Head swapping

[raysea390]

Presently got a Kenwood KDC7007 head unit in my '87 300e. Can't get the Elvis CD out although it will play. The Kenwood help desk has been silent, no help at all.

I have not taken out the head unit, I don't even know how to remove all the wood trim without damaging something. But...I have 2 CD head units that are newish (i have been meaning to swap out the Sony cassette player on the boat), one is a Jensen and the other is a Rampage.

Obviously the Kenwood unit is not what was originally installed in the car...can anyone tell me what are the chances that the electrical wiring connectors on the Kenwood are the same as the new units i have (i.e. as easy as plug and play)?

[BoomInTheTrunk]

well for taking out the headunit you need two very slim pieces of metal to slide on the outside of the unit. You slide the pieces in and then you can just pull the unit out. as for the wiring you will need to use a new wiring harness from the other players. its not that difficult to install new wires you simply need to get an owners manual for the kenwood so you know what the colors mean and then simply put that to use on the other wiring harness.

[raysea390]

Thanks! I downloaded the Kenwood owners manual so hopefully I will be able to cross reference the wires. Where do I slide those two thin pieces of metal...the top, bottom or sides? And then just slide the new unit into the recess?

[RichardM98]

The manual you downloaded should have an installation/extraction section. The strips mentioned are referred to as 'radio keys' or 'extraction keys' , etc.

Sometimes you can improvise a set with thin metal but the factory ones work much better. The location should also be shown in the manual -- usually on the side for aftermarket units.

Often CD units have a hole to manually eject a CD. Again it should be mentioned in the manual. Push a straightened paper clip into the hole.