A little dated these days, but here you go:
Okay, so I wanted to hardwire my ipod in my car so I wouldn't have to use a crappy tape thing or a crappy fm transmitter. Plus, I didn't want to have any damn wires showing, and I'll give a short write up of how I did it with some crappy pictures I took tonight that aren't really good. I'll have better pictures when I do the whole thing again on my friend's accord.
Materials and Prices shipped:
Ipod = got mine for 100 bucks from a friend
Fm modulator = 10-15 on ebay (search fr modulator, I got mine for 10 shipped)
Belkin Ipod Car Charger (with a 3.5 mm plug on it) = 10 bucks on ebay
3.5mm to male RCA cable (mine is 6 ft, but anything 2+ is good) = 3 bucks on ebay (6ish in stores)
12v Car Jack = 3-5 bucks or free from junkyard
Some splices if you want to still have your cigarette lighter working
Tools:
Screwdriver
Wire strippers (if you want to splice the wires for the 12v)
Needlenose pliers
Process:
The main thing to understand here is how it is all set up. The fm modulator accepts the two rca plugs and the antenna plug from the back of your stereo. It then outputs a single antenna wire which you plug into the back of the stereo.
It also requires its own power. I tapped into the fuse box (which I have pictures of) and just screwed the ground to something misc. The two rca plugs that go into the modulator come from a 3.5 which is plugged into your belkin car charger. One end of the belkin is plugged into the ipod, and the other into a 12v car charging jack. This car charger jack is spliced off the lines going to your current one, or simply taking it's power for itself making it not functional. That's the basics for the whole setup. I'll now try a little step by step.
1. Remove your center console/thing that covers the stereo and the area behind.
2. Unplug the radio antenna that goes into the back of your stereo.
3. Plug the antenna into the fm modulator.
4. Gain access to your inside fuse box.
5. Pull a fuse that will always have power when the car/accesories is/are on. I used the clock one.
6. Put the power wire from the fm modulator in the space for the fuse and then shove the fuse in, both will have power. Close up the fuse box.
7. Find a screw that goes into metal and unscrew it enough to put the ground wire in between and screw it back down.
8. Plug the antenna from the fm modulator into the stereo.
9. Select on the side of the fm modulator the station you want it to play on and flip the switches.
10. Plug the 3.5 mm end of your conversion cord into the space on the belkin charger.
11. Splice the second 12v charger into the first's lines, or switch the powered lines to the second.
12. Plug the belkin into the new 12v that will have power but remain behind the center console.
13. Plug the ipod into the belkin and turn the car on and see if everything is working properly.
14. You should turn the volume on the belkin up rather high, but not all the way as you'll get static. It's best to play around with this before you put the center console on.
15. Tie all the loose stuff up and put the center console back on.
16. Enjoy!
What it looks like with no center console on there:
All the stuff hooked up to the belkin behind the console:
Crappy shot of the fm modulator sitting behind the center console:
Tapping into the fuse box for power to the fm modulator (a set of red and black wires there is for a buzzer I rigged up to remind me if I leave my lights on):
All put together:
Night shot (lights off):
Today
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