TSX0rz

hey all, i was wondering if anyone has or wants to write a full diy guide with pics on installing subwoofers and an amp including wiring. im not very audio/electronic/wiring savvy and am desperately in need of some help. ive searched for one but to no luck :'( . hoping someone here can help me out thanks in advance guys.

gfxdave99

http://www.electronixwarehouse.com/e...installamp.htm

http://www.clubknowledge.com/page5.html

http://www.caraudiohelp.com/how_to_i..._a_car_amp.htm

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-...all_steps.html

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zazen721

i think he meant in the tsx and not just some general info....

elduderino

If you want to become a DIY audio installer, let me give you a word of valuable advice:

Do what the professionals do - learn on other people's cars!

In your case, volunteer to help your friends. Talk your friends into buying some gear on the premise that you will help put it in. Make your mistakes on your friend's 95 Integra, not your TSX. Then when you've learned enough to be dangerous, you can take on your own car.

(P.S. While said lightly, I am totally serious.)

Dan Martin

gfxdave's links will give you a good idea in what's involved with installing your own amp but there are a few TSX specific items you'll need to address.

Issue 1: Running the 12V wire to the amp.
You need to get through the firewall and there aren't many grommets available for this. If you have a 5AT you can use the grommet that is normally occupied by the clutch like Ortiz did (http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...&threadid=3900). If you have a 6MT there is a grommet that is accessable from the engine bay. It's located directly in the center of the firewall about 4-6" below the wipers.
Here's a pic:


Yes I know my engine is dirty...
As you might notice I just have the wire with the plastic wrap going throught the firewall and no grommet. This is a big and I have since installed a grommet there to prevent water from entering behind the dash.

Issue 2: Remote power-on switch line.
Because you want the amp to switch on and off with the car you need to tap into a switched power source for the remote lead. I just tapped into the positive wire to the power adapter in the center console under the arm rest but there may be easier ones to get to. I had the center console practically disassembled anyways so it really wasn't a big deal.

Issue 3: Hiding the cables
I ran the cables under the trim panels along the driver’s side of the car. This is where the service manual comes in handy. There are a bunch of clips holding the trim down and if you don’t know where they are you’ll have a bitch of a time removing them. I can scan a few of the pages for you if you need.

Issue 4: Getting sound to the amp.
Most of us have just used a Line Output Converter (LOC) and tapped into the signal wires going into the rear 6x9's. It works well but just make sure you take the signal from both speakers and not just one.

Issue 5: Grounding the amp.
I just drilled a hole next to the spare tire and used a self-tapping screw to secure the grounding cable. This is by far the easy way and I have had no problems with this method in either of the cars that I have installed amps in. Some people have experienced a ground loop situation when they ground at the chassis (you’ll hear a humming noise coming through the sub if you have a ground problem). In this case there are a couple solutions: a) use a GLI to filter isolate the ground or b) run a new ground to back to the battery.

I think that’s about it. Allow a good 2 hours to do everything correctly. It took me the better part of a day just because I struggled a lot finding a good grommet for the power to pass through but knowing what I now know I’d be able to do the whole install in an hour.

elduderino

Good write-up, Dan. Glad to see you've plugged your leak : )

I would add a couple of things:

Put a fuse at your (+) battery terminal. This keeps a pinched wire from burning your new TSX to the ground.

According to the factory wiring diagrams, there should be a remote turn-on wire at the factory amp in the center console (yellow/green, also feeds the window antenna booster coil). This is what Acura uses to turn the factory amp on and off with the radio, rather than with the key. If you care, there you go. If you don't have a voltmeter, don't even think about looking for this wire. It's NOT in the same connector as power and ground, according to the diagram.

Dan Martin

Well it never leaked. I just wouldn't recommend anyone drive without one. It was only like that for a few days. I was actually more concerned with vibration chewing through the plastic casing around the wire and eventually into the power line.

I should have mentioned the fuse but the wiring kit I bought had one already installed so I didn't even have to think about it.

