Hello all, I wanted to share my experience with installing an aftermarket radio in my new-to-me 2004 Coupe equipped with the optional auditorium system.
My situation was a bit unique as the previous owner had already removed the NIT and installed a tablet in-lieu of the head unit. Also, he had a line driver installed in between the tablet and the Ask amplifier. I am no audiophile, and the cabin is relatively loud so I was not looking for the best possible sound quality but I wanted to have a better integration and CarPlay capability since I have it in another car and I find it very convenient.
There are several threads on this topic, therefore I won't repeat every single step but I will provide more details on aspects that I did not find fully documented in other threads. My main contributions to the discussion I believe are (1) a more complete integration of the hazard switch and (2) a more detailed explanation on how to route and wire the backup rear camera wiring. Also, because I already had a radio bezel made by the previous owner, I modified that bezel to fit the new head unit instead of using the 3D cad models that others have made. It is not perfect yet, but it will get me going for a while.
Let's start with parts.
Head unit
CarPlay wired USB dongle
ISO harness to power head unit and bring speaker wiring from NIT area to head unit
Antenna adapter
Antenna cable
Buck converter to step down voltage from 12V
Hazard switch
Diodes (I bought them locally, but these should have the same spec)
Connector for hazard switch and center console lighting (you can tap into wires if you like, but it is nice to use a connector)
www.digikey.com
Pins for the connector (member k1gt2004 advised to buy 173633-1 while digikey suggested to get these one below, I ordered both just in case but I ended up using the ones below, they appear to be identical)
www.digikey.com
Additional USBs (these are not really necessary, I ended up wiring them because I originally had a different plan in mind)
These are a few threads that I used for guidance. Here I will focus on my "unique" contributions to the topic
www.maseratilife.com
www.maseratilife.com
www.maseratilife.com
aldousvoice.com
First, let me provide an overview of my project:
And this is the finished product.
![Image]()
![Image]()
![Image]()
Quick note on the the hazard switch location.I originally planned to place it at top but there is no room there on the underneath, so I decided to place it at the bottom so that I have room to add other stuff in the future (I don’t have any plans now but who knows).
And now with some details.
Something important that I noticed on my car is that the NIT ISO plug was not "standard". I don't know whether my car was wired differently or what, but the wire next to the ground (on the power side of the connector), was not ACC but constant 12V (i.e., a battery wire). Check yours before wiring. In the picture below I already swapped the wires, but the ISO comes with the red and yellow swapped and all wiring diagrams that I have seen show that them wired that way.
The speaker side appeared to be all standard.
![Image]()
The accessory wire was also connected to the red and white wire that you see below. This is the wire the goes back to the Ask amplifier (behind the battery in the trunk) to turn it on (pin 17 on the harness at the amplifier). This wire was already separated from the harness by the previous owner so I can't provide you with details on how to get to it etc.
However, if you have the auditorium system, you will have to send a signal on pin 17 of the auditorium amp to turn it on.
![Image]()
The wiring for the hazard switch and the lower dash lighting is as follows. The yellow/black wire needs 7V to illuminate the lower dash. I got this from another thread, I did not investigate further, I tried to apply 7V and it worked, I have no idea how they came to 7V but it appears to work. The buck converter steps down the voltage from the cigarette lighter white cable which turns on when the headlights are on. Wire the buck converter here, and not next to the cigarette lighter because you want the 12V headlights signal available here to get connected to the head unit (which needs it to turn on the backlight on the head unit display at night).
The hazard lights come on when the grey and black wire are connected. I figured out that when this happens, the blue wire sends an intermittent 12V signal that can be used to intermittently turn on the hazard light switch. I think this is a new piece of info for the community.
![Image]()
Unfortunately, the hazard switch was wired with different colors (compared to the car wiring) so you have to be very careful when you wire it. Below, is how I wired mine, colors mentioned in the photo below are relative to the wires in the photo above (which could be the same for many/all 4200).
I wanted to have the hazard switch to illuminate only when the headlights were ON but to also flash intermittently when hazard lights were ON since I think this is how these buttons usually work in a car.
So the black and gray wire from the head unit area go straight into the blue and green wire of the switch (these are the wires that get connected when you press the switch).
