Fitting A Uhf Radio

[Denis]

Hi Pajero owners,

I have a 2004 NP auto diesel GLX.

I would like to fit a UHF radio into the empty space (perhaps the space is not empty on the GLS or the Exceed) that is just above the centre console. It looks to me that the radio will fit if I first remove the black plastic insert that is presently there. I imagine I can wire the UHF in to the back of the cig lighter that is located nearby.

Has anyone installed their UHF in this spot? Any advice?

Cheers

Denis

[Campo]

Denis

Did this with my NL GLS. Just had to make a couple of brackets to hold in place.
Do you want the UHF to run without the ignition on? I have mine wired direct to 2nd battery(via fuse of course). Saves mucking around with keys, especially since the bottle opener is on my keyring!

Cheers
Paul

[john_char]

If your UHF is the Standard DIN size, as in the same as a car steroe head unit, then it will fit. There should be 2 brackets that hold the insert in, that bracket usually is the same as the one for the head units, you shouold be able to use this.

Hope this helps

John

[Aussie]

I installed mine above the clock. Will post some pics later for you.

[1533rl]

Denis, I have the same vehicle. I have installed a Uniden101 into this space. I had to cut off the rear part of the plastic insert to allow the front of the radio to be flush with the space. It is wired to the second battery so I do not need the keys to use it or monitor channels ( cig lighter is also wired in to second battery as I use it for the gps). Only problem I have experienced is due to the mike being on the right hand side, the connection comes very close to the gear lever, but at least it is auto so not too many gear changes ! I usually leave the mike in the glove box until we go away on a trip.
Good Luck.

[psproule]

I am about to do mine and will post photos for you shortly.

[Denis]

Thanks for your assistance fellow Pajero owners. I think I will be able to have a shot at the installation soon now that I have received the advice you have given to date.

psproule (Peter?, Paul? Pat?) I will keep my eyes open for the pictures from your installation - it is likely that you will have completed yours before I get to do mine.

Cheers and, again, thanks

Denis

[psproule]

It's Pat sorry - must put it in the Sig.

I will likely do mine in the next week - just waiting for the Smartbar to turn up so that I have something to mount the aerial on. However - off the top of my head here goes....

The following is if you are going to put the UHF in the din slot in front of the gearshift. This is where the factory 6 stacker is mounted, or is filled with an empty tray. DIN sized radios such as the GMX TX4400 etc fill this gap nicely.

Pull out the cup holders in the centre console - just grasp firmly and pull sharply upwards.

Remove the two screws revealed underneath.

Remove the gear and transfer knobs. The manual ones simply unscrew counter-clockwise. No idea on the auto.

Gently lever out switch panel in front of gearshift with a flat blade screwdriver, unplug harness and remove.

Lift up the plastic surround from the cup-holder end and remove, sliding leather boots up off of gearshift.

Unscrew tray or stacker with two screws on either side. Stacker plugs in at the radio end with a multi-pin cable that you should be able to put your hand in behind and unplug. Head unit will still work without stacker if you wish.

Remove metal brackets from either side of stacker / tray and mount on UHF. I suggest a trial fitting to check that it all sits nicely. I cant remember with mine but I think I had to drill a fresh hole in the brackets to get it to sit flush with the trim.

Source power - split mine from the cig lighter but you could take it from the radio power source if you feel like taking more of the dash apart. It is safe to take from the cig lighter so long as the UHF has its own correctly rated in-line fuse. I used a 2 pin male / female utilux plug pair for easy removal of the radio later.

Run your antennae feed in one single run with no joiners. Most good aerials when bought do not have the PL259 plug soldered on. If it is, cut it off! Thus you can start from the aerial end (most likely an elevated feed) and route the cable without the plug stopping you from getting it through firewalls etc. There is a grommet on either side of the firewall. I used one just under the brake booster on mine. Make sure that the cable is not kinked, has no really sharp turns and will not chafe. All of these will reduce performance of the radio.

Once you have the cable in to the radio solder the plug back on. You need to be careful with this and get it right. I have fixed a few installations where they have managed to short the braid to the centre conductor when fitting the plug. Google "solder PL259" for instructions on how to fit.

Screw it in and test! Refitting of the trim is fairly straightforward once you have seen how it all comes apart.

Cheers - Pat

[Denis]

Thanks Pat, you have gone to some trouble typing all this up and I appreciate your effort.

I might be able to get onto my installation on Sunday but it depends on a couple of other things that are happening - you may still beat me to it.

I already have the ground-plane antenna fitted to the centre of the roof (it is an ex police vehicle and they had a hole in the roof already - I was able to work out the route they had taken for their lead).

I wonder if there are any members of the forum who know how the knob on the auto lever is removed. There may be something on this in the old forum and so I will do a search for it.

Thanks again,

Denis

[Denis]

I put my TX4400 UHF into the lower slot today. The TX4400 is the standard universal DIN size and the slot is designed to take DIN size . After installation there is a small gap at the bottom and on both ends but it fits well and looks neat.

I work sloooooowly and methodically and so it took me the better part of the day - but it is working fine and I made no embarrassing blunders. Remembering that my vehicle is a 2004 NP auto GLX DiD here are some brief notes notes from my experience - I have left out the steps that become obvious as you proceed.

