stock head unit removal question

[garretb]

I've been searching on here but haven't found a clear answer on this...

I'm replacing the stock head unit on my 95 540i with a JVC KD-AR870 and I'm trying to remove the harness from the back of the stock unit. I see the picture on the head unit itself to get a screwdriver under the plastic at the top to pry up the sliding part of the harness. My question is this: Do I keep attempting to slide that plastic part UP to pop off the harness, or is it that now that that part is loose, I attempt to pull the harness AWAY from the back of the head unit? At this time, after using the screwdriver, that plastic sliding part is loose and moves up and down a couple of centimeters.

Thanks,
Garret

[Fetch]

The way I remember it is that I slid the plastic part up, while at the same time, pulling the harness away from radio. I did this on a friend's 95 325i. Play with it, and just don't force anything.

[SnakeyesTx]

I slid, pulled, cursed, yelled, wiggled, fought, pryed and cried from multiple mosquito bites all to the symphony of that stupid radio alarm buzzer for over an hour. Eventually I *broke* that jackassed slider clip thing and wouldn't ya know it... the plug came right out within 30 seconds of working a flat-bladed screw driver between the molex and the radio body. After taking it off I plugged it back in to make sure I didn't mangle anything and all was well. Being in my car for 11 years it practically fused itself to the connector with heat, age an a little dust. If you snap that clip, don't sweat it, you won't need it for the adapter harness for your new radio anyway.

[RiggsyB]

Prize it up (gently, with increasing force) with a flatblade screwdriver... Is what I was told by my local BMW specialist...

Anyway, it worked for me, and my standard head unit was out in new time, and the new Kenwood in even quicker!

[garretb]

Being in my car for 11 years it practically fused itself to the connector with heat, age an a little dust. If you snap that clip, don't sweat it, you won't need it for the adapter harness for your new radio anyway.

Yeah, I started to wonder if it had just fused on there somehow, because no matter what I've tried, that thing hasn't budged. My only issue with breaking the clip is that if I ever sell the car, I would like to put the stock head unit back in so I don't want anything broken. But if it's a choice between keeping the clip and breaking it to install the new head unit, the clip is gonna go. :)

[garretb]

Prize it up (gently, with increasing force) with a flatblade screwdriver... Is what I was told by my local BMW specialist...

Anyway, it worked for me, and my standard head unit was out in new time, and the new Kenwood in even quicker!

Prize what part up, though? I have the slider clip part as far along its "rails" as it will go. So do you mean to pry the harness away from the head unit?

[garretb]

The way I remember it is that I slid the plastic part up, while at the same time, pulling the harness away from radio. I did this on a friend's 95 325i. Play with it, and just don't force anything.

At this point, I don't think that not forcing anything is really an option. But I know what you mean. :)

[garretb]

One more question... is the plastic slider piece connected to the head unit or the harness?

Thanks,
garret

[Fetch]

One more question... is the plastic slider piece connected to the head unit or the harness?

Thanks,
garret

harness

[SnakeyesTx]

The slider is connected to the harness end. When you decide to revert back to original for any reason, you can still use the harness without that slider. That annoying clip is like a "There's no way this will come out" kind of paranoia device. There's no vibration strong enough to wiggle that harness back out of the radio especially since the bullet shaped connectors squeeze the pins on the opposite end. I didn't break mine on purpose at first, it just ended up that way so I broke the rest of it to "clean" up the harness.

[brosher]

Pry what part up, though? I have the slider clip part as far along its "rails" as it will go. So do you mean to pry the harness away from the head unit?

Pry up on the top just like the diagram shows. The first 1/4 inch will be easy and then it will take some more effort. Just keep prying it up and it'll pop off.

[garretb]

Thank you, everyone, for the help. I finally got the harness removed from the head unit yesterday (with only slight breakage) and now I see how the whole thing works. I'll see if I can explain it so that it may be of use to someone else in the future. Basically, the plastic slider slides along four posts, two on each side, of the connection. These posts are part of the head unit plug (also on the harness adaptor if you're using one of those) and the slider part is connected to the harness. When the slider is pushed all the way up, a channel for each of the posts is open so that the two parts can be separated. When the slider is down, it blocks the channel and closes it. So the slider part must be pushed all the way up, and then the harness is pulled away from the head unit. Hopefully this will make sense to the next person that tries to remove their stock head unit for the first time and will be of some help.

Thanks again to everyone for their help. Hopefully I'll finish up my installation tonight and can listen to the good stuff after that.

-garret