First big project - 04 TL Nav, HFL, DVD-A

[lithiumus]

Of course I'm in Irvine Kevin! That's why we've passed by each other so often! I think we live right by each other. We'll hook up again at the Dec meet.

I downloaded pics and I'll sort them out tonight and post them... =)

I chose the OEM TL project for a few good reasons and the "just want to be different" reasons...

The only other system that has an integrated "fixed" double din screen that controls the radio as well as the NAV is the Eclipse unit. I was going for more of an OEM look in this car so the 04 TL system fit the bill. It also has the Handsfree Bluetooth module and I also got the XM radio. It accepts voice commands as well. The price for the hardware is not unreasonable and the work involved is something that I find challenging and fun to do. (except creating the wiring harness!)

Even the TL 8" screen doesn't fill the pod 100%. It's slightly narrower by about 2-3 mm on each side.

thanks Texas91Brent, you'll realize that I have balls of steel when you see what I had to do to the dash!

 

[White92]

you'll realize that I have balls of steel when you see what I had to do to the dash!

If you had balls of brass we'd know that too. Especially as you drove down the road, Sparky.

 

[Malibu Rapper]

The only other system that has an integrated "fixed" double din screen that controls the radio as well as the NAV is the Eclipse unit.

Just to clarify, the Kenwood DDX7015 does both as well. This makes my Kenwood install seem like a piece of cake.

There's a coolness factor that this has over an aftermarket system. Kinda like how Chip Foose will customize hoods or bumpers from other cars to fit his projects.

Good luck, it's gonna be an awful lot of work and you'll have a one of a kind stereo system. I don't believe there are many souls brave enough to go through what you have so far.

 

[lithiumus]

Ok here are the most up to date picutures starting from the beginning of the project...


This is the 04 TL system after I got it and did an initial teardown. At this point, I had no idea if this was going to fit, etc...

This is the front piece of the radio unit. I shaved one side and about to begin the other side...

I used rivets to hold the L brackets in place. For anyone who has taken out the OEM stereo, you know what I'm talking about, these are the mounting brackets.... more on this...

This was the beginning of my wire harness. The bulk of the wire harness is really isolated between the Nav units so used an after market harness to connect to the factory radio harness. The output of the TL radio works perfectly with the NSX speakers. I can always update this in the future...

This is the harness in a 1/2 completed state. Took me more than 8 hours of work time to complete the harness and I still have issues!

This is the TL radio comlpetely dissassembled. I needed to do this to get to the bottom of the unit to rivet the L brackets on the bottom... what a pain that was... you can see I also had to use tape to prevent the rivets from shorting the circuit board on the bottom. The L brackets are also visible on the top piece.

This is the LCD screen mounted in the Nav pod. I used 2 sided foam tape so I could remove it in the future if necessary...

I mounted the HFL / Voice recognition mic in the dome light module and just cut 2 slits in the lens. I'll probably buy another lens and have it professionally done to look better at a later date.

Front view of the 8" touch screen mounted in the Nav pod. Since the 8" screen is narrow by 2-3 mm per side, I initially painted it a flat dark grey, but then later used electrical tape to finish it off. Tape looks much better...

Installing the wire harness...

Here is a test fit before I cut the dash. So close but the green connector is right up against the dash which means a lot of cutting is required... :frown:

A test run to make sure things were working before I cut the dash the next day...

I installed the XM unit under the passenger glove right beside the Keyless entry module. It was a perfect fit. Just waiting for the XM antenna to arrive.

A perfect test fit after I cut the dash. :wink:

Here you go, balls of steel! that's the cut dash... :biggrin:

Final fit. Yes, I screwed down the Nav pod into the dash. At this point, who cares about to little holes! :biggrin: I cut the center console in half. I'll probably have a shop mod the console trim so that it looks aesthetically good. I don't think I can do as good a job on that front...

The money shot! Though the Climate control bulbs are dim, they are color matched with the TL (notice the climate switch as well?) Yes, I modded the Acura Navigation to show a pic of the NSX upon bootup... can you believe I was going to settle for just modding the the Acura logo to Honda? no way!

Still some things left to do...

- fix the mic connections in the harness (not looking forward to this)
- extend the XM radio harness (not looking forward to this)
- fix the voice nav output to radio (not sure what the hells wrong wire are ok)
- mount and install the XM antenna
- get a shop to finish the trim
- waiting for the JDM switches to wire up my HFL talk / back and voice talk / back buttons...

That should be it!

