Single din stereo replacement

I'm attempting to install a single din Kenwood unit into my 996 w/hifi. Managed to connect everything, but I'm having issues physically installing it. The din cage doesn't seem to want to fit into the slot where the Becker was previously. Am I doing something wrong? Also, has anybody routed an aux cable through the back of the head unit? I'm trying to run a USB cable and am making little progress. Will I need to take the lower console out?

No need for the DIN cage. I was confused by the same thing. Just slide the headunit in.

Remove the ventilation controls to give you more room and "bird's" eye view. you do have to push a little. Make sure to connect the power antenna and disable the alarm (black tape).

Thanks for the help. I don't seem to have a power antenna lead on my wiring harness. I'll be taking the deck out on my next set of days off, so I'll rig some wiring up for it then. Already got my electrical tape out for the alarm. Thanks for the reminder!

No problem. But I do think the harness has the power antenna wire. I know the hard way because last weekend I installed an Alpine unit in my 996, and the radio reception was horrible. The antenna is connected. So I researched the forums and found out that there is an antenna booster that needs to be powered. It is pin 5, called ANT Trig.

Awesome. I'll hook that up when I take it out again. Although the amount I listen to FM I probably wouldn't have noticed it for a while anyways. As for the alarm, I taped what I thought was the contact, but I still get a honk when I lock the door. Is it a problem to leave it like that? I actually like the horn notification that it's locked, but don't know if there's any problems with doing it that way.

The contact is on the side of the radio. I also forgot to this this last week I believe that you simply put a piece of black tape of the side (take a look at your old Becker, and see the exact location). I don't think that it would be a problem to leave, but I think it can be a little annoying after a while, and if you accidentally leave something else open, you would not know. Good Luck!

Must have just missed it by a bit... It's right over where the cage brackets into the new stereo, so it could have moved when it actually clipped in.

So everything seems to be working, except I lose my settings every time I turn the car off (clock, eq settings, display, etc.) Thought maybe the constant and switched + were wrong, but the stereo doesn't stay on when the car's off. Any thoughts? - - - edit - - - Took it out again, and looked at the wiring diagram again. Had the constant and switched + wrong. Back to the old soldering iron.

I'd like to put in an ipod oriented HU in my 04. How did you hook up the aftermarket HU to the 3 little harnesses? Did you cut off the connectors and hard wire the new HU's harness to the OEM wires? Do you have a diagram or pics that would be useful to a fellow ipod lovin' RLer? TIA for any pics or advice that you have. Kyle

Turbo, you can purchase harness adapters so that you don't have to cut any of the stock wiring. Just pick the HU you want and then find the appropriate harness. You can and solder if you choose to, but I always prefer being able to easily reverse my mods.

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I thought there was no such thing for MOST units. Can you change the HU without rewiring everything?

I used an audi/vw harness. It's the Metra 1784 or 1787, depending on if you've got a factory amp (hifi system). Don't know if it works on MOST systems however. Unfortunately I didn't take any pics.

Turbo, sorry about that. I wasn't thinking about MOST. I understand the switch is not as easy in that case, but can't provide any help. I'm pretty sure I've heard people talking about a solution but i'm not familiar with it since I'm working on a '01.