TSX0rz

gfxdave99: thanks for the links, ive seen most of them before, i was lookin for some specifics in the tsx auto but re-reading those sites did help.

dan martin: thank you thank you thank you. those pics from the manual would be a great help! that was one of my main concerns as i knew i would have to run the wires on both sides of my car and didnt want to break any clips. im planning to pull the signal from the 2 6x9's in the rear also with a converter. i have a 5at with no navi. how are the wires behind the stock head unit? are the wires hard to find? im tempted to go in and remove it to check out how the wiring looks and see if its beyond my ability lol. thanks for the info.

elduderino: thanks for the tip, but im not following what you mean? by fuse do you mean those 40wat 30wat etc things that come with the wiring kits? i need to tap the wire for the Yellow/Red, cavity A9 on a wiring diagram i found from this forum so that my amp turns on when the stereo is on? am i right in assuming this or was i told wrong? thanks again!

Dan Martin

There's really no reason to remove the head unit. You don't need to hook anything up to it if you use a LOC off of the rear 6x9's. The only thing you have to do is to run the remote line to the cigarette lighter. To do that you just have to remove the CD storage bin and the cup holders. You could use the cigarette lighter under the CD storage bin and skip the removal of the cup holders but I found that everything is really tightly wrapped under the storage bin so I just ran the remote lead to the power outlet in the armrest because there is more space to work with there.

You shouldn't have to run wires on both sides of the car, just the drivers side. I'll take some pics of the instructions tomorrow (if I don't, send me a PM to remind me!). Definitely use the grommet that Ortiz used if you have the 5AT. It's way easier to push the cable through. The grommet is not ideal because you can't see the cable when it enters the back of the dash. You'll also have a shorter run when you use Ortiz's grommet.

As for the fuse elduderino mentioned, it is inline with the main 12V cable that connects directly to your battery. It looks like this:


or this:


Don't worry about attacking any of the wiring harnesses...you don't need to. The power outlet will switch your amp on and off with the car.

TSX0rz

so all i have to do is tap the 6x9's for the signal, then run a line from the LOC into the cigarette lighter (im assuming the power outlet where i would plug my cell phone charger?) and run the a wire straight to my battery and i will be done? oh yeah and that fuse thing, thats just the cable that i get if i buy one of those wiring kits right? btw how do the wires look for the outlet? this info is really making it easier but im still not too confident about doing this haha. oh yeah if its easier for you to just email me the pics, my email is kwok@csupomona.edu. whichever way is easiest for you is fine with me, thanks again

Dan Martin

You've got things a little mixed up...

If you were to plug the wires from the 6x9's directly into your amp, you'd blow your amp because the signal would be too high. The LOC takes this signal and converts it down to a level your amp can handle. It doesn't need to be hooked up to a power source. Check out http://davidnavone.com/adaptor_products.htm and scroll down to N-777. This is the type of LOC I would recommend. Some amplifiers now have an LOC built into them but make 100% yours does before you plug a high-level signal into it.

Basically you've got 4 things you need to hook up:
1) Amplifier +12V - This is the big red wire you run through your car and hook up directly to the battery. You put the fuse on this line.
2) Amplifier ground - You screw this to the body near the spare tire. It should be as big as your +12V cable but black.
3) Remote power on cable - Inside the amplifier there is a little relay that allows you to turn your amp on or off remotely. This relay will turn the amp on when there is positive voltage running through the remote cable. This cable is usually fairly skinny because there isn't much current being carried by it, just enough to tell the relay to turn on. I think blue is the standard color but it really doesn't matter.
4) Audio signal - This is where the LOC comes in. One end of the LOC splices into the leads coming into the 6x9's. The other end has RCA jacks that hook up to your amp.

Thats it!

TSX0rz

your right, my mistake with the post, i forgot to mention the LOC. thanks for the list, now i know what i need to buy before i start attempting the install. im pretty confident with everything now but am still iffy with the remote power on cable and the whole concept of tapping, splicing wires and that kinda stuff. i can picture it mentally pretty good, i just hope i can perform! cant wait to see the pics dan your help is greatly appreciated

Dan Martin

Just go to Best Buy or Circuit City and pick up a wiring kit. It will have everything you need (less the LOC) to hook up your amp. The only tools you need are a philips screwdriver, a crimper (for crimping ends on the cables), a pair of pliers, and a drill. The drill is for mounting the ground to the body. You drill a small hole, just big enough for the screw to grab.

