> yes. on a 2001 civic you can get that panel out without removing
> the console.. i just did one today. sometimes there is a blank plug
> next to the socket, pull that out and put your finger in there and
> pull. it may be real tight on those 6 clips so be carefull!! don't
> peel the hide off your finger.

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Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8-122.5
dold@xrexxstere.usenet.us.com wrote:
>>> Do you mean I can pop that panel out without removing the console first?
>> yes. on a 2001 civic you can get that panel out without removing
>> the console.. i just did one today. sometimes there is a blank plug
>> next to the socket, pull that out and put your finger in there and
>> pull. it may be real tight on those 6 clips so be carefull!! don't
>> peel the hide off your finger.
> I had another look at my 2003. It appears that the piece we are trying to
> pull out extends well below the console. I tried a thumb in the socket,
> and hands to both sides... grunt... no give. I have two blank plates, but
> I can't see how to pop them out non-destructively. There's almost no
> access to the backside of any of this.
The blank panels are easy to get out. A fingernail might pop them free,
certainly a knife blade of thin screwdriver could pop out the panel with no
cosmetic harm.
I didn't discover that until I had pulled the console back. That's not so
hard, once you decide to do it. I had some trouble getting all of the
clips to pop out in the plastic around the parking brake lever. Not much
to hang on to. Once that's out, there are two screws exposed there, two
screws at the back of the console, accessible behind the seats, and two
pop-rivet things at the front edge of the console. I could reach around
and press the center pin out of those from the inside.
With the console out, I pulled that lower panel off. The portion that
sticks down below the console might or might not keep you from pulling it
out without moving the console. I might have a look later.
Now I can see the two srews going up from the subpanel area.
> I don't even want to take the radio out, really. I just need access to the
> 14 pin plug on the back of the head unit to plug my adapter in.
> Taking the glove box out is no help. Too much reinforcing framework to get
> from there to the radio.
> I did pop the rearmost section of the console out though. Several screws
> come next. If I spend 10 minutes a day doing this, I might have my
> birthday present installed by Christmas.

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Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8-122.5
dold@X2003XHond.usenet.us.com - 28 Nov 2004 21:58 GMT
The blank panels next to the 12v accessory plug are easy to push out from
behind, But I have no rear access to them when all of the panels are in
place. I tried a little prying, but couldn't get them to pop out without
damaging the surrounding plastic. And even if I could get them out, it
looks like the skirt from the bottom of that panel extends too far down
below the lip of the console. It would be hard to pull the panel straight
out far enough to clear the clips.
So, I pulled the console out. I had some trouble getting all of the clips
to pop out in the plastic around the parking brake lever. Not much to hang
on to. Once that's out, there are two screws exposed there, two screws at
the back of the console, accessible behind the seats, and two pop-rivet
things at the front edge of the console. I could reach around and press
the center pin out of those from the inside.
With the console out, I pulled the lower accessory panel off and unplugged
the 12v socket. Then I could see the two screws going up from the sub-panel
area that hold the radio face on.
I don't want to take the radio out. I just need access to the 14 pin plug
on the back of the head unit to plug my adapter in. By pushing some wire
bundles out of the way, I could reach up with my left hand and plug the
adapter in to the 14 pin socket. If I had tried to do this with the
console still in place, I might have needed another joint in the middle of
my forearm. Different sized people might be able to get in there.
So, now my PIE HON98-AUX Auxiliary Input Converter is in place.
<http://www.logjamelectronics.com/piehon98aux.html> I used a $1.50 RCA to
mini-phono adapter rather than the $19.95 PIE adapter. This was five
feet long, which I laid in place under the console, exiting on the
passenger side midway back. My Sony MZN510CK is plugged in via the
headphone jack. I set the volume on the Sony to about "20". Any higher
causes some distortion.
I had to connect the "extra" ground wire on the PIE adapter. Without it,
the music would clip completely, shutting down every few seconds, at any
volume level over "10", which didn't yield enough volume from the radio.
Maybe the $19.95 PIE adapter is something more than my $1.50 cable.
There might be some impedance matching or something, although the site
doesn't say so.

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Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8-122.5