I have a '96 Honda Civic that came with an AM/FM radio -- no cassette,
no CD. (It also came with a ProLock security system, since removed.)
I decided that I'd like to have tape and possibly CD; I have one of
those cassette things that you put in the tape drive, plug into a
portable CD, and use to hear CD's through the car's speaker system,
and so figured I'd get an AM/FM/cassette unit, and run CD's off of it
when I wanted to.

Well, I found an old Honda AM/FM/cassette unit, with the same (or at
least same-appearing) 16-pin connector plug (but without the extra,
"green" plug which is apparently for the ProLock unit). I took the
dash apart and installed the "new" unit. It seemed to run all right
in all the formats, including CD when I plugged in the adapter.

But that was in the daytime. Tonight, with the headlights on, I
turned on the radio, and the indicator just blinked back and forth
between the radio station that was set and "CD," even though the unit
doesn't have a CD and I didn't have the adapter connected. There was
no sound other than static when I turned the sound up. Turning on the
wipers, etc., made the blinking go faster (or sometimes slower).
WITHOUT the headlights on, I could turn on the wipers, etc., with no
problem; the radio continued to play normally. But with the
headlights on, no dice.

Why does use of the headlights do this to the radio unit? Can I fix
things so that this unit will work? If so, how? If not, why not; and
will some other unit -- other than original equipment -- work instead?
If so, what do I need to do other than just hook it up?

Thanks for any assistance.

Definately sounds like the radio has an internal problem, since Honda wiring
(in Civics) is the same for any factory radio.
I suggest that you either repair or replace the radio, or you can remove is
and cut (and insulate) the illumination wire in the harness. Just use a test
light or volt meter to probe the wires until you find one with voltage ONLY
when the lights are on. There may be two wires - one for the illumination
(comes on with the lights) and one for the dimmer (also comes on with the
lights, but dims with other dash lights)

You can also refer to the Honda factory wiring colors he

http://www.underthedash.com/board/vi...ad.php?tid=176

(The current listing for Honda doesn't include the illumination or dimmer
colors, but it DOES include the others. You can use the list to know which
wires AREN'T the ones to cut.)

Hope the info helps...

David
UnderTheDash.com


"New At This" wrote in message
om...
I have a '96 Honda Civic that came with an AM/FM radio -- no cassette,
no CD. (It also came with a ProLock security system, since removed.)
I decided that I'd like to have tape and possibly CD; I have one of
those cassette things that you put in the tape drive, plug into a
portable CD, and use to hear CD's through the car's speaker system,
and so figured I'd get an AM/FM/cassette unit, and run CD's off of it
when I wanted to.

Well, I found an old Honda AM/FM/cassette unit, with the same (or at
least same-appearing) 16-pin connector plug (but without the extra,
"green" plug which is apparently for the ProLock unit). I took the
dash apart and installed the "new" unit. It seemed to run all right
in all the formats, including CD when I plugged in the adapter.

But that was in the daytime. Tonight, with the headlights on, I
turned on the radio, and the indicator just blinked back and forth
between the radio station that was set and "CD," even though the unit
doesn't have a CD and I didn't have the adapter connected. There was
no sound other than static when I turned the sound up. Turning on the
wipers, etc., made the blinking go faster (or sometimes slower).
WITHOUT the headlights on, I could turn on the wipers, etc., with no
problem; the radio continued to play normally. But with the
headlights on, no dice.

Why does use of the headlights do this to the radio unit? Can I fix
things so that this unit will work? If so, how? If not, why not; and
will some other unit -- other than original equipment -- work instead?
If so, what do I need to do other than just hook it up?

Thanks for any assistance.

Hey, David --

You're right about the likely source of the problem. I plugged the
original radio in again; no problems with headlights either on or off.
So... I'm going to try to track down the illumination connectors --
though I'm not sure I want to go withou any illumination, as it seems
like it would be quite an annoyance, with many radio settings, not to
be able to see what's where. Maybe I need to latch onto another Honda
radio. I think I'll check around locally before I start going at the
connectors.

However it works out, thanks for the helpful and detailed response.

Bill

"David" wrote in message ...
Definately sounds like the radio has an internal problem, since Honda wiring
(in Civics) is the same for any factory radio.
I suggest that you either repair or replace the radio, or you can remove is
and cut (and insulate) the illumination wire in the harness. Just use a test
light or volt meter to probe the wires until you find one with voltage ONLY
when the lights are on. There may be two wires - one for the illumination
(comes on with the lights) and one for the dimmer (also comes on with the
lights, but dims with other dash lights)

You can also refer to the Honda factory wiring colors he

http://www.underthedash.com/board/vi...ad.php?tid=176

(The current listing for Honda doesn't include the illumination or dimmer
colors, but it DOES include the others. You can use the list to know which
wires AREN'T the ones to cut.)

