Help installing new HU into 92 Civic DX

[deejay face]

hey all, i have a question:

i just bought a Pioneer DEH-1600 and i am thinking about installing it myself. i have a wiring harness, but i think i need a mounting kit and maybe an antenna adapter...not sure about that one. the mounting kit will probably cost about $15.

what i need to know most importantly, is how to go about taking the factory tape deck out of the dashboard so i can install the new head unit myself, and save $50 in labor...???

thanks in advance,

deejay face

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[Slody4Futbol 10+ year member]

take out the 2 screws below the radio holding the top of the ashtray thing... take out 1 screw from the lower part of the console on each side and remove the console... remove the 2 8mm bolts holding the rear of the radio and then slide the radio out from the front

 

[deejay face]

awesome! thanks for the response slody!

 

[deejay face]

ok so i pulled out the ashtray console and unbolted the deck and pulled it out. that was real easy--thanks for that.

i spliced the new wiring harness to my new pioneer HU without any problems. plugged it in and it works fine.

i only have 2 problems now: 1) the civic's factory antenna connector has a thin wire at the end, whereas the pioneer connector looks more like a headphone jack. so i need to strip the civic wire i guess and mount the pioneer's connector somehow.

2) the only other problem is that the pioneer (DEH-1600) is a bit small compared to the space in the dash. it's narrow enough so that only one of the two locking mechanisms on the sides of the HU will click into the dash. and there was no way to secure the HU into the dash with any bolts or screws. so pretty much i need to take the face plate off if i'm in the ghetto since the whole thing can just be ripped right out...

any ideas?

 

[desi_daru 10+ year member]

1) get antenna adapter? to convert the stock one to the one that ur pioneer hu uses

2) not 2 sure on this, but is it just sitting in there with 1 screw holding it in?

 

[Slody4Futbol 10+ year member]

ummm.. no honda needs an antenna adaptor... make sure you are plugging it into the correct spot... there is a small headphone looking jack on most pioneer's... but the antenna wire is the same... just make sure you align the pin with the hole when you push it in...

and you did use the cage that came with the radio right? take it off the radio... push it in the dash... then using a pick tool or a flatblade screwdriver... push in as many of the tabs as possible... that will hold the cage in... then slide your radio in til it clicks into the cage

 

[deejay face]

thanks for the help guys.

as for the antenna, i thought i tried just inserting the wire antenna into the pioneer jack, but it didn't seem to want to stay in place. and the antenna adapter that came with the pioneer fits in perfectly.

as for the HU cage, i suspected that may be the case, as the guys at Best Buy told me it didn't need any mounting kit.

thanks again for all the help. this is a great forum...anyway, i'll work on this tomorrow as i have class all day today.

peace

 

[deejay face]

ummm.. no honda needs an antenna adaptor... make sure you are plugging it into the correct spot... there is a small headphone looking jack on most pioneer's... but the antenna wire is the same... just make sure you align the pin with the hole when you push it in...
and you did use the cage that came with the radio right? take it off the radio... push it in the dash... then using a pick tool or a flatblade screwdriver... push in as many of the tabs as possible... that will hold the cage in... then slide your radio in til it clicks into the cage

ok so i took a closer look at the radio i pulled out of the dash and i don't think that there's any sort of cage. here's some pictures of exactly what i pulled out of the dash. i took out some screws, and some of the metal casing, but that just strips the thing down to the circuit board..

top view

bottom view

left view

left view

rear view

any ideas? i'm not really sure what to do at this point...

thanks much.

 

[ZeroSktr56 10+ year member]

The cage would be with the Pioneer HU, not the Honda deck, as slody said you put the cage in first. push in the tabs to secure it, and then slide the pioneer in until it clicks on both sides. oh and the cage comes in the box with the HU already in it, so you'll have to take it out first to put it in the car.

Edit: whoops I basically just repeated all of what slody4futbol said...

 

[deejay face]

hmmm, well i bought the pioneer HU used on ebay so i guess the guy didn't include it

that explains it! thanks!

looks like i'll be buying this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5747100171&fromMakeTrack=true

 

[Slody4Futbol 10+ year member]

why don't you just head up to circuit city or best buy or somethin and see if an installer has a cage laying around that you can give him a few bucks for...