Installing speakers in the headliner of the B3030

[WaxMan]

Picked up my new B3030 HSDCC this afternoon. Spoke to my salesman earlier in the day about a Kubota radio mount. He tells me that his cost was in the $250 neighborhood because the mount and speakers are sold as a unit.
Rather than argue the point, I decided to just look elsewhere or possibly have a local audio place do an install sometime in the future.
I have more important things to learn about this tractor and the way it operates and the differences between it and the JD 790 that I traded in so I 'll get to the audio at a later date.

Sorry to hear that the dealer you just bought your new B3030 tractor from is not being honest with you.
Item # 6C230-88110
BRACKET (STEREO)
$104.21
2-5 Day Lead Time
Qty:
right on Coleman Equipment web site $104.21 days away.
And that is the list price not dealers cost.
First thing I bought when I got my B3030 was a shop and parts manual.
I could know the current price of every nut bolt and part on my tractor. All I do is look up the part number punch it in on Coleman's or Messick's web site and there's the price. I have already bought parts that way and the price is always what it said it was. I don't listen to Salesman, I do my own research.
and it is because of what just happen to you. You can't know for sure what they tell you.

 

[JJZ 109]

Thanks for the heads up Waxman. Will look into this for sure. I guess I sorta assumed that because the tractor deal was fair, everything else would be fair also.
Now, have you got a parts # for these manuals also? Just tried to order the part from Coleman but the server was quite slow trying to process the transaction. The shipping was an added $14.00, but that still is a **** of a lot cheaper than the price I got locally. Will give them another shot after work today.

 

[JJZ 109]

Had to speak to the salesman today about an unrelated matter and asked him about this particular part #. The part that he was talking about and the part that I was looking for were 2 completely different things. He was looking at a kit that included a mounting bracket and speakers.
So now, he'll get me the correct part at the correct price and I don't have to pay $14.50 extra to ship it from Coleman to me. However, I did bookmark Coleman for future references.

 

[JJZ 109]

Half way there on tractor stereo. Speakers installed today, stereo purchased but awaiting mounting bracket from Kubota this coming week.
Question: When I had the headliner out today, I noticed a connector up toward the windshield with 7 little flat pins in it. Would this have anything to do with the Kubota radio bracket?
Once again, thanks for the little step by step on headliner removal, WaxMan. It went just as you said and I'm sure that I would have missed some small items like the screw in the fresh/recirculate knob. I got the diameter measurement from the speaker paperwork, got a piece of cardboard, some string and a marker and made myself a little template. Although I wasn't sure it was the smart thing to do, I went to town with the Rotozip and then it was off to the races.
A boy and his faithful golden retriever spending the day in the garage with the Kubota, what could go wrong?

 

[WaxMan]

If it's on the right front it is for the radio, my plug was cut off when I bought mine had a different radio installed, I think the red yellow and black go to the radio power, don't worry about the other wires. since your speakers are now in the headliner you will just be running the new wires straight back.
Leave the plug end there and tap into the red -power black- ground yellow- ignition switch but wait for your radio instructions and test these wires with meter before hooking up because I'm not sure.

You know, once the headliner is down only 10 10-mm bolts hold the roof on , it then lifts right off.
Running lights, But i would wait a little bit on those make sure you want them. 785.00 for a new roof.
And don't forget the gauges

 

[JJZ 109]

If it's on the right front it is for the radio, my plug was cut off when I bought mine had a different radio installed, I think the red yellow and black go to the radio power, don't worry about the other wires. since your speakers are now in the headliner you will just be running the new wires straight back.
Leave the plug end there and tap into the red -power black- ground yellow- ignition switch but wait for your radio instructions and test these wires with meter before hooking up because I'm not sure.

The plug is on the right front, very near the antenna wire. I already attached speaker wires and ran them toward the front. I coiled up a little excess and it lays up in the headliner just to the left of the heat/AC controls.
It'd be nice if I can use those factory wires as you say. That way the receiver/CD/iPod jack will only be powered when the key is on but the clock and radio memory will have constant power. I have the unit out in the garage, will have to pull out the instructions and have a look-see.
I really need to get a shop manual. It might save me from posting a lot of questions on here.

 

[JJZ 109]

As a side note, today I did get online and purchase a shop manual for this tractor. Shop around if you decide to buy one. Someone on ebay was selling used ones for $80 plus shipping. You can do much better than that for new ones from some Kubota dealers online.

 

[JJZ 109]

I
Leave the plug end there and tap into the red -power black- ground yellow- ignition switch but wait for your radio instructions and test these wires with meter before hooking up because I'm not sure.

Will test the tractor wires for sure before installation to make sure what is powered and when.
The wires from the stereo are clearly marked. Red = accessory, yellow = battery and black = ground.
It would be nice if I could find some tiny spade connectors to crimp onto the stereo wires and then just plug into the the appropriate blades within the tractor plug. Would rather do that than to cut and splice, but that might be asking a little too much.
Does anyone have a pic of the 6C230-88110 bracket or of an installation using this bracket to help me visualize what I'll be doing?

