Hey guys, needed some advice on car audio. My tape track deck has been broken for a while....if I put a tape in it, it will take out all the film (is that what its called? and it wont play stuff right....so I thought I'd use the radio for a while. Well, the antenna has been messed up for a while as well, it never goes up or down. I hear the motor moving but the actual antenna never moved. Well today, at a car wash, the antenna mast broke off lol.

So I've basically given up and am trying to find a possible fix. Is there any way I can fix the cassette deck? That way, at least I can use one of the iPod tape's and listen to music from my iPod as it plays through the cassette. It's either this, or use an iTrip but I've heard varied opinions on the iTrip and I'd rather have a direct connection....so I'd like to get the tape deck fixed/replaced, so I can use the iPod cassette adapter to play music from the iPod. Should I take the car into Best Buy or something?

Also, I wanted to replace the stock speakers (I have a 97 GXE).....when I had to open up the door earlier to replace a window regulator, I saw that both the front speakers are busted (covers are torn from use I guess).

I wanted to replace.....would these work? Please let me know.

http://www.amazon.com/Alpine-SPE-600...3717055&sr=8-1

 

I dont know about "fixing" the tape deck but most modern head units have a front auxiliary connection to hook up mp3 player and lots are even geared towards controlling your ipod! Check the pioneer line DEH-2200UB its 94$ on ebay!

If you want to spend more you can look at the 3200ub or the p4200ub that has more Rca preouts and at 4volts if you have sub-woofers.. but they all control your ipod and work fine!

The alpine should work as whats in the doors are 6.5's but make sure the depth is not to big or it wont fit in the door! They will work fine in the back no problem.

Remember to get the back speakers out you must take out the back seats which is not hard at all just know that you have to..

Stereo shops will charge you about 50$ per door and another 60$ for back speakers and another $30-40 to install the stereo! You can save around 180$-200$ and just do it your self .... Its not hard just take your time.

Good luck.


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PS: Dont take anything to "Best Buy"! They have been ripping people off for as long as i can remember!

 

98MaximaDriver is right, instead of fixing the existing radio, you are better off buying a new one. Many or the new radios have iPod controls built in and you can navigate your iPod via the deck. The new radios are fairly inexpensive these days, but your best bet is to shop around reputable internet dealers and you can get a decent deal. Just look for the iPod compatibility feature. Minimally though most of the new ones should have either an auxillary input or a USB input somwhere on the radio that can play the iPod but may not be able to control the iPod with the deck (you would still have to select everything on the iPod itself).

As far as those speakers, those should work. I have not gotten into messing the radio and speakers on the Maxima as I just got mine about a month ago but if that speaker doesn't mount correctly, it should with an adapter or you can fab up an adapter relatively easily. The sizing should fit fine though.

Good luck

 

tape deck.... wow havnt heard that term in a long time... i forgot the OEM bose has tape.

 

Thank you. But since mine has the tape deck in it, if I do buy a new one, don't I have to get one that is tape deck compatible? All the ones I see are for CD's.....and I'm sure mine isn't compatible with that...! Hmmm.

 

Check this out!

http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...te-player.html

hope the link works.

 

okay, the link is not working, wth?

Anyways, I've got a head unit that your looking for.




Let me know if your interested!

Thanks.

 

The link works! So will that fit into the same space as the stock tape/stereo deck? Any instructions on how I can remove the current one?

 

Hold on as I take a pic of the this, you will love this!!!

 

And here is your answer!!

 

http://www.installdr.com/InstallDocs/Nissan/Maxima.html

if it's bose, in the PDF, it will tell you of what to do also/where to click.

As for the antenna, screw it. There's nothing good on the radio these days anyways

 

No!!! You do NOT have to get one with the tape deck!!!!

You can get a modern Sony XAV-60 for a replacement (set you back $300 usd).

Or, you can get mine for $50 :P

 

And speaking of oldschool, my first car was an 81 Buick Skylark equipped with a top of the line 8 track player

 

Nice!!!! I love buicks! esp. the 1987 Grand Nationals (my fav car till this day).

 

So true, so true!!

 

tarun,
If you're looking to keep your tape deck so you can keep your iPod functionality, you're in for a nice surprise. Pretty much every aftermarket head unit out there has a 3.5mm auxiliary input jack, so you can do away with the tape deck and just use a wire - your audio will be cleaner, and you will have fewer little widgets to keep track of. If you like, there's a $120-ish unit at Best Buy into which you can plug in your iPod and control the song/volume etc. with the head unit's controls, as though it were part of your car.