Hope the info helps...

David
UnderTheDash.com


"New At This" wrote in message
om...
I have a '96 Honda Civic that came with an AM/FM radio -- no cassette,
no CD. (It also came with a ProLock security system, since removed.)
I decided that I'd like to have tape and possibly CD; I have one of
those cassette things that you put in the tape drive, plug into a
portable CD, and use to hear CD's through the car's speaker system,
and so figured I'd get an AM/FM/cassette unit, and run CD's off of it
when I wanted to.

Well, I found an old Honda AM/FM/cassette unit, with the same (or at
least same-appearing) 16-pin connector plug (but without the extra,
"green" plug which is apparently for the ProLock unit). I took the
dash apart and installed the "new" unit. It seemed to run all right
in all the formats, including CD when I plugged in the adapter.

But that was in the daytime. Tonight, with the headlights on, I
turned on the radio, and the indicator just blinked back and forth
between the radio station that was set and "CD," even though the unit
doesn't have a CD and I didn't have the adapter connected. There was
no sound other than static when I turned the sound up. Turning on the
wipers, etc., made the blinking go faster (or sometimes slower).
WITHOUT the headlights on, I could turn on the wipers, etc., with no
problem; the radio continued to play normally. But with the
headlights on, no dice.

Why does use of the headlights do this to the radio unit? Can I fix
things so that this unit will work? If so, how? If not, why not; and
will some other unit -- other than original equipment -- work instead?
If so, what do I need to do other than just hook it up?

Thanks for any assistance.

(New At This) wrote in message . com...
Hey, David --

You're right about the likely source of the problem. I plugged the
original radio in again; no problems with headlights either on or off.
So... I'm going to try to track down the illumination connectors --
though I'm not sure I want to go withou any illumination, as it seems
like it would be quite an annoyance, with many radio settings, not to
be able to see what's where. Maybe I need to latch onto another Honda
radio. I think I'll check around locally before I start going at the
connectors.

However it works out, thanks for the helpful and detailed response.

Bill

"David" wrote in message ...
Definately sounds like the radio has an internal problem, since Honda wiring
(in Civics) is the same for any factory radio.
I suggest that you either repair or replace the radio, or you can remove is
and cut (and insulate) the illumination wire in the harness. Just use a test
light or volt meter to probe the wires until you find one with voltage ONLY
when the lights are on. There may be two wires - one for the illumination
(comes on with the lights) and one for the dimmer (also comes on with the
lights, but dims with other dash lights)

You can also refer to the Honda factory wiring colors he

http://www.underthedash.com/board/vi...ad.php?tid=176

(The current listing for Honda doesn't include the illumination or dimmer
colors, but it DOES include the others. You can use the list to know which
wires AREN'T the ones to cut.)

Hope the info helps...

David
UnderTheDash.com


Well, things have gotten a little more complicated. A local resource
-- the shop where I bought the radio installation adapter kit -- said
that, in addition to the ground wire in the harness, the "new" unit
needed to be grounded as a whole. So I ran a wire from a screw on the
outside of the unit to various pieces of metal that appeared to attach
to the body. Started up the car and turned on the radio -- no
problem. But then I turned on the headlights again:

First of all, I noticed that when the headlights are turned on, the
illumination of the radio readout panel goes DOWN, not up; it seems
like it should be just the opposite. (On second thought, perhaps
not.) I also noticed that with the engine OFF and the headlights on,
there is still NO problem with the new unit. It's apparently only
when the engine is running and the headlights (bright or dim) are on
that I've got a problem. The original unit still has no problem under
any conditions, including when the harness for the ProLock security
system -- now removed -- is connected.

I noticed one other thing -- regarding "tel mute" -- when I looked at
the webpage on Honda factory radio wiring colors, and then looked at
the schematic printed on my original unit:

All connectors and colors match up. In the listing Dave kindly
referred me to, only twelve connections are listed. (Mine has only
eleven, because it doesn't have a power antenna.) Eight are speaker
connections, which match what I found in the harness. In addition to
the speakers, there are eight other leads listed: BAT 12v; ACC 12v;
Ground; Power Antenna; OEM Amp Remote; Illumination; Dimmer (+); and
Dimmer (-). In the harness schematic, here's what was listed beyond
the eight speaker leads: acc; (+) B (backup); (+) light; ground;
illumi cont; tel mute. (There were two empty spaces.) I assume that
"ground" means the same in both, that "ACC 12v" and "acc" mean the
same thing; ...and then I get stuck. "Illumination" could mean "(+)
light" or "Illumi cont"; etc. However, one thing that was obvious is
that the "tel mute" plug was empty; no lead going in.

