Hi,

I just ordered a new head unit which should come with the iPod adapter. I went to Circuit City and they said if I took out my old head unit beforehand and had my new one ready to be installed they could do the iPod adapter hookup for $18. Does anyone know what is involved in hooking up the iPod adapter so that the iPod can be controlled from the headunit? I should be able to get the old head unit out, but I have no idea how to start with putting in the adapter. I would like to have the adapter placed where I can just open my glove box and connect the iPod from there. Or, if anyone else has suggestions on convenient places to have the adapter wire run, feel free to post. If the iPod wiring and setup isn't that difficult, I would like to try and do it myself. Thanks in advance for the help!

 

We would need to know what kind of HU and what kind of iPod adapter.

MM&Y of car wouldn't hurt either. 94

 

it is a Pioneer hu with cd-i200 adapter

i am trying to hook this up in a 95 civic

i just need to figure out how to run the adapter to the glove box (or any other convenient location) .. so once the head unit and adapter are installed, all i need to do is plug the iPod into the adapter in the glove box

i believe i can get thru the hu installation, just not sure how to run the wire thru to the glove box

or, if it is just worth it to pay $18 for someone else to do it then maybe ill let cc take care of it

thanks for the replies

 

ha, sorry i didnt read your last post carefully.... on my crx and my integra, the glove box can be removed. with like a couple of screws on the bottom, and one more to hold an arm that helps it go down slow.... as far as the hu goes.. its all open back there.. you should be able to just take the other end... find a place under the dash to run it or zip tie it to run it next to the blower motor, etc... fish it behind the glove.. and you should be good, no need to cut or anything.. it should open and close with enough slack....

 

This will help with the HU install... http://www.installdr.com/Insta...7.pdf

Once stock HU is out it will be apparent how you can run the lead for the iPod adapter.

As mentioned, the glove box is easy to remove, however I would drill a hole in the top or upper back or drivers side to run the plug into the glove box, just make sure that the hole is in a spot that is clear when the glove box is in place. 94

 

hey thanks for all the help and input guys - i appreciate it!

i know my friend got his installation done at circuit city and he has his iPod hooked up in his glove box, but i forgot to look to see if they drilled any holes

i assume theres no way to hook it up through the glove box without drilling - if thats the case, ill try and find a suitable hole to drill where it wont be noticeable .. or, if theres a way without drilling feel free to let me know

the head unit won't come for a couple days, but when it does ill try and do my best to make everything work

ill have to take a look at my friends setup again, but if it looks like i wont be able to make my setup look as clean and professional, ill consider simply paying $18 to have it done - but most likely i will try to do it myself first and see where that takes me

thanks again guys

 

so i guess sony has one, ipod bus input, it works alright, but it still cleaner then using aux. i still didnt drill holes.. just ran it behind the bar that glove box is screwed into on the bottom, up and over, the glove opens and closes fine. gl

 

For $18 they're just going to do what projektCRX just said and try to zip tie it to something so it can't fall behind the dash. That's what we do over here at BB most of the time. But if the dash kit comes w/ a pocket I'll put a hole through there (not in your case).

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by suspendedHatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">For $18 they're just going to do what projektCRX just said and try to zip tie it to something so it can't fall behind the dash. That's what we do over here at BB most of the time. But if the dash kit comes w/ a pocket I'll put a hole through there (not in your case).</TD></TR></TABLE>

hmmmm... i never thought of that, thats hella clean too, you dont have to open the glove to grab your ipod.. good lookin out.. ha.

 

Yeah, I got the other guys here doing it too. Unibit FTW.

Some of the ipod cables ie Pioneer have a little piece that has to be snapped off the end and then reattached so that it will fit through a reasonably sized hole.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dllm &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">its called an aux input noob</TD></TR></TABLE>You need to go away, a no0b calling a no0b a no0b. 94

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dllm &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">its called an aux input noob</TD></TR></TABLE>

Who the hell are you talking to like that???

