Car Audio/Alarms/UConnect/NavigationThis section is for topics related to the LX audio/video and navigation systems, alarms, upgrades, modifications, etc.
I'm knee deep now, so I figured it was about time to start documenting some of this. Partly for general interest and partly because I am going to need some help along the way.
Let's begin with what I've started with and what the end goal is. Frankly I'm starting completely stock - Boston Premium 8 speaker package with REC and VES. Over the three years I've had my car I've done a lot of exterior appearance, engine bay stuff, and a bit of performance mods - but the interior has been left mostly untouched... aside from some BT shiny stuff and fun gadgets: Trinity/radar/car cam. As far as my REC, the nav stick broke a long time ago and recently my screen has gone blank - which has quickly moved this project up on the timeline.
So here is what my end goal is... I'm not trying to do anything crazy and I didn't want to spend a ton of money. I think I've kept to the promise of nothing crazy... but the money seems to add up quickly - electronics ain't cheap!! The original plan was for a Mygig upgrade and replace all speakers and add new amp/sub. This was largely because I wanted to keep a stock look and I wanted to retain steering wheel control and uconnect, etc. But the more I looked into how our crazy cars communicate with the stock amp and the mess with all of that, I've simply decided to go completely aftermarket and replace everything... right down to the speaker wires.
Starts with a new Clarion NX headunit. All speakers and amp are from JL Audio: The center dash speaker has already been deleted and the two side speakers are 3.5" C2's. Then 6"x9" C2's in the front doors and the rear deck. Delete the stock sub in the rear deck and add a 12W3 to a trunk fender enclosure. Amp is an XD 700/5, so the front 3.5's will run directly off of the HU, while the four 6x9's will get about 75w a channel and the sub will get about 300w. Also running a 3 farad cap - please no comments on how caps don't work.
So far, so good. I've installed systems before... although it was nearly 20 years ago. But the extras I'm adding are where the challenges are coming from - and where I'll have questions. So I'm also adding a PS2 slim and a Cobra 1000w inverter for it. The plan is to run the PS2 into an A/V switch in the glove box and then into the HU. From there the signal will also run back to the VES as a second zone. Also in the glovebox will be a USB switch with a 1 terabyte harddrive - which then runs into the HU.
Also plan for an iPhone dock somewhere (latest idea is ashtray) - this dock will run to both devices in the glove box: the A/V splitter and the USB splitter. This way I can utilize the Clarion's A/V and USB inputs for multiple things... switch from PS2 and/or harddrive over to iPhone (the Clarion can grab data from the iPhone via USB and video via the A/V).
The last part of the plan (for now) is some type of control panel. Probably going to be in the slot next to the gearshift and will have NoESP switch / cutout switch / amp dial / etc.
So if you are still reading, you now know my plans. And since I've made it public, I've gotta do it now!!!
Last night I pretty much sealed up my commitment to this project with some of the final purchases. So as soon as everything arrives, I'll be putting it all together as time allows. I'll keep this thread updated as I go... and as I run into problems.
The cost of all of this is much more than expected. I can't imagine how much it would cost for professional installation - which is what I keep telling myself to justify spending more money than I planned to. And to be honest, you really do know what you are getting into when you are pricing out a HU, amp, sub, speakers, etc. What I wasn't quite ready for was the cost of all of the extras... cables/connectors/fuses/fuse block/more cables/distribution block/orings/heatshrink/more cables/etc/etc. Not to mention that if you want all that the HU offers, you also have to get: sirius tuner/microphone/iphone connect/rear cam/bypass/etc.
Here is my almost complete, actual part list that I have been keeping... note how much of it is just extra STUFF... that adds up!
A/V – HARDDRIVE – GAMING X A/V switcher X USB cable type A to B $ X USB switcher Apple charging dock Apple dock extender Sony PS2 Slim gaming system Sony SCPH-10020 PS2 memory card Sony SCPH-10020 PS2 memory card X PS2 wireless controller X PS2 wireless controller Monster Cable PL PS2-10 PS2 power cable Monster Cable PGL200 PS2 A/V cable Cobra CPI-1000 inverter X fuse breaker Western Digital 1 T harddrive
Stinger SHD20 0-4 AWG dist block Stinger SPT5108 8 AWG ring terminals Stinger SPT8144 4 AWG ring terminals Stinger SPT8144 4 AWG ring terminals Stinger SPT8144 4 AWG ring terminals Stinger SPT8101 0 AWG ring terminals Stinger SPT8101 0 AWG ring terminals Stinger SWT4B 4 AWG wire holder Stinger SWT4B 4 AWG wire holder X USB covers X plug covers X RCA jack covers X blue carpet X spray adhesive X ½” mdf board X metal brackets X screws/washers X wire holders X convoluted tubing X Velcro X LED trunk bulb X LED strips
Yikes! Okay. Off my soap box now. The spending pain is over. Now it's just install pain.
Now onto the fun stuff - the install! And pictures!
