Next up we will be upgrading the speakers in the R32. For now we will retain the factory amp, but I have an amplifier install planned too. :)

The VAG 12V and Ignition switchero is one of the most common mistakes when installing an aftermarket unit in a VW, Audi etc. So if your unit forgets the time and stations, switch the cables.

what a nice, clean installation. It looks like it came that way from the factory!

Long before I became a dedicated tech I ran my own car audio install business. I did everything from head units all the way up to custom fiberglass enclosures with multiple batteries and alternators. I was really big into the SPL scene when car audio used to be quite popular. Over the years it has slowly died off, (at least in my area.) It was refreshing to see someone who knows the proper way to wire a head unit, and actually know what they are talking about. The amount of trash installs I have seen and fixed over my years was ASTRONOMICAL. You would think something as simple as a head unit or single amp install is somewhat of a 'no-brainer,' but from what I've encountered, it is anything but that to some folks. Best buy and circuit city was notorious for horrible work, and overcharging customers for sub-par gear. On the positive side, it was similar to my mechanical/ fab work. Once you do a customer right, and show them your skills you scored yourself a repeat customer that told their friends. I have gotten a ton of business in this way. When you know what you're doing, and don't rip people off, they show their loyalty by using you solely for everything on their vehicle. Many customers I gained came from my time in the stealership or a few indie shops that I worked at. I had so many side jobs I was able to leave those places all together and start my own. I get that vibe from you, and how you conduct yourself, and that says a lot nowadays. You do things right and are an honest and upfront guy. Great to see someone who shares similar values and practices especially in today's world. Nice work dude. As an added bonus you can usually ground your green wire straight to chassis to fool the parking brake circuit and then you can operate the unit when in motion. You aren't an idiot and I don't think you'd be taking your eyes off the road to watch a video, and they really make this that way to prevent people from being dumb and from a liability standpoint. Some of the head units are 'smarter' and need to be tricked in a certain way to do this, or through specific interfacing.

Quick tip: you can shorten the brake wire and ground it to the back of the unit to avoid having all that excess wire. Great stuff as always Charles👍👍

Pretty cool. I ended up getting the Chinese RCN210 unit. Killer deal for very good Bluetooth audio, SD card MP3 playback, OEM looks and plug and play on a MK4 with Premium IV single DIN radio without cutting any wires or extra dongles.

Great video Charles, just a tip for anyone with limited space behind the dash. If you have a lot of excess wires in the adaptor loom between the factory harness and stereo you don't need why not unpin them from the connector rather than bundle them together. Saves space and the tools necessary to unpin are readily available. 👍

I keep my 2005 Prius just for it's cassette player and 6 CD changer. Part of a powerful JBL system.

I did my own deck 5 years ago. I had never done one before. I was always told they were hard to do. I got the adapter, did all the splicing and within a few hours I had a deck that worked. If you can match colours you can do a deck. I ended up losing my steering controls. So this time around I’m going to keep them.

Ive never heard someone refer to a wire's secondary colour as a "tracer" But ive never heard a better term, so I'm using that from now on.

Awesome video! It's nice to see that you're as methodical as I am when it comes to aftermarket installs. I agree totally on using the proper harness- it's tons neater, way easier, and plus you get to build it on a workbench and not all hunched over in the car as opposed to direct wiring it!

i've watched this video 3 times now start to finish, love the content.

Love the Hank Hill reference, I tell you what!

Welcome to the club Charles, Ive only ever had one radio that tick the boxes and it cost alot of cash, even had gold plated pre-out!

I totally get the need for factory look. I left my mk4 non-Monsoon system in, mostly for that reason. However, I did buy a Gromm Audio charging/ bluetooth adapter that plugs into the CD changer port! (My Jetta wagon didn't come with one so no loss there. 😎)

that looks like a nice head unit. I have when people don't use a harness adapter also. They are not that expensive and they work great.

Crazy coincidence to have you uploading this as I just converted the single din unit in my e46 m3 to a double din unit similar to this one this past weekend. What an awesome upgrade this is in older cars!