 

thanks for the replies guys

I just got the head unit in but haven't started with the installation yet

thanks for the installdr instructions, fcm - they should help a lot
however, i have an old pioneer head unit right now in the car, and i hear one of the toughest steps, if not the toughest, is to find a way to get the old head unit out, since there is a cage that my old pioneer hu is secured into

in any case, if you guys know of good ways to pull an aftermarket hu out to be replaced, feel free to let me know

so far, this is my plan:

1. figure out a way to pull out old head unit
2. unplug the old snap-on wiring harness from old hu
3. (based on what i remember from the install of the old pioneer hu, the old pioneer wiring was secured with electrical tape) remove all tape and untwist all wires connected to old hu, and unplug any cables/plugs to completely free the old hu, set aside
4. remove old cage, insert new cage
5. snap new wiring harness into factory wiring harness, match wires
6. for each matched wire (each from new hu "connector" matched to end of new wiring harness), cut insulation 1/2 inch to expose wire, twist together, heat until melted together, secure with elect. tape


i have no idea if i am on the right track here or not - i glanced at the back of the new hu, and it has 6 input holes? (3 red, 3 white) im guessing i dont need to worry about those... then on the right side, there is a set of pins which look like will match with the connector with all the labeled wires. also on the right side, there is a multipinned "hole" sized and shaped like an ethernet cord slot on the back of a computer, and finally on the very right looks like the power source slot. not sure what some of these things are.

also, my old head unit didnt have a remote, but this one does, and so it has a remote wire... hopefully it should be obvious what to do with it when it comes time

possibly some of my questions will be answered when i actually can get the old head unit to come out

i will probably try and do the install this weekend, hopefully as early as fri.

if there's anything i left out or if you have recommendations let me know

thanks for all the replies and info

 

If the Pioneer was installed properly there will be a back support, you will need to undo it, if you do not have the "release keys" a pr of butter knives slid down each side of the HU between the cage/sleeve and the HU is usually enough to release the HU from the sleeve, you will have to push the HU from behind to slide it out.

The new HU will have a power/speaker harness, you will connect that to the harness adapter you remove from the Pioneer HU, butt connectors or solder and shrink tube is the best way to connect the adaptor and the new HUs harnesses together.

The 3 sets of RCA outputs, [red and white holes] are not used unless you are running off-board amps.

The "multipinned "hole" sized and shaped like an ethernet cord slot" will be the iPod adaptor cords plug in.

There will also be an antenna port on the back of the HU, not sure what the "power port slot" may be, what is the make and model of the new HU?

The remote wire, [blue and/or blue/white] is the control lead for off board amps and/or a power ant., BTW your old Pioneer has a remote control output also. 94

 

I have an old Pioneer DEH-1500 that I am going to replace with a Premier Pioneer DEH-P490IB (which I believe is the exact same thing as a Pioneer DEH-4900IB).

What is the easiest way to undo the back support?
Where can I find "release keys"?

I first unplug the old snap-on wiring harness, and snap the new one onto the vehicle's dash wire harness connector. Then I connect the new head unit's power/speaker harness to this new wiring harness. Is this correct?

Now, on installdr.com, I could not access the file titled "Soldering vs. crimping", and I do not have much experience with either.

Does it matter what thickness the solder I use is, as long as it has a rosin core? I found this site about soldering:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-J....html

I'm not sure if I am fully understanding step 3 in that site. If I interpreted it right, you take the solder iron and press it onto the twisted wires for a short time? Then, you take the solder iron off of the twisted wires, "dab the end with solder"? and press it back onto the twisted wires for another 20-30 seconds. Then, you take piece of solder wire and twist it at the joint of the two wires. Then you heat the wire - not the solder wire you applied - by placing the tip of the iron onto the part of the wires away from the joint. This then will heat the wire until the solder wire melts - then you let it cool and you are done?

Also, what are "butt connectors"? If Wal-Mart will do for getting thes, then I'll assume they'll have them for the cheapest price). Finally, out of the three you mentioned (butt connectors, solder and shrink tube), I assume just use any combination? I have no experience with shrink tube either, so I had to do some searching. If it is not crucial, then I will just solder the wires. If the shrink tube is not crucial, then I will leave it out. If it is crucial, I'll try asking around (probably people at mobile electronics stores) about how to do it properly. (I've already posted a lot of questions about an install that shouldn't be that complicated, so I don't want to keep bothering people with even more questions about something else.)

