Removing Pins from ISO Connector

[ErixX]

Hi guys & grrls Trying to install my first new headunit but run into a little problem. Got all the physical install sorted, like the support cage and such, connected the ISO connector and the aerial lead, all was well, everything worked nicely. Came to the car this morning and found none of the radio presets or general settings had been saved from last night when I installed it. Bit of a read in the manual and a trip to B&Q for a multimeter later I have found this: My manual states that pin A4 should be connected to 12V+ for memory backup and A7 should be 12V+ ignition. When the ignition is off A7 remains @ 12V whereas A4 is 0V until the ignition is on and then becomes 12V+. Am I correct in thinking that I should just be able to swap these two pins over and all would be well? The problem i have is that I can't seem to remove the pins from the plastic block. Can someone please help me. The headunit is a Mutant 1105 and my car is a '96 Astra. Many thanks Eric

[Hautewheeler]

Dude, forget swapping the pins, that's a hassle, and the little tabs on the pins break, or become so mutated that you can't get them to hold still. and sometimes the little plastic catches inside the block get screwed up too.. just swap the wires for a4 and a7. clip them and re-splice them together. Make sure you do this with the ignition off (unless you want to take a chance on seeing sparks), and if you have the tools, solder the joints and seal them up with shrink tubing (remember to slide the tubing on before you solder). if not, you can use crimp connects, and for the ultra-mega poor boy special, just twist them together and seal with black electrical tape (not recommended for permanent installation)..

[ErixX]

cheers for the advice, i gave up on trying to remove the pins, no amount of poking and pulling seem to make any difference.

I cut the wires and crimped (read squeezed with end of wire strippers) some spade connectors on there so I could swap them back easily if needed and then wrapped them in insulation tape.

Now all i need to do is figure out removing the front inner door panels so I can reconnect my front speakers to the head unit (the previous owner had them run to an amp in the boot.)

Cheers

Eric

[Hautewheeler]

cool... the door panels usually have a couple of screws, and then the plastic pop tabs. a door panel tool is highly recomended. (they are cheap) you can use flathead screwdrivers to pry them off, but if you're not careful you can damage the paint on the door, and chew those plastic tabs so that they won't seat back in properly (but replacements are available at most automotive paint supply stores, and sometimes at autozone or advance..) and don't put sony's in the door!

also, if you have crank windows, then you'll need to remove that crank, and if you have power windows, then be careful when removing the panels so that you don't pull the wires out of the window switch.. you can usually pop them out from the backside if you need to remove the panel alltogether.