I have an Alpine CHMS-620 cd changer in my '93 940. My hope is to also operate it in my wife's '88 740.

It will be necessary to remove the 740's current radio and amp. Is replacing it with a CR-915 the easiest way to go?

The CR-915 appears to have no external amp therefore it should be easier to install and perhaps cheaper to buy.

Questions- Does the cr-915 operate the Alpine CHMS-620 cd changer?
Will the cr-915 fit in the 740 without modification?
If the above answers are yes does anyone have one for sale?

Thanks in advance,
John H from Downunder

John,

I'm in the same position as you. I'm also trying to install a CR-915 radio in my 740 and hook up an Alpine CHM-S620 to it.

CR-915 does fit 740, even the official Volvo accessories catalogue says so, and you can still buy them brand new from Volvo dealers (in fact I just did), for around AU$800 including a panel kit to fit 740 / 940.

However, for me to good news stops there. Wiring plug of the CR-915 is the dual small connector type, 10 pins on one connector and and 14 pins on the other, same as the 850 radios. This is different to the larger single 14 pin connector found on 940's (used on CR-814), and different to the rectangular 9 pin connector found on pre-'90 740's again! Here Volvo doesn't do a good job, they listed the adaptor wiring harness required to fit CR-915 to post-'90 740 as 1384859, but that's from the 9 pin rectangular connector to the old larger 14 pin connector found on the back of CR-815 (I used that to wire up my CR-814), but not for the new 14 pin and 10 pin connector on the back of CR-915.

I'm currently trying to find out which Volvo wiring harness will allow me to connect my CR-915 to my 740. I hope Volvo wouldn't list CR-915 as "available on 740" without providing the right wiring harness. If I can sort that out, I'll e-mail you the part number.

Alternatively, CR-814 isn't a bad radio either. I have a set I bought from eBay, it works perfectly in my 740 with wiring harness 1384859 and I've hooked up my Alpine CHM-S620 to it and it works quite well. At this stage I'd recommend CR-814 over CR-915, unless you want to be in the same mess finding the right wiring harness as me.

Will from Brisbane Downunder
'90 744 GL

The CR-915 will both fit in the 740 and operate the CHM-S620 Alpine changer if you buy an adapter from Peripheral Electronics or the like (VOL-ALP) which fits at the end of the cable.

I see the Alpine changers for sale on EBay up here; there are also discounters such as www.discountcarstereo.com that will sell you the entire package.

Steve it seems the SC811 has no external amp,operates the CHMS620 and may fit into the 740. Do you have any knowledge of it and if it is an option, which do you consider the best choice?

Thanks,
John H from Downunder

Thanks Steve.
John H from Downunder