List of compatible head units with stock harness?

Blaupunkt is easy but not a direct plug and play. Same connection type but different wire locations...

 

There isn't a list but most manufacturers use the two block ISO connection like the Becker already - as noted the wiring may differ so cross-check between the two manuals -also not sure about the C1/C2/C3 connectors

 

The adapter for the Ferrari which uses a Becker radio can be acquired here ...

BHA1784 Aftermarket Radio Install Harness in select 1983-10 Euro Cars :: Installation :: Car Stereos and components

Select the model for the Becker radio.

Your new head unit will (should) come with a harness adapter with a bunch of wires coming out of it. There is no standard for the pins / functions so you need to check the installation manual.

Once you have the pins / wires / functions for your new head unit, mate up the functions with the the Becker radio wires to the various functions. Here is the pins (wires) and functions for a Becker. If you are using an external amp, you only need to be concerned with the pins (wires) for Socket A

Typically, you need to mate up the following:
- Permanent positive
- Control output for automatic antenna/amplifier (the Ferrari has an amplified antenna)
- Illumination
- Switched positive
- Earth

Also, on the new head unit, there should be a wire called power control wire. This wire goes to the external amplifier and is used to signal the amp to turn itself on when you turn on the head unit.

You do not need the Becker adapter ... but it makes life easier as you plug the adapter into the existing connector harness on your car (the one that plugs into the Becker) and in this way you do not have to splice into the car wiring. It also makes it really easy to reverse the installation and return everything to original assuming you don't trash the Becker radio.

Oh, one more thing ... you will need an antenna adapter ... the becker radio antenna socket is different than most sockets on new head units. This will vary, but something like this ... http://www.crutchfield.com/p_12040VW12/Antenna-Adapter.html

Steve
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Steve, you are really helping raise the level of understanding for me and I suspect others too when it comes to upgrading the sounds in our cars! Big Thanks!

 

Kevin is right...

Thanks, Steve. Much appreciated.

Mike

 

I put a Pioneer DEH-80PRS in my 360. Looked pretty good, could be set to match the color of the Ferrari's interior lights quite well and gave me the iPod connectivity (wired and BT A2DP) that I was looking for. FM reception seemed a bit worse than factory and it was a bit hard to read during the day, but it worked well enough.

The wiring harness is no big deal, the factory connector is just like MK4 Volkswagen Golf\Jetta so I just built an adapter that went from the factory connector to the Pioneer. Easy to swap in \ out if necessary. I think I needed an antenna adapter too.

 

What a coincidence!

When I was going thru my installation, I first tried the Kenwood. It is great receiver. Loved the functions and features. But, the display was virtually unreadable in bright daylight. The color LCD display was just too dim and washed out in daylight.

Since I purchased it from Crutchfield, they took if back and no questions asked and I tried the pioneer unit. Although better than the Kenwood, it's display also had similar problem and I did not like the controls as much. I sent this one back to Crutchfielsd as well.

Finally got the Alpine CDE-HD149BT. This unit has a white on black display and is noticeably brighter. The buttons have color change option so you can adjust to match the Ferrari controls.

The only feature it lacked vs. the Kenwood, is it only has one USB port. But, I routed a USB connector to inside glove box so not big deal. Overall very pleased with the Alpine. One feature of Alpine that really like is the use preset buttons for radio stations. Neither the Kenwood or Pioneer have buttons. Presets on those units force to scroll thru a selection wheel. I would very much recommend you put Alpine on your short list.

Nice thing about Crutchfield is their refund policy. No questions asked and paid shipping both ways.
Steve

 

I put a Blaupunkt San Francisco in my 430. Wouldn't say it is the best sounding or most feature rich unit, but it maintains the general two knob look of the factory system and plugs into the factory harness (I had to remove one pin in the back of the radio for the cellular mute function). It does sound better than the factory Becker and gives me the iPod control I was wanting. The simplicity of it actually is fine with me in the 430 as I'd rather be focused on other things than the radio. Normally I like all the bells and whistles but I'm satisfied in this case.

 

I used the Hertz 165XL which did not require mod to the door panel, but did require enlarging the mounting area to accommodate the larger magnet and speaker frame. Is difficult to say which 6.5" speaker can be installed without any modification to anything.

Maybe if remove one of the existing speakers and take it down to a retailer where you might be able to do a comparison to ensure that the mounting ring, the frame and magnet is same size.

Steve

 

I had looked at a few of the radios mentioned and thought I found the one that I would like in a Pioneer DEH-86?? but then I found the DEH-80PRS. I wanted one with very little drama when I look at it and this one is the simpleist looking IMO. The radio preset is something that I had not considered but I don't listen to the radio often so hopefully I will be happy. It has a cool feature that I hope will be useful in that it can take an SD card. All of my digital library can fit on a 32GB card so hopefully I can just plug that in and keep the cabin free of cords. The slot for it is behind the flip down face!
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