Hands free kit installation

[jte]

I am on the verge of getting a Nokia CK-7W Bluetooth hands free kit.

I can get the kit alone for ?75, the kit plus installation seems to be about ?200.

Nokia and retailers say to be installed by a professional.

I have a reasonable grasp of electonics and have fitted numerous stereos, speakers etc, do you think it's ok to have a go at installing it myself or is it realy necessary to be fleeced out of ?125 to get it fitted.

Of course i will be complicating the issue by getting the leads to make it work through my stereo speakers!

Any advice is appreciated.

[S11EPS]

Nokia and retailers say to be installed by a professional.

I bet they do.

Its a piece of the preverbial to install, don't pay to have it done. I installed this exact kit in my Mk4 PD150, and have just taken it out and installed it into my Scoob.

The junction box has 4 wires - permanant live, switched live, earth, car radio mute.

I installed the junction box in the centre console directly under my head unit (behind heater controls). This meant that I could tap into stereo loom for all of these connections. There is no need to run new wires to the battery etc, as this is a very low current device, so using the stereo loom is more than adequate, and exactly where a 'professional' will take his supply.

Install your mic high up on the A pillar.
Speaker install not needed (as you're using the add-on module that will allow car speakers to be used).
single wire module that adjusts car-kit volume, accepts call, ends call etc I installed on the centre console behind the gearstick, beside the handbrake.

Will take you an hour mate, hour and hlaf tops. Don't pay someone the equivalent of ?80 an hour to do it. I'm at the end fo a phone if you get stuck

[jte]

Thanks mate, that is exactly what i wanted to hear.

I was racking my brains trying to think of what complication could possibly need a 'professional' install, and i couldn't!  As is suspected it's just nokia and they're suppliers scaring people into parting with ?100

Thanks for the tip on using the stereo wiring, that was my only other question!

I will get it all ordered today and installed this weekend.

[jte]

Well, i got the kit and installed it on saturday.  As promised S11eps, it was a piece of p*ss!

I took me longer than 1 1/2 hours though, but i did really go to town and got the telemute loom to use the stereo speaker, a cradle for the phone so it can charge in the car, an antenna booster for the cradle and a antenna disguised as a tax disc holder!

I couldn't find anywhere that i liked to mount the cradle on the centre dash, so i put it on the right of the steering wheel under the lights switch.  I put the mic on the roof, just beside the sunroof motor cover.  i was going to put it on the A pillar, but there's quite a lot of wind noise in a mk 3 so i decided it would be better in the centre.

Wiring in the kit and making it work too about 30 mins.  Mouting the component bits and feeding wires through, across, round and under the dash,  up the A pillars, accross the headlining and god knows where else took about 3 hours!

Well worth it though, it's a great piece of kit.

[tinman]

i had a CARK112 in the Bravo. nice install - took about 60 minutes by a fitter.

but when it came to moving it into another car - a friend did it. he then discovered that they chopped into a seriously large power cable from the ignition to fit it and a few other horrid crimes to the cars wiring to put it on.

when i say chopped - i mean chopped through - and then soldered back together with a bit of insulating tape.

the CARK went in the new car, and was properly put in by sharing the radio's power input rather than hacking away at the loom.

[jte]

That's one problem with "pofessional" fitters.  You will get a quick, hassle free installation that looks perfect, but at the end of the day they need to do as many as possible to make money.  They will take shortcuts that you probably wouldn't take if you were working on your own car.

[paul25_uk]

Hi, I know this maybe a simple thing but can you explain how you would split the wires from the radio?  I want to install this setup but i've never actually attempted a wiring project.  What tools do i need? bits etc?