I have a 00 vw Passat with what I believe had the monsoon system with the non integrated cd player (don't know because when I got the car it had a Panasonic without the faceplate). I bought a premium 6 cd cassette player from a junk yard, and the wiring harnesses are different. This one came from an 02 jetta, but they thought it would work. Any ideas, or do you know another vw forum that might have the answer? Thanks for any help. Justin
If the harnesses are different, then they probably won't integrate with eachother. Sometime scars with the premium sound systems from the factory are really hard to work with. Often times the headunit you see is actually a pre-amp that feeds a factory amp. The speaker wires and things come of off that amp, and the amp won't recognize an aftermarket head unit. In other words, you have to wire around the amp to make it work. I know you said that your car has a Panasonic deck in it now. If the plugs you see when you pull the deck out don't match the new deck you bought, try gently pulling on the harness to see if there is a second harness hidden down lower in the wiring. I ran into that in Toyotas with the premium systems in them.
These were all best case scenarios. Logically I would say that the deck you bought simply won't work and you need to find a deck with the correct plugs. I could be wrong, I am not the authority on German cars, and maybe some of the pros in the forum could help you better. Just out of curiosity, why don't you just get a new aftermarket deck? It will sound better if you ever upgrade the system than a factory deck ever would.
We are selling the car on our lot, and people generally like the stock look. This car is completely stock otherwise. The unit that came in the car was an expensive Panasonic model, but the faceplate was missing. I found the face but it was $250. I'm not even sure if the HU works. Thanks for the info. Anyone have anyother suggestions?