I'm still hoping that I can track down what's up here, since there
seems to be a fair amount of information here; but I sure don't know
how to read it. Anybody know what "tel mute" would mean, and whether
missing that lead could cause my problems? (I thought they'd be
related to the "(+) light" or "illumi cont" connections, but maybe
not.)

More generaly, can anyone make out what's going wrong here? I'm still
combing the area for used radios with this same harness, but am not
having any luck. And before I go to a junkyard, I'd like to know that
whateve I pull has some chance of avoiding this problem.

Any assistance would be very gratefully received -- thanks.

The '+ Light' is the same as 'Illumination', meaning that the wire has no
voltage when the lights are off, and ~12v when the lights are on, REGARDLESS
of the dimmer control.

The 'illumi cont' is the same as 'Dimmer', meaning that the wire functions
the same as the 'Illumination' wire, except that the voltage decreases from
~12v to 0v when the dimmer control is adjusted.

The wiring function list at UnderTheDash.com is a template that includes
wire functions that some cars may not have present. (ie. + dimmer, power
antenna, etc.)

David
UnderTheDash.com

"New At This" wrote in message
m...
(New At This) wrote in message
. com...
Hey, David --

You're right about the likely source of the problem. I plugged the
original radio in again; no problems with headlights either on or off.
So... I'm going to try to track down the illumination connectors --
though I'm not sure I want to go withou any illumination, as it seems
like it would be quite an annoyance, with many radio settings, not to
be able to see what's where. Maybe I need to latch onto another Honda
radio. I think I'll check around locally before I start going at the
connectors.

However it works out, thanks for the helpful and detailed response.

Bill

"David" wrote in message
...
Definately sounds like the radio has an internal problem, since Honda
wiring
(in Civics) is the same for any factory radio.
I suggest that you either repair or replace the radio, or you can
remove is
and cut (and insulate) the illumination wire in the harness. Just use
a test
light or volt meter to probe the wires until you find one with voltage
ONLY
when the lights are on. There may be two wires - one for the
illumination
(comes on with the lights) and one for the dimmer (also comes on with
the
lights, but dims with other dash lights)

You can also refer to the Honda factory wiring colors he

http://www.underthedash.com/board/vi...ad.php?tid=176

(The current listing for Honda doesn't include the illumination or
dimmer
colors, but it DOES include the others. You can use the list to know
which
wires AREN'T the ones to cut.)

Hope the info helps...

David
UnderTheDash.com


Well, things have gotten a little more complicated. A local resource
-- the shop where I bought the radio installation adapter kit -- said
that, in addition to the ground wire in the harness, the "new" unit
needed to be grounded as a whole. So I ran a wire from a screw on the
outside of the unit to various pieces of metal that appeared to attach
to the body. Started up the car and turned on the radio -- no
problem. But then I turned on the headlights again:

First of all, I noticed that when the headlights are turned on, the
illumination of the radio readout panel goes DOWN, not up; it seems
like it should be just the opposite. (On second thought, perhaps
not.) I also noticed that with the engine OFF and the headlights on,
there is still NO problem with the new unit. It's apparently only
when the engine is running and the headlights (bright or dim) are on
that I've got a problem. The original unit still has no problem under
any conditions, including when the harness for the ProLock security
system -- now removed -- is connected.

I noticed one other thing -- regarding "tel mute" -- when I looked at
the webpage on Honda factory radio wiring colors, and then looked at
the schematic printed on my original unit:

All connectors and colors match up. In the listing Dave kindly
referred me to, only twelve connections are listed. (Mine has only
eleven, because it doesn't have a power antenna.) Eight are speaker
connections, which match what I found in the harness. In addition to
the speakers, there are eight other leads listed: BAT 12v; ACC 12v;
Ground; Power Antenna; OEM Amp Remote; Illumination; Dimmer (+); and
Dimmer (-). In the harness schematic, here's what was listed beyond
the eight speaker leads: acc; (+) B (backup); (+) light; ground;
illumi cont; tel mute. (There were two empty spaces.) I assume that
"ground" means the same in both, that "ACC 12v" and "acc" mean the
same thing; ...and then I get stuck. "Illumination" could mean "(+)
light" or "Illumi cont"; etc. However, one thing that was obvious is
that the "tel mute" plug was empty; no lead going in.

I'm still hoping that I can track down what's up here, since there
seems to be a fair amount of information here; but I sure don't know
how to read it. Anybody know what "tel mute" would mean, and whether
missing that lead could cause my problems? (I thought they'd be
related to the "(+) light" or "illumi cont" connections, but maybe
not.)

More generaly, can anyone make out what's going wrong here? I'm still
combing the area for used radios with this same harness, but am not
having any luck. And before I go to a junkyard, I'd like to know that
whateve I pull has some chance of avoiding this problem.

Any assistance would be very gratefully received -- thanks.