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LinkBack | Thread Tools | Display Modes |
06-29-2008, 01:12 AM
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#1 (permalink) |
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Junior Member
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DIY: Harman & Kardon Drive & Play ipod kit, cheap gps unit mount.
 I recently joined the site and yesterday I posted some pictures of my 2006 civic. After receiving a couple of toys I ordered a couple of weeks ago, I decided to do a custom gps mount for my Garmin Nuvi 230w and install the Harman & Kardon ipod interface to my vehicle..... WARNING....... lots of pictures!!! Well, first this is something I did a couple of months ago, I made myself a kit of door sills, how do they look?????? I will post a DIY guide on how to do this yourself...  Next, I removed the front dashboard panels and radio unit.....  as you can see on the top left corner, I had installed the display that comes with the Harman & Kardon kit, it displays all info, just like the ipod interface...  this is how the display looks from upclose, note that it matches the interior colors of the dashboard.   and another angle....  next this is the computer of the whole H&K ipod kit.. you have to find a spot where it does not interfere with any cables, or panels.. believe me on this one!! almost caused a short circuit... I chose the glove compartment because it gives me easy access to the cables if something gets loose. I originally had it underneat the factory radio where there is an empty space, but it was causing interference with the sound and the speakers. I guest it was because of the included fm wireless transmitter..   next, I took the wire from the display unit and ran it through the back of the radio panel and odometer display.  then passed it through the other side to get to the glove compartment...  this is the controller, it has a ring around the edge that when powered on it illuminates a cool blue like the rest of the car's interior lights.... Best of all it controls the same way as an ipod's click wheel... and I got the whole kit from Amazon for only 25.00 refurbished.....    now after you get all the cables to the glove box, its time to connect everything together... also forgot to mention that the unit gives you two options to power it. it comes with a 12v connector and a three wire cable to connect directly to the car's ignition..  this is how it looks once everything is installed.....   now you are wondering, how do you get the sound from the ipod to the car stereo?????  well the unit gives you two options to do that, like I said before, it has an fm transmitter built in, but most of the time you get interference and to be honest it just does not work... fortunately for us civic owners, we have an aux jack the unit does come with an audio out connection and a secondary one if you decide to connect another audio signal to it, it is to the side of the unit.  Now lets jump to the second installation, the GPS mount.... I originally I had the gps mounted on the windshield, however, since the civic has a "$%&#ing huge windshield, the mount that came with the gps was too small, and I had to stretch my arm to reach it, not a good idea while  .so I decided to make a cheap mod using junk that I found on my garage. Hope you guys like it.. this is the mount that I was talking about... some people just use the included mount with that adhesive backing on it and just apply it on the dashboard..... well there are two problems with that approach.... first, it messes up your dashboard, second here where I live (FL) its freaking hot!!! and when the dashboard gets that hot, the adhesive wears out and becomes loose. And because I dont like taping anything on my dashboard, period!!!   looking around my garage for some type of metal that would be stiff but at the same time bendable, I found my next victim.. , and old dvd player that broke like five months ago and I have no idea why it was still in my garage, anyways this is what I did... I took the dvd player apart and removed the top metal cover and tested it to make sure it met my requirements... after testing, I realized that the inside surface was coated with some kind of paint that when I attached that suction cup from the mount, it held very strong, even beter that glass!!!! This is where where things start to get messy.. I got my handy dremel tool, (a must for any modder) you can get these at any hardware store, usually for around 40 bucks or so.. If you have something similar its ok, as long as you know what you are doing....  I used the metal cutting head and put it on #3 speed to mark the outline on the metal.....  then I used a carbon cutting blade to cut that sucker...  then get the grinding tool and work the edges of the metal until you get a nice clean and round piece......  this is how it holds.....  now with the use of a set of pliers and a wrench, I bent the tab to follow the angles of the inside of the head unit case, later I attached it to the back of the display unit using metal adhesive. (home depot, lowes).....  this is how it looks when done....  next, I took the power cable that came with the gps and made a small cut on the edge of the top dashboard panel, right next to the metal mount I just made... you wont see it once the two panels come together.  this is how it looks   then I had an idea what if I could somehow power both things at once, or one at a time, because I used both 12v plugs for both the gps and Ipod kit......... so I ended up making this.......  I took the top panel from the center console bin and used two switches to control the power to both units individually.....   Yeah make sure you drink liquids, in this case corona baby!!!!!  after doing the wiring, It was time to put everything back together again   this is where I installed the controller to control the ipod, it's the best spot since I can lay my arm in the console rest, and change songs and so forth.  almost done!!  and this is how it looks!!! note I had installed custom courtesy lights before, but lost the pictures to do a DIY....   And this is my ride!!! 
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07-13-2008, 04:55 PM
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#7 (permalink) |
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Junior Member
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Hello tcd2004.. Regarding your question, the quality of the audio from the aux line is the best, I will say its CD quality sound. The reason I dont like the fm transmitter it's because of the interference you get with the signal, no matter how many times I tried to fix it, it did not work. I would recommend you install it using the aux line. I forgot to mention in my guide, if you go to the settings menu in the Drive & Play you can enable the fm transmitter and you can switch between the two, aux & transmitter.. Give it a try!!!!
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