Install 2004 Chrysler Radio into K-Body
This project all started a while ago when I was looking for a newer radio to replace the one in my car, which while not original was one of the higher end radios available in the K-Cars. Most people would of course look first at aftermarket radio options and I'm no different, but not only did I not find any aftermarket radio I liked, I tend to prefer the stock look over aftermarket when all possible, and having an aftermarket radio would not allow for that.
So I was traipsing through the halls of motors.ebay one day, looking for nothing in particular when I came across a 2004 Chrysler radio. Not only was it a beautfiul radio, it was still the same old 1 1/2 din that Chryslers have always used and looked like it would fit beautifully in my Aries. Just as extra gravy, the radio was only twenty dollars, far less than even the cheapest aftermarket radios. It was decided, I bought the radio and waited for the day it would arrive.
2005 Chrysler RAQ Radio
The image above, as its title suggests is actually a 2005 Chrysler RAQ CD radio while the radio I purchased was a Chrysler 2004 REF CD Radio. For display purposes, there is no difference as they look the same. Well, what is the difference then? Well, the RAQ can internally hold and play 6CDs at once, play MP3s and supports HDR (high-definition radio), while the REF can only hold and play 1CD at a time, and has no support for MP3 or HDR. There's a bigger and more serious difference however, the RAQ uses CAN-bus (a new data transport method for cars) for a lot of its functions while the REF uses standard old PCI and electrical connections. The two unfortunately do not mix without a lot of extra work, so installing the more advanced RAQ radio will be saved for a future project.
So a few days later, my radio finally came in and boy was she a beaut'. I ran down to my car, radio in hand and set work on seeing how well the radio fit. Oh how I was disappointed. It was almost the same size as the original radio but was ever so slightly larger. Not large enough to stop it from fitting but large enough that it would require dash modification to make it fit (this actually turned out to be the easiest part).
Let's break this project down into parts and see what we need to do to get it to work.
1. Modify the dash to fit the radio
2. Modify the radio trim to fit the radio
3. Build or purchase electrical harness adapter to install the radio
4. Install antenna adapter to go from K-Car (Motorola) to 2004 Chrylser (din)
1. Modifying the dash
Modifying the dash is actually the easiest part of this project if not the longest (not hard, just takes a while). Modifying the dash was essentially all trial and error and don't think it won't be for you as well. I ended up spending a lot of time cutting out plastic when almost all the fitment problems you'll have will just require sanding certain surfaces down. I unfortunately don't have any terribly great photos of the inside of the dash, but you can clearly see binding areas with the radio, in this photo. Take note that both the top and bottom of the radio compartment will have binding issues, not just the top sections circled.
Radio Binding in Dash
This is by far and large the hardest part of this project, but a lot of patience and the right tools will make the difference between excellent results and failure. The right tools being several grits of wet/dry sand-paper, and a dremel (or cheap knock-off). Start off by taking the dremel with a cutting wheel, and saw off the top of the trim; the ~1/4" strip of plastic that follows along the top of the radio face (the top area marked in blue). DO NOT cut into the plastic overhang or even the sides marked in blue. You only want to remove that ~1/4" strip of plastic that follows along the top of the radio face. When cutting this part out, it's wise to put a heavy tape over everything you don't plan on cutting into at that moment; this'll give you some leeway if you cut a little too close or slip a little when cutting. If you aren't comfortable using the dremel, you can use either really low grit sand-paper or better yet, a set of metal files (keep in mind that both those options will take hours instead of minutes).
Trim sections to cut and sand
The next step is the shave off the raised trim that follows along the bottom face of the radio (this is also marked in blue in the photo). If you haven't already noticed, there's a raised trim that follows along all-sides of the trim where it meets the radio face; just by coincidence, this raised area ends up being a perfect match for the radio face measurements, so shaving the plastic down to where the raised trim is gone will widen the radio opening just enough to make it fit perfectly.
