i have a question about the stock head unit and the wires in the back. i had an idea yesterday but i don't know if it's possible, i was thinking that if a cd changer or a tape deck can be hooked up to the hu, then there must(i think)be wires for the sound( L and R channel). so my idea was, could i hook up some wires to those connections and then run the wire to a 1/4 jack(or whatever) and connect an mp3 player to it through that jack

 

the 6 disc indash changer and the cassette and or minidisc player for the stock unit are INTEGRATED units...they plug into the complete unit...its not like there is a PLUG of sorts on the back of the unit that they plug into. Wish there was as it would open up a bunch of options.

as for the wires in the back...if you look at the sticky at the top of this section that deals with speaker sizes and all...you will also find a picture of the plug and a list of what each pin goes to.

 

You can also try a FM modulator plug (the type they use for the head units that don't have inputs or cd controls). It'll just run off of 87.5 FM channel or something like that. Then just use a stero plug from that to someplace in the cabin that's an easy place for you to get to.

 

I am not sure who it is...but someone here actually did the FM modulator install and got fair results with it. hmmmmm wish I could remember who it was....

I bet you could do a search and find stuff on FM MODULATOR

 

I have not installed an FM modulator in my P5 (as I just swapped in the HU from the last car). But before I had the Kenwood HU I had the 10 disc changer in the Chevy running into a tape deck only HU (decent SONY unit) through a modulator.

It worked well enough and was a good solution to the problem at the time.

However, when I got the chance to put an HU that could "drive" the changer I was surprised at how much better it was. The FM modulators can not handle the same dynamic range as the direct inputs to the HU so they tend to have slightly muddy lows and not so great highs (I could hear the difference). This all comes from the way that FM stereo is broadcast and the cheap little parts that are used in the modulators.

Also of note, the modulator that I used was one of the in-line varieties (it actually plugs in line with the antenna co-ax) and those are much better (IMHO) than the ones that have a little antenna on them and just transmit the very low power signal over the air to the car's antenna.