The black wire from the switch goes to ground.
The red wire is fed by two diodes to help prevent back feeding current on the wires. On one diode you can connect the blue wire from the head unit area, this will give you the intermittent flashing when hazard lights are ON. If you also want the switch to illuminate when you have the headlights on (so that you can see it in the dark!) then you can connect the headlights 12V to the other diode. In my case, I wanted it to be dimmed so that when the hazard lights are ON they pop. For that application I used the second buck converter that I had available to lower the voltage to 4V (an arbitrary level that I found empirically). This way when the hazard switch is OFF and the headlights are ON, you get a dimmed light from the switch. If you turn on the hazard lights you get an brighter intermittent flashing. If you happen to turn on the hazard lights when the headlights are off, thanks to the diodes you don't get current flowing on the hazard switch line.
![Image]()
As for the backup camera, you need to run an RCA from the head unit to the trunk lid (I considered putting it on the bumper but it looked too low, however it can probably work). Once you have the RCA in the NIT area, you need to remove the rear back seat assembly.
First need to remove the cover behind the rear armrest. Just pull straight back, there is only one clip in the center at the top.
![Image]()
Then remove the armrest, there are push pins on either side. The slot in the seat has an opening toward the front to help the pin slide out.
Then you need to undo the 4 15mm bolts. They were super tight on mine, I had to use a breaker bar...
![Image]()
My situation was a bit unique as the previous owner had already removed the NIT and installed a tablet in-lieu of the head unit. Also, he had a line driver installed in between the tablet and the Ask amplifier. I am no audiophile, and the cabin is relatively loud so I was not looking for the best possible sound quality but I wanted to have a better integration and CarPlay capability since I have it in another car and I find it very convenient.
There are several threads on this topic, therefore I won't repeat every single step but I will provide more details on aspects that I did not find fully documented in other threads. My main contributions to the discussion I believe are (1) a more complete integration of the hazard switch and (2) a more detailed explanation on how to route and wire the backup rear camera wiring. Also, because I already had a radio bezel made by the previous owner, I modified that bezel to fit the new head unit instead of using the 3D cad models that others have made. It is not perfect yet, but it will get me going for a while.
Let's start with parts.
Head unit
Amazon.com: ANKEWAY [2G+16G] 7 Inch Android OS Double Din Car Stereo, 1080P HD IPS Touch Screen Car Digital Internet Multimedia System Built-in GPS Navi+HiFi+WiFi+Bluetooth+RDS+FM+Dual USB, Backup Cam Included : Electronics
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These are a few threads that I used for guidance. Here I will focus on my "unique" contributions to the topic
New 2DIN radio receiver bezel for Maserati 4200 Coupe/Spider
The available depth behind Maserati 4200 Coupe/Spider radio is only 35mm, There are many Narrow radio/GPS receiver units that fit, but they do not have acceptable sound quality. For playing music or radio they really sound worse than old car original radio, upgrading car speakers will not solve...
www.maseratilife.com
Keeping the lights on (lower Dash) when removing NIT...
Hello All, Thansks for the many tips and hints I've found on the forum for my planned installation of a 7inch touch screen with satnav, DAB etc to replace the terrible OEM kit in my 2003 4200 Coupe. Particular thanks to Edwin247 for the CAD file of a replacement bezel - I was able to get that...
www.maseratilife.com
auditorium amplifier wiring
Does anyone have a diagram of the auditorium amplifier wiring or pinout for the connector? My amp is blown and I want to replace it with an aftermarket. I guess what I really want is to know where to tap into the speaker outputs of the NIT at the auditorium amplifier input so I can redirect...
www.maseratilife.com
Ferrari 360 & F430 Hi-Fi Sound System
At time of first purchase, both the Ferrari 360 and F430 could be specified with an optional “Hi-Fi sound system (with subwoofer)” (code SND1) for an additional GBP 1,100 / USD 2,000. T…
aldousvoice.com
First, let me provide an overview of my project:
- Head unit gets power from ISO connector from NIT
- Head unit sends RCA output to line driver, then line driver output goes into NIT ISO connector and from there back to the amplifier through the stock wiring (I tried to connect the head unit speaker wires straight into the amplifier, i.e., bypassing the line driver, but it sounded awful, I guess it has to do with levels of the signals).
