CD player died

[Sam Powell]

The CD player died on my '97 M with head rest speakers. I wrote to a guy on Miata.net, who fixes old Mazda radios, but he said he does not work on the '97 model. So, is there someone around here who can fix it, or is there a new one I can buy that interfaces with the wiring on my Miata. It also has the auto volume compensation mode, which works OK. It gets soft when you stop at a light, and then cranks back up at about 10 MPH. Does Miata make a retro model that will fit this car?

Also, I would not mind just paying someone to do this. I have done all my own work on this car except replace the timing belt so far, but kind of feel I would rather not monkey with the dash and wiring. Am I being paranoid, or smart here?

Anyway, I have some books on CD I would like to start listening to.

Sam

[91BRG]

I assume you contacted Jeff Anderson on Miata.net? He's an odd one from his postings... You can probably find replacement used ones from many different sources if you want a correct Mazda one. My old one is on a shelf in the garage in case I wanted to 'restore' the car some day. I have a Sony CDX1000 in there that I picked up used for $25 and works fine. The interface to the harness I made from a Crutchfield-type kit I got on eBay for $5. Doesn't have the auto-volume but I've rarely found those to be very good, maybe yours worked better?

Check the guys here like Chris Windsor and others that take that kind of stuff out of cars for racing. Also check the Miata.net classifieds or throw a wanted up here.

Chances are, btw, if your player is really dead, it's optics and fixing it isn't worth the headache and cost. I suppose, before saying that, I should ask what the symptoms are?

[thebeerbaron]

Go to crutchfield, find a player you like, you get the install kit with it if you specify your car model. IIRC they even used standard DIN openings in '97, so you don't end up with the odd botched-up looking job us 90-95'ers have (I think that's the right year range...)

The wiring is tedious, but not difficult and results in a plug-and-play setup. A great tech-day project if you want someone over your shoulder while you solder. If you're really afraid of soldering, you could beg someone here to do it for you, or drop the two harnesses (one from crutchfield, one from whomever made your new CD player) in the mail to me and I'll do it for you. Just buy me a beer the next time I'm in town...

[bill_keksz]

Replacement with later Mazda or Ford has been done by quite a few owners - I did one quite easily on a MSCW member's car.
The '97's, contrary to anything you're read, do not all have the same double-DIN center (Did on my 1st '97, not on my 2nd). But it's not important - it'll stick out a bit more, maybe 1/4", and can be fixed with a Dremel - or you can get the DIN version from Finishline.
Crutchfield is my source for all head units - usually ship the right adaptor, and easy people to work returns with; but they may not have what you want. Your biggest problem will be finding a head unit with a display you can read in sunlight.
There is no reason to solder if you have a good crimping tool.

[JULI]

IF you want to keep the radio and have it fixed, CATON radio, that is on route 40 can/might fix it...

IF it is the factory radio/cd player its either a BOSE (dinsour model) or Infininty, I can't remember which is which..

If you would like a new CD player installed, pm Miatamadman, I think at one time he used to be a radio installer.

[prostwest]

Mistanfo used to work for Crutchfield.

My harness mashups, both soldered and crimped, have all been done on a TV tray while watching pablum.

[Sam Powell]

Thanks for all the tips. I was hoping someone would say, " OH, go buy this model, and it will slide right in". Or, maybe, "The dealer has a plug and play retro unit they will install in just a few minutes."

I'm not afraid of soldering. I've done lots of that. It is kind of a dash board phobia of sorts. I have done complete restoration on two Dart's, including removal, painting, and reinstall of dashboards, including ,all wiring harnesses.But on the Darts, there were no hidden, or magic fasteners. It was all there in plain sight any amatuer mechanic could figure out. I just feel a resistance to entering this phase of my education. I suppose I should learn about this part of the Miata tech. But it seems my old brain resists learning too many new things at once.

For one thing, when I was restoring the Darts, it did not have to run the next day, or even the next month, or year in some cases. I could take my time and fool with it for ages. I want this car to be off the road for a maximum of a few days. It was off the road for a week when I did the shocks because I painted the control arms, and had to wait for the paint to dry. That seemed like longer than I wanted at the time. TMI?