1 The cup holder has to come out first. It has four claws that clip under the edges of of the centre console and I found that a kitchen knife was useful to ease them back as the holder is lifted.
2 The knobs on the auto shift and the 4WD selector have to come off so that you can lift the centre console off. The 4WD selector simply screws off in the usual anti-clockwise direction. The auto shift lever knob is held in place with three screws which are exposed when you slide the plastic part that is below the knob down. To slide the plastic part down I placed a flat screwdriver on the small ridge in the plastic and gave it a couple of GENTLE taps downwards - it worked a treat for me.
3 After removal of the centre console you have to remove the plastic piece forward of it that surrounds the slot where the radio is to fit. There are two screws that need to be removed. You need to unhook the wiring at the connector which is behind it and on the drivers side. The connector has a claw that is released by squeezing it in as you separate the two parts of the connector.
4 The plastic insert where the radio is to go has to be removed - it is straight forward and needs no explanation. This plastic insert does not play a part in the radio installation.
5 The two metal brackets that were attached to the plastic insert are attached to the radio. You use the front holes of the brackets and the front holes of the radio but you have to drill a new hole in each brackets to line up with the rear holes in the radio. You will need to have four metal threads ready - you can get them from your hardware store. Take your radio along to make sure the thread size is correct.
6 Before screwing the bracket to the radio you nead to insert spacers between the radio and the bracket. My TX4400 kit came with two rubber washers and I use these for the front two spacers. For the rear two spaces I found that the little rubber washers that are under the head of galvanised roofing screws to be ideal.
7 I took power from the cig lighter (so the radio cannot be accidently left on but can be operated when the key is turned to the accessory position). The blue lead to the centre of the cig lighter is the +ve and the black lead to the side of the lighter is the -ve.
8 The TX440 kit comes with power leads that include a fuse. I don't smoke and so I took the little light that shines into the ashtray out and made sure that the fuse was sitting behind the ashtray. It now means that in the event that the fuse blows I can access it by simply removing the ashray.
9 My ground plane dependent antennae is in the middle of the roof. The lead goes across to the centre pillar on the passengers side then down to the floor and across the floor to the rear of the passengers front seat (it is all hidden - above the ceiling lining, behind the pillar plastic, under the carpet). It then tucks under the plastic on its way to the rear of the radio.

I hope this is of help for the next pewrson who wants to install a DIN size UHF in their Pajero.

Cheers

Denis

[Denis]

I put my TX4400 UHF into the lower slot today. The TX4400 is the standard universal DIN size and the slot is designed to take DIN size . After installation there is a small gap at the bottom and on both ends but it fits well and looks neat.

I work sloooooowly and methodically and so it took me the better part of the day - but it is working fine and I made no embarrassing blunders. Remembering that my vehicle is a 2004 NP auto GLX DiD here are some brief notes notes from my experience - I have left out the steps that become obvious as you proceed.

1 The cup holder has to come out first. It has four claws that clip under the edges of of the centre console and I found that a kitchen knife was useful to ease them back as the holder is lifted.
2 The knobs on the auto shift and the 4WD selector have to come off so that you can lift the centre console off. The 4WD selector simply screws off in the usual anti-clockwise direction. The auto shift lever knob is held in place with three screws which are exposed when you slide the plastic part that is below the knob down. To slide the plastic part down I placed a flat screwdriver on the small ridge in the plastic and gave it a couple of GENTLE taps downwards - it worked a treat for me.
3 After removal of the centre console you have to remove the plastic piece forward of it that surrounds the slot where the radio is to fit. There are two screws that need to be removed. You need to unhook the wiring at the connector which is behind it and on the drivers side. The connector has a claw that is released by squeezing it in as you separate the two parts of the connector.
4 The plastic insert where the radio is to go has to be removed - it is straight forward and needs no explanation. This plastic insert does not play a part in the radio installation.
5 The two metal brackets that were attached to the plastic insert are attached to the radio. You use the front holes of the brackets and the front holes of the radio but you have to drill a new hole in each brackets to line up with the rear holes in the radio. You will need to have four metal threads ready - you can get them from your hardware store. Take your radio along to make sure the thread size is correct.
6 Before screwing the bracket to the radio you nead to insert spacers between the radio and the bracket. My TX4400 kit came with two rubber washers and I use these for the front two spacers. For the rear two spaces I found that the little rubber washers that are under the head of galvanised roofing screws to be ideal.
7 I took power from the cig lighter (so the radio cannot be accidently left on but can be operated when the key is turned to the accessory position). The blue lead to the centre of the cig lighter is the +ve and the black lead to the side of the lighter is the -ve.
8 The TX440 kit comes with power leads that include a fuse. I don't smoke and so I took the little light that shines into the ashtray out and made sure that the fuse was sitting behind the ashtray. It now means that in the event that the fuse blows I can access it by simply removing the ashray.
9 My ground plane dependent antennae is in the middle of the roof. The lead goes across to the centre pillar on the passengers side then down to the floor and across the floor to the rear of the passengers front seat (it is all hidden - above the ceiling lining, behind the pillar plastic, under the carpet). It then tucks under the plastic on its way to the rear of the radio.

I hope this is of help for the next person who wants to install a DIN size UHF in their Pajero.

Cheers

Denis

[brett]

I put a couple of small bits of black foam in the gaps either side of the radio just to finish it off, the pajero opening is slighlty wider than DIN.
I see you put the aerial in the middle of the roof, best spot for performance but I'm always reluctant to take a drill to the roof, so settle for less performance and mount on the bullbar or guard.
After removing the cup holders several times I now just squeeze and pull, but the first few times I was much more carefull as not knowing what to expect

[Denis]

Brett,

My Pajero is an ex police vehicle and the hole in the roof was already there when I bought it at auction. Like you, I would otherwise have been reluctant to drill my own hole.

Occasionally the antennae has to come off (for example to get into covered car parks or when I need to put things on the roof racks) but I have a dedicated spanner in the glove compartment and the antennae can be removed and replaced in seconds. My view is that if you can bring yourself to make the hole in the roof then a roof mounted antennae is the way to go.

The hint about using black foam is a good one and I will do the same.

Cheers

Denis