Car Stereo Installation for '98 Honda Accord
Mar 08 '00
This is to help all people trying to "do-it-yourself." I had never installed anything related to an automobile, if I did it, you can do it as well. I have a 1998 Honda Accord Sedan EX. It came with a the stock double DIN stereo/CD player. Before the Honda, I had a SAAB 900 Turbo that had a cassette player and a CD Changer. The Honda did not have a cassette player, and I drive alot and have alot of books-on-tape, so I needed a cassette player (and I did not want to pay for the Honda cassette player that mounts underneath the radio - it looks awful). So, I decided that I would buy a new cassette player with CD changer controls, and buy a CD changer. Because I am married, and my wife doesn't believe in any of this, I had to make sure that I did not spend alot of money to do this. On the other hand, I have extremely discriminating tastes, and usually can't stand it unless whatever it is that I get is the best or close to it. So I had a dilemma, which led me to the web to search for great equipment at bad equipment prices. I checked every store in town first (i live in Athens, GA). I went to Best Buy, Hi Fi Buys, Circuit City, a few specialty car stereo places, but everything that was of good or great quality was too expensive for what my wife would allow. So, I searched about 50 or so different sites until I found a few that seemed respectable and offered great prices on good quality equipment. They are:
www.audio-n-more.com
www.audio-warehouse.com
www.imall.com/stores/soundcityoutlet//
I bought a Pioneer KEHP780 In-dash single DIN cassette player with CD Changer controls for $189.00. It has the flop-down face that is removable, several pre-programmed EQ settings, disc titling features (if you have a CD Changer connected), 45 watts of MOSFET power, and many other features you find on most higher-end head units. I decided to go ahead and get the CD Changer, and for that I chose a Pioneer Premier 6 disc changer (I believe it was a model number P656 - or something like that).
Note: the Pioneer changer is one of the smallest in the industry, yet it would not fit properly in the glove box of the Accord. I did not want to put it in the trunk as I have had trunk mounted changers before and they are really inconvenient. So, my only other option was to install it in the center console. Unfortunately, the cables that connect the changer to the head unit are on the bottom of the changer, so sitting it inside of the console (with the opening where the cartridge goes facing up) would not allow for a proper fit. The reason for the improper fit is because the center console armrest has two compartments: The first is a shallow compartment with coin holder and tray, which is on top of the deep compartment that now houses the changer. I had to remove the first compartment completely (which is attached from the inside to the armrest portion of the center console) so that the changer would fit and the lid would close.
It was actually fairly simple to install the changer. I ran the cables underneath the center plastic facia (where the shifter, emergency brake, etc. are) of the car, then up and behind the stereo. I unscrewed the two screws beneath the dash (right underneath the stock radio). I popped the clock/hazard light piece out of the dash (use a flat-head crew driver), and unscrewed the screw that holds the dash at the top (behind the clock/hazard piece). Then, I grabbed the dash center piece with both hands by the air vents and pulled. It came out with little effort, and then I unplugged all the connections for the air conditioning and the existing radio.
I removed the four screws holding the stock radio. I took the adapter kit that I bought (Brand: Scoche), and put the radio sleeve into the adapter, and then screwed the adapter into the same place (using the same holes) the stock radio was in. Make sure that when you put the radio sleeve into the adapter opening, you bend the small metal prongs into place (it recommends a 90 degree angle, but that did not work for me. I had to use a 45 degree angle when I bent them into place because at a 90 degree angle, the dash (the big piece that you had to remove to install all of this)piece would not go back on properly. After all of this, I began to add the adapter to the wires coming from the back of the radio. Obviously, I used the adapter so that I could, at a later date, easily remove the Pioneer radio and replace it with the stock radio when I get rid of the car. The adapter was fairly simple to attach. Once done, I plugged the adapter into the corresponding plug coming from the dash, and slid the radio into the sleeve, and down into the dash. I replaced the center surround piece, put the single screw back in the top hole, and then popped the clock/hazard piece back in. Lastly , I screwed the two screws back into the holes at the bottom of the center surround piece, and I was done. If have any questions about what I have said, or I wasn't clear about something, please email me and I will gladly clarify or tell you anything I can to help. If anything is misspelled, I apologize. I can spell, but I am used to spell checker and now I am lazy. My email address is chriswigley@home.com
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cwigley
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Member: Chris Wigley
Location: Athens, Georgia
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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