That mic is pretty cool. I ran the mic that came with my pioneer radio to the factory mic location in my R32. I just cut a little circle out of the foam dummy plug in the factory mic location and it still keeps it functional and hidden! Good job man! Looks dope!

Just a note with adding a aftermarket radio to a vw monsoon system. If you are not getting any sound, disconnect all the neg speaker wires(the ones with the stripe) from the radio harness and connect them all together at the car side. I worked at a home/car audio shop in the mid 2000's and that was the only way we were able to get headunits it to work with the factory VW monsoon amp, including my 04 GLI.

I've put an OEM RCD 330 in my TIguan. Great and looks stock :) Carplay, android auto too. Was $130USD/$200NZD for me new. Great.

I have the same unit installed in my Mazdaspeed Miata, I love it.

I used to be big Sony. I have come to find Pioneer checks more boxes than anyone else for the last 15 years or so...YMMV!

Went straight to the link to buy the SIR removal tool😩....such a pity, nice bit of kit. Quality video as always Charles, the work u put in each upload is unreal but does not go unnoticed 👌🇮🇪

I ve had to renew a dash loom in a passat b5 due to customer trying to fit there own stereo, new loom was over £700

As an anti theft device (well more of a slow down )one of my radios had a steel wire bolted to car chassis then to radio case .Every bit helps.

I found out you can wire the parking brake wire to the orange illumination wire and bam it works with the headlight switch feels super OEM plus lol

best instal video for golf on KZfaq

I installed the mic that came with the kit in the factory location using the foam block to wedge the mic so oem look with aftermarket pieces mainly to save on cost the Vw one is deffo better quality so I hear

Does anyone else watch some of these videos already knowing how to do it, but just wanting to watch Charles do his thing? I did a double-din touchscreen in my 01 GTI VR6 back in the day, and it was surprisingly easy. Programming the adapter for the steering wheel controls was a complete nightmare though. Also, if you want to save some money on Mk4 radio removal keys, grab one of those hanging folders from work and cut the metal in half. The ends that hang in your cabinet fit perfectly in the key slots on the stock headunit, and pop it right out :)

For your job intel You're hands are the nicest I've seen in the trade

For the usb cable search amazon for “pac usb” it’s a panel mount USB port. When I upgraded my radio I installed it in place of the cigarette lighter for a nice clean factory looking install.

cool! ...i just went thru a full 10 speaker component build on my car stereo system myself... & i heard u mention crutchfield ...ive been doing buisness with crutchfield forever & they are the Gold Standard for quality customer service! enjoyed the video man, thanx

Awesome stuff Charles! I put a similar Sony into my B6 passat and my wife’s Xb. Gotta love having CarPlay in older cars!!

"The bugs whacked him, Johhny" Is that close captions for a Starship Troopers audio book?

hooking the red wire to the red wire on the install kit will turn the radio always-on on the Mk4's. Maybe its different for R32 specifically but my 03 Jetta with monsoon radio will not turn off when wired this way. You have to run the red wire from the aftermarket radio to a switched 12v wire like the 75x terminal or fuse tap a switched 12v.

Hopefully you will make a video on how to install a rear view camera in the future. Would love to see that. Love your work.

im more impressed that you were able to get the USB plugged in on first try. GJ

thanks for the tip on the gray/white K-line 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

having gone to an ATOTO radio, from the stock one in my 2012 RAV4, one of the review comments i took to heart, that i wish i'd taken even more seriously, is physical buttons are super super great on a radio. with buttons, you can just feel your way around the dash to change whatever you need. But with a touch screen, to change from one favourited radio station to the next, you gotta say, minimize maps, then open the radio, then click which ever station you want, then go back to maps. and all of this takes your eyes off the road. which is basically the same as doing that on your phone while having a bluetooth speaker in the cup holder, just with a bigger screen. I have buttons on the wheel, to pick up calls, change volume and open the radio. there's buttons on the radio for home, volume and track seeking. and that's still not great. It's never been a pain in the butt enough for me to go back to stock, but I know my elderly parents also have issues working the inbuilt radio app, such that i've certainly started looking for alternative simpler apps for them to use. because telling them to "go to favourites, don't ever hit the scan button" doesn't seem to work.

