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

"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

On 11/01/2010 07:05, Bill wrote:
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

There would be electronics in the accessory adaptor pretending to be a
CD player, so that play/stop requests from the head unit are observed.

On my Philips car radio, I just got the schematic, figured out the
connections to it's internal audio selector switch IC (FM/AM/CD) and
interrupted one of these source connections with a small switch. I then
led screened wires out of the unit to my external player.

However, ye'd have to be careful not to overload or upset other circuit
specific conditions (DC offsets, grounding etc) in that area, and also
not to short out anything. It's a small risk of damaging a maybe costly
to replace bit of electronics (unless you can find a replacement radio
set from a clunker).

So, another attack vector may be to find (cheap, eBay clunker class) an
actual CD changer and make a connection there?

Or alternatively, why not treat yourself to a better equipped
replacement head unit?

--
Adrian C

On Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:05:05 -0800 (PST), Bill
wrote:

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.

There's probably some electronics inside the P.I.E. box to tell the head
unit that there's something there that can be switched to -- I assume it
masquerades as a CD player.

Depending on how much time you want to invest and your level of
expertise, it should be possible to reverse engineer what's going on at
the DIN connector. Alternately, there's a good chance somebody has
already done this and posted some info on the 'net.

Replacing the whole works is certainly an option. Be aware, though, that
the keyless entry for that generation functions through the stock radio.
There is usually enough room to secure the radio up inside the dash so
that it still has antenna and door-control connections, but the
installer won't necessarily be aware of that requirement.

--
Rich Webb Norfolk, VA

On Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:49:26 -0500, Rich Webb wrote:


Replacing the whole works is certainly an option. Be aware, though, that
the keyless entry for that generation functions through the stock radio.
There is usually enough room to secure the radio up inside the dash so
that it still has antenna and door-control connections, but the
installer won't necessarily be aware of that requirement.

Good point. I once did a stereo install on a grand am that had such a
setup. The dome light controller wasin the head unit! I ended up
pulling the board out of the old head unit and stuffed it in back
connected to the wiring harness sandwiched between to sheets of
cardboard.

Rich Webb wrote:
On Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:05:05 -0800 (PST), Bill
wrote:

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.

There's probably some electronics inside the P.I.E. box to tell the head
unit that there's something there that can be switched to -- I assume it
masquerades as a CD player.

Yes. The "AUX" button won't even work unless the "radio"
thinks there is something there "of interest".

Depending on how much time you want to invest and your level of
expertise, it should be possible to reverse engineer what's going on at
the DIN connector. Alternately, there's a good chance somebody has
already done this and posted some info on the 'net.

Most of those "somebody"s are folks trying to sell $100 boxes that
do this. :

Replacing the whole works is certainly an option. Be aware, though, that
the keyless entry for that generation functions through the stock radio.
There is usually enough room to secure the radio up inside the dash so
that it still has antenna and door-control connections, but the
installer won't necessarily be aware of that requirement.

It also can end up being a significant chore and runs the risk
of cosmetic damage right where you will see it most!