Hi all!

I've searched all over the forum and find pieces of this but not the whole picture, so if I missed a post where this is covered, apologies in advance!

I am installing an after market Alpine radio in my 2004 Discovery 2. To make a more factory look, I purchased the Tuff Rok coin tray USB replacement so I can connect it to the radio for CarPlay / charging. I removed the battery voltage meter that came with the Tuff Rok and replaced it with another 2 port USB 12V charging pod so the passenger can have power as well. I need to tie that 2-port USB unit into power.

I've removed the coin tray and the clock/door lock module above and routed the USB Cable through the small space there to the radio and have also pulled the 12V power wire through (right now it's hanging out of the radio opening in the Dash since I haven't put the new radio in). Ideally, I'd like to route this over to the passenger compartment fuse box and use a fuse tap to add it onto the cigar lighter fuse. What I am having an issue with is figuring out how to route the wire through the dash to get it to the engine compartment. I'm trying to remove as few pieces as possible so I don't break the almost 20 year old plastic.

Any ideas on the best way to get this wire across? Is there an opening on the left side (this is a left hand drive Discovery) of the dash radio console that enters the compartment under the steering wheel? I have foam there and didn't want to go poking around as the compartment under the steering wheel looks pristine as of when I opened it today. I assume I can route the 12V wire under the new DIN cage for the radio (and over the top of the AC/heater control module, and if that assumption is correct, how do I get it over to the passenger compartment fuse panel?

Any help or ideas are greatly appreciated! I plan to document this and post a how to if one doesn't exist, as I messed around with this for 2 hours until I finally got irritated enough to stop.

Thanks in advance for any ideas!

 

Why don't you just tap the power from the factory cigarette lighter

 

There is a grommet under the brake booster that can be accessed. Its blind so feel for it.

 

Thanks for the suggestions! I took the dash fascia off (using the instructions in RAVE) to remove the mounting bracket behind the factory radio to make room for all of the wires in the aftermarket wiring harness. While it was off, I was able to easily route a hot wire over to the fuse block where I added a fuse tap to the cigar lighter circuit. The USB port supports Power Delivery, so I needed it to ideally tie off of the fuse block.

I end up installing the Alpine Halo 9 ILX-F409 radio, which looks great now that it's in place. It was a pain to get all of the wires in, but now that it's done, I'm pleased with the results. The Tuff-Rock coin tray replacement block looks nice.

I've attached some photos and am working on a full how to that I can share.

 

How was the install of the radio? any pros or cons of this radio? My radio went out a few months ago and have been using a Bluetooth speaker as a temp replacement (unfortunately with MT tires the road noise is too much for the BT speaker).

 

Install wasn’t too bad. Hardest part was dealing with all of the wires and cutting out the backstop bracket for the factory radio to make room for the new one—nothing a jab saw with a metal blade and some elbow grease can’t handle.

As for the radio itself…

Pros

- Great sound with the factory amp/speakers and Crutchfield made sure I had the right harness adapter. Definitely an upgrade over the factory unit.
- CarPlay works great, and with the Tuf-Rok coin tray replacement and a USB insert that ties to the radio, it’s a clean install.
- BT is solid as well.
- Works with the Alpine single DIN sleeve, so no dramatic mods needed to get it to fit (other than cutting the bracket I mentioned).
- Can customize the screens very easily.
- Works perfectly with an Alpine parking brake bypass switch from Amazon so you don’t have to chase down the parking brake wires.
- Steering wheel controls still work when you purchase the adapter and are easy to get working (but adds yet another thing to fit in the dash).

Cons

- This head unit is expensive but there aren’t a lot of single DIN units out there with CarPlay, which was my number one requirement
- There are a ton of wires. Be prepared to spend some time getting it all to fit (took me about 45 minutes and many in, out, reset moments).
- Have to remove the factory backstop bracket.
- Screen resolution isn’t very crisp. For $800+ I would have expected more. No I don’t plan to watch 4K movies on it, but a sharper image would be nice. Again, single DIN options are limited so I let this one go as it’s good enough.
- Boots up super fast and is ready to go by the time you are putting the car in reverse.
- Did I mention all of the wires?!??

Overall I am very happy with it. Total time to get everything installed, including removing the dash fascia and putting it back on was about 3 hours. Doing it again, I could do it in half that time.

If you do go this route, I definitely recommend the Tuf Rok module and getting a USB / HDMI combo 12V sized insert to put in it. The Alpine radio I used was the Halo 9 ILX-F409.