greengrover

Hi all,

I'm new to the forums and have had a look at many, many threads. I haven't seen a DIY for installing an aux input/bluetooth on a 1998 Civic.

I currently have the OEM radio and a tape deck below the radio, just above the cup holders. I was thinking of taking out the tape deck and putting in a converter that would allow an aux input. I would also like bluetooth for my iPhone 4, but haven't found a good solution yet.

Has anyone had any similar experience? Suggestions?

Does anyone have a DIY w/ pics for removing the tape deck? Do you think I could find a panel to put in place of the tape deck hole?

Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Newfiedan

The pac audio interfaces work very well for this if you want to retain the factory deck but with the civic you have I would recommend just changing out the radio for an aftermarket with these features built in as its about the same cost and it will make the factory setup sound better. You can install it yourself in about an hour. Check out cruthcfield.com if you in the US of crutchfield.ca in canada for the better deals.

greengrover

I've read that the keyless entry and domelight both run through the OEM radio... so I'm reluctant to take it out.

Newfiedan

they do not run through the radio they feed off the same power wire, its not an issue, replacing the deck will not cause any issues at all trust me I have done lots of them including my own just get the adapter plug and attach it to the stereo wiring and ur done its simple just match the colour codes together if you get confused then just let me know I will walk you through it. There are a ton do diys on this, it will not be an issue.

fx6893

I know this is a dead link, but for future reference here is my experience with this issue.

I have a 1997 Civic DX with stock radio, no cassette player. I’ve tried a few methods for adding an auxiliary input (aux-in) for using a portable mp3 player or ipod, and have rated them on a ten-scale for effectiveness. The specific items I’ve tried are all available online; I’d suggest googling them for pics.

First I tried using a FM transmitter, specifically the Scosche FMT4R, which uses AAA batteries. This method doesn’t work very well. There is too much static, signal fades in and out as you drive, sound quality is poor even when signal is near perfect, and volume isn’t high enough at high speeds. Cost is 20$, effectiveness grade is 3 out of 10.

Next I tried hooking a simple direct line auxiliary jack to the back of the stereo, specifically the Alpine KCM-123B. There is an 8-pin M-BUS input on the back of stereo head unit which is there for an optional cassette deck. But this method does not work at all, because the head unit does not normally recognize that anything is plugged into the M-BUS unless it is grounded. When you press the CD/TAPE button on the head unit, nothing happens, because the head unit assumes that nothing is there. Cost is 10$, effectiveness grade is 0 out of 10.

Not ready to give up on that M-BUS input, I purchased a more sophisticated cable with integrated electronics, which compensates for the lack of a ground, specifically the PIE Hon-Aux. This also requires an RCA to stereo 3.5 mm adapter cable, which some ebay sellers include for free. This method works the best, sound quality is excellent. One minor problem is that when CD/TAPE button is pressed, and mp3 player is not actually on, there is some light feedback noise, but again this is minor. Cost is 45$, effectiveness grade is 9 out of 10.

Note that if you happen to have the optional cassette deck installed in your car, you can just unplug it at the head unit to use that jack for your aux-in - who needs a cassette player these days, anyway? You may also be able to plug the aux-in into the back of the cassette deck (there may be another 8-pin input), but you’re on your own, there.