My friend, Jeremy Worley came to me with a car stereo and an idea.
He wanted to use the car stereo as a normal stereo because motorized
faceplate no longer worked. We settled on an unusual case, but in the
end it worked out well...
Beginning:
I first took off the gears and motor that no longer worked and
detached the faceplate. Using a rotary tool I cut out the front of the
monitor where the stereo face plate will go. After the hole was the
right size I screwed the faceplate in place.
I used an old piece of plexi glass for the screen. I used sandpaper to give it a "frosted" effect.
The CD drive sets on top of the stereo case so you can insert discs through a slot in th plexi glass.
The
green and white wires on the left go to the push button power switch
mounted where the monitor power switch would be. (you turn it on and
off like a regular monitor). The orange and black wires go to a switch
that will turn the LEDs on and off. (These switches aren't completely
connected in this picture)
I turned it on to make sure everything still worked after everything had been relocated.
Paint:
Following the instructions on the can of "Krylon Fusion" I painted the case. (It is good paint)
The faceplate is still removeable.
Wiring:
One of the biggest problems with power was finding a source that had enough amps to run the car stereo. The supply needed atleast 10 amps at 12 volts. I went through 2 powersupplies before I figured out that the stereo was drawing too much current.
Using the factory wiring harness I wired the front speaker wires to a speaker socket and the rear speaker wires to two rca plugs. (I didn't have another speaker socket)
PSU power cord goes in the monitor's already existing power cord hole.
The ATX power supply will connect to the wiring harness using atx plugs so it can be eaisily disconected if needed. (ATX is not completely wired in this picture)
Modified power cord from atx. (only 12v and gnd is needed) This plugs into the stereo wiring harness.
Back:
I decided to add a terminal block for the amp remote wire, radio antena, and 12volt out. The hole to the left is where the amp input wires come through. (not shown in picture.)
Front:
Cut a hole in the plexi so that the CD drive would fit behind it.
Added 2 blue leds and 1 green led behind the plexiglass.
Finished:
CD goed in through slot in plexi glass. Monitor power button turns unit on or off. Stereo is still controlled by the face
Eventually I am going to have a friend airbrush a design on the plexi glass to give it more "pizzaz".
