This post may be long, skip through to interesting bits if you know what you're doing! I am installing the Empeg as my only headunit, but the space in the dash is double DIN and if you want an easy life, you can install 2 units. With Empeg as AUX on another headunit you can skip the long part about the amp and taking the car apart, and take most of the rest of this post with a pinch of salt. I like the fact that I still have a little hole for my phone and the remote

This may or may not help you if you have other VWs of the same mould, such as the VW Polo, SEAT Ibiza, or maybe even Audi A2/A3.

The Fabia is a easy car to install in, there is plenty of room in gaps around the headunit cage to put the ridiculously sized Empeg loom of cables and adapters. The end result is neat and sounds great with the standard speakers which suffer from the pants standard active stereo.

I removed the standard 'Symphony' 'CD Player' using CPC item number CP02815 Kenwood Radio 2001+ removal keys.

1) The Amp - boot mounting
There is not much space in the front of the car for an amp, unless you are lucky and find one that is very compact. The only place for one to go is in the boot. Be wary of the humps on the sides (wheel arches) and the boot floor (that is where the fuel lives). The safest place is on the back of the seats. Also this way, spare wheel access is not compromised, nor is boot space and you can even still fold the seats if you need to.

You will need a Torx 20 (T20) screwdriver to undo the dashboard trim. In fact this is the only screwdriver you need - nice design Skoda! Undoing the screws you see and tugging at bits of plastic makes parts come out with surprisingly minimal fuss. All the plastic under the stereo was removed to the floor and also on the centre console around the gearknob and handbrake to the rear. 4 pairs of 32str regular speaker cable, 2 pairs of Belkin 'Gold' phono cable, and a length of 2 core LV Lighting cable (was thick approx 4.0mm, stranded and double insulated) to provide amp power and remote signal was run to the back, under the carpet and put in a small coil under the back seat. Use a lot of cable ties to keep things neat.

If you feel through the felt on the back of the seat, you will find metal parts and soft foam. Carefully place the amp so the mounting holes are over some hard parts, drill some holes and screw it in place with suitable *short* metal self-tappers. You may need to make a mounting plate if your amp doesn't line up with anything. I was lucky with my JVC KS-AX504 4x40W which I recommend. Get out your socket set, undo the nearest big bolt for the seatbelt socket at the back, wrap your earthing cable around the bolt and do it back up as tight as you can. And then some. I'm sure its tighter now than it used to be. With my amp connected to this, I don't find any problems.

2) Tuner
If you're lucky enough to have a Tuner module, you will need an aerial amplifier. My PCATS tuner lives very comfortably under the false/hidden-floor of the glovebox. The glovebox was removed and a hole drilled in the side at the back for the cables to exit. Its a tight reach for the cable from the tuner to the headunit, but once the cage is in, it is fine.

3) Wiring
Like other modern VWs, you will need to swap over the Permanent Live and Ignition Live coming from the ISO plug. I did this on an extension lead, and also connect up the power to the amp to the correct lead. I crimped my loose speaker wires coming from the amp up to a ISO male plug. This mates onto the Skoda female speaker plug that goes to the speakers through the standard wiring. Now is a good time to label the cables at the back (eg FL, FR, RL, RR) if you haven't done that already. I did this by joining cables and checking for continuity at the plug with a multimeter.

4) Install
Insulate anything bare on the sled. Make sure your remote cables from the tuner to the aerial amp and from the empeg to the amp are all connected correctly, wrap your phono/rca leads in insulating tape, hook everything else up and test the sucker out! Isn't is great? Power everything off again, and find the holes and gaps in the dash to shove as much of the cabling as you can. With a lot of loud swearing; get that sled in there. It is best to do this step in the middle of the night wearing a bright LED headlamp and your neighbours looking at you through their windows thinking "what the hell?!".

5) Finish it off
You will want Skoda part number 6Y0 857 231 B41 (< £2.50 from your local friendly dealer) to fill the gap left over at the top from the non-standard-sized original unit.

If you want, I can post photos. If you need more help, let me know: hussein at mightymouse dot net

I'm always interested in the photos.

a) The car, a 2003 Skoda Fabia 1.9 TDI

b) The big pile of stuff I needed... I'm sure there is something missing in this picture. Could be the Empeg itself!

c) Fixing the amp to the back of the seat

d) KA-BOOOM!!! Actually no, lucky for me it worked first time

e) Et Voila

That looks really nice installed. Clean dash.

Ditto. Looks like the car was made for it.

Thanks guys.

Sliding it in the sled for the first time and I was amazed at how perfect it looked (and sounded, the difference from stock is huge). Hopefully with the black buttons I've got on impulse-order from Greenlights it will be even better!

Can somebody please tell me how some people think a headunit that looks like this or this is good?

Btw, this is the first time I've had anything to do with any car stereo (my first car) - so if anyone has any tips or suggestions on how I could improve things I'd be grateful.

Dude, I think you put your steering wheel back on the wrong side...



Nice install. Looks like they were made for each other.

-- Gary F.

Looks like mighty fine reception you're getting on that tuner there.

Nice install, with the stealth buttons on it'll look stock.

Wow, that really does look stock. And the lens matches your dashboard lights very well. Which lens is that, I wonder?

Now, if only there were a second empeg in that lower DIN slot. Ah, empegs in SLI mode.

I'm not actually sure which lens it is. When I got my Empeg (third hand, I believe) it came in the box along with a Red and Blue one. Its quite likely they are originals.

Quote:
Now, if only there were a second empeg in that lower DIN slot. Ah, empegs in SLI mode.

Well, I'll never look at that hole under the Empeg in the same way again!

Since I had my camera in the car again, I thought I'd do a little update as I've changed a few things around since my Empeg went in the first time.

One problem that I found after a few months of having it installed in my car was the handle rattling. I figured I'd just get some new springs off Rob and that would solve it - well, it did solve it, but only for another month or so. The real root of the problem is the way the hooks protrude out of the top of the cage. In my car there is no space for this to happen, which means that the handle doesn't quite 'engage' all the way down when its in the car - it sits about ~2mm proud compared to when it is out of the car. The extra tension on the springs mean they don't last for very long.

But there is a solution, of course. I found some leftover offcuts of Akasa Paxmate "sound absorbing foam" which I bought many years ago to quieten a noisy PC. It is basically self-adhesive foam padding. It didn't work all too well for my PC, but a thin strip under the Empeg covers the unsightly gap above the pocket and also keeps the handle perfectly secure. Bonus.

Another reason, is there is not many pictures around to show how totally amazing Greenlights Stealth Buttons are when in a car with a black dashboard! Check it out:

And a closeup of the Akasa foam stuff as well