Here's what I've done so far. Awhile ago I removed the center dash speaker and replaced the other two dash speakers with JL Audio C2-350x. They are currently running off of the REC and I will be adding direct lines from the Clarion when it's installed. Here's the old and the new...
I ended up just making a couple of spades from the leads so that I could retain the factory plug... although that doesn't matter anymore as I plan to run new wires directly to the HU, not through the factory harness...
So those just need some fresh wire and they are good to go!
NEXT UP - amp/electronics rack/board for PS2 and inverter
Since this was all going to run independent from the rest of the system, aside from a single A/V cable, I decided to tackle this first. I should say that I not only need to keep my trunk space, but I also need to be able to fold my seats down, as I often fill my car for work purposes. That's why I'm going with a rear fender enclosure. This also made me decide to mount everything on the back of the rear seats - and keep the split seat function... which crammed my plans.
So here we go... about to get pic heavy ... some 3CF advice once told me not to mount directly to the seat (I think because of metal in the seat with the screws. ?). But also, the seat isn't a consistent surface, so I bought a big piece of MDF.
Measured the opening to the trunk with a piece of cardboard and cut that out
Then measured and cut out the electronics and started coming up with an install and wiring plan... much easier to work with cardboard
Finally decide on a layout
Now it's time to work on the smaller PS2/inverter side. Transfer the cardboard cutout over to the MDF board and cut it out. Slowly started shaping it until I got a perfect fit into the trunk opening and finished it with a nice rounded edge.
Now it's time to carpet the board. If any of you have seen my engine bay, you probably aren't surprised I went with blue. Which by the way, I had to buy an entire roll since nobody would sell me a couple of yards - guess I'm the only one who wants blue enclosure carpet. So if anybody needs any let me know. First time carpeting MDF for me - started awful, then I figured it out.
Now we're ready for some electronics!!!
CONTINUED...
The Following User Says Thank You to Fisch For This Useful Post:
I wanted the PS2 and inverter over on the small side so that it could be easily accessed by a rear driver side passenger. But I first had to come up with a way to attach the PS2 to the board. After a couple of "cage-like" disaster ideas, I ended up just using some plain old metal plates that were pre-drilled. Of course, I had to color-match them to my engine cover.
Then it was time to break out some of my favorite stuff in the world - JB Weld. Sanded down the bottom of the PS2 and the power pack and then "welded" the metal braces on...
And after a full day of hardening, I've got a mountable PS2... and the mounts are purty
So that gets us to here...
Now the challenging part - wiring. I really wanted to do a nice clean install, so I decided to cut all of the cords, shorten them, re-solder them, and wrap them back up. I ended up getting the Monster Cable cords for the PS2 because they were much thicker and easier to work with... plus they are blue
After all cords were cut to the perfect length, I used some wire holder thingys to screw them into the board - they aren't going anywhere now...
Now I just mount all of the electronics and connect everything - woohoo! Easily accessible to the person in the rear drivers side seat, and surprisingly, when the seat is down I can get to it easily from the drivers seat. Here ya go...
Now it's time to get some power to this thing...
The Following User Says Thank You to Fisch For This Useful Post:
This became a bit of a pain, but came out well. I went with 4 gauge cable (blue - imagine that ) and ran it down the crack between the seat and under the trunk floorboard thing. There is also an 8 gauge grey cable that is a chassis ground to the bolt behind the seats.
There is a nice cutout in the floorboard for the factory cables, so I just ran the power and ground alongside that and ziptied/cable clamped them in place. One thing to note - I noticed the edge of the metal right at the battery is pretty sharp and it could cut into a line. That wouldn't be good if the power line hit the body right there. I had some extra black door trim from my engine cover project so I lined the whole thing. I'm also going to add some extra convoluted tubing for safe measure.
I brought the ground wire down around the battery to the negative terminal. Which, I gotta stop and say, these JL Audio battery terminals are awesome - they have three outputs from 0 to 8 gauge or a ring terminal connection. I went through quite a few cheap terminals, when I should have just bought these first. Highly recommend them. Anyways, I brought the 4 gauge inverter ground into one port, (the second port will be for a 0 gauge running to a distribution block to the cap/amp when I get there,) and I used the third port for the factory ground. Although I replaced the factory cable with a 0 gauge cable - check out the difference...
Now onto the power cable... and one of the coolest things IMO - a circuit breaker! Yeah, I've been out of the game for awhile, but I've never seen a circuit breaker in a car. I was a little worried about mounting it in this location because I drilled into that back wall and screwed in the circuit breaker. All was good though - I was careful, but still didn't feel anything (like a gas tank) within an inch or so behind that metal. Which is good, because I also plan to mount a fuse block and ground distribution block next to this. So, 4 gauge blue power going into 100amp circuit breaker then over to the battery...