Who is Crutchfield? And, where is Caton Radio? I assume Catonsville? I'll look for a web site. Thanks again.

Sam

[91BRG]

Crutchfield is the mega-store online for car audio. You will find virtually all brands of standard car audio there, along with adapter plates, wiring and more.

The only thing that has to come out of the dash for the radio that is a pain are the two eyeball vents in the center. Although you do also have to be careful not to break the surround which is kind of expensive to replace (~$80 IIRC). You can find the info on all of this removal in the "garage" section of Miata.net.

The biggest trick to going aftermarket is getting it to fit properly. There are a number of sources for cubbys and CD holders and stuff to fill in the empty space. Just check because I think it was only models before yours that are not DIN standard (like mine) so they don't fit exactly right for 2 components.

[Claff]

Standard head unit install with bits from Crutchfield takes an hour, two hours max. I replaced the stock cassette deck in the Duckling in the fall and it was idiot-proof.

Behind my dash were two harnesses, one for power and front speakers, the second for rear speakers even though the car in question doesn't have any. Assuming you have the harnesses, your headrest speakers should automagically work with whatever new deck you wind up with.

[prostwest]

No need to crack open the console until you have the harness adapter mated to the head unit plug. (30 minutes workbench work)

Unscrew shifter knob, Pull center console (6 or so phillips screws), pull out the eyeballs with a length of rope, 4 more phillips screws and the upper console comes off, 4 screws and the head unit slides out. Unplug it and plug in the new one. Reverse.

[Sam Powell]

Pulling out eyeballs sounds like something from the Inquisition. Do you feed the rope into and then back out, and just tug? With this cold, I am concerned about cracking plastic parts. The garage is still between 35 and 40 on a bad day.

Claff, do you have a part number or link for the head unit you purchased? I would love to go on line and take a look. Maybe browse a bit.

Sam

[prostwest]

Pulling out eyeballs sounds like something from the Inquisition.

Though nobody expects it, our chief weapon is yanking like hell.
Warm the car up and blow hot air through the dash vents for 10 minutes prior to be on the safe side.

[91BRG]

Pulling out eyeballs sounds like something from the Inquisition.

Though nobody expects it, our chief weapon is yanking like hell.
Warm the car up and blow hot air through the dash vents for 10 minutes prior to be on the safe side.

Our other chief weapon is surprise.
Not the kind one likes to have while yanking on eyeballs...

It will feel like they really really really really really don't want to come out (and they don't) unless they have been out before. My old ones I could pop with a thin screwdriver, the newer ones required putting a foot on the dash using the string theory.

[prostwest]

Actually surprise is good, as sneaking up on it with a good hard yank works better than sustained tension.

[Claff]

Pulling out eyeballs sounds like something from the Inquisition. Do you feed the rope into and then back out, and just tug? With this cold, I am concerned about cracking plastic parts. The garage is still between 35 and 40 on a bad day.

Claff, do you have a part number or link for the head unit you purchased? I would love to go on line and take a look. Maybe browse a bit.

I yoink eyeballs by giving them a good tug with a pair of needle-nose pliers, with a rag or painters tape keeping the grippy stuff from becoming scratchy stuff.

This is the unit I put in the '93 last fall:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_113MP342U/ ... ml?tp=5684

It's a middle of the line $139.99 Kenwood that has all the right features: aux in, USB on the faceplate, and CD that plays MP3s. Plug the iPod in with the standard iPod USB cable and run it off the head unit, with the bonus of the iPod staying fully charged. I don't have an iPod but I can run a generic MP3 player by using a cheap headphone cable into the aux in jack.

Crutchfield says they're out of stock with this particular model so it must be good!

[Sam Powell]

I want to thank thebeerbaron for urging me to intall my new radio myself. It is in now, and working fine. I cannot imagine that Best Buy could have come close to doing what was needed on this install. Nothing really fit right, and I had to trim, and modify, and customize every step along the way. It took a long time, and a lot of thought. But, I am glad I did this. Not only does it fit right, and look like something the factory might have done, but, I got to clean everything up as I was reinstalling the dash and console parts. I got to clean ages old grime from under the joints and such. Christian thanks for giving me the courage to yank like h*** on the eyeballs. They popped right out. Thanks again thebeerbaron.

Sam