Aiwa CDC-MP3 Car MP3-CD Player

Installation
The installation of the CDC-MP3 is just like any other head unit, so any car audio shop will be able to handle it without a problem. If you'll be doing your own install, we'll give you some of our experiences with the CDC-MP3. Aiwa also includes a relatively brief poster describing the process.

There's basically three steps to installing a head unit in a car:

1. Remove the old unit
2. Wire up the new unit
3. Mount the new unit

You'll want to disconnect the battery to insure that you don't damage your car's electrical system. This is a good general precaution when you're working on anything electronic in the car.

As with any car head unit install, the trickiest part is usually getting the old unit out. This varies from simply removing a couple screws to taking apart the whole dash - it just depends what type of car you have.

Assuming you're replacing a non-premium factory head unit, wiring is made much easier by simply purchasing a wiring harness for your car that interfaces with the plug that went to your factory head unit and providing you with free wires to attach to your new unit. Basically, this prevents you from cutting any wires in your car and also provides a standard color code for every wire that needs to be connected. Because that color code is standardized, they match right up to the colors on the CDC-MP3's wiring hardness so it's a simple matter of splicing the two sets of wires together. This can be accomplished by soldering, but crimp caps are much easier and provide an equally solid connection. The wiring harness will set you back about $10-15, but it's definitely worth it. If you've got amplifiers in the system, attach those signal cables here as well.

You may want to reconnect the battery at this point to test the new unit to make sure everything is working before you start mounting it and reassembling your car.

Complications may arise at this point if you've got a premium sound system because they often use a combination of external amps, non-standard speaker impedance, non-standard output signals, and/or non-standard antenna interfaces. There are adapters that will allow you to get around these problems in many cases, but unless you know what you're doing, these situations are really best left to the pros.

Mounting the new head unit will also vary a bit depending on the exact type of car you have. In most cases, you will place the included cage (sometimes called a sleeve) in the hole left by your old head unit and bend its tabs to secure it in place. From there, simply slide the unit into the cage until it clicks into place. This is known as Euro-DIN. Otherwise, you use screws to mount the new head unit to a bracket that held the old one in place. This configuration is known as ISO-DIN. A few other variations exist, but the others are variations on these. Crutchfield's site has information on the different mounting types offered in different cars. Finally, a mounting strap attaches between the back of the unit and your cars chassis to secure everything up. If need be, it's time to reassemble your dash and you're ready to go.

There were a few things to note about the CDC-MP3 that make it a bit different than most other units. Aiwa did not include a dimmer lead on this unit. If the wiring harness you bought includes such a lead, make sure you insulate the bare wire so that nothing shorts out. Similarly, there is no mute wire to automatically mute the CDC-MP3 when your cell phone rings. While this is not a feature found on every head unit out there, it is one that is becoming much more common on units in this price range.

The aforementioned steering wheel remote is a relatively simple install. A strap basically wraps around the steering wheel and you attach the remote to this assembly.

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Unlike many other head units on the market, the CDC-MP3 has its preouts, antenna plug, and CD changer interface all directly on the rear of the unit. Most other models use a short dongle to make these connections easier to work with.