ive searched for it before, I rang vw and they tolf me to pop in anytime with the readio fitted in the car and they will get me the code for free so I think Ill get the code on monday.

RUM4MO · Post by **RUM4MO** » Sat May 10, 2008 11:56 am

biggy wrote:I dont think I have the code card as ive searched for it before, I rang vw and they tolf me to pop in anytime with the readio fitted in the car and they will get me the code for free so I think Ill get the code on monday.

That's a clever idea, one other fairly insignificant thing - you should idealy get the Gamma "soft coding" changed to reflect that this radio is connected to a CD changer - in practical terms not doing it will not cause any compatability problems, its just that the Gamma is one of the many "smart" devices fitted to the car - that means that it can be talked to via the diagnostic link and it will pass any system faults out.If you can get someone with Vag-Com to change the soft code of the Gamma to include a CD changer then that will mean that any normal VW CD changer failures will get recognised and identified - could be useful in the future - but as always if it breaks you will probably know its broken!

biggy · Post by **biggy** » Sat May 10, 2008 12:39 pm

Hi, my car already came with a cd changer as standard but it was taken out by the previous owner, I am in the process of purchasing a vag-com cable anyway as I want to enable the autolock so I will look into this aswell.