Автор: Сан Саныч [Новосибирск] (217.70.127.---)
Дата: давно
HOW TO REMOVE THE RADIO IN A SECOND GENERATION DIAMANTE
Though the original Diamante audio system is quite good, some owners like to upgrade to high end aftermarket sound. In future articles, I will also provide information on how to silence the "beep" made when adjusting the A/C controls and how to add a door to the open bin under the radio. Any of these procedures will involve removing the radio section of the center console and it is hard to tell how to do that by just looking. Here’s the "secret".
In many cars you just snap the trim from around the radio which reveals mounting screws for the radio bracket. Not so in the second generation Diamante. You have to remove the console pieces above and below the radio before you can access the mounting screws for the radio portion of the console. The following procedure will assure you success. It is based on a 1999 with woodgrain trim, so if your is a base model or a different year, there may be some slight variances to this procedure. But you are a Diamante driver and that makes you very smart, so you’ll figure it out!
Put on the emergency brake and put the transmission in neutral (key must be on, brake must be pressed). Having the shift lever in neutral allows the console to clear it.
Remove the front cupholder by pulling it up and out. Set it aside in safe place so you won’t accidentally scratch or break it while continuing your job.
Clean out the coin compartment and leave the door open.
The console trim pieces are held in place with metal clips. Reach through the opening at the rear of the coin compartment and pull up on the lower console trim until it unsnaps. Continue to unsnap the lower console trim, rear to front. It hooks into the ashtray, so don't try to pull it up from there. Once you have unsnapped the trim from the console, it will pull back and out from the ashtray. Lift the lower console trim up and remove it over the shift lever. Set it aside in a safe place.
Put the car back into park for now (key on, press brake, shift, then remove the key).
Reach under the bottom of the whole ashtray unit (not just the ashtray) and pull it back towards the rear of the car until it unsnaps, but don’t completely remove it yet. Remove the wiring connector from the ash tray and set the ashtray aside in a safe place.
Next, you are going to remove the center vent unit just above the AC controls. If your model has a thumbwheel on the left side of the vent unit, you must first unhook the cable. Use a light to look under the dash from the driver's side, find the end of the cable, unclip it and unhook it from the peg. If you have a problem identifying the cable, move the thumbwheel up and down while looking under the dash and you can see the cable end moving. Remember how it was installed so you can reconnect it later.
Now comes the hard part. Work your fingers into the area of the center vents just below the digital clock lens. Unsnap the vent unit by pulling it out towards the rear of the car. It may take some pulling, so be careful. Once the center vent unit unsnaps, remove it from the dash and set it aside in a safe place.
You now can see the upper and lower mounting screws for the center unit. Remove the screws, being careful not to drop the screws inside of the dash.
Carefully pull the center unit out a bit from the dash. You will have to disconnect all the wiring and a tube before you fully remove it.
Disconnect the wiring from emergency flasher, and pull the AC temperature sensor breather tube off.
Disconnect all the connectors from the AC unit and the radio. Use a flat blade screwdriver to press the tab on those connectors with one. The screwdriver will also help you pry those connectors out of their sockets. Remember how everything was connected so you can put it back later.
Once you have the connectors disconnected the center console unit can be removed from the dash. Set the unit face down on a soft surface and remove the screws that hold the trim in place. The radio is mounted by screws that go into each side.
Reassembly is the reverse of the above steps. Be careful to not overtighten any of the screws, or they may strip out their mounting holes.
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