Install PhatBox In 2003 VW Jetta

Knowing very little about cars and after reading about car compatibility, special mounting brackets, and special cables depending on the make/model/year etc I was fairly nervous about installing the PhatBox in my 2003 VW Jetta. But it turned out to be really simple. I completely hacked it together in the end because the mounting brackets that came with the used system I got off ebay wouldn't work. I'll be getting those at some point, but for now the following works just fine.

This process should work pretty much the same for other VW cars built around 2003: New Beetle convertible (2003 +), New Beetle sedan (1998 - 2003), New Beetle sedan (2003 1/2 +), Jetta Sedan (1999 1/2 -2005), Jetta Wagon (2001 +), Passat Sedan / Wagon (1998 - 2001), Passat Sedan / Wagon (2001 1/2 - 2005), Golf / GTI (1999 1/2 +), Golf R32 (2004 - 2005), Touareg (2004 + ) (Not on vehicles with DVD navigation), and EuroVan (1998 - 2003).

The Blessed Box

The Head Unit Connector

The head unit connector is tightly attached to the metal bracket above. I used a flat-head screwdriver to peel the fabric back and pop it out. You'll need to free the connector before you can attach the PhatBox connector.

The VW Adapter That Must Be Removed

The plastic adapter pointed out above was connected to the head unit cable. You'll need to remove it before attaching the PhatBox cable.

Connecting The PhatBox

This is pretty obvious...

The Place Where You Stick It

It turned out the mounting brackets I got didn't work, but the hole in the car was very snug, so I just stuffed it with bubble wrap (in fact, the bubble wrap that came with it when it was shipped).

I Stuffed The Bottom With Bubble Wrap

And Also Wrapped The Box

I know this isn't the most scientific way to go about this, but I really didn't want to wait another week to get mounting brackets. Besides, the unit is completely stable and barring the car's flipping over, I don't think it's going anywhere. I may be completely wrong, but I feel it will probably receive less damaging vibration like this than being rigidly attached to the body of the car. I'll get the bracket eventually, but this works for now...

All Done