SVX / Legacy radio compatibility

[b3lha]

A while ago, I bought a UK SVX CD changer and head unit from another member here. I used the CD changer to replace the broken JDM one in my 92. It is compatible with the JDM head unit but the connectors on the changer itself are different. Fortunately the seller included the last section of the UK wiring harness, so it all plugged together just fine.

So then I started wondering about what to do with the UK SVX head unit. I started comparing it to the head unit in my '96 Legacy. Both head units were pull-out type units made by Panasonic, and they both had the same cage, with the same contacts at the back. So I reasoned that surely if I just slid the SVX head unit into the Legacy cage it would work. But alas no: The power button lit up but the head unit would not turn on.

So I took the cages out and compared them. I discovered that the cage for the SVX unit had an "always hot" pin that was absent from the Legacy cage. The wire was present in the Legacy harness, but not connected through to the cage. So I took the pin from the SVX radio cage and slid it into the connector on the Legacy cage then joined it to the correct wire in the Legacy harness.

Now I can slide either head unit into the cage, they both work. The SVX unit seems to be a little bit better than the Legacy one. It has a logic-controlled tape deck and a jack at the front where I can plug in an MP3 player or whatever.

I can now say with certainty that the Legacy and SVX head units are interchangable. A Legacy CD changer will work with the SVX head unit and vice versa. Also, a Legacy head unit will slide straight into a UK SVX and control the CD changer. Just in case anybody ever needs to know.

Phil.