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Hit up your local Auto parts store or Radio Shack for the blade connectors. Or even see if you can buy a few off a local car stereo installer. I am not a fan of cutting and splicing wires either.

 

[JJZ 109]

Hit up your local Auto parts store or Radio Shack for the blade connectors. Or even see if you can buy a few off a local car stereo installer. I am not a fan of cutting and splicing wires either.

NAPA just around the corner. I just don't think I'll find any of the spade connectors small enough to slide onto the blades within that plug. Pretty tiny blades and not a lot of excess room inside of that plug.

 

[WaxMan]

Here are some pictures of my bracket, but these are after I modified it , in the front of the bracket by the windshield there are two spacers attached to the bracket. I cut 1 inch off both of the spacers to bring the whole unit up tight to the headliner. After I did that I cut the box off and made a larger one to fit a double din radio, but still using the same Kubota mount.
I did this because I wanted my DVD / Backup monitor to stick down as little as possible.
So now my dvd player only hangs down 1 inch more in the front then the factory radio mount did.
All these pictures show the mount 1 inch tighter to the headliner in the front.
I don't know why Kubota wanted the front to hang down so much, the back of the mount is right up tight to the headliner why not make the front that way.
Also it tips the radio so you can see it better from the seat in the cab.
But try your mount the way it comes first, then check these pictures and the angle of the radio before cutting yours. see which way you like it better.

See what I mean about the Kubota mount , you would have a hard time making one with this nice of a fit from scratch. Unless your 4shorts, he wouldn't have any problem at all making that mount. He is the best I've seen at fabricating.

 

[JJZ 109]

So is the brass colored screw in the side of the unit what holds the stereo into the box? If not, what secures the stereo from rattling around?

 

[WaxMan]

JJZ 109
One more thing before mounting the speaker in the headliner I put a piece of 2 x1 x 16 or so inch foam inside the speaker cavity to seal it off from the rest of the headliner, the foam does not touch the speaker but makes a pocket behind the speaker, Do you know what I mean?
This makes the sound much bigger and fuller coming from the speakers.

 

[WaxMan]

So is the brass colored screw in the side of the unit what holds the stereo into the box? If not, what secures the stereo from rattling around?

Yes there is one on both sides and a hole on the bottom up front, Don't worry its a universal mount , you'll get it to fit secure.

 

[JJZ 109]

The two speakers that I've already installed are as far as I plan on going. Heck, I never thought I'd get this far into things and install a stereo, but I guess I'm drawing the line at 2 speakers. Will keep the foam trick in mind when the headliner is out again.
Hopefully the mount shows up early this week and I'll get this project knocked out. I'll dry fit it and see what I think, but I like the idea of a tighter fit to the headliner and a better angle for visibility.

 

[WaxMan]

You put the foam in after the headliner is up just take the speaker out and tuck the foam thru the speaker hole.
You did all the hard work already, the rest that you have to do is easy, the mount fits right up there, slide the radio in and your done.
You can do the foam next time the speaker's are out.
In the mean time try and find a couple of 4 inch square grills, the mounting holes will be the same as what you got already.
Do me a favor when you get the mount up there , take a picture I don't have one of the way it looked before i cut it down.

I got to hand it to you JJZ you did a lot of work yesterday, the lights , went shopping for a radio, remove the headliner and install speakers, a lot for one day
Good job.

 

[JJZ 109]

You put the foam in after the headliner is up just take the speaker out and tuck the foam thru the speaker hole.

The only problem there is that the speakers will always come out with the headliner. I used 6-32 x 1 1/4" stainless screws (the ones with heads visible on the grille in my pics) along with flat & lock washers on the back side to secure both speaker and grille to the headliner.
I installed the speakers into the headliner while the liner was laying on work bench. I held the hex nuts with pliers and turned in the screws from the other side.
I'll have to drop the headliner anyway (at least partially), to grab the speaker wires that I already pre installed (attached at speaker end) to attach them to the stereo.
Also, the speakers each have a little blue LED light in them. I didn't bother to run the separate wires needed to power them. It didn't matter much to me at the time. But I probably will go ahead and wire those lights to the accessory (key switch) wire that will power the stereo. Just another bit of "atmosphere" in the cab at night.
I'll throw the mount up there before any mods to it and get a quick pic for you.

 

[forester2]

In regard to the mini spade lugs, I tried taking thee smallest ones I had an grinding them to fit; found connection unsatisfactory.

 

[JJZ 109]

Decided to leave tractor side plug intact, but tap into the wires with the snap fit connectors with a blade inside that splice two wires together. The stereo plug is now wired up, just awaiting a bracket from Kubota so that I can install the unit itself.

Here you can see that the speakers have 2 sets of terminals. One for sound and one for the LED's within:

Next is shows how I ran wires across the top of the headliner, attaching them to headliner with a hot glue gun.

Last, it shows a speaker with LED lit up. (sorry, a tad fuzzy)

 

[WaxMan]

Looks cool, I'll bet you light up blue also, the neighbors are going to see that big grin on your face that usally goes hand in hand when driving a new B3030cab.

Pretty good though doubles as an interior light, wire it hot so you can turn them on/off without the radio on. put the switch neatly right above the door in the headliner it will be your dome light switch