Hi there. I am new to this forum so please forgive me if I am missing some kind of rules and regulations.

I own a Civic 2000 LX and because I have no tape deck and I don't like the sound of a FM transmitter, I would like to know if anyone can recommend a cheap alternative to using my Ipod in my car? I will be taking a long road trip soon and good songs will definitely help. I was thinking of an auxiliary cable connecting it to the back of my stereo but am not sure if there's an input for it and have no idea on how to take the stereo out.

My audio system in the car is really basic. AM/FM radio, an in dash cd player.

Can anyone help? If you have the same model or if you have done this before, I would appreciate you giving me some advice.
Thank you so much.

 

I did this with my 2000 ex. They sell an auxillary port in circuit city it should run you about $70 i think - it fits into the port for your 6 cd changer on the factory radio. If you walk to the part of the store where they sellcar audio stuff it should be hangingupand pick the honda one. It looks like a little gray box with 4 auxillary ports in it. Then just buy an auxillary wire at radio shack for like 10 bucks and run it through the bottom console behind your shifter. I cut a hole in the top of it because no one could see it and when i wasn't using it it fit in that space. Taking apart the dashboard will take about 20 minutes and its really easy you just have to remove a bunch of screws and put them back. You only need a phillips head and some zip ties if you choose.
This website will show you where all the screws are : http://www.installdr.com/InstallDocs...PDF/466005.pdf
if you look at the first picture, where the pen is...thats where I ran the wire for the head phone jack - i cut a hole in the top part (right under the wires for the cigarette lighter once you take apart the dash).
I didn't disconnect my battery on the car so that option is up to you if you feel safer doing that. You don't need to follow the directions to take the radio out. You can just take apart the dashboard stuff and then reach your hand up behind your radio (behind the metal frame)...you will feel a plastic connector that connects the radio to the car...and then on YOUR right - next to that port is an empty port that is about 3/4" wide (thats the cd changer port)...thats where the white connector on your auxillary adapter will fit in...you can just stick your hand up and plug it in - then plug in the cord for it ....and then zip tie the adapter to the metal frame under the stereo so it doesn't move around (shown in step 11) you don't need to go farther than step 10because you don't need to remove the radio. then you screw everything back up and run the wire however you want. it sounds and looksa lot morecomplicated then it is... the whole process should seriously take like 20 minutes. Then you will have sound from your ipod in your car speakers with no static. This connection has nothing to charge your ipod so you will have to have a separate charger, it just goes in the headphone port. I've used this for about 2 years and the ipod doesn't really die because there are no transmitters using its battery power.

so just unscrew, plug in and rescrew the pieces back together. I'm sorry i don't know the name of the adapter becausei got a new car, but they still have them, or youmight see a different type that you like, either way that website should be all you need.

 

Dear jerd,

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I really appreciate you taking the time to explain this step by step instructions to me. Thank you for your willingness. I will print out the link that you sent me and also try to see if I can do it myself. I don't know anything at all about cars that I am afraid to do the wrong thing. Not knowing the right term for each thing also can hinder me from doing stuff but I will read it and see how I can do it.

This might be a stupid question ...you mentioned that you didn't disconnect your battery..I don't get this..Can you please explain?

 

If you are going to mess with your radio or your dashyou should reallykeep your car off and disconnect your car battery so that it kills the electric and you don't get electrocuted by accident. It also tells you to unplug the lighter and remove that panel, (step10 on website) but i just moved it to the side while it was still connected. All these decisionsare entirely up to you or someone who knows how to do that for you. I would definately make sure your car is off!

taking the dash apart is easy - you just have to unscrew the two sides so that you can get the middle part to pop out (where the lighter is) and once you expose that section, you can plug in the AUX adapter into the cd changer port on the back of your radio.

The wire you can get from radio shack is just a regular headphone auxillary wire. It has the red and white auxillary plug on one end, and the headphone jack on the other end. its the same asplugging your ipod into your stereo's speakers, but you are using your car's instead. You can buy that wire atany store that has ipods really, but they might cost like 30 bucks or more like all ipod accessories.Igot it atradio shack because it was cheaper and it was black instead of white like it is at electronic stores. They also sold it in a 3ft instead of a 6ft cord.

Once you plug in the adapter, you can hit your cd button until the display shows the cd changer mode.And on one of the "discs" it will play through your speakers.

The adapter should come with directions on how to plug it in and get it to play on your radio. Then itwill probably be easier to understand. I just explained the main concept of it....they should give you more pictures withit.The only annoying and challenging thing really was trying to find where all the screws were. And then be prepared to be leaning halfway out of your car unscrewing them all. Give yourself some time in daylight just to be sure - the middle part of the dash above the shifter is a pain because you have to reach up there- you don't want your dashboard to be in pieces if you have to drive at night. You can take some time to decide where you want the wire to go. When its plugged it you can ziptie it to the frame, but make sure you have enough room to screw your dash back together.

Step 13 kind of shows you what the connectors will look like. The one on the adapter you wll buy won't be as wide as that one...but it will fit into the port next to that one...so if you get a flashlight and look up there you should see it plugged in...and then you can plug the adapter in by touch. You don't need to go that far in the steps unless you can't fit your hand up there.

I can't seem to find the adapter on the website, but i know circuit city should still carry them. You need the one that plugs into the cd changer port on a factory radio. They are separated by car brands.

The adapter you want to buy looks kind of like this one: http://ipodcarparts.com/honda-ipod-i...put-p-194.html
I definately didn't pay that much for it (nor would I) and the one i bought was more basic than that one...but the shape is basically the same...and it might actually be from the same manufacturer but i don't remember

this is the kind of wire you want, but i woudn't buy it from apple: http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...nplm=TN983LL/A

all in all it should hopefully cost you less than 100 bucks, but the sound quality is the same as listening through headphones or yourstereoso its worth it.

Good luck!!

 

Dear Jerd,

Thank you for your input. Sorry it took me a while to write you back. Weather has been extremely chilly lately. I will get on to this once I have the time. Thank you again for explaining and answering my questions.

Sincerely,
Sitegia