Radio Replacement in a 1989 Jaguar XJS

Listening to the roars and moans of a V12 with cut-off air filter covers is quite a joy, but good car audio is also nice at times. This is the first step in upgrading the audio system in my XJS.

I have replaced the stock Jaguar radio/cassete-player with a JVC CD-player model 920. (40w x 4, CD, changer option, remote, lots of FM stations, AM probably too). It has voice support, meaning that it talks when you do things like change stations, change discs, balance, fader, treble, etc... Helps you keep your eyes on the road. It's cool too. I have an identical radio in my Saab 900t. When I saw one of these radios at Onsale, I won the bid for well under $200.

This radio upgrade is quite well worth it. I was tired of listening to the same two tapes when I have a great selection of CDs.

Note: Each inline image in the pages has two links below it. The 640 link goes to a picture 640 pixels wide (typically full screen on a 14 or 15 inch display on home computers). The 800 link goes to a picture 800 pixels wide. (typical of larger monitors on fancier workstations). The more pixels, the more image detail and size.


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These are the steps for removing the Jaguar radio:
1. Put the gear selector in 1 so that it is out of the way.
2. Pull off the knobs for climate control and fan/defrost speed.
3. Remove the round rings behind the knobs which were just removed. Two miniature screw driver and some patience will help here.
4. Remove the plastic which surrounds the Jaguar radio. It is sitting on left side of my center console in the photo.
5. The faceplate with the climate controls should pull out a little and fall forward out of the way.
6. Remove the four screws which hold the radio in.
7. Disconnect the ground strap and wire connectors. The radio is freed now.


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Now that the radio is out, you will have to either make new ears to screw your new radio in with, or take the old ears from the old radio. I chose to remove the old ears. My grandfather and I used a small drill and a Dremel tool to neatly remove the ears from the old radio.

The new radio had a cage which it slides into. The metal was wirebrushed and cleaned with muriatic acid (completely optional, but real handy) This was soldered with a very powerful soldering iron. If you don't have good soldering skills and a 100+ watt soldering iron, I'd recommend having it spot welded, which was my original intent, but I didn't have access any more to a spot welder.

After this was done, I put a light coat of primer spray paint onto the metal cage, and bolted it into the car where the old radio was.


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Removing the side(s) is easy and helps a great deal with the wiring. Good illumination inside the car is helpful too. We used a several-hundred-watt halogen light while working. See the brown wire.... That was broken where it connected to the fuse holder (which is dismantled on the center console). This was causing my old radio to lose it's memory. That was the "straw that broke the camels back" and made me want a new CD playing radio for the car.

Use a voltmeter, and/or visit the Sean or Walter's links below, to deduce the wiring colors and their function. I used a voltmeter.

All connections I made were soldered, then taped neatly. Soldering is much more durable and much more reliable than crimp connections.

It is helpful to haul spare wire down the side there while sliding the radio in. After things are working to your satisfactions, replace the side panel and associated parts.


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Here are things when the work is done, and things are back together, and my tools are picked up and returned to their homes. Return the gear selector to the P or N position before moving your car.

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All photos taken June 1998 with the Agfa 1280 digital camera.