8th Generation Honda Civic Forum - View Single Post - DIY: Permanent integrated iPod Dock (cheap mod!)

Ryan T · 10-04-2007, 08:22 AM

3 - Car Wiring
While this is all drying, you can head out to the car and start the knucklebusting part of the mod. Head out to the car with these tools:[list][*]Flathead and Phillips Head screwdriver[*]Channel Locks[*]Wire cutter[*]Wire Stripper[*]Electrical Tape[*]Taps[*]Hookup Wire[*]This guy

We’ll be using these to tap into your 12v Power under the dash and routing it to a handy-dandy little connector you can use to connect the modded bin to.

First of all you need to disconnect the screws and clips holding the center console in.
First, there are two screws below where the bin used to be. You’ll see four screws connecting the plastic parts to the shifter. You’ll want to undo the outer two. You can see one un-done here:

Next, remove the two screws under the rubber mat under the armrest.

Finally, you need to pop off the kickplate in the passenger footwell:

You can see on the left there, there’s a clip you need to pop off:

It’s the kind you have to pop the center out and then gently remove the whole clip.
There’s another one on the driver’s side, but it’s not covered up:

Now you go back around to the passenger side. Pull the plastic aside to look down the right side of the shifter, and you’ll see this:

That’s your 12v connector! Now, it’s connected to the Accessory Socket in the armrest so disconnect the plug from it, and slide the console back as far as you can; this will give you more room to work.

Make sure your car is off! Disconnect the negative battery terminal if you’re paranoid. But at least turn the car off (resist the urge to listen to the radio), because you’ll blow your fuse, and wonder why it’s not working later. Trust me. I did that. Anyhoo . . .

Peel away the electrical tape and conduit from the wire, and using the taps, attach your hookup wire to the yellow and black wires.

Yellow = +12VDC
Black = Ground

Once you’ve attached your wires to honda’s, use electrical tape to seal off the taps and to take the stress off the taps, tape your wires to theirs.

Now reattach the plug to the rear accessory socket, and run your wires up about 12” to where they will be accessible even with the center console reattached. Clip them off here.
Now we come to that molex connector. I used a connector that has a male and female Molex connector on it (from a computer power supply. The particular one I used also had an extra two wires running out of it to splice in a fan to the power supply. I used these extra wires to provide power to my LED later.

Cut this adapter in half. Now you have a female connector with red, black, black, and yellow wires. Cut the red and black pair off short so they don’t confuse you. Also on this female connector, you should have two other leads coming out from the yellow and black. These will be connected to the LED. Set this aside for now.

Now you’re left with a male molex plug with four wires. Again cut the red and black pair short, and connect the yellow and and black pair to the hookup wire coming out of the dash.

Tape it off to make it nice and tidy, and you’ll have something like this:

Now, I used Taps (since soldering was out of the question in the car) to attach my 12V wires to the molex connector. However, had I been thinking, I could’ve soldered the molex plug to my wires in the house and pre-cut and attached them in the car. But I wasn’t.

Anyway, this basically completes your work inside the car. You can now start the car and test the connector with a multimeter for voltage.

10-04-2007, 08:22 AM	#7 (permalink)
Ryan T Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: South Florida Age: 28 Posts: 303 Ryan Trevisol	3 - Car Wiring While this is all drying, you can head out to the car and start the knucklebusting part of the mod. Head out to the car with these tools:[list][]Flathead and Phillips Head screwdriver[]Channel Locks[]Wire cutter[]Wire Stripper[]Electrical Tape[]Taps[]Hookup Wire[]This guy We’ll be using these to tap into your 12v Power under the dash and routing it to a handy-dandy little connector you can use to connect the modded bin to. First of all you need to disconnect the screws and clips holding the center console in. First, there are two screws below where the bin used to be. You’ll see four screws connecting the plastic parts to the shifter. You’ll want to undo the outer two. You can see one un-done here: Next, remove the two screws under the rubber mat under the armrest. Finally, you need to pop off the kickplate in the passenger footwell: You can see on the left there, there’s a clip you need to pop off: It’s the kind you have to pop the center out and then gently remove the whole clip. There’s another one on the driver’s side, but it’s not covered up: Now you go back around to the passenger side. Pull the plastic aside to look down the right side of the shifter, and you’ll see this: That’s your 12v connector! Now, it’s connected to the Accessory Socket in the armrest so disconnect the plug from it, and slide the console back as far as you can; this will give you more room to work. Make sure your car is off! Disconnect the negative battery terminal if you’re paranoid. But at least turn the car off (resist the urge to listen to the radio), because you’ll blow your fuse, and wonder why it’s not working later. Trust me. I did that. Anyhoo . . . Peel away the electrical tape and conduit from the wire, and using the taps, attach your hookup wire to the yellow and black wires. Yellow = +12VDC Black = Ground Once you’ve attached your wires to honda’s, use electrical tape to seal off the taps and to take the stress off the taps, tape your wires to theirs. Now reattach the plug to the rear accessory socket, and run your wires up about 12” to where they will be accessible even with the center console reattached. Clip them off here. Now we come to that molex connector. I used a connector that has a male and female Molex connector on it (from a computer power supply. The particular one I used also had an extra two wires running out of it to splice in a fan to the power supply. I used these extra wires to provide power to my LED later. Cut this adapter in half. Now you have a female connector with red, black, black, and yellow wires. Cut the red and black pair off short so they don’t confuse you. Also on this female connector, you should have two other leads coming out from the yellow and black. These will be connected to the LED. Set this aside for now. Now you’re left with a male molex plug with four wires. Again cut the red and black pair short, and connect the yellow and and black pair to the hookup wire coming out of the dash. Tape it off to make it nice and tidy, and you’ll have something like this: Now, I used Taps (since soldering was out of the question in the car) to attach my 12V wires to the molex connector. However, had I been thinking, I could’ve soldered the molex plug to my wires in the house and pre-cut and attached them in the car. But I wasn’t. Anyway, this basically completes your work inside the car. You can now start the car and test the connector with a multimeter for voltage. Last edited by Ryan T; 10-05-2007 at 12:46 PM.