Replacing stereo and remote on 282

[bc282]

yet another winter project to take upon.

the boat ('02) has the factory kenwood stereo, remote, and speakers.

i'm not that keen on the stereo because it does not play MP3's, not capable of XM radio and sometimes cuts out.

i'd like to replace the unit with the Clarion M475 and Clarion remote and replace the cockpit 6.5" coax speakers (totally cracked woofer cones :x ) with Infinity marine speakers.

I tried to trace out the remote's wire harness back to the head unit and drew a blank. also tried to see how the stereo harness was run and also hit a wall.

do i have to gut the interior to access these and swap out the stereo and remote?

would love some input and suggestions.

thx.

 

[Hookup1]

Stereo

I have a '97 Islander that had a JVC in it that I replaced. The remote was broke on mine. My new handheld remote would not work from the helm - angle too sharp for unit to see the remote. I rigged a remote up using the old remote wires.

I bought a spare remote, opened it up, carefully cut the LED out, and soldered a short piece of 2-conductor cable in. I used two of the old remote wires to connect the remore. On the unit end I drilled a hole above the head unit and installed the LED and a short pigtail. That connected to the old remote wires.

Now for $10 I have a AUX remote that works from the helm. Only drawback is that it still uses a battery that eventually need to be replaced.

 

[bc282]

thanks for the tip Hookup1!

how easy/difficult was the swap on the deck unit? could you re-use the existing harness or was it a bird's nest nightmare?

 

[Hookup1]

Stereo

There were two connectors on the boat wiring harness. They are too big to fit inside the enclosure - they tuck up behind the unit.

I cut the connectors off the old unit and spliced them into the new one. Goes back together nicely.

If you use a single DIN unit its easy. A larger unit, a hideaway box or an amp and its a much bigger project. I just converted my microwave to a tackle locker. I could hide electronics boxes in the top of the cabinet and not take up any cabinet space. There is useable space inside there even if you re-install the microwave.