Very informative video. I was thinking of changing the radio in my car and your video makes it very easy. Thank you!

Great detailled video. i think I'm going to let the installer take of mine tho 😊

I agree about being picky with head units. Personally I'm tired of spending north of $400 on a head unit just to settle. I have a build I'm working on and will be going with a carputer with external touch screen. I personally feel that it will be years before aftermarket stereos will be more " pc " like to actually run kool programs, have great processing power, eliminate the use of smart phone integration and super high res displays. Would love to see an up to date carputer video. Nice clean install. Nice clean video.

Nice charles, I got a double din with a CD player like a year ago. Unfortunately someone had already installed an after market dated radio so I had to take it all apart. I don't have a touch screen it's just a better radio with Bluetooth and great sound. I still have my mk4 r32 original speakers.

Thanks for all your hard work 👍

what I like to do on those wiring harness adapters is to shorten the wires because most of them are about 3-4 inches longer than they need and they make a big bundle mess when squished behind the receiver.

In the future I would probably put a radio with a CD player in. Not because of the CD player, but if it has a CD player behind the screen it will have electronic angle adjustment for the screen. I would also consider a pioneer and run a parking brake bypass. Yes it’s not quite legal, but you seem like a responsible person.

That mic is a game changer!

I prefer solder joints, especially if the harness is on the bench. Adhesive lined butt connectors aren't bad, but i only use them when i have to. Definitely don't use cheap brittle plastic coated connectors or scotch locks. You wouldn believe how many cars I get that come in for a no start and i find out the problem was caused by aftermarket crap spliced into factory harnesses with scotch locks.

Nice clean install. Im going to use the video input on the MFD Navigation to add something like CarPlay or Spotify in the future. That way I get the new features while keeping the original looks ;)

I have old style on my seat ibiza 05 plate. Who every wire stero in before did it wrong and used house hold connecter. So I've had re wire it.

Get a Kenwood would. I'm willing to bet you'll be more than happy with all the amenities you get and I'm sure it'll check all the Boxes you're looking for, so again go get yourself a nice Kenwood and never look back... Kenwood for the win!!!

Good video , i am planing to install a new stereo in my 2009 golf 6

Great tutorial Charles! Very thorough and professional! 😎

I got the Kenwood DDX 9906 with HD resolution, it was close to $1000, but worth it for my R32 🤤.

Absolutely love the stupid proof videos. Thank you very much.

Personally I have found that taking the two wires you want to connect, twist them together. Insert them into one side of the but connector and crimp the one side with both wires and song worry about the other end. Some installed do that because the wires can vibrate over time and the rocking action will break strands and fail. I've used this method for decades, never had a failure. Using the but connectors the way that they were designed I've had issues. The con is that it makes the harness bulky, so if space is tight that can be a problem..

Great video Charles!

I'm wanting to do this on my '99 Lexus GS300 but from what i've seen it's much more complicated to do if i want to maintain the factory sub and sub amp. But i guess, in the end, it's just a bunch of cables that need to hook up to another cables, haha. Really nice and detailed vid, very interesting even when i've never owned a VAG car, haha. (Altough a friend of mine has a '04 Seat Leon he wants to upgrade, that shoud be really similar, so it'll come in handy i'm sure!)

Great video bro, thanks God for these vids cause I would be lost without them!!!💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽

How was the Bluetooth mic call quality? I just bought one for my Alpine in my MK6

I had no idea they made harness adapters!....it's too late now

Great vid as usual Charles! I am hedging on whether to change the head unit on my R32 because I typically like to listen to the exhaust for my soundtrack. If you buy another unit please let us know which one you end up liking since the Sony seems to be a bit of a bust.