I think the "power port slot" is probably the antenna port then. How is it possible that my old Pioneer has a remote control output? It did not come with a remote. Anyways, isn't the wire labeled "remote" for the remote control, not for a power antenna? I could be wrong, but that's what I assumed it to be.

Once again, thanks for all the input, help and advice so far - sorry for so many questions!

 

OIC, the DEH-P490IB "PREMIER" HU... https://www.pioneerelectronics...2.pdf

It has a remote input, [for hardwired remote control] it also has the AUX. input.
The blue/white lead on the main harness is the remoteoutput, or control lead] it controls amps and power ant.

On a side note, one thing I don't like about some Pioneer HUs, is that they have only one remote output, I hate it that a power ant. has to be up when your listening to a CD or another source

I assume you have the soldering gun/pencil, soldering is the best connection you can make, you will need shrink tubeing. it's what you will use to cover the soldered connection.

If when you pull the old HU, you should have a set of release keys with the new HU, it was installed using a harness adapter, you do not need a new one, cut the old one off the old Pioneer and connect it to the new Pioneer HUs harness, but make all the connections, [no matter how you make the connections] on a bench/table.

If the HU was installed properly it will have been back-braced to the stock rear support bracket using metal "L" bracket much like the stock HU is held in place, see step #1 and #3 on page 3 of link, you will notice that the stock rear support, [#3] also has a hole/slot in the center of the support, even though the stock HU uses 2 machine screws to the left and right of center, aftermarket HUs use the middle one, Now wasn't that nice of Honda to supply us with that?, removing the back support should be as easy as removing the stock ones.

Soldering 101

You need a soldering gun/pencil that will reach 375 degrees F.
You need a wet wipe sponge, to keep the tip clean.
You need 60/40 resin core solder .040" diameter or thicker, but no thicker then your soldering tip.

Soldering is all about heat and transferring the heat.....

You have cut the Pioneers harness and the adapter harness to uniform lengths, you have stripped off a uniform 1/2" of insulation off all the leads, twisting the copper strands of the stripped wire tightly as you pull the insulation "sleeve" off the wire ends, you have pre-cut enough 1" long pieces of the proper sized shrink tubing, you have the solder a wet sponge and a clean "tinned" solder tip.

You will twist the two leads together, [lengthwise], twisting the wire ends together tightly and neatly, and not overlapping bare copper wire over the wire insulation, keep the twist inside the 1/2" of bare wire.

You will touch the twisted wires, [from underneath is best] with the end of the soldering iron, making as much contact as you can, you will add a tiny bit of solder to the iron right where it is touching the wire, this will help transfer the heat from the soldering tip to the wire, then touch the solder to the wire close to the soldering tip but do not touch the tip, when the solder "flows", [melts] keep adding solder but move the end of the solder to the opposite side of the wire that the soldering tip is touching, the solder will "flow" towards the heat of the soldering tip, move the solder back and forth off center on the wire and the solder will flow and "soak" the twister wires completely.
Kind of like the Crutchfield soldering link, although I have to say, that is the dirtiest soldering iron tip I have seen in a hell of a long time, the tip is not "tinned", [thin layer of solder on the last 1/8" or so of the tip, shiny silver in color], it is no wonder it takes 20-30 sec. for the heat to transfer, you can melt a drop of solder directly on to the tip, [no way it would "stick" to that cruddy tip], when you add the "drop" of solder to the tip when it is touching the wire it will flow onto the tip and into the twisted wire, heat transfer is almost instant, no more then 1-2 seconds, and solder will flow from the opposite side of the wire well within 10 sec., if not you do not have proper heat transfer, and with a tip like the one in the link, you will not get proper heat transfer.
I should have said all about heat and heat transfer and cleanliness, clean wire, clean tip, clean solder and a clean wipe sponge.

Oops, I forgot to mention to slide the shrink tubing on to the leads you are soldering before you solder, a heat gun/paint stripper works the best to shrink the tubing, but it can be done with a BIC. 94

BTW, don't worry, we love to be bugged with questions, or what would the point of the form be?

