so last night i was doing the stereo install and everything went fairly
to plan... well, until i was done removing the factory unit from
the car. it's a very tight fit with just the 7 clips. This is after removing
the 2 HU screws. dang... i pulled. nothing. pulled harder from the
bottom. thing released. then pulled the top hard and pulled the
factory stereo out of my car.
i thought...
i placed my factory unit on my workbench and i saw that i managed
to break the factory fan switch module when i pulled the unit out.
WTF. the word of caution is,
BEFORE removing the factory
stereo/hvac unit, unplug the 2 very bottom harnesses going to
the hvac. 
so, i removed the fan sw module from the hvac unit. the ball, springs,
internal rotary conductors all separated. actually, i noticed i was
missing the ball.
. so went hunting in my car for a bb
sized metal ball. (i use to be a tier1 automotive parts supplier so i
kinda know this stuff). after a while, i found it...and used tiny screws
from my RC car days from the sides (3). one of 4 clips were still in
tact.
here's wat it looked like after... you can see the 2 screws
i used (green circles) and the RED line shows plastic missing.
ooops.
so after that ordeal, i transfered the hvac assy to the Metra install
din bezel, installed the din bracket, everthing was pretty decent.
but i have to say, these made in china POS metra install-kits are
just so piss-poor quality that i had to remove all the hvac decals off
the factory unit and move them over.
otherwise it just looked
too shitty.
then i slid everything back into my car, plugged everything, tested,
pushed in the bezel and WALLA!
... so i thought.
after everything was back together i turned on the unit again and
listened to my MP3's. oooo~ nice. i switched over to my FM radio
since it comes with HD radio
and scanned for channels. nothing.
oh shit, i didnt check the radio before putting it back together.
so i removed everything out again
while telling myself i am
an IDIOT for not testing the radio and checked my connections.
everything was plugged in correctly.
i turned on the unit to test
the radio...as expected, nothing. i pushed the antenna connector
deeper into the HU... nothing. i look at the radio harness crutchfield
gave me. and sure enough the terminal pushed itself out of the
connector from the backside when i plugged it in last night.
so i
force the terminal back into the connector where it should be and
tested. yaay! put everything back together.
WALLA!
well, so i thought.
im sitting inside my car trying to set the clock and i cant figure it out...
JVC's owners manual booklet does not even have a section for setting
the clock. waat?!
i know it has a clock because i downloaded
their full manual a few days ago from their site. so i pulled out my
notebook to the garage and FINALLY got everything setup.
here's where you can download the entire manual for the JVC.
i HIGHLY recommend you do.
JVC Mobile Entertainment \ KD-AHD39 - KD-AHD39 \ Introduction
everything works great, the sound is 1000000xxxxx better than stock.
WALLA!!! well, so i thought...
the damn metra bezel looks like crap.
i mean come on, i'll pay
5x the amount but please make a nicer looking quality product.
anyway, here's a pict of the finished product. the color match is better
than the pict, but the fitment does not meet my quality standards,
nor the finish durability either. but hey, at least the stereo sounds
pretty damn good.
it was fun, but spent too much time on
tangents like a middle-aged japanese woman shopping at the grocery
store.
kidding kidding... that was just my wife.
Linear Mode
