New owner
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 799
Likes: 5
From: Pacific Northwest
Radio is in. Not one of the easier radio installs I've done for four reasons:
1. Despite having the Bose system, my car is wired such that the line level inputs to the amp are on the brown speaker terminal. As a result, the wiring harness I bought was wrong. In fact, I ended up going back to the factory wiring diagrams to make sure everything was wired right since most of the instructions I found left something to be desired.
2. Installing the Bluetooth microphone in the factory location was a giant PITA even once I'd removed the instrument cluster.
3a. There really isn't much space for wiring harnesses if you actually want the radio to fit into the dash, so I ended up forgoing crimp connectors, making the wires much shorter, soldering and heat shrinking the wires.
3b. Whoever at Kenwood decided that it was a good idea to make the rear USB input have a captive cord is an idiot.
The end result looks clean and works (the white foam that you can see in the picture of the microphone is visible due to the flash and can't be seen normally.)
I fished the rear USB down to the cubby mostly to get it out of the way! It could be useful for charging the phone though. I will also replace the tape trays with another cubby.
Playing with the fader, I think that my rear speakers are either not connected or not there. I get sound from the front door speakers and the top of dash speakers. I suspect that the next step will be to replace the amplifier and speakers. I'll check the rear speakers to see what is going on with them. I suppose a good test would be to put the factory head unit back in and see if they work with it.
1. Despite having the Bose system, my car is wired such that the line level inputs to the amp are on the brown speaker terminal. As a result, the wiring harness I bought was wrong. In fact, I ended up going back to the factory wiring diagrams to make sure everything was wired right since most of the instructions I found left something to be desired.
2. Installing the Bluetooth microphone in the factory location was a giant PITA even once I'd removed the instrument cluster.
3a. There really isn't much space for wiring harnesses if you actually want the radio to fit into the dash, so I ended up forgoing crimp connectors, making the wires much shorter, soldering and heat shrinking the wires.
3b. Whoever at Kenwood decided that it was a good idea to make the rear USB input have a captive cord is an idiot.
The end result looks clean and works (the white foam that you can see in the picture of the microphone is visible due to the flash and can't be seen normally.)
I fished the rear USB down to the cubby mostly to get it out of the way! It could be useful for charging the phone though. I will also replace the tape trays with another cubby.
Playing with the fader, I think that my rear speakers are either not connected or not there. I get sound from the front door speakers and the top of dash speakers. I suspect that the next step will be to replace the amplifier and speakers. I'll check the rear speakers to see what is going on with them. I suppose a good test would be to put the factory head unit back in and see if they work with it.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 799
Likes: 5
From: Pacific Northwest
Some updates
1. The fuel leak turned out to be the fuel line and that ended up being a $1500 repair (mostly labor) but at least I've reduced the chances of turning into a fireball.
2. I have also replaced the battery since it was time. The parts catalogs claim that a size 49 battery will fit. It does fit the tray but cannot be secured because there are no threads on the third hole in the tray! Size 48 is the way to go.
3. The microswitch under the emergency brake was sticking and as a result, I could not operate the convertible top. I disassembled the trim and got the switch unstuck by dabbing a little CLP on it. I also thoroughly cleaned the trim and shifter, but have ultimately decided to buy a new shifter because the leather on the current one is so worn.
4. I applied Gummi Plfege to any rubber surface that I could find. I don't think that the car has seen this since new and the rubber just sucked it up.
5. The most noticeable thing though is that I did a full clay bar, polish and wax exterior detail. The results speak for themselves and really bring out the shine of the Lapis Blue.
I've placed my order for a new convertible top and am sticking with the graphite grey colour, and I will be getting the nose repainted soon to address the state of the front bumper and the spot on the hood where the clearcoat has failed.
2. I have also replaced the battery since it was time. The parts catalogs claim that a size 49 battery will fit. It does fit the tray but cannot be secured because there are no threads on the third hole in the tray! Size 48 is the way to go.
3. The microswitch under the emergency brake was sticking and as a result, I could not operate the convertible top. I disassembled the trim and got the switch unstuck by dabbing a little CLP on it. I also thoroughly cleaned the trim and shifter, but have ultimately decided to buy a new shifter because the leather on the current one is so worn.
4. I applied Gummi Plfege to any rubber surface that I could find. I don't think that the car has seen this since new and the rubber just sucked it up.
5. The most noticeable thing though is that I did a full clay bar, polish and wax exterior detail. The results speak for themselves and really bring out the shine of the Lapis Blue.
I've placed my order for a new convertible top and am sticking with the graphite grey colour, and I will be getting the nose repainted soon to address the state of the front bumper and the spot on the hood where the clearcoat has failed.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 799
Likes: 5
From: Pacific Northwest
Thanks for the kind comments everyone!
