hi i'm a chick and i dont know anything about my stereo but the battery was unplugged and now my radio is asking for my code what do i do......i have a 1997 accord...please help a girl out guys.

 

First off you will have to have the radio serial # and vin # of you car and it's quite possible might to take it to the dealership......

 

That's about the quick of it V. With that info in hand; the dealership will need only about 10 minutes to scare it up from Honda. If you're fortunate enough to have the original Owners' Manual-- some dealerships actually marked it on either the 2nd or next to last pages. You might just luck out.
It's either that or someone's going to have to pull the Radio for the SN#

Hopes this helps

P

 

Look in your glove box and search around for a credit card sized card and it should have your anti theft number and your serial number. If not look around your glove box to see if you have a small rectangular sticker with a 6 or so digit code on it.

 

5 Digit code for the '97's

...Had to scare up mine yesterday

 

If you bought the car new you should have a card with the number on it. Mine is in my wallet. Unfortunatly the one for my 92 (which was sold two years ago) is in there too. I hope he thinks to give me a call if he needs it, because I don't even remember his name.

 

That's SOOooooo not right

P

 

When he came to pick up the car I completely forgot about the radio card. I guess that's why a lot of used accord owner's don't have the code. I have mine though. Oh well, that's life.

 

i've never heard of a radio code before...interesting. probably helps that i have an aftermarket Cd player then.

 

It's kind of dumb, if you ask me. Like someone wants to steal the factory radio from a honda. They would probably catch hell trying to make it fit any other type of car. And if the owner ever changes the battery or looses power for any reason. He better have the code, or the radio will not work. They should stop making them with the anti-theft crap.

 

Actually, Honda OEM Radios' share the same chassis dimentions as every standard aftermarket radio chassis. It is refered to as a DIN Chassis.
In addition, several aftermarket Radio Manufacturers have since started adding anti-theft disabling features (read that codes) on some of the high-end units.
Codes a pain? Yup.
But if you rummage thru your car's electrical system with any regularity, you might want to think of doing this.
I made up a substitute voltage sourse specifically for when I had to pull the battery. It consisted of 10 Nicad rechargable batteries made up for a 12 volt pack, wired to a cigarette lighter plug. Whenever I needed to pull or disconnect a battery, I plugged in the lighter unit, the radio never knew the difference. Nifty little tool

 

I don't plan on disconnecting my battery too often. Is the radio the only thing that goes out when you disconnect the battery, or is there something else that would have to be reset? Clock, I guess, anything else?

 

The ECM (Engine Control Module) has to be re-educated (or in the correct vernacular, relearned), but that's no more involved than starting the engine and letting it warm up until the cooling fans first cycle.
And as you mentioned, the clock

P

 

Yep this happen to me too. but I manage to contact the dealer , then they gave me the code, but I have to drive my car to the dealer with all my proof, they will not give you that 5 digits over the phone

They want radio serial number too. If you don’t have that anywhere written then we have pull the radio out.

If you can’t prove that car is yours then only one way to hack it (If you have no electronics experience ), you must find a radio buddy, and power each stage of the radio circuit, ex: RF input, CD player, channel scanner, pre Amplifier, and output Amplifier ( that means we have to bypass that security chip).

Otherwise it will be very difficult to erase that OTP (one time programmable) hard coded radio code.

I am pretty sure there is a way to do that

Not a good reply but good electronic project. (But I don’t know is legal – what is legal anyway – speed limit)

Ujhonda

oh I like p_adams cigarette lighter plug idea, I am gonna make one my self.

 

get your s/n and i will tell you the code.

hey P they sell a little cig lighter plug with a plug for 1 9v batt to use may be easier then nicads. its like 5 bucks from any tool dealer!works great i have at work

 

ooo man is that easy ? Thanks JTB
I am so glad that came to honda-tech.com, the best info, and nice people

 

on that accord its like a 5 min job if youve done a few if its the first time its more like a 20 min job either way its very easy! give it a try and get the s/n

 

Yeh, I've heard of them. They came along long after I cobbled together mine.
But I've a question.
You suffered no ill effects when your alkiline battery saw a higher voltage trying to charge it?
That's why I chose Rechargable NiCads; I could connect them with impunity, leave them connected, even after performing repairs, and the only thing I had to deal with?, a fully charged battery; ready to go for next time.
And I never had be buy replacements.

P


Modified by P_Adams at 2:41 AM 11/18/2005

 

Dear Adams: I have a little question about this.
When we attach cigarette lighter plug with 12V external power pack, I think there is a voltage overload and that can harm sensitive electronics, right?

Now I am wearing my thinking cap, one way to avoid is: as soon as we plug cigarette lighter remove negative cable from the car's main battery?

or better solution would be, attach solid state relay to one side of that battery pack, so that even if we plug battery pack it will not supply any power, unless car's main battery disconnected.

Sorry: if I am thinking too much.

Ujhonda

 

p the 9 volt is only good for 4 or 5 uses and its not rechargeable so i dont leave it connected after the rapair is done. the nicads sound nifty

and uj why would there be an overload? u r using a 12v booster pack right?

 

Everything in todays non-military (24V) vehicles is designed to operate in a voltage range of 9.5 (low end) to 14.2 volts (high end max).
9.5 volts appears to be at which point the ECM can no longer fire off the injectors, and the engine quits. 14.2 volts is the high volt limit found mostly when a healthy Alternator recharges an almost dead battery.
The low limit has been tested and verified by your's truely on several occations when vehicles of different manufacturers lost their alternator / or / belt while limping home with varying degrees of success.

P

 

So if the car battery is still connected and you plug in 12 volts of nicads it won't overload anything right?

 

Nope. Cuz the battery supplies 12.2 to 12.5 volts just sitting there, and as long as your battery back-up tool is wired <U>positive to positive</U>, nothing will happen.
The electricity will flow from highest voltage source to the lowest.

IE: Say your BB-U tool has discharged from use, and now has only 10.6volts. Plugging it into the cigarette lighter (to 12v) will in effect connect the two. What will happen is the car battery will try to charge the BB-U tool until the voltages equalize.
The only cravat to all this: disconnect the BB-U unit b4 starting the car. The alternator output could be too high for the Ni-cads, and they could overheat.

 

That's cool huh huh.....huh huh.... Oh sorry, just saw bevis and butthead.

 

Yes JTB it’s a 12V DC power adaptor (wallmart) planning to solder into a cigarette lighter Adams thanks for clearing that up for us

Ujhonda