Double Din Stereo Installation, 2002 WJ Jeep Grand Cherokee
WJs with DDIN units installed are nothing new. But while researching the project, I still had a few unknowns to deal with so I hope this write-up provides a complete picture of what the install entails.
PARTS LISTKenwood Excelon DNX696S
Axxess ASWC-1 Steering Wheel Control Interface
Metra 95-6546B DDIN Jeep Kit
Metra 70-6502 Wire Harness
Replaced: (2) Voxx ACA501D Back-up Camera
(2) Accele RVC1150T Back-up Camera
Crux CUB-15 Universal Bullet Backup Camera
T-Spec V6RCA-201V RCA video cable 20 ft
JL Audio XD-CLRAIC2-SW 2-channel Speaker Wire to RCA Adapter
Hopkins #48625 Mounting Bracket
Hopkins #48435 6 pin Connector
Posi-Taps
Wire Loom
Heat Shrink Tubing
1) Remove Existing Stereo
Pretty easy, really. Get a flat blade pry tool and slip it between the radio bezel and the dash on the side, next to the air vents. Pry the bezel forward to disengage the spring clips. There are four clips, one on each side and two on the top. Once the bezel is out you can remove the radio. Remove the four Phillips head screws holding the radio in place. Pull it out and disconnect the wiring harnesses and antenna cable. See? Easy.
2) Assemble the Metra DDIN Adapter
Remove the vents from the factory bezel. The vents are plastic-welded at four points. I cut them out with a Dremel, but I have heard it is easier to use a soldering iron to melt the welds. Make your choice.
They fit on the Metra like so:
Mixed up some JB Weld epoxy and tacked it together
Let it sit for at least 24 hours before using.
3) Remove Subdash
Time to do some cutting. I tried using oscillating saw at first, but found that a simple 10-inch hacksaw blade worked best.
The chunk of plastic circled in yellow is going to come out. Start by making the four cuts marked in red.
On the left side, cut through this rather large bit of plastic.
This is what it looks like after cutting
Start cutting at the back, use the edge of the plastic as a guide for the cut. Do the same on the other side.
Ta-da! Won't be needing this anymore.
4) Assemble Wiring Harness
While the epoxy is setting, solder the harness together. Some people just use crimp connectors when connecting the wires ... I would not recommend that. Solder everything and shrink tube it. Include the ASWC-1 steering wheel interface.
There are a bunch of wires included with the ASWC, but only four wires are needed for this job. Red wire goes to switched power, black to ground, brown goes to the SWC input on the Kenwood (light blue wire), pink wire goes to the yellow/violet wire in the factory harness, pin #14. I decided to use a Posi-Tap to splice into this wire. If you have never used one, they look like this:
and they tap into the wire like this:
It isn't soldered, but this connection feels really solid to me so I made an exception.
5) Install the Backup Camera!
(Edit: Replaced with Accele camera 2020/07/10)
I mounted one of the Voxx cameras on the liftgate trim, right above the license plate.
There is a rubber boot right behind the trim. Run the wire through this.
Of course, you will have to remove the interior panel from the liftgate to run the video cable. There are a few screws holding the panel on, plus a bunch of plastic panel anchors. I ran the cable toward the right side, used a bit of loom to protect the wire from sharp edges.
The bit wrapped in blue tape here is where the camera lead attaches to the video cable.
The bit wrapped in blue tape here is where the camera video rca connects to the extension. I used a #10 self-tapping screw to attach the ground to the liftgate, circled in green here.
Run the wire through here (see silver wire) and then through the rubber boot.
Now that it's inside, run the cable behind the trim panels all the way up to the front of the cabin.
I had just enough cable to run it under the carpet along this path. Removed the front seat to do it ...
See? Just enough cable to get up into the radio enclosure.
One more thing, have to run the reverse trigger wire to the backup light circuit. I studied the FSM wiring diagrams to find the right wire. FSM says the circuit is a violet wire with a black stripe. It told me exactly where to find it behind the kick panel behind here
It also told me exactly which pin was supposed to have this wire ... and this is NOT in the right position. But it's got to be the right wire, right? Took a chance, it must be the right wire. And it was.
6) BONUS: Install the Blind Spot Camera!
(Edit: Replaced with Accele camera 2020/07/11)
I was not really planning on this, but since the Kenwood has the capability to run THREE cameras, I figured I might as well install a camera to help me see if there is a vehicle back there next to my camper when I am towing. I decided to mount this camera under the passenger side rearview mirror. I happened to have an old, broken mirror in the garage so I tried a few different spots before deciding where it should go.
Drill a carefully aimed hole through here:
My aim wasn't great, but good enough. It came through here.
Run the wire through the rubber boot. Drill a hole in the door and install a grommet, run the cable through there.
Then through the boot in the door. Had to drill a hole in the white plastic collar to make this happen.
The lead was just long enough for this route. See?
7) Hook It All Up
Okay, got all the wires run up to the radio enclosure. Now just plug it all together. No problem!
That's a lot of wires. Ran the ASWC-1 interface ground wire, and power to both cameras. I tapped one of the new fuse locations in the accessory fuse box I installed for camera power ... but that's a story for another day.
(Edit: Cameras replaced with Accele, see post: https://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f31...build-thread-4239282/index8.html#post41019455)
