Earlier this week, I bought two new car stereos…one for Laura and one for me. The Sirius satellite receiver I got for her a few years ago is pooping out, so I decided to upgrade her with a satellite ready deck and a new satellite tuner. I still need to order the tuner, so she will get the install next week.
I needed to get a new radio because I got some audio books and “learn Spanish” CDs for my birthday. My car radio only had a tape deck. The stereo I chose to purchase was a great deal at $109 from Circuit City. It is a Pioneer DEH-P2900MP. I read the reveiws and they were good. Everyone agreed that the sound is great, but the stereo is hard to figure out. When Laura learns how to work it, she can teach me. I’m no dummy.
Anyway, as I sat in my car this morning, looking at the job at hand, I had absolutely no idea where to begin. I found two little screws underneath the big plastic thing and took them out. Boy, that didn’t do much. Everything was still firmly in place. I ran inside and jumped on the internet and found this great webpage called, “Honda Accord installation of a Car radio Pioneer DEHP835.” This, my friends, helped.
Strangely enough, the fact that I took those screws out was correct, but the secret was behind the clock. I had to pull the clock out (which was tight) and take out the screw behind it. There is no way to do this without a little bit of damage to the plastic. I have a few minor marks. With that out, I pulled off the entire plastic piece.
I was pretty proud of myself. I sat there and thought about how good of a job I was doing. I even bought the correct wiring harness for this car and stereo. Back in the day, I would’ve just cut the old harness plug off and used a lot of electrical tape. What a mess. These days, I am much more refined.
I mounted the stereo in it’s holder and looked at the new wiring harness. “Boy, that’s weird,” I said. “It doesn’t look like the correct plug.” I got on the phone with Circuit City and discovered that there was one more piece I needed for my specific car. I thought I had already taken care of that. Guess not.
I drove down to Circuit City in Middletown and picked up the plug. Gee, $40 for the two harnesses. That’s just to get the damn thing hooked up to the car. They really know how to get you. Oh well. They only had one in stock and didn’t have the tuner for Laura, so I was out of luck there. Still have to order them online.
So yes, there are two pieces to the wiring harness. Once they were plugged in and the antenna was set, mounting the stereo was easy. I did that and then plugged the rest of the electrical stuff back into the big plastic piece. I snapped that back into place and things looked pretty good.
I turned the stereo on to see how it sounded. Wow, I was impressed. Great sound, but I still don’t know how it works. That’s ok, I suppose I will learn soon enough.
I used to have a Pioneer SuperTuner III a long time ago. The controls were hard to figure out back then. You would think they would change the format they use to build their car stereo head units. Until recently, I really did not think much of Pioneer speakers. I was told that they now put out a similar sound to sets of component (separates) due to the built in crossover they use. So, I bought a pair of pioneer 6×9′s and am completely impressed with the sound. They have come a long way in that department.
I forgot to mention something. I noticed you had everything mounted and the dash put back together before you tested your system. It is better if you test the system before you mount it. That way, if something is not working exactly right, you can fix it quickly without having to take the dash apart and unmounting the stereo.
satellite receivers that are made in china are sometimes does not follow frequency standards.
some satellite receivers are not very good in tracking and receiving satellite signals
the satellite receiver that we bought at best buy is great, we always use it whenever we are out camping .
Hello,
Im installing a radio in my girlfriends 98 accord similar to what you just did. How were you able to keep the map pocket under the radio? Id love to keep this and although I didnt start my install yet the car audio retailer sold me this mounting kit that looks like I will loose the pocket with a door for some ugly non oem pocket without a door.
Let me know if you dont mind how you were able to keep the map pocket as it looks much nicer. ( email is best )
Thanks,
Daryl
Awesome post! Hey what tools did you use? Looks like that guide you linked only used flat head screw drivers? What about crimps or soldering tools?
What is the extra Honda specific harness part number? Trying to track one down, but I can’t seem to find one that’s similar to yours…!