fperkins.com – Frank Perkins

Well, my plan was to keep my Accord for another year and then buy a new car. Of course, about three days after my loan was paid, I was already shopping for a new car. The Acura Tl was on my short list for a few years and when I heard they had low interest loans, well… ya know how it is.

One of the accessories I was most interested in was the iPod integration. However, after reading the forums, it turns out the 400 bucks for the accessory was not worth it [IMO]. I decided I would an auxiliary input and continue to use my Audiovox 6600 phone as my mp3 player/phone/PDA. In my old Accord, I had used a cradle and clip from Proclip and was really happy with my installation. I ran the wires through the vent and it looked very clean as you can see here. I wanted to do something similar for the TL, so I read just about every forum post at TL Acurazine forums. I decided that I would wire an AUX input and mount the phone over the left vent by using a combination of the cradle and a vent mount clip. I would have purchased another clip from Proclip, but I didn’t like the mounting options over the middle vent or by the left side bottom aluminum trim. Not to mention, I did not want to have to remove the center dash to hide the wires through the vents. I decided the left vent was the perfect place since it wouldn’t block the top of navigation displays and the removal of the left side vent didn’t involve messing around with the aluminum trip pieces or using a “vent puller” needed for the center dash [sorta scary].

Brand new car.. take it apart!

AUX input installation

There are several different options for installing an auxiliary input in your TL. You can tap into the audio through two locations: front of the car or through the trunk. To get audio, you can use a PIE/Blitzsafe adapter or make your own relay. All of these options are in the TL acurazine forums. I knew I didn’t want to tap into the trunk because I didn’t want to have to run the wires all the way up the front of the car. I also didn’t want to use the PIE option, because I didn’t like the switch to change the current input. I decided to use the Soundgate AUX3 input switch and tap into the audio from the connection in the back of the radio. Not having to take apart the dash was a plus [although I did take out the left vent and bottom driver side dash].

For the AUX input, you’ll need:

Soundgate AUX3 input [~40.00]
Add-A-Circuit for power [~7.00]
4 RCA solder plugs [5.00]
Honda Audio Sub Harness: 08A31-0E1-010 [~40.00]
Heat shrink tubing
Soldering iron and solder
electrical tape

As you see, it will cost you less than 100.00 dollars.

Prior to starting the install, you can wire up your sub harness. Since the colors do not match the schematics for the wiring, you will need to be careful to wire your RCA plugs properly. Print out these two diagrams and simply mark the sub harness wire connector’s colors next to the original plugs: Radio Connector Inputs, Wiring diagram

You’re basically going to be cutting B5, B6, B13, B14. When you cut back the black shrink tubing, you will notice the ground also shields the cable. Just cut that back as well. I created 4 RCA plugs and soldered that to the harness. If you use color coded RCA plugs, it will be easier to remember which side was L and which was R.

RCA plugs attached to harness

Now that you got your harness ready, it’s time for the hard part; removing connector B from the back of the radio. To get at the connector, Ill quote stefan2 from the forums:

“..the connector is on far end right side of the Radio, Navy or not, it’s the same HU (at least it’s the same in Canada). Fold the carpet down (there are 2 pieces of plastic to hold it) this will unveil the little space alowing to see the connector, but you need a flash light) If you lay down on your back (sorry for pour explanations details, i’m french…) and put your head against the accelerator and look towards the back of the radio you should see it.”

This post from VtecMW also helped a lot:

“Use a long flat head screwdriver.

If you look at the Honda Y-harness, you will see that the release connector is positioned slightly to the left of the connector. Aim the screwdriver there when trying to release the TL’s factory harness. If you’re lucky, the connector will stay pressed in.

Then, you can use the screwdriver on the side of the connector where it meets the head unit. Gently pry it. If it doesn’t start to move the release button isn’t pressed in. Go back to trying to get the release button pressed in. I thought I heard a click when I got it. But, don’t hold me to that.”

And from my own experience, it actually seems impossible. I found the least painful way to get at the connection was to move the seat all the way back and tilt it all the way back. Then adjust your steering column all the way up and out. I then turned around and lowered my self, face up down towards the gas and brake pedals. Using a screwdriver as suggested and a mini mag light resting on my head, I just worked at the connection until it finally released. It took me a few hours, but when it finally popped, it was like heaven! What wasn’t fun is the brake and accelerator pedals digging into one side of my head while the carpet pressed into the other side. Beside all the blood rushing to my head and a slight sense of claustrophobia, it all worked in the end. Try not to give up. You can do it!

The green dot is the part that needs to be pushed down so you can pop out the connector

Fuzzy picture of the connector you need to unplug

Now that the connector is off, you can attach your harness. Be sure to double check your work though. The last thing you want to do is to have to unplug it from radio again!

To power the Soundgate AUX3, simply go down to auto zone and buy an add-a-circuit. It basically splits an existing fuse allowing you to use it for your accessory. I had tried tapping into another power source, but the Soungate wouldn’t work. You need a good 12V power supply and a good ground for it actually power up and work properly.

Add a circuit…added

For the ground, I loosened the 10mm bolt found to the left of the steering column and attached my ground [I had already had my bottom dash removed as you will read below]

To attach the switch, I did as most others and dremeled out the blank plug to the right of the side mirror adjuster. Take your time removing the material inside. I marked the center of the gray plug and then drilled a small hole. I then used bigger and bigger drill bits until I had a hole about half the size I needed it to be. I then dremeled out the remaining material until the hole was big enough to allow the switch inside. I wasn’t able to put the back plastic nut around the switch because there wasn’t enough room. My fit was really snug and I didn’t need it though. Be sure to put the plastic boot though so the 3 wire prongs are protected.

Switch mounted in blank

Mounting the Phone

It really sucks that there isn’t a cradle for the Audiovox 6600 that will provide power and sound. In order to get sound, you need to plug in the 2.5mm plug on top of the phone. Anyway, I took the mount I previously was using from my Accord and attached it to a vent mount clip I purchased.

To remove the bottom part of the dash and the left side vent mount, take a gander at these scans: Lower Dash Removal, Left Vent removal

Removing the lower dash was actually pretty easy. Just take it slow and don’t bend the dash too much or it may crease. I didn’t have any problems though and you shouldn’t either if you follow the directions carefully.

Now that I had the left side vent off, I could mount and run all my wires. I order to run the audio and power cables through the vent, I had to cut them and then reattach. You’re not going to be able to get the RCA plugs or the power converter for the cablethrough, so that’s your only option. Not a big deal.

Cradle mounted and cables routed through vent

I’m really happy with the install. There are no visible wires and the phone is mounted in a place that easily allows me to change songs and view who is calling with the HFL starts up. Most importantly, it sounds great and I still have an extra AUX input for an iPod if I ever go that route. I hope this helps and inspires you to add your own AUX input into your TL