Is Radio upgrade a DIY?

[SCW]

I have a 2011 275 Freedom with the kenwood stereo and 2 remotes. I was quoted 4 Hours labor to install new Fusion stereo and one remote. I guess my question is will I need to run all new wire to make the connections? Is there enough play in the wires to work with them? I have installed plenty of car stereos when I was younger just not sure I want to mess with this.

 

[Fishtales]

Seems a tad high on the labor, but getting anyone out to a boat to do a decent amount of work is probably 4H minimum. The stereo install is fairly easy. I'd get the schematics and see what the Kenwood has for wires. If you have enough wires in the bundle you can use and just wire to the new diagram. Comes down to how much that 4H or labor is worth to you.

 

[drbatts]

You have a couple of variables here that can make this either a simple swap out or a little bit more complicated. First, if the new fusion chassis and the remote are the same size as the kenwood and are going to be installed in the same location this will be a lot easier. If components are different sizes and don't fit in the original holes then you have to figure out the best way to fit them in. As far as wiring, it should be fairly simple as long as your not adding additional speakers, amp etc. for the wired remote, you can just follow the path of the old remote wire providing its going to be installed in the same location. If you have installed car stereos before this should be a fairly straight forward install.

 

[ElMar]

Probably one of the easiest upgrades you can do on a boat, I say go for it!

Pretty soon you'l be changing your own waterpumps and diagnosing problems.

 

[DennisG01]

There's probably 1 to 2 hours wrapped up in just the stereo swap, depending on what modifications to the mounting area need to be done (if any). Running the new wire for the new remote can easily take quite a bit of time. You usually can't just tie the new wire to the old one and pull since the old one could be secured/zip tied in some places along the way. They've also got to account for incidental time - getting their tools out, putting them away, cleaning up after themselves... it adds up. Can you do it yourself? Only you can answer that question!