 

well thanks to all you guys for all the help

i plan on doing the installation today

quick question - i have a 95 civic that does not have a power antenna (i have the kind that you pull from the top part of the driver's side quarter). So, what does that mean as far as the blue and white "remote" wire? if the remote wire controls the off-board amps and/or power antenna like you mentioned earlier, then i assume you leave it alone? if the remote wire controls the remote control that comes with the new hu, then i will need some help

assuming that the two small l-shaped metal brackets are release keys, then I have some from my old pioneer as well as some from my new hu. i will try to remove the old hu shortly.

My new head unit came with a wiring harness for my vehicle. you said i don't need this new wiring harness, but just use the same one from my old hu? (i heard from a bb worker that pioneer has upgraded their products recently causing older model's harness adapters to become unusable with newer models) also, can i just make the wire connections from the pioneer harness to the adapter harness without cutting the wires to uniform lengths?

in either case, i will either make the wire connections from New pioneer hu harness to adapter harness (whether it is the old or the new adapter harness) on a flat surface somewhere.

ill update most likely during the process just to check if i am doing things correctly.

 

another thing - to make sure i understand you correctly - i take the release keys or butter knives and place on each side of old hu. i push from the back until the hu comes out. when i looked, i couldn't see if there was a l-bracket holding it in or not. i don't think there is. as far as i understand, there is nothing to unscrew then... just place the thin metal plates on each side and push?

 

You will not need the blue/white lead.

The hard wired remote control, [optional with your HU] plugs into the back of the HU, it has it's own little port.

The harness I am talking about is not the Pioneer harness, [the one that plugs into the HU] you will have to use the new one with the new HU, I am talking about the adapter harness, [the one that plugs into the cars radio plug, you can use the one on the old HU, if it does not have one, [old Pioneer HU was "hard wired" to the stock radio harness] you will not need a the adapter harness.

If you have the proper key, slide them in until they "click" then pull, HU should slid right out.

It would not surprise me that the old HU is not back braced, don't make that mistake, back brace the new one, did the new HU come with a back strap, if not get one, [metal]

Hint...
Instead of connecting the new HUs constant power, [yellow] to the stock radio constant power, instead, run a fused 12ga-10ga lead from the batt to behind the HU and connect the yellow to it, along with a metal back brace the HU will have better current supply and sound a lot better, especially at higher volume levels. 94

 

ok you can ignore my last post - i have removed my old hu! (Pioneer DEH-1500)

a few things:

- the blue/white, blue, and orange/white wires were not ever used, simply has electrical tape over exposed part of the wires
- all connections, as far as i can tell, were made by twisting the wires together and securing with electrical tape - no soldering that i can see
- if i remember correctly, installed about 4 years ago, no problems that i think originated from installation (only probs were maybe a year ago cd would get stuck sometimes when ejecting, and when changing from tuner to cd (source), it is a bit slow)
- so, i can still solder the new wires just to be safe
- no wires seem to have been cut, but then again, hard to tell how long they were beforehand
- black wire labeled "chassis ground" is directly wired from adapter harness to old hu harness - new hu has a metal clip intended to be connected to "paint-free metal" - should i just cut the new hu's black wire and wire it to the adapter harness like the old one?
- i guess i can remove the old cage as well, and insert new cage along with new hu
(old cage's outer side edges were slightly bent, but very minor - i assume this is normal)

ill continue to keep updating

 

what does the optional hard wired remote control do?

yes, the old one was installed with an adapter harness (since the hu already came with a new adapter harness, i could use it or just save it - but if i saved it it probably won't ever get used and it probably won't go for much if i try to sell it)

i don't think a back brace came with the head unit (nothing i have looked through in the shipping box and the pioneer box looks like a back brace), so i guess i can try to go to bb or cc to find one

i don't think ill be turning up the head unit to really loud volumes, so i think ill be satisfied with connecting the yellow to the stock radio constant power - but i appreciate your hint . if i had experience with running the fuse from battery, maybe id do it but i dont want to risk messing something up


again, ill keep you guys updated

 

The hard wired remote control will probably do what the wireless one does, I never could see the need for a remote control. [of any kind] for a car audio HU in the first place.

