relpacing the stereo

[batmedic]

I was wondering if anyone knows how to change out the stereo head on an '02 freelander?

 

[ZWood15]

You need to get sth stereo pulling tools, I believe its the same tools as a Ford, but i might be wrong... The only head units that are plug and play are Blaupankt (sp?)... Otherwise you will need a different wiring harness...

 

[ayates]

radio head change out

I remember that I replaced the std radio in my UK spec 03 Freebie with a system from Alpine, I had a specialist do it at the time but it was a quick job and in the end the remote volume and station change on the stearing wheel worked as well.

Know it doesnt help answer the question however just thought I would let you know that changing the orig head is fine.

Cheers,

Adrian
(05 LR3)

You need to get sth stereo pulling tools, I believe its the same tools as a Ford, but i might be wrong... The only head units that are plug and play are Blaupankt (sp?)... Otherwise you will need a different wiring harness...

 

[JoesLRF]

I just replaced my stereo two months ago in my 02 Freelander, with a JVD HD Radio. As Zwood states, the Ford tool (2 - U shaped rods with flat ends) works. Push them in the holes on the side of the radio until you hear them click, press the tools outward (<---->) and pull the stereo towards you. The tricky part is adapting the new head unit to the current plugs (speakers/antennas) as I did not want to cut the wires, but adapt the plugs. I found that the Scosche VW01 wiring adapter and VWA antenna adapter worked great for this.

 

[JoesLRF]

A couple of items to note on the above.... If you want the remote controls on the steering wheels to work, you also need to puchase the "black box" for the particular head unit you are installing as these are not common inputs to most "off-the-shelf" head units. One thing I do miss is the RDS that came with my factory unit. The replacement I chose has text ability, but not true RDS.

 

[castolfo]

or just buy a Blaupunkt replacement head..

i purchased a Blaupunkt receiver and it uses the existing radio harness plugs..

how about that!

 

[mazar123]

I was wondering if anyone knows how to change out the stereo head on an '02 freelander?

I'm pretty sure that not even the Land Rover Dealerships know how to do this. I just bought an '02 Freelander and the radio worked for 2 days then locked me out. I went to the dealership 4 times to solve the problem and they told me that the radio must have failed. They also wanted $1,000,000 to fix the problem.

 

[JoesLRF]

I believe the problem you are facing has to do with a code that has to be entered into the radio to "unlock" it. In order to get the code to enter, you may have to contact LandRover with your VIN # and radio #. The reason is the security aspect of the radio, somehow gets tied in to the VIN so you couldn't "steal" a LR radio and install in any vehicle.

 

[gtc]

Since this is an old thread, here's some info for anyone still fishing about;

I upgraded the head unit on our '02 NA spec Freelander without any difficulty, while maintaining steering wheel functionality. Here's a quick how-to (with parts list):

1) Buy new stereo! I chose a dual zone JVC unit with DVD/MP3/USB/etc playback that I also ran to rear-seat headrests.

2) Remove stock HU. Easiest way is with a metal clotheshanger. Cut off the head of the clothes hanger and cut the base in two, giving you two "U" shaped bits of metal. Insert them into the front facia holes of the Freelander stereo and it'll pop out a bit - pull out with your fingers.

3) Make a harness (if your stock stereo doesn't fit; Freelanders use some sort of ISO plug that isn't as commonin the US, but blaupunkt's and several others fit in). I used a VW interface plug (5-15 dollars at any stereo store) that fits late 90s VWs. There's a wiring description on the back - note that the constant and switched power lines are reversed! Solder (and heat shrink) the leads from your aftermarket stereo following the wiring directions on the packaging.

4) Get an external antenna "booster" if required. The Freelander has a booster for the antenna built into the head unit - my aftermarket JVC didn't, so I bought and inline booster ($10 - local audio shop) - wired the power to the "switched power" in the harness from #3, and plugged the antenna into the booster - works great!

5) Find a PAC controller for your steering wheel stereo interface (if you are in the US/Canada) - probably better options abroad. I bought a PAC-SWIALP (I think) which controls Alpine, JVC and a few others. There are wiring directions on the packaging - solder this into the harness from #3 (3 leads to solder, as I recall), and snip a couple of the loop wires per the directions from PAC.

6) Plug your harnesses, and put the unit back into the dash - complete plug and play once you've soldered your harness!

7) Follow directions for programming the steering wheel controls - this involves turning on the accessory power with your keys and counting a bunch of red flashing lights on the PAC unit after pressing a small button on the side of the unit with a pen. Easy to do - just follow the instructions. You can choose to map your steering wheel buttons to many different stereo functions, but I stuck with the track up/down and volume up/down. Note that I occasionally experience a half second delay when changing tracks, or if I flip the switch really quickly, it won't change - I did need to readjust to holding the button slighlty longer. I'm guessing that I could have fixed this a bit by reprogramming the unit, but it didn't bother me much...

Note that I was also able to go back to stock (to recover a CD from the old HU) after 2 months and was not locked out of the stock HU - surprising!