 

[4AU4LIFE]

That is completely amazing!!! I'm so jealous right now.
Outstanding job. I might have to tackle something like that for my Integra.
Thank you so much for posting pics.
Congratulations. :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

 

[sgvnsxrated]

Looks sweet. Definately got some balls for cutting up that dash. But great end-result. Lets hope you never change your mind.

 

[D'Ecosse]

Definitely a project - my hat off to you for trying something like that, especially the dash!

Like everyone else we've been eager to see it & I know some might be critical of the aesthetic aspect before it's finished - I'm confident it will be awesome when you're completed.
I think the console issues are very workable - you've done all the hard part!
The two big knobs are probably the biggest obstacle re the fit - if you could find some smaller knobs you might still be able to use a console intact and keep a frame around it. With splitting it though, I'm not sure how you can secure the console especially the lower half, since the ashtray mounting point is gone. These are intended as constructive comments, by no means criticism - you're in uncharted territory so additional creativity is going to be necessary. However you've already demonstrated that you have that in abundance!

 

[White92]

Awesome job! Quick question though. In order for the nav to work, are there any speed sensors or anything like that? How does the nav unit know that the car is moving, how much it's moving and how fast it's moving? I'm not sure how that works.

 

[Dave Hardy]

If you want smaller knobs, I can probably help. Let me know.

 

[bsudiro]

Great job! I really do admire your bravery and creativity! :smile:
Out of curiosity, have you tested the setup with DVD-Audio discs ?? How do they sound in 5.1 setup ??

Cheers .. Gus

 

[The Kid]

Looks unreal!! Can you post some pics of the installation totally finished. The last pic didnt look like everything was totally flush...

 

[DocL]

That looks great. I've some custom fabrications of my own, but nothing that compares to what you did. I can't wait to see the finished trim around the center console.

 

[lithiumus]

Thanks for all the positive comments. I really appreciate it, especially from this crew!

Thanks for the tip D'ecosse, the mounting point is gone but it seems to fit pretty tight down there. I kept the temp sensor so that might have helped keep it from dropping down. I might have to make a bracket for it. But we'll see.. thanks again!

White92, The GPS sensor alone is able to determine speed and position. I did hook up a wire to the car's VSP. This makes the unit much more accurate. Also, when you start the car up, usually it takes a few minutes to aquire the GPS signals so the VSP signal is used until the GPS is online.

Dave_Hardy, thanks for the offer on the knobs. I'm still undecided about how to proceed on that. I like the current size of the knobs and they fit and are functional. If I install the trim, it will fit right under the knob and should still work. I'll let you know. Thanks in advance.

bsudiro, I have not tested DVD-A yet. The unit is 5.1 but I am only using 3.1 (minus the front center channel and on rear channel). I couldn't find a high quality 3" mid range speaker that I was considering installing on the top of the Nav pod. I wonder how big the OEM TL center speaker is... hmmm...

Bridgewater, that last pic is where the system stands right now. I need to get a shop to help me grind and custom fit the trim. It will be flush then.

 

[6mtV6]

lithiumus: That's a great setup.
How did you change the Acura Navigation screen to show a pic of the NSX upon boot up?

 

[Texas91Brent]

That is f-n awesome!! We may have to start rewarding trophies for the best or creative stereo systems!!! I am speechless.... :biggrin:

 

[ChrisK]

That is simply beautiful. You are one brave and talented person.

 

[newby]

It's been a couple months now.... is that TL NAV/STEREO conversion complete??? I'm very anxious to see the results!!

 

[lithiumus]

In essence, it's 80% complete as is. The Nav and stereo are fully functional except the XM radio which needs the antenna and wires extended...

Unfortunately, there is no update... a few weeks after the post, I broke my right arm snowboarding so I couldn't do anything. I'm right handed and I can use my arm now but this kind of work involves a lot more dexterity and strength which will probably take a month or so to get back.

I'm moving back to Toronto Canada so I probably won't be able to do anymore work until the summer. I hate leaving my car at shops but for the console trim, I'll probably need to leave it to get it fabricated and fitted. I'm just not up to fussing with the cosmetic side of it...

I'll complete all the functional wiring, etc if I gain my arm strength back soon! Take care and thanks for watching! I'm at the home stretch, I just took a nasty fall...

 

[newby]

In essence, it's 80% complete as is. The Nav and stereo are fully functional except the XM radio which needs the antenna and wires extended...

Unfortunately, there is no update... a few weeks after the post, I broke my right arm snowboarding so I couldn't do anything. I'm right handed and I can use my arm now but this kind of work involves a lot more dexterity and strength which will probably take a month or so to get back.

