Lancer car audio upgrade

Back in March this year we upgraded the wife’s 1997 Mitsubishi Lancer GLXi to a 2006 ES model. We weren't actually looking for a car but this one owner private offer was to good to pass, little old lady not able to drive any more and car was in mint condition with 25K on the clock. Has the MIVEC 2.4 with sports auto – very impressive performance.

The factory audio system is adequate for our needs, we listen to a few CD’s but mainly tune into AM talk back radio, in particular 3AW on 693. So I set about re-tuning the AM band for our favourite stations, press Seek to find the first one and press/hold one of the six preset buttons to store in memory. After several attempts Seek could only find one station at the top of the band, MTR on 1377 – we have a problem! I thought about it for a while, unlikely to be antenna problems so should I pull the unit out and set it up on the workbench (old radio and TV tech person) to run some tests? or just buy a new CD Tuner for $100 odd bucks.

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Decided to wait for the next round of catalogues to see what was o

n offer, mainly from SuperCheap and AutoBarn. Ended up buying a Kenwood KDC-MP149 from SuperCheap for $96 – happy with that.

Normally I just hardwire the new head unit into the wiring harness.

This time around I decided to make things a bit easier for myself (getting older) so bought the wiring harness adaptors for Kenwood and Mitsubishi.

 

Pull of the three HVAC control knobs. Remove the two Philips head screws just below the spindles of the two larger outside controls

  

Above left: Gently prise off the stereo/HVAC surround, I used a couple of steel rulers. For me the left side was quite easy but the right side top corner was a bugger, like something else was holding that corner, maybe a hidden screw? I levered a bit harder and that corner came loose with a loud pop. I saw something yellow fall on the floor, oh no have I broken something!

Above right: The surround does indeed have mounting posts, yellow clips are pushed onto these posts with a snap fit. The clips themselves have edges on either side that clip into the dash mounting holes.

  

Above: Remove the four screws securing the factory unit, pull the unit out and unplug the radio harness and antenna connectors.
Take note of the single black wire with a white connector taped to the main loom, the 02 – 06 Lancers have a powered RF head amplifier – more about this later.

The two metal brackets on either side of the factory stereo need to be transferred to the new unit, undo the two screws on either side and put aside the standard stereo. The metal cage supplied with new unit is not required, slide off and put aside.

Supplied with the new unit is a packet of four stubby Philips head screws, you must use these new screws to mount the brackets, don’t try using the four you removed from the factory unit – they are a different thread!

Line up one of the brackets on the side of the new unit, there are a few sets of holes on each side, this allows for easy installation using a number of different brackets in different cars. Slide the bracket forward and backwards along the side of the stereo while looking at the two mounting holes, there should be a spot where both holes on the bracket line up with 2 holes on the stereo, secure with the new screws. Repeat for the other side.

   

Connect the adaptors together, plug Mitsubishi one into wiring harness and Kenwood adaptor into the head unit.

Don’t forget to plug in the antenna cable! Holding the stereo with one hand position it close to the stereo cavity in the dash and with the other hand bundle the cables together and feed them into the cavity, push them as far back as you can to make room for the stereo and keep them in the middle so they don’t foul the rear of the mounting brackets. Remove your cable hand and insert the stereo itself into the cavity with both hands, when the unit is nearly all the way in you should feel the back of the unit lift up a bit as the rear of the brackets mate with the lugs of the dash metalwork. Finally ensure that the unit’s front mounting brackets are sitting snug against the mounting surface and that the hole line up. Secure with the original mounting screws.

Before going any further test that everything is working correctly, turn the ignition key to ACC and the unit should turn on. Pressing the top left hand SRC button will cycle through the operation modes, Standby, CD, AUX and Tuner. Using the Scan function check that the AM and FM bands are working OK and then play a CD.

Replace the stereo/HVAC surround, line up the mounting posts and with thumb and forefinger of each hand press down on gently both sides and then along the top to ease the posts into the mounting holes, go around again bedding down the surround and finally press harder with thumbs so the posts snap into their final locations at which point the surround should be nice and flush with the dash. Replace the two screws below the outer control shafts and carefully line up and press on the control knobs – done!

All done.