Assuming you're not running with the Bose stereo, all of these (AFAIK) should be more or less drop-in replacements for the factory head unit. You'll need a wiring harness and some basic soldering skills to get the unit in place, but after you've set yourself up the system should work with the factory speakers.

To replace the door speakers, you'll want to buy a set that is in line with the head unit. Check your head unit's peak RMS output wattage and pick a set of speakers that is rated for such a wattage.

The buttholes at Best Buy will charge you ten tons of money to install all this. A little patience and experimentation will save you a couple hundred bucks if you're willing to do it yourself. Ask the guys in the Audio/Electronics subforum to help you out - they know a lot more about this sort of thing - and you can figure this out with no trouble.

Also, take everything I say with a grain of salt. I've hooked up a grand total of one car with a stereo system.

 

When you purchase your new deck, you should purchase the "harness" specific to your model car (year and make and model). You then crimp (or solder) the harness to the new deck you purchased, then everything is plug n play.

I believe with the older Nissans, you need an antenna adapter (to go from the standard antenna of all new aftermarket decks to the proprietary Nissan 2-pin coax).

Also, with older Nissans, the ground wire for the deck has to be run separately and no thru the harness you purchase. For some reason, Nissan liked to ground the stock deck using the chassis and/or the antenna.

My favorite site for car stereo and alarm information:
http://www.the12volt.com/

Stan

 

Ok guys, sorry. I don't know too much about car audio haha...I thought I had to replace it with another one that has a tape deck. is the Pioneer DEH-2200UB compatible with the 97 GXE?

And j-dawg, what is the unit at Best Buy that is $120? Can you link me?

Also, unfortunately, I don't have any soldering skills, nor do I own a soldering gun (I'm a 19 year old at college). Hmm. Is there no way I can just remove the stock one I have now, and install a new one that is essentially...."Plug and Play" (without soldering) ?

Please let me know...once again, I apologize in advance. I am ignorant on this subject.

Edit: It looks like Best Buy will do it for $50...I think that's a pretty good deal?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Geek+Squ...&skuId=8418198

 

Hey guys, sorry for the double post but i can't edit my last post anymore.

I really like the Pioneer DEH-2200UB.....and on eBay, they are going for ~$95 and Best Buy will install decks for $50. But, when I went on Best Buy's website and found these Pioneer's and checked the car compatibility, it said it won't fit the 97 Maxima.... Is this actually true? Has anyone else here installed this in their 97 ? (mine's a GXE btw)

 

For an inexpensive and stock looking double din I would recommend the deck I have: http://cgi.ebay.com/Eclipse-CD1200G-...item53e2fa9a43

$120 shipped with a free harness and antenna adapter is hard to beat. Plus, unlike the 3.5mm inputs this will charge your ipod and give you control of it so you can keep it secure in the glovebox. The radio also shows artist/track/album info too. Fujitsu Ten, is the oem manufacturer for toyota radios and this is basically an oem upgrade style radio. Plus, when it's installed it looks stock so no douchbag radio thieves will care to steal it unlike the flashy aftermarket decks.

 

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-a1yxCc9...rimp-Caps.html

You can use these instead of soldering. You should be able to pick up some from a stereo install shop. The people who insist on soldering in car audio installs are just novices that think it's superior to crimping. (please don't twist and tape though!) I have installed probably 2000+ radios over the years as a professional car audio installer. If you crimp properly it is just as good as soldering. Plus, what is the point of soldering? People that insist on it think it offers a superior connection that won't fail. This is silly because the wiring is only as secure as your weakest link...and I'm sorry to tell you if you don't know already, there are several breaks in the connection chain from deck to speakers. (molex harnesses fail all the time and speaker wires break in doors) Maybe if you ran speaker wire from the power source (deck/amp) directly to the speakers and soldered both sides that would be a better connection but it offers zero improvements in sound quality unless you have faulty original wiring.

