I have a '99 Golf 1.8 GTi Turbo, and a Mark II empeg player. Unfortunately the car is not mine, but my company car, which means modifications must be minor/invisible.

It has the default vw stereo, and a nice space above which should be handy for the empeg unit.

If anyone has experience of connecting the empeg to the existing stereo, I would be grateful for any advice. If I absolutely have to buy a separate amp and all the fussing about that goes with it I will, but the 20W output per channel from the existing stereo is ample for me. And I'd rather save money:)

You could run the signal in through the antenna wire. Its a completely invisible/removeable solution. Then you just tune the radio to a specified staion to recieve the empeg signal. ***You must buy a good "modulator" to do this. Don't buy a cheap transmitter. Get one that plugs inline with the antenna wire. If you don't you will be very unhappy. I installed a Kenwood CD changer in a motorhome this way and the sound is perfect. I don't know who makes a good standalone one though. I know they are out there. Check crutchfield or maybe someone could point in the right direction.


Alex Lear

If the stock stereo has line inputs, he doesn't need an antenna modulator.

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Tony Fabris

Ah - well here we come up against another problem. I may have bought the car in the UK, and it has a plethora of pins in the connector, but some are labelled in something which isn't English, like "S Kont","K-Bus", and the puzzling "Ga".

The stereo has a CD select button on it, which implies it can select from a source other than rf, and I guess the most likely candidates for input are the "AF-R" and "AF-L", so I'll probably experiment with them.

Don't experiment with the cables, you can fry stuff that way. Find out what the plugs do before going any farther. Do some research and find a wiring diagram, or locate a professional stereo installation shop that can supply the proper connectors.

If you can order from Crutchfield, they will have the proper connector as well as the necessary circuits to plug your unit into the factory CD changer input.

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Tony Fabris

K-Bus is for the VW diagnosis. Do not use.
GA is for GALA (GeschwindigkeitsAbhängige LautstärkenAnpassung), this pin is connected to the speed sensor to adjust the volume automantically. be careful not to ground this since it could cause the abs to malfunction.
S Kont is for switched plus

Please read all the other threads about original VM car radios on this boards that topic has already been discussed to death. j

tony

can you post the name or a link to the adaptor you are referring to I couldn't find anything like this on crutchfield

thanks
matt

Dunno if these links will work, but...

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-aACEz8Ck0GT/ProdGroup.asp?c=2&g=50900&s=0

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-aACEz8Ck0GT/ProdGroup.asp?c=2&g=751&s=0

Your best bet with Crutchfield, though, is to call them. If you can explain to them what you want to do, their phone reps will help you find the correct solution. Browsing their web site won't necessarily help you find what you need.

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Tony Fabris