Replacement Head Unit Question

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dhenrycpa

Member
I am getting ready to replace the head unit on an 08 Mazda5 and wanted to find out the following questions if anyone knows the answers.

Will the clock on the lcd continue to work or will that go with the radio unit?

How much room is there in the dash after a six cd changer is removed, enough to find somewhere to put in a pac-swi box for steering wheel controls or should it be placed somewhere else.

When wiring the pac-swi is there any way to get it hooked up via the harness or do i need to cut the factory control cable before the connection?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide
 
The clock still works when you replace the head unit with 3rd party.

Depending on the size of the head unit (single or double DIN) you might need to stash the SWI to the glove compartment. There is a large area behind the swing door that I put a Sirius tuner and an Apline sound processor there.

As to wiring, you need buy the wire from the original harness to get the SWI to work.
 
One other question. The car is an 08 gt with bluetooth included, i assume that comes out with the radio and would just get unplugged from the head unit. Should the mic be removed as well or just left in place in case we ever decide to go back to stock. Will probably add bt to the new head unit at some point but was dissapointed with the sound quality of the factory unit.

Thanks again
 
I just replaced my headunit and simply left the old wiring (for the aux input and presumably the bluetooth) unplugged.

There are 3 plugs in the back of the stock unit:
1) the Antenna
2) a 6 pin plug (or around 6 pins... can't remember)
3) a 24-pin

I simply left the 6 pin unplugged and wired my crutchfield harness up to the 24 pin (note that if you are using the pac-swi connector, you'll need to modify the crutchfield harness slightly to re-wire some of the connections to tap into the steering wheel wires included in the 24-pin plug that is in the dash).

TC
 
i have a 08 GT with bluethoot, steering wheel controld, etc.. is the bluethoot integrated in the head unit? is the display plug in the head unit? I want to replace the head unit in a near future but i want to keep the oem bluethoot and steering wheel. What i did for now is replacing the speakers with 2 sets of infinity, one coaxial in the rear and a set of component in the front and add a infinity basslink subwoofer. It sound incredibly great. The only problem is that the head unit cut the bass when you raise the volume. So to fix the problem, i will install a re-q with a 4 ch amp. I think without replacing the head unit, i will have a more than good overall sound. I think it is an alternative for having a great sound without replacing everything and loosing the bluethoot and having a blank display in the dash.
 
Yes, the display and the bluetooth are in the head unit. But when replacing the head unit, the clock and the A/C-fan-temp portions of the dash display still work. Only the middle portion of the display (the section that says "hello!") will no longer operate.

FYI, my aftermarket headunit (Kenwood DNX5120) with bluetooth is much clearer than the stock unit and I still get the volume / track up-down controls on the steering wheel to work. And the install was painless.

Not to mention much better sounds (eg direct iPod, better tuner, rear camera, gps option - I'm assuming you didn't get the Mazda GPS?, etc.). If you are already in for new speakers and amps, don't settle for having the weak link stock head unit in there. Go for the aftermarket head unit. You'll be glad you did.
 
I'm pretty sure you're right but i will give a try to the re-q. For around 150$, i have 2 rca pre-out and 1 sub output with many controls like bass boost, low pass filter, gain level, etc... The re-q is a sound processor that re-equalize the sound and correct the fact that the head unit cuts the bass level when your raise the volume. I know it's not like an after market head unit but you get a sound close to it. 150 $ vs 500-600$ for head unit + steering control adapter (200$), i will give it a try.
 
Information Display Button

Hi

I have 2005 Mazda 6. I have just replaced the head unit with an after market one (Pioneer DEH7850BT). Everything working perfectly okay. Except all the 4 buttons above the head unit (AMB, Info, Clock and Dimmer button) are not working. I was just wondering if anyone could give me some advice of what might happen or what do I need to do. It's just the four buttons become unfunctional.

Thanks
 
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