Now comes the biggest pain so far - the factory positive terminal. I have another one of the JL Audio battery terminals for it and the plan is: first port will be the factory cable on an ring terminal adapter, (second port will be a 4 gauge power to cap/amp,) and the third port is the 4 gauge power going to the circuit breaker for the inverter. The last one was no big deal - ready to attach. But what to do with the factory positive cable?
The cable is 0 gauge, but it also has what I would guess is an 8 gauge cable also crimped into it - the smaller cable runs to the rear fuse box. Problem was that the biggest ring terminals I had were 0 gauge. I was scared to cut the cables as I figured I wouldn't be able to get them into my ring terminals. So I got out the dremel...
Man that metal is hard!! Got through it though. I then realized from some of the cuts that the crimped part of the factory connector that was still attached was pure copper I believe. So I busted the dremel back out... basically sanded down the metal until I could hammer my 0 gauge ring terminal on. Soldered it up and wrapped it up nicely...
Then it was just connecting it to the ring terminal adapter on the battery terminal - alongside the 4 gauge for the inverter...
Flick the circuit breaker and I have power! Woo hoo I temporarily have the PS2 running to my VES until I install my new headunit. Everything works fine, except I can't get it to fill the screen - even when I alter the screen ratio on the PS2. Not worried about it now - I'm hoping once it routes through the headunit that will be fixed.
So now it's onto the other side of the seat...
CONTINUED...
The Following User Says Thank You to Fisch For This Useful Post:
Well, this was the same as the other side. Used my cutout, traced onto the MDF and then cut and molded it into shape...
And then of course, some blue carpet
Came up with a gameplan for mounting and wiring...
Then screwed it into the seat...
Mounted the cap while I wait for my amp to arrive...
I'm also thinking about adding a small carpeted piece of MDF to this little spot and add a volt meter to it...
But that's as far as I have gotten so far! Now you all are completely up-to-date. Much more to come. USPS/FedEx/UPS are going to be regular visitors for the next couple of weeks, so there is much more to come. And please stay tuned - because I already know I need some help with the next steps that are coming!!!
Open to questions, comments, and especially ADVICE!! Thanks
The Following User Says Thank You to Fisch For This Useful Post:
A bunch of stuff arrived today - but mainly components for the Clarion. No headunit or amp yet, so kind of in a holding pattern. Might tackle the speakers this weekend.
So while I'm waiting, I decided to go ahead and put a volt meter in that little spot with the loop for the trunk cargo net. I actually use the cargo net all the time, but once the sub enclosure goes in the net will be gone... so might as well fill that little spot.
Same procedure as the amp board - cut a piece of cardboard to size, then traced it over to MDF, then shaped the MDF...
The opening is actually at an angle and my MDF is 1/2" thick, so I just kept shaping the back of it until it fit into the spot nice and snug - wanted a clean "factory" like look (even though it will be blue )...
Now it's time for some blue carpet and another test fit...
I cut it just to size so it wedges in there pretty good, but I added some velcro to the edges to make sure it would only pop out when I wanted it to...
Time to mount the volt meter. Drilled a hole to pass the wires through and screwed it into place...
Bench test for power - (with a 9V battery, hence the "LO" rather than actual voltage)...
Then it's time for trunk install. Still testing off of a 9V - I'll wire it up when I run power for the amp. Here ya go...
Much more to come!!!!
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And I'll post some questions here shortly, as I am running into some issues - I'm starting to get some headaches trying to figure out all of the wiring
The Following User Says Thank You to Fisch For This Useful Post:
Ok, first couple of questions... I'll start easy, as the tougher ones come when we get to the VES...
#1 Rear view camera. I have the Clarion CC4001U camera. Three wires - video/ground/reverse lamp. My question is about the reverse lamp. Can't I just wire this to an ignition source, such as the amp turn on lead, and that way the camera will be on all of the time? That way, I can select "rear cam" on the HU and see the rear video at anytime - not just when I'm in Reverse. I know the HU needs a reverse lamp feed so that it will automatically switch the screen over to the rear cam when the car goes into reverse. But I assume if the camera's power supply is tapped into the reverse lamp then I would get nothing when selecting "rear cam" when not in reverse. That make sense? So can I wire the cam's power to ignition, rather than reverse lamp?
#2 Sirius antenna. All of the instructions for installing the Sirius antenna show a million ways to install it on the OUTSIDE of the car. And it simply recommends not installing it inside the car. I had not planned on installing it outside. Could I get away with it being installed at the base of the windshield on the passenger side - on the inside, dashboard? If it must be outside, any suggestions of location? I really don't want it on the outside, but I am surprised at how tiny the antenna is: probably about 1" square. Really impressive.
Any help is greatly appreciated. Plenty of more difficult tasks ahead that I will need assistance with. Thanks.
Hey dude, your doing really well I'm also liking the heavy duty inverter and the kill switch, this build is gonna be great
Oh yeh, definitely have the camera wire to any +ive ignition, the camera will have power to it, you just press the source button and your camera feed is already there
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My audio/video build progress thread...
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