O/T - in car head units
Turbo Mini Forums

Windscreen leaked on the sportpack a while back and the kenwood headunit went pop. Real shame as it was a great bit of kit - no mad colours or flashing graphics, it just received radio waves (and told us what station it was), occasionally played tapes and picked random tracks from the cd autochanger.

Going on holiday in that car in the summer so we need a new head unit for it. Can anyone suggest anything that might fit the bill? Could live without tape now and understand I may need to get another autochanger.

Looked around but there is so much choice and, to be honest, all the ones I've seen are flashy neon bling $hite.

Not sure where to start so any suggestions appreciated :)

Cheers

Neil

cant really go wrong with a pioneer head unit dude. have a look on http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk for prices that are a shitload better than halfords and the like.

do you really need a changer in a mini though? that'll make things a lot cheaper.

Nick.

Top link - cheers :)

I know, but it's my wifes car and she liked having the changer. Saves her searching for CD's as she likes to swap and change tracks whilst driving.

We've had many a choice word in the car on that subject....

I've a SAISHO head unit with some AUDIOLINE speakers for sale.

AM/FM/MW and fastforwerd speakers are 8w i think.

Edited by badboyboost on 23rd Feb, 2005.

BLITZ
GREDDY
ALPINE
MINISPEED
BAILEY
MED
ROCKPORT
KINGSIZE SKINS
KAPPA
HKS

:)

Used to have an audioline headunit with 5 band eq built in. Would've look at home in the Knight Industries Two Thousand.

I'd take you up on the offer, but my wife is nearly as brand conscious as you are

i always go for alpine, because they never break and there after sales is pretty good, also i used to hit speed bumps at 40 in my fiesta and the changer would never jump, actually i might sell it as no stereo = less weight!!!

Why not get a head unit that uses the same multi changer,how much for the old one as its prob fixable??

Metro turbo weekend driver,Mini turbo in the making again!

i love pioneer headunits, never seem to skip and easy to use. mines been good for the last 6years
Ive got a good single JVC headunit im taking out. nothing very special but good quality. more than welcome to take a look.

i can sort you out a head unit / multi changer as long as your not too bothered what make as i never know what i`ll get next, the ones i get are easy to fit as they usually come with most of the wiring and sometimes part of the dash aswell .lol.lol.

Everyone knows that instructions only have to be read if the thing doesn't work....

only joking , before any nasty replies .....

Everyone knows that instructions only have to be read if the thing doesn't work....

lol curbside motors

Neil you are as well to stick to a Kenwood head unit as then you will be able to re-use the autochanger you already have.

Have you thought of searching on ebay for another kenwood head unit the same model as the one you have?

Also it might be possible to get yours repaired, I had a similar thing happen to a Panasonic head unit through getting wet from a duff windscreen seal and a local specialists at the time charged me ?15 to fix it, it was as good as ever afterwards and lasted till I sold the car it was in (might still be working now?)

Edited by Tom Fenton on 23rd Feb, 2005.

Spotted a couple on ebay a while back but still not keen on the whole ebay thing. I'm letting the hassle stories influence me :)

I'm pretty sure it's not repairable as it's well fried. I took some pics, I'll see if I still have them.

Only thought about a new autochanger as that one had been in the car 5 years, and suffered 4 Mizen to malin trips in Ireland so it's been pretty well shook about.

Might run the idea of a cd head unit past her, see what I can get away with :)

Mark, nearly took you up on your offer 'til I read your second post. lol

Give me a budget and I'll buy you one off ebay then if you want!!!

I have bought 2 stereos off ebay lately, a single cd panasonic (older style) for ?12 (bargain!) and a panasonic md player for ?50.

As you might have guessed I like Panasonic head units, but to be honest they are all pretty much as good as each other these days.

You might be suprised about your old one as well, my old one made a nasty smell, and started emitting smoke out of the cd slot, but was still repairable............

Found the pics of what went fizz





I did get a new mini radio very cheap recently, but turns out they're a bit of a nightmare to fit in anything other than a new mini. Probably the reason it was v cheap :)

Thats the power amplifier,if you un solder it you can still use the pre outs and external power amp

Metro turbo weekend driver,Mini turbo in the making again!

I would honestly say take it to a decent car audio shop and let them look at it. When I took mine in I told them not to spend more than a tenner trying to diagnose it, and then not more than ?30 repairing it. In the end they only charged me ?15 all done, they had to replace a chip that cost ?8 or something.