I used to use butt splices and solder them then use heat shrink but kind of prefer the lineman splice and solder with heat shrink now

Great video again always look forward to your excellent content 👍

Oh wow love it but would really like to see one for the MK7

The old twist and tape method is tried and true. ;)

I bought mic from same place very good. Metra.com has all the dash instructions you could ever need for dash instructions.

Hey @HumbleMechanic you should look into Eonon radios amazing product for the price great quality ! your car would need model: GA2180A

Cruel that the Sir radio tool isn’t available anymore! That is neat.

I have been installing radios since the factory stereo went out in my brand new Camaro IROC-Z in 86. Yeah, I'm old. A few weeks ago,when I was at the Auto parts store, a woman comes in to buy a radio for her car. She bought the radio and duct tape! I cringed thinking about how she was gonna butcher the wiring in her car, twist and taping everything together. All for it to fail again in a few weeks, because the wire vibrated themselves apart. As she left I told her that she could get a wiring harness from Crutchfield. Hey, I tried...

Nice install video Charles

I have the same soldering iron and always wondered what that attachment was.

That is such an easy thing to miss not wiring the brake wire. Then you'd be left scratching your head as to why it isn't working.

@humbleMechanic you should use another mic or at least equalize the audio level when editing the videos, as usual great content

why are we using scotch locks? i see so many issues with them. they say not to use them

I want a radio really bad but I think I should fix my rust first lol edit: and great video as always

31:04 try out "joying" head unit. Within your budget, Chinese, but pure Android, really impressive resolution + tailored particularly for VW..

You worked in King of the Hill. You know what that does to me! Haha.

Charles, look at the Pioneer AVH-Z3100DAB (I have this and got it when it was released). I think it could possibly be more to your liking. Not sure if American got this model but look for the upgrade as it’s a couple of years old now.

:53. Genius advice 👍🏻👍🏻

on my adapter harness there's a orange and black wire, but in the wire diagram it doesn't say what it is, any idea of what it is

Hey Charles could you make a video explaining returnless fuel systems please bud?

So I just installed the xav av1000 on my vw and when I turn the volume up loud it restarts the radio any fix?

What happens if you wire that 12v on the stereo which causes the scanner to no longer connect how would you fix that ? Or what’s the next step have that on my 2000 gti w the 3 plugs

Have you ever ran into MK4 R32 radio dropping out speakers one by one? Sometimes small bump will bring in additional speakers. Also I hope to get my R to my house after sitting at my parents to work on some wiring gremlins. Interested in material? I did find Haldex connector corroded already but have more checks to do. Thanks for the content. Keep it up.

But what do you do it you want old school cassette, its coming back into use...apparently :D

Hello Charles, Love your content. I've got a 2017 GTI with the 6.5" infotainment screen. Have you ever replaced this screen with a larger OEM version? My old eyes could do with a larger screen sometimes when using Waze with Android Auto. Thank you.

How do you wire the steering controls in? Also a lot of modern cars now require a security code to be input if you put in a new radio how do you solve that?

When ever i get a car for some repair i always see crapy cabel connection on the aftermarket radios. On the last repair the fuse for the radio blow and the owner didnt know how to find the fuse. And the wire behind the radio was exposed no isolation nothing not a single wire was isolated.

Kudos!

I hate those aftermarket radios. On my 96 Jetta GL came with aftermarket radio was garbage. luckily they had a plug n play harness, so went to junkyard and got a nice oem stereo, called the dealer for code, and just plugged it in.

Do you need to use a power retention box?

Hello Charles! When you said to leave the black connector disconnected on older vw models. Would the radio still work with one connector only?

I have that same power probe torch. Wsd that heat attachment part of your kit? I don't have that in mine.

How to hook up a compasster

Have you seen the aluminum license plate frames that have a camera? Pretty slick install.

DIY timing chain for the r32 next 👀👀😅

thanks for another informative video. do you know is there any of these after market systems which will integrate the OEM steering wheel controls and in dash navigation on my 2004 touareg?

Clean install Charles! Would you recommend a radio with a detachable face as a theft deterrent?

What is the butane tool you used to heatshrink called? Because I need one that is not huge and dependent on an outlet.