When I plug in the cassette adapter to play my iPod thru the stereo, it says SIDE 1, SIDE 2 then ejects. Ive tried three different ones. I seem to be having a possible electrical short as my speakers have stopped working one by one but were not "blown out".

 

moved you to the A/V area, should get some advice over here.

First, try a regular cassette, you may have to dig into your (or your parents) closet to find one to try. That will rule out the head deck being at fault. If it works on Bon Jovi or Def Leppard, try hitting the button that flips sides after the adapter is inserted, see if that fixes it.

Other than that, I don't know what to tell you. I haven't used an adapter in quite awhile, but many members do use one.

 

When you insert the cassette , just use cassette mode not press Radio , or CD buttons
And then plug the cable into your MP4 player but I-pods come with 5mm socket instead of regular 3.5mm sockets . Then you may need a new adapter or make sure your exisiting cassette adapter supports I-pods otherwise you can't play the tunes .
If it's not clear I can take some shots to make the things easier for you

 

I have been successfully using a cassette adapter for my iPod in this car for about a year. When I tried a regular cassette, When it started acting up and ejecting the tape, I tried three other adapters, all with the same results. I received similar results with a regular cassette today

 

Hmmm. I'm an "audio" guy...I'll take a stab.

First make sure the "wheels" on the cassettes (adapter or real one) are moving freely. If they are catching or binding...the player is going to think it's reached the end of the cassette and try to flip it over (auto reverse). Hence the SIDE1, SIDE2, eject like you describe. Again...knowing audio tape...it does desintegrate over time...as in a few years. Any cassette (real not your adapter) is mylar (like those shiny balloons) bonded with a metallic oxide which will start to flake off onto the head (shiny metal thing in the middle of your player)...and capstans (rubber wheel looking things). Overtime you get brown build up on them. The longer it sits...the tackier it gets. Glue-like. You can try to clean those parts off with q-tips and rubbing alcohol. Just get the q-tip wet with any household rubbing alcohol...and rub it back and forth over the head and capstans. The capstan (wheels) are a little tricky, as they'd want to spin. Try to hold it in place with another q-tip. Don't worry...you won't damage these parts. They are very durable! Finally the last thing it could be if the above things all check out is the death of your cassette player. It has a ton of moving parts, which have build up dust and grime over the years. Which causes the parts to stick...burn out the motors...etc. This is why we moved to CD's...fewer moving parts. Although I'm partial to hiss and static myself. ;-)

Not sure if I was of any help. Thought I'd pass what I knew, on.