As for the interface module that allows factory radio controls to work with an aftermarket headunit, see the following (and make sure your headunit has a wired remote input port on it, or you'll be limited to infrared):
Peripheral Electronics
PESWIAKJC - Alpine, Kenwood, JVC, and Clarion
PESWIECL2 - Eclipse
PESWIPS - Pioneer, Sony, Jensen, Dual, Advent, and Visteon
PESWIX - Universal infrared learning interface
Peripheral Electronics was bought out by
Pacific Accessory Corporation
The new part numbers are as follows:
SWI-JACK - Alpine, Kenwood, JVC, and Clarion
SWI-ECL2 - Eclipse
SWI-PS - Pioneer, Sony, Advent, Jensen, Visteon, and Dual
SWI-X - Infrared
Though pac-audio is the new supplier, you can still find new and used peripheral electronics modules on eBay and amazon significantly cheaper than the identical hardware in an updated case.
One word about the clockspring. Well, several words about the clockspring. Don't buy them from eBay or a junkyard unless the seller can guarantee it's either new or was pulled properly from a junked KJ.
The clockspring is pretty much a ribbon cable that winds around several times inside a housing on blue and white rollers. If it's not immobilized as it's removed (like when the whole steering column assembly is removed as one piece) it can rip one end of the ribbon cable from the contacts if the wheel is allowed to spin freely. After that, of course, the clockspring is either totally worthless or dangerous (since airbag contacts may now be swiping over cruise control and radio control contacts). If the steering wheel is removed properly, in the right position, a button pops up on the clockspring, immobilizing it.
I bought a whole steering column on eBay in the hopes that the seller knew what he was doing. He didn't. I got a steering wheel in better condition than my own, with radio controls attached, for a great price. But I still had to make myself find a dealership around here that a) was still in business, b) would answer the phone or return e-mails, and c) would sell a part to a normal person, so I could get a new clockspring. It was a nightmare, but it finally worked out.
If you give them the make/model/year and tell them you have radio controls, they'll match it, as most of the part numbers listed in howto write-ups have been superseded a few times since.