To make a long story short, No...you absolutely don't need to solder to install a radio. Make sure if you do install the radio to not connect the black ground wire on the new radio harness to the nissan harness adapter. There is no real ground (or good ground) in our nissan harnesses so you need to chassis ground the new radio ground wire. (ie attach the ground wire to a screw on metal or better yet drill/screw into the big bar behind the dash...that is a good ground point that I used all the time for nissan radio installs)

 

i got an alpine deck and alpine type r speakers all around wit the componets tweeters which they dont sell anymore pissed bc they are awesome, along with a alpine type r sub...it sounds perfect! ofocurse wit the right amps, i am very satisified wit my setup

 

Ok guys, so as of now, I am trying to decide between the:

Pioneer DEH-2200UB or the Pioneer DEH-3200UB

Is it worth paying the extra $25-$30 for the 3200? Also, what other parts do I need? A wiring harness?

 

hmmm 32ooub vs 2200ub


the 2200ub only has 1 set of rca preouts at 2volts and yeah i guess it has a usb port too.. i thought it didnt

the display on it is segment lcd 10-character Text .. and it plays wma and mp3!



the 3200ub has 2 sets of rca preouts at 2 volts and it has a 12 character OEL display! it plays wma , mp3 and aac!!

So the 3200 has a better display plays aac and has 2 vs 1 rca preouts!

Neither are bluetooth or hd radio capable!


-----------------------



Now the 4200ub has a full motion OEL display and 3 sets of rca preouts at "4 volts"! It also plays mp3, wma, aac like the 3200. This model supports itunes tagging tho!! It is also bluetooth ready and hd ready so it has a better upgrade path in case you want to buy the extra accessory to link your phone via bluetooth so you can take calls through your radio! it is also sat radio ready for xm and such!

its 150$ on ebay!



To break it down for 25$bucks you get a better display and aac support and an extra rca preout with the 3200ub!

For $50 bucks more the 4200ub gives you a full motion OEL display and 3 rca preouts with four volts instead of 2 and it also looks better than the 3200 or 2200 and gives more features like itunes tagging and bluetooth and hd radio ready!!

So what does $50 bucks mean to you! if it doesnt mean much then the p4200ub s the way to go! Also if you plan on adding subwoofers and amps later on then its a no brainer .. you have more preouts and at 4 volts!

hope that helps!

 

Does the 4200UB fit for the 97 maxima? Do I need to buy a wiring harness? If so, where can I get one?

 

Yeah its fits in a max and comes with harness.. You can read about the P4200ub here ----> http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...4200UB.Support

 

You can put any aftermarket radio in a Maxima...they all fit. You need a metra part # 70-7550 harness, which you can buy online or at a stereo shop (best buy, etc) You may need the Nissan antenna adapter, 40-NI20 (or 10, can't remember) if you have the non-coax style antenna plug. Honestly, best buy charges a lot for their install accessories...just buy them online or get them from a reseller that offers free install parts when you purchase a radio(crutchfield, sonicelectronix, etc)

You have a single din factory radio, right? (with a pocket underneath the radio)

 

Sorry to bump this old thread guys, but I still need help with this lol. Yes, I have the factory radio (97 GXE) with the pocket underneath the radio. I've finally got some money to throw at this.

 

bro lol we in 2011 no more tape decks , lol just playing but i think it would be hard to fix it , also best buy sucks at installs

 

Yep, I decided to get with the times and screw the tape deck haha.

Also, if you could see this post:

http://forums.maxima.org/8102645-post3.html

 

i looked at it , i actually do this for a living and those units come with a rearand or front usb for ipod connect, if you want when im at work ill look at our catolog and give you details on what units are good for your budget and ill walk u thru the install

 

Im interested in this thread too as I just bought a 98 GXE with a non-bose stock radio.

I am looking to take that sucker and the speakers out! QUICK!

 

Thats what that is? I thought it was an ash tray. Rofl.

 

tbh I can't tell the difference between those head units at all except that the 4300UB or whatever, you can choose the faceplate illumination color.

You're not going to get "superb" sound out of anything without an amp, but it'll probably be improved over whatever you've got now. I'd replace the HU before the speakers; you may find that the crackling or whatever is convincing you the door speakers are busted goes away or is significantly diminished. I was ready to spend a few hundo on an audio setup for my MR2, but after replacing just the head unit the crackling and splattering the speakers used to make is pretty much gone. You said yours are physically damaged, but it is probably worth holding off on those before you've got a new HU in there.

Also, you mentioned that you'd rather do this solderless. I can definitely see the advantage in crimping in a stereo, and I'd probably want to do that as well, but...learn to solder anyway. It's a very useful skill that takes just five minutes and $10 of capital investment to have under your belt.

 

we have an audio section, this aint it.

 

jl audio