Now here's the hardest part of this section, sanding the sides so they curve like the knobs of the radio. By sheer luck, all the measurements for the knobs end up being exactly half of the opening. The center of the knob will lie dead center in the new widened opening (make sure all measurements are taken of the new radio opening size, not the original size) and the top and bottom of the knobs will be exactly 1/4-way between the center and the top/center and the bottom of the opening (these are marked in red in the photo).
Before you start sanding, take your heavy tape and lay it out to form the curve; essentially place the tape to define the green semi-circles seen in the photo. Now you'll want to take a heavy grit sand-paper and with a fluid motion, sand back and forth until you have sanded the semi-circle down far enough that the raised trim we talked about earlier is gone from the exposed area (any less and the knobs will not fit). If you actually used fluid-motions when sanding, you'll have a perfectly semi-circular area cut out for the knobs; if you weren't fluid you'll end up sanding in one area more than another and end up with lopsided semi-circles.
If you made it this far, congratulations the hard stuff is over, now it's all cleanup and smoothing out. Take off all your tape from the trim and get a heavy to mid-grit sandpaper, wet it thoroughly and start sanding off what's left of the raised trim. Unlike before where we were shaving from the side to widen the opening, here we are simply sanding the top to level off the remaining raised trim. Once everything is nice and flat, move to a much finer sandpaper and continue this until you have the plastic smooth but noticably dull (only sand-papers near 12000 grit can actually polish plastics). Instead of going the super high-grit sandpaper route, we'll do it the easy way and use our Dremel with the triangular polishing wheel and polishing compound. Start the dremel up and use it to pick up some compound on the polishing wheel, then simply with a smooth motion go over the plastic like you would if you were painting. Do several coats of this, each coat in a single direction but each coat in a different direction than the last. This will end up polishing the plastic back to its original finish.
When all is said and done, this is what you should end up with; take note that on the bottom, I got it slightly crooked...
Finished trim
You can actually buy the harness adapter over at OEM-Auto-Accessory for $32.00, but not only can you build one for a lot less, where's the fun if you don't do it yourself?
The parts you'll need for doing it yourself are the 2002-2004 Chrysler Male 1x22-pin Plug and a Chrysler 2x7-pin Female Plug. The 2x7-pin plugs have been used by Chrysler from the late 70s all the way till 2002 so if the harness isn't 1x22-pin, its probably 2x7-pin. Additional parts include electrical butt-end & lug crimps and a nut sized to screw onto the end of the grounding bolt.
Lug Crimp
Butt Crimp
You can find these pretty much anywhere and the only real difference you'll find between different places, is price. If you're already ordering everything else on-line, you might as well order these online as well if you don't have any, and save yourself some money.
2002-2004 Chrysler 1x22-pin Male Plug
Chrysler 2x7-pin Female Plug
Both of these are made by several different companies, Best Kits is the maker of the ones I have. It's actually easiest and cheapest to just order these off of ebay though (I paid about $5 for the both of them).
This connections pinout shows what pins you should wire together. Take note that pins marked with an X are not used in this project and pins marked with a B are to be attached to the braided ground strap. To connect the ground wires (pin 11 & 22 on 1x22 - C1) to the ground strap, wire both ground wires together at the end, then crimp on a lug connector; make sure the lug has a loop the same size as the lug on the braided strap. Then simply slide the ground wires and the braided strap onto the end of the bolt that was in the original radio and screw a nut onto the end and tighten. For the remaining loose wires, just leave the insulation caps on them or tape them up if you've already removed the insulation caps.
2x7-pin to 1x22-pin Connections Pinout
Installing this is actually very easy to do, just plug the original antenna into one end and plug the other end into the radio. The hard part is figuring out and finding the exact antenna adapter you need. In this case you'll need an antenna adapter that has a Motorola Standard female end and a 2002-2004 Chrysler male end (din). Don't try to look for older Chrysler to newer Chrylser because all aftermarket radios already use the Motorola Standard plug so there was never a need to make an adapter for older Chrysler vehicles.
Motorola Female to 2002-2004 Chrysler Male
If you have any comments, suggestions or questions, just throw an email my way: Justin Brimm.
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