I'm moving back to Toronto Canada so I probably won't be able to do anymore work until the summer. I hate leaving my car at shops but for the console trim, I'll probably need to leave it to get it fabricated and fitted. I'm just not up to fussing with the cosmetic side of it...

I'll complete all the functional wiring, etc if I gain my arm strength back soon! Take care and thanks for watching! I'm at the home stretch, I just took a nasty fall...

Sorry to hear about your fall. I ripped my knee pretty good a couple years ago boarding and that was bad enough. I cannot imagine breaking an arm and not being able to do normal daily routines (like working on the NSX). How did you find that system out of the TL. I know you said it came out of a salvage vehicle, but how did you find out about it.

Well, I'll just wait to see the results next summer :smile:

 

[Russ]

The pics in this thread seem to have disappeared. Any chance of reposting them?

 

[lithiumus]

My old service provider changed so the links are dead. I'm working on uploading them to prime so it will stay up indefinitely. There has been no upgrade to the system so no new pics. I'll try to get the original pics plus more detailed pics up this week.

G

 

[NorCalwhite]

Hey you did what I have been thinking of doing, I was going to upgrade my 99 shortly after buying my TL, but when building a house you need extra cash.
Any way I just pickup a nice 95 and will either put in the Eclipse unit or see how your install went (and looks) I had also looked into setting up a car pc with wireless and about 120 gig hd to hold all my music. I could download to the car with it in the garage. I hope to see your pics of the install

 

[lithiumus]

Ok here are the most up to date picutures starting from the beginning of the project...

This is the 04 TL system after I got it and did an initial teardown. At this point, I had no idea if this was going to fit, etc...

This is the front piece of the radio unit. I shaved one side and about to begin the other side...

I used rivets to hold the L brackets in place. For anyone who has taken out the OEM stereo, you know what I'm talking about, these are the mounting brackets.... more on this...

This is first step to the wiring, testing all the pieces to ensure they work 100%

This was the beginning of my wire harness. The bulk of the wire harness is really isolated between the Nav units so I used an after market harness to connect to the factory radio harness. The output of the TL radio works perfectly with the NSX speakers. I can always update this in the future...

This is the harness in a 1/2 completed state. Took me more than 8 hours of work time to complete the harness and I still have issues!

This is the harness in the final stages, just some more electrical tape wrap left...

This is the TL radio comlpetely dissassembled. I needed to do this to get to the bottom of the unit to rivet the L brackets on the bottom... what a pain that was... you can see I also had to use tape to prevent the rivets from shorting the circuit board on the bottom. The L brackets are also visible on the top piece.

This is the LCD screen mounted in the Nav pod. I used 2 sided foam tape so I could remove it in the future if necessary...

I mounted the HFL / Voice recognition mic in the dome light module and just cut 2 slits in the lens. I'll probably buy another lens and have it professionally done to look better at a later date.

Front view of the 8" touch screen mounted in the Nav pod. Since the 8" screen is narrow by 2-3 mm per side, I initially painted it a flat dark grey, but then later used electrical tape to finish it off. Tape looks much better...

Installing the wire harness...

Here is a test fit before I cut the dash. So close but the green connector is right up against the dash which means a lot of cutting is required...

A test run to make sure things were working before I cut the dash the next day...

I installed the XM unit under the passenger glove right beside the Keyless entry module. It was a perfect fit. Just waiting for the XM antenna to arrive.

A perfect test fit after I cut the dash.

Here you go, balls of steel! that's the cut dash...

Final fit. Yes, I screwed down the Nav pod into the dash. At this point, who cares about to little holes! I cut the center console in half. I'll probably have a shop mod the console trim so that it looks aesthetically good. I don't think I can do as good a job on that front...

The money shot! Though the Climate control bulbs are dim, they are color matched with the TL (notice the climate switch as well?) Yes, I modded the Acura Navigation to show a pic of the NSX upon bootup... can you believe I was going to settle for just modding the the Acura logo to Honda? no way!

Still some things left to do... (Updated)

- mount and install the XM antenna (Antenna on the way)
- get a shop to finish the trim (haven't done this yet...)
- JDM switches to wire up my HFL talk / back and voice talk / back buttons... (buttons arrived, need to do more wiring soon...)

 

[amgnsx]

OHHHH myyy LORD!!!!!
sweet!!!!!!!!!

 

[NSXROX]

Freakin unbelievable. Nice work. Would have never thought it would fit.