Will the dash controls still work after you install an aftermarket mp3 player?
...thanks

 

Only if you install some type of interface between the dash controls and headunit. the best by far is Lucid's DCI. Read this review I wrote just after I installed this for my Apline MP3 deck.

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.php?...&postid=1766108

 

or a pac unit

 

I had one installed before I installed Lucid's DCI. It did work the the functions were very limiting. Becasue of the way that Apline shares IR signals between the CD and Radio functions, I had to choose what I wanted more, CD or Radio. This is why I changed from the PAC to the DCI. The cost differance is nominal when you consider that the PAC is 50+ and the harness it 15, where the DCI is 90 w/harness. That is 25 dollars for the added functions is well worth it. I can not stress enough how much better the DCI worksm it is like night and day.

 

Or.....

DIY for $0 and an afternoon of work

 

Jeff

Please explain what you did for the DIY solution.

 

The idea behind most of the control solutions is to use the remote capability of the new deck to maintain use of the dash controls. The switches on the dash simply are connected to a device which either learns or is programmed to send the right IR pulses to the deck to adjust volumn, track, mode, etc. The learning/programming functionality is where it gets complicated (and potentially expensive).

I went with something far simpler, I simply cannibalized the remote control that came with my MP3 player, and used that to make a device. I connected the pins on the back of the dash switches (isolated from the dash circuit first) to points on the remote control circuit board. Pressing a dash button shorts together two points on the remote control circuit, just like it would happen if you pressed the remote control button. The IR emitting LED from the remote circuit board is removed, attached to wires, and mounted just above the deck. Now, pressing a dash button is just like using the remote control, no delay and no problems. Cost is $0 because I already have the soldering iron, random wire, etc. needed to do this.

A board member sells a solution that is similar to this, so I won't go into too many details, but his solution goes a step further by enhancing the abilities of the mode switch.

I will mention that I'm a computer/electrical/software engineer, so this type of work (soldering on circuit board) is second nature to me. I would not recommend this type of job to the inexperienced. But, for someone with the right background, it's a fairly straightforward and inexpensive modification.

 

You should post this in electronics