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I'm getting into car accesory installation and would like to know some good books on speaker system installation navigational system installation bluetooth remote starts and alarm system installation etc.. etc..
That market has shrunk considerably over the last 2 decades because cars are being made with much better OEM systems. Personally, I haven't felt the need to upgrade anything on the 7 cars I bought in the last 10 years. I don't see that market coming back. On the other hand, I could see repair of OEM systems becoming a major need as these ridiculously complex infotainment systems aren't necessarily meant to last. BMW for example only warranties i-Drive for 4 years, and it's not covered under their CPO warranty. Replacing it costs thousands of dollars on a 4 year old car!
The majority of people that really care about stereos and nav and have money to spend on it just buy new cars. Retrofitting aftermarket systems is mostly a low end business now. Making matters worse, the "better" stock systems in cars produced in the last 10-15 years tend to be heavily integrated into the vehicle. Even as these cars age and the systems wear out, they're not cheap or easy to replace.
That market has shrunk considerably over the last 2 decades because cars are being made with much better OEM systems. Personally, I haven't felt the need to upgrade anything on the 7 cars I bought in the last 10 years. I don't see that market coming back. On the other hand, I could see repair of OEM systems becoming a major need as these ridiculously complex infotainment systems aren't necessarily meant to last. BMW for example only warranties i-Drive for 4 years, and it's not covered under their CPO warranty. Replacing it costs thousands of dollars on a 4 year old car!
The majority of people that really care about stereos and nav and have money to spend on it just buy new cars. Retrofitting aftermarket systems is mostly a low end business now. Making matters worse, the "better" stock systems in cars produced in the last 10-15 years tend to be heavily integrated into the vehicle. Even as these cars age and the systems wear out, they're not cheap or easy to replace.
First of all I would like to say thankyou for the input. Its helpful and you do bring up some interesting points. I geuss Ican specialize and sound system repair. Most dealerships Ihave worked out just swap parts out. So Igeuss Ican do that but be able to install aftermarket sound system if need be.
I'm also counting on the sound system being complex and I hope it is because then there's a greater chance they will take the vehicle to me and pay 2 to 3x less rather then fix it themselves.
The key today, and what you'd want to learn, is integration. People want things integrated with their existing systems, whether its an ipod, bluetooth, amplifiers, etc. Smart starts also still sell well, where aftermarket alarms, not so well any more. I know honda too had a radio issue that affected several years accords, and people started fixing the boards on ebay and shipping them out, as at the dealer it was a $1000 repair, but can be done via ebay/yourself for 100.
Then next read the installation documentation for whatever gizmo you buy (stereo, GPS, navigation).
And MOST important [these days] is to get a factory electrical diagrams manual for your specific vehicle - Part of a factory service manual set you can order from the dealer. That will tell you what wire is for what in your specific car...
That is *VERY* important these days because a car can have 80 different computer modules connected via 3 different local area computer networks. With that said, you could accidentally tap into a computer network wire and then cause 30 of the vehicle's computer modules to stop working. Then the car would not start!
The factory radio may also contain a computer module and handle warning sounds. It would be connected to a computer network wire. The car's computer network or its diagnostics might not be "happy" if that connection was suddenly removed! (You might get a check engine light!)
And some cars like Volvos use a fiber optic local area network for the sound system. You wouldn't want to "cut" into one of those.
(Not to mention air bag and safety related wires, etc.)
OP, you're asking for the impossible IMO. Car stereo installation used to be easy peasy. But now, because of integration with other components, security codes/protocols, add on accessories... it is VERY car specific, and any book you find probably won't be of much real world help, because it would have to be very generic.
As an example, the 2002 911 Turbo is the most popular one to have from the 996 generation. There are several reasons, but a big one is that from 2003 on, Porsche used the MOST system, which made it extremely expensive to ditch the factory stereo and navigation and you weren't able to use the factory amplifier anymore without the factory stereo. In the 2002, you can install your own in-dash system and still keep the factory amps and speakers without having to mess with that wiring at all. No car installation book is going to be able to tell you something like that, it's just too specific.
Ah... I remember the old days... when 1980's model BMW 5 series had a radio fuse. If you pulled it, the odometer would stop and your mileage would stay that way. If you put an aftermarket HU in, you just bypassed the factory wiring, and if you were an unscrupulous person, you would just run the car without the radio fuse so your mileage would never go up.
You probably won't be able to find that info in any car stereo book either LOL
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