I just picked up a 12-disk CD Changer to mount in the rear hatch of my 96 Firebird. I find that the wiring harness comes up about 1 to 2 inches "too short" to mount the unit flat and squarely in the designated space. I'm forced to turn it to the side some degrees thereby making access to the ejecting cartridge difficult. My question is can this CD unit be mounted "upside down" or vertically sideways and still function properly? I expect I may have to fashion a custom mount for this, but wish to know my options in function before diving into it.

 

I recommend you pull off the hatch trim panel and possibly the sail panel trim and work to get the harness to reach where it should. It may be tangled or hung up on something but it should reach the changer when mounted flat in the correct location. Did you remove all of the tape that held it to the rear speaker harness and pull it down so that it doesn't loop through the speaker harness?

 

Yes, sir. I unwrapped all the tape and stretched the wiring out as straight and as far as it would reach; even carefully pulled on the harness for any slack that may be ahead inside the paneling. But it still comes up just a bit "short" when plugged in to the unit to sit flat and straight. Have to turn the unit about 40-45 degrees toward the rear to sit flat on the shelf. Seems I have to either mount it upside down (easiest option to do), or turn it vertical with a custom mount, or build a raised shelf under the unit to face it squared.