- Cigarette lighter illumination wire (white wire) is stepped down to 7V using the buck converter to illuminate the lower center dash buttons
- Cigarette lighter illumination wire (white wire) is also stepped down to 4V to illuminate the hazard switch when headlights are on (4V is an arbitrary level that I set myself)
- Hazard switch light is connected to both the headlights signal (see above) and the hazard lights intermittent signal so that I the button illuminates in the dark and it also flahses when the hazards are on. If you prefer the button to be illuminated all the time, wire it to the accessory 12V on the cigarette lighter (red wire)
- Rear camera is powered by driver side backup light
And this is the finished product.
Quick note on the the hazard switch location.I originally planned to place it at top but there is no room there on the underneath, so I decided to place it at the bottom so that I have room to add other stuff in the future (I don’t have any plans now but who knows).
And now with some details.
Something important that I noticed on my car is that the NIT ISO plug was not "standard". I don't know whether my car was wired differently or what, but the wire next to the ground (on the power side of the connector), was not ACC but constant 12V (i.e., a battery wire). Check yours before wiring. In the picture below I already swapped the wires, but the ISO comes with the red and yellow swapped and all wiring diagrams that I have seen show that them wired that way.
The speaker side appeared to be all standard.
The accessory wire was also connected to the red and white wire that you see below. This is the wire the goes back to the Ask amplifier (behind the battery in the trunk) to turn it on (pin 17 on the harness at the amplifier). This wire was already separated from the harness by the previous owner so I can't provide you with details on how to get to it etc.
However, if you have the auditorium system, you will have to send a signal on pin 17 of the auditorium amp to turn it on.
The wiring for the hazard switch and the lower dash lighting is as follows. The yellow/black wire needs 7V to illuminate the lower dash. I got this from another thread, I did not investigate further, I tried to apply 7V and it worked, I have no idea how they came to 7V but it appears to work. The buck converter steps down the voltage from the cigarette lighter white cable which turns on when the headlights are on. Wire the buck converter here, and not next to the cigarette lighter because you want the 12V headlights signal available here to get connected to the head unit (which needs it to turn on the backlight on the head unit display at night).
The hazard lights come on when the grey and black wire are connected. I figured out that when this happens, the blue wire sends an intermittent 12V signal that can be used to intermittently turn on the hazard light switch. I think this is a new piece of info for the community.
Unfortunately, the hazard switch was wired with different colors (compared to the car wiring) so you have to be very careful when you wire it. Below, is how I wired mine, colors mentioned in the photo below are relative to the wires in the photo above (which could be the same for many/all 4200).
I wanted to have the hazard switch to illuminate only when the headlights were ON but to also flash intermittently when hazard lights were ON since I think this is how these buttons usually work in a car.
So the black and gray wire from the head unit area go straight into the blue and green wire of the switch (these are the wires that get connected when you press the switch).
The black wire from the switch goes to ground.
The red wire is fed by two diodes to help prevent back feeding current on the wires. On one diode you can connect the blue wire from the head unit area, this will give you the intermittent flashing when hazard lights are ON. If you also want the switch to illuminate when you have the headlights on (so that you can see it in the dark!) then you can connect the headlights 12V to the other diode. In my case, I wanted it to be dimmed so that when the hazard lights are ON they pop. For that application I used the second buck converter that I had available to lower the voltage to 4V (an arbitrary level that I found empirically). This way when the hazard switch is OFF and the headlights are ON, you get a dimmed light from the switch. If you turn on the hazard lights you get an brighter intermittent flashing. If you happen to turn on the hazard lights when the headlights are off, thanks to the diodes you don't get current flowing on the hazard switch line.
As for the backup camera, you need to run an RCA from the head unit to the trunk lid (I considered putting it on the bumper but it looked too low, however it can probably work). Once you have the RCA in the NIT area, you need to remove the rear back seat assembly.
First need to remove the cover behind the rear armrest. Just pull straight back, there is only one clip in the center at the top.
Then remove the armrest, there are push pins on either side. The slot in the seat has an opening toward the front to help the pin slide out.
Then you need to undo the 4 15mm bolts. They were super tight on mine, I had to use a breaker bar...