Dan Martin

Here's a shot of the manual on how to remove the side trim:

To remove the center console panel (where the cup holders are) just use this method: http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...hlight=removal

e_lectro

I used a different grommet... follow the wire set with the green clips to the firewall, I used that one. I covered the power wire in split loom and electrical tape like stock and you never notice it.

Also as a plus, that grommet is easy to get to and east to take off/put on.

TSX0rz

thanks for all the help fellas, its been very helpful and i appreciate it greatly, gonna get started on this next week or so after i finish all my finals. ill post the results when i get it done!

bob shiftright

I want to use that same dead-center hole in the firewall to run the cable for a LE-30 laser jammer, which is thicker than a single power cable so I didn't want to try threading it through the larger, main wiring harness grommet on the passenger's side of the firewall. I discovered that there's a rubberized backing pad behind the smaller grommet and the heater core seems to be immediately behind that. My questions are 1.) how did you fish the wire through or around the backing pad and air ductwork? Did you fish to the driver's side or passenger's side? and 2.) where did you get the 20MM (?) grommet or "blind plug" that you eventually used to fill the hole? I couldn't find anything suitable at either PepBoys or Home Depot. Thanks!!!!

Dan Martin

I removed the covers under the steering wheel and above the pedals to give me a little more room to work under there. Basically I just fed a good 3 or 4 feet of wire behind the console until I could see it spooling out the side. I don't think there's any textbook way of doing it but two people would probably make it easier.

The grommet I used came from Acura. It was $0.50. Unfortunately I don't know what the part number is but I just brought the mangled plug that I pulled out of the hole and asked what they had for grommets in that size.

bob shiftright

Thanks! I'll try that.

I pushed the grommet through and into the deep, dark recesses behind the firewall! BTW, what I thought was the replacement Acura Grommet (20MM Plug, blind) lists for something like $2.33 (US)! It's not going to break the bank, but about, geez, about $2.31 of that must represent profit!

Dan Martin

I think it totally depends on what dealer you go to but some will bend you over on some of the simplest things.

bob shiftright

That's the advantage if they just went to their generic box-o-grommets rather than the Official Acura parts catalog!

bob shiftright

That center hole in the firewall is a really good place to get through!

Thet grommet is p.n 95551-20000 PLUG, BLIND (20MM)

I first tried fishing to the left (passenger side) with no success. Seems the AC evaporator and heater core are in then way. So I then fished to the right (driver's side) and the fish easily came out around the gas pedal, I then re-fished horizontally behind the console and pulled my wire out under the glovebox where I wanted it. Thanks, Dan!

Dan Martin

No problem Bob. Glad it was useful.

vasu

I need some help getting through the firewall please (TSX/5AT)

I'm wanna use the hole that Ortiz used, in the link you referenced Dan Martin, if I push the wire through that, where does it end up?

If I use the center hole, where does it end up?

This is my first time going through the firewall, and I'm not sure where the cable goes when I push it through. Do I need a snake, or can I just push it through?

Also, elduderino mentioned tapping power at the fusebox instead of at the battery ... is that ok to do as well if I'm using a 4ga wire back to 2 amps?

-vasu

Dan Martin

It's a lot easier getting through the firewall in an AT car because you can use the hole where the line for the clutch would normally pass through. If you look up at the top of the pedals from the inside of the car you can see where the hole is. It's easier to push through from this side and find the wire in your engine bay than it is vice-versa.

vasu

Ok, I need help doing this. I looked around the pedels, and I looked up above the gas pedel. The closest thing I saw is what looks like a white shirt button, stuck there. Is that what I'm looking for?

There's a lot of plastic underdashboard material above the pedels, do I need to remove this? It didn't look like I could read any kind of plug or hole without taking all the plastic under there off

sniff

The white shirt button is not it and you don't really need to remove the plastic panel. It might help to have someone tug on the wire harness going through the firewall and you seeing where it's coming out underneath the the steering wheel. Then just push your power wire through the grommet as much as possible and now you have an idea where that wire came through.

vasu

i shoulda replied to this earlier, I got it a couple hours after I posted that question. I used a half inch drill bit, not to drill a hole, but as a sharp thick oject to poke a whole through the existic rubber gasket, parallel to the wire. This also allevitated the need to install an additional grommet.

Basically I taped the front of the power cable to the back of the drill bit ... like sewing with needle and thread, only much more manly.

-vasu