Your experiences and problems while installing a new CD HU in 4th G - Honda Prelude Forum

FLS297 · 12-31-2001, 01:40 AM

This question is for those who have changed/installed a new CD HU by themselves in their 4th generation Prelude.

Is there any specific area that I have to look out for when I am installing my new CD HU (i.e. the wiring, removing â€“ve terminal on the battery and â€¦..)? Please tell me the problems that you are facing while installing your new CD HU and the best solution for it.

Thanks in advances.

Cheers,

FLS297

ME · 12-31-2001, 09:55 AM

The hardest part is getting the stock one out and putting the aftermarket dash kit in. Putting the actual deck in is easy.

G_Loc · 01-01-2002, 05:34 PM

yea, mounting mine was the hardest part. i took apart the center console easily and the wiring was a snap.

jpprelude · 01-01-2002, 05:40 PM

Watch out when messing with the center console. It is pretty cheap and flimsy.

The easiest way to wire your deck is to get a wiring harness so you don't have to cut any wires

BryanS · 01-01-2002, 08:16 PM

There are 2 screws above the HU, 2 by the driver side footwell, and 2 by the passenger side footwell for the center console. Being that my VTEC is a 5 speed I also had to remove 2 screws that hold the shift boot to the center console, but I don't know how that goes for an automatic. Then I set the center console off to the side and removed the screws (2 I think) that held the HU in. After that I pulled out the HU. I used a wiring harness to connect to the aftermarket HU wiring so that it would just plug right in to the factory harness. Then I installed the aftermarket HU into a mounting kit so that it would have the same points for the screws to connect to the dash. Then I plugged in the wiring harness to the factory wiring, then to the aftermarket HU, then plugged in the antenna to the aftermarket HU. Then I secured the HU to the dash with the appropriate screws that I had removed and reinstalled the center console and secured the shift boot to it and screwed it all down... piece of cake really if you go with the wiring harness and mounting kit... without it, it would be more difficult, plus you couldn't just put the factory unit back in.

F22alude · 01-02-2002, 08:37 AM

Red and yellow wires on the car is different on the aftermarket HU's. The red on the car is the "Always ON" wire while the yellow wire is the "Accessory" wire. On the head unit, it's usually the other way around: Red is "Accessory" wire and yellow is the "Always ON" wire.

Just a heads up coz the first time I installed my unit I simply put all the paired colors together (red to red and yellow to yellow) except the speaker wires which were color coded diffently. Just a heads up because I don't usually read the instruction manuals

.

Also, make sure that your radio antenna wire is placed out of the way of the mounting bracket coz I just wore mine off when I put it on. Some vibrations made the radio wire rub againts the metal bracket that came with the HU and completely ripped the wire apart. Now I don't have a D@mn radio

.

Hope that helped.

BryanS · 01-02-2002, 04:31 PM

with the red / yellow wiring thing, I found that using the wiring harness with my JVC Cd player all the colors for the wiring HAPPENED to match, not that I didn't check first. The CD player should come with documentation describing what color wire is for what. The wiring harnesses have the same thing. All you have to do is read the paperwork and connect the constant 12V to the constant 12V, the left front speaker + to the same, etc.

Definately making good connections and good routing of wires makes for a better install. When making connections I always take the 2 harnesses that I'm connecting together (one from the cd player and the other is the harness I bought to match with the factory harness) and sit at the kitchen table with my soldering iron and some electrical tape. I get nice installs that way and don't have to worry abou t troubleshooting a wire that isn't crimped well, or worse yet find the two that WERE twisted together and taped. Good crimps are okay, that's what a lot of fast install places do, but soldering is the best! and you don't even have to be in the car to do it if you go with a adapter harness.

FLS297 · 01-05-2002, 12:18 PM

Thanks for all your input guys, I will post my result of my installation after I finished it (finger cross).

And if there are anything else that you guys think I should pay special attention to when installing my HU, then please feel free to post it here. (there is not such thing as too much information

)

Cheers,

FLS297

ME · 01-05-2002, 01:13 PM

Don't forget to connect the plastic electrical connectors when putting center console back in