"Bill" wrote in message
...
I bought a 97 Civic recently, with a stock stereo. This unit has an
option for a separate CD player, which plugs into the back of the
factory stereo.

I would like to use this connector to plug an iPod into the radio. I
would like to connect/hard wire a wire into this, with standard 3.5mm
jack on the other end, to plug into my iPod/mp3 player

A part is available, called a PIE auxiliary interface, but it costs
$50 to $70. It's more than just a cable, it also has a box, but I
can't tell if the box has any electronics, or if it's just cables and
connectors.

http://www.logjamelectronics.com/piehonaux.html

Question: How can I directly connect a cable to the aux connection in
the back of my factory Civic stereo? Does anyone know if this would
work by just connecting the wires correctly? Do you know if any
electronics would be needed to connect the Ipod to stereo? Does anyone
have any (or seen any) DIY instructions on how to make this work?

My stereo has a 8P DIN socket, like in the picture on that web site.

Thanks for any help you can give,
Bill

I don't know about the specifics of the connector on your radio, apart from
saying that it must be capable of taking standard line-level in, if it's for
hooking to a separate CD player. This is fine for what you want to do, as
the iPod's headphones output is well within the range of what is generally
considered to be 'line level', and of course, you can fine-tweak that using
the iPod's own volume setting. I use my iPod Touch all the time as a source
of test audio for hifis and amplifiers that I am repairing, and I use an
absolutely standard cable of stereo 3.5mm jack to 2 x RCA, obtainable from
pretty much any electronics / hifi store. Provided you can obtain the
correct plug to fit your radio, it should be a trivial soldering task to
graft it onto a cable with a 3.5mm stereo jack on the other end, or better
yet, if you can obtain a ready-wired adaptor cable to go from the 8 pin
socket on your radio to say 2 x RCA line sockets, then it would just be a
case of plugging them together. I dare say your local auto repair shop could
advise on what cables are available to fit your radio. Friend of mine
specialises in car stereo installation / replacement, and he stocks all
manner of ready-made adaptor cables to make his life easier.

Arfa