@adcampo - I went for the Kenwood because it looked the least blingy of all the receivers I had seen. I considered Alpine, but wasn't a big fan of the large blue illuminated square button on the face. I looked at the Alpine CDE-HD149BT, which seems comparable to the Kenwood. As far as the Kenwood goes, all I can say is that it works. I'm extremely disappointed with the Bluetooth audio streaming (A2DP) implementation (and the same deficiencies seem to apply to the Alpine) namely (1) no information about what is playing is displayed on the screen; (2) audio from the phone is always routed to the head unit whether or not BT audio is selected on the head unit! This is bad because if you're using a navigation app on the phone and you're listening to the radio, you don't hear the turn by turn directions. My workaround is to use Waze, which enables me to select audio to be played through the phone - not ideal at all; (3) the music service integration does not work via Bluetooth, (2) the much vaunted music service integration does not work via Bluetooth. These are my experiences with an iPhone 5S and perhaps Android users fare better, but points (1) and (2) work fine on my 2010 E550, which only supports A2DP through enabling it in the car's engineering menu since it was not officially supported in that model year! I can only hope that Kenwood releases a firmware update to address these issues, but I shan't hold my breath. I should find an Alpine unit displayed somewhere and test it out - if it addresses points (1) and (2), I would replace the Kenwood unit with one.
@adcampo - I went for the Kenwood because it looked the least blingy of all the receivers I had seen. I considered Alpine, but wasn't a big fan of the large blue illuminated square button on the face. I looked at the Alpine CDE-HD149BT, which seems comparable to the Kenwood. As far as the Kenwood goes, all I can say is that it works. I'm extremely disappointed with the Bluetooth audio streaming (A2DP) implementation (and the same deficiencies seem to apply to the Alpine) namely (1) no information about what is playing is displayed on the screen; (2) audio from the phone is always routed to the head unit whether or not BT audio is selected on the head unit! This is bad because if you're using a navigation app on the phone and you're listening to the radio, you don't hear the turn by turn directions. My workaround is to use Waze, which enables me to select audio to be played through the phone - not ideal at all; (3) the music service integration does not work via Bluetooth, (2) the much vaunted music service integration does not work via Bluetooth. These are my experiences with an iPhone 5S and perhaps Android users fare better, but points (1) and (2) work fine on my 2010 E550, which only supports A2DP through enabling it in the car's engineering menu since it was not officially supported in that model year! I can only hope that Kenwood releases a firmware update to address these issues, but I shan't hold my breath. I should find an Alpine unit displayed somewhere and test it out - if it addresses points (1) and (2), I would replace the Kenwood unit with one.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 799
Likes: 5
From: Pacific Northwest
I stopped by Car Toys this morning and tested the Bluetooth streaming operation with an Alpine CDE-HD149BT. It does display track information when streaming using Spotify from my iPhone 5S. It also seems to have more traditional preset buttons. I will replace the Kenwood unit with one of these. Unfortunately, the Alpine microphone is different to the Kenwood's, so I will need to re-run the microphone wiring. Also, the Alpine only has four preset colors and the display is always bluish/white. However, the improved functionality outweigh these disadvantages.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 799
Likes: 5
From: Pacific Northwest
Rennlist Member
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 1,392
Likes: 28
From: Southern Arizona
Yes, a 220V electric fan forced heater. Was with the house when we bought it, but I relocated it from the greenhouse to the garage. About 5000 watts. Just right for the garage.
Can't remember what brand it is tho.
Can't remember what brand it is tho.
Last edited by Spokayman; Mar 21, 2014 at 06:29 PM. Reason: Spelling
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 799
Likes: 5
From: Pacific Northwest
Alpine head unit substituted for Kenwood. I did find that with the Podcasts app on my iPhone connected via Bluetooth, the Kenwood displayed information about what was playing. I tried again with Spotify but no dice.
Last edited by bal; Mar 22, 2014 at 11:30 PM.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 799
Likes: 5
From: Pacific Northwest
Oh and I managed to break the hazard light switch by being an idiot and forgetting how to pull it out. Do not pull from the white part - use a needle nose pliers to squeeze the tabs and pull those. Being German, it is more than just a switch - it has diodes and other stuff on it. Without the switch, the turn signals do not work. I attempted to refit the broken switch but that resulted in the hazard lights coming on, the left blinker always being on and the airbag and roll bar warning coming on! 
The part is not cheap ($80) and I opted to get one from my local dealer since they can have it in by Tuesday morning. Fingers crossed that I haven't messed anything up by plugging in the broken switch...
The part is not cheap ($80) and I opted to get one from my local dealer since they can have it in by Tuesday morning. Fingers crossed that I haven't messed anything up by plugging in the broken switch...