Connect all the leads from the new harness to the new adapter harness, the orange/white is an illumination input, it will dim the screen when you turn on the park/head lights.
The shortest lead on the new harness is probably the blue lead, cut all the leads on the harness to that length, and again connect all of them to the adapter harness, [color for color] even the blue one, or leave the insulated terminal on the blue lead, cut the rest of the leads one inch shorter and connect all but the blue lead, remove the blue lead from the adapter harness.

Find one of these... http://www.scosche.com/scosche...D=BS9 and make your "L" bracket out of some of it, some of the problems of not back bracing your HU are the ones you discribe your old HU is having.

If the lights/screen on the new HU do not dim when you are playing your HU, you can probably get away without the constant power rewire, keep in mind the HU fuse is a 10A, the fuse for the stock constant power is probably a 7.5A and it powers other things other then the HU. 94

 

thanks for the info

quick question (hopefully one of the last ones) - on the black wire from the new hu harness with the tiny metal clip, is it safer to cut the clip off and connect the black wire from this hu harness to the adapter harness ... or is it better to clip the metal clip to something metal?

if it is best to clip the wire to something metal, where can i find a good spot? i looked around for a screw for about 5 min, but couldn't find a screw behind the spot where the radio goes.

i have now matched, connected and secured w/ tubing all wires except for the blue/white and black wires. i believe my last step in wiring is to finish by either by connecting the two black wires (one from adapter harness, one from head unit harness), or take the black wire from the head unit harness and connect it to metal.

once i get that part done, i will remove the old cage, insert the new cage, and connect the adapter+hu harness assembly to the car's harness. i will then plug the iPod adapter into the back of the hu and run it behind the glove box. then ill plug both the hu harness and the antenna cable into the back of the hu and slide it into new cage and reassemble everything else. then i'll be done! (i think)

so the part i am stuck on now is the ground wire - whether to connect the black wires from adapter harness+hu harness - or whether to take the black wire from hu harness with the metal clip on the end and attach it to a screw somewhere.

thanks for all the help guys! im almost done!




Modified by jdmtyper00 at 10:32 PM 8/10/2007

 

I just did this, as far as the headunit goes, installdr helps you there. The iPod box, there's an easy alternative. That cubby hole, above the cupholders. It's useful. once you get the dash apart (to the extent that it need to be to replace the headunit) and take out the 3 or so screws that hold the center console in place. It comes right out, it's also clipped to teh cupholder unit, so be careful. (btw, in the back seat, it's the lower set of screws, not the top). The cupholder is help in by 4 screws, take them out. Go grab your dremel (or your unibit :-)) and cut a rectangular hole in the back of the pocket, with the short side on top. This allows you to run the end of the iPod cable into the cubby, but it won't come out unless you make it. As for the box, grab the two velcro strips that came with the thing, and stick them to the top of the pocket. Try to put them towards the firewall, because if you mount them too close to the cabin, the center console won't line up properly. As for the power, splice into the yellow wire on the headunit side of the harness, if it's a newer pioneer, it's a constant power. If you don't know how to do that, suspended hatch would love for you to read his alarm guide. The ground wire, pick a screw that you can get at. Only requirement:
It isn't a screw required in the dash removal. Connect the ip-bus wire to the only one it will fit in on the headunit. The other end, obviously goes to the box. My mistake:

The wire is blue, it must go in the blue port. it must! It's color coded! IT MUST IT MUST!

Had I actually red the markings on the box. the blue one was ip-Bus IN. You will realize your mistake when your iPod works, but doesn't produce any sound.

don't forget the most important part:

Enjoy!

 

Hi guys

I have finally finished installing the head unit

Everything seems to work fine - except that the console panel beneath the head unit can't be reassembled since there are a whole bunch of wires in the way.

I will try to take out the new head unit and hold the wires up somehow and then see if that will work - I'll do this sometime tomorrow hopefully.

Anyways, for the most part, installed and working

Thanks for all the help and support - take care all!