ocarman3

My wife has a 2005 TL and when she was taking her car in for service one day she read that Acura has a Ipod adaptor for 2005 models. She enquired about the price and they told her it would cost $350 for parts and installation.

Me being a cheapskate and an Ebay junky. I took it upon myself to purchase it for cheaper and install it myself.

Well I received the parts and peices of the unit and really understood the connections and all. I read up on the TTS and understood that as well. The onlly thing that was holding me up was getting to the rear of the radio so that I can hook up the electronics and route the wiring.

Can anyone out there tell me how to get to the back of the radio on a 2005 TL without navigation???

I was able to pop off the two silver carbon fiber peices to expose some screws and stuff but I was un able to get to the back of the radio so that I can hook up the splitter and put the Ipod controller in place.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks,

ocarman
Long Island, NY

gman44116

iTrader: (1)

You need to remove the entire center console from the rear compartment to the two trays under the radio unit. remove the shift knob and the surrounding trim piece. To get to to the two top screws on the radio unit, you must remove the display unit above it. it pops out (2 clips on each side). Then just remove the plugs and take out the unit. I did the musiclink install in about 2-2 1/2 hours (first time removing interior trim pieces of this magnitude). I bent one of the chrome strips "ouch"!
$90 to replace. If you have those off, you are pretty close. Just do a search or look in the 3g garage. You should find what you are looking for if this is not enough info for ya'. Good luck & enjoy..

erdoc48

I did the same thing- I have an 06 w/ Navi (but the connector should be on the driver's side). After you take off the silver trim (best way is with a spackling knife wrapped in a paper towel to avoid scratches), take off the 2-3 screws attaching the console side panel (on the driver's side, the one by your right knee). Don't attempt to take the panel off yet.

Then, there is a black panel beneath the dash that simply pulls out (is held in place with clips-not screwed in)- pull it directly down to the floor of the car. There's also a little rubber thing at the firewall holding the back of the panel in place, but it simply can be moved out of the way, and the black panel will fall out of the way.

Now, there is a panel that runs to the left of the steering column (car interior color) with the VSA, trunk release, and mirror controls, that has to come out next. This is the hardest part. You have to lie inverted on the floor near the gas and brake pedals, so that you're looking up under the dash. Dislodge the large blue electrical connector near the driver's door side of the panel (attaches to the trunk release), the small white connector near the console side of this panel, and the clear plastic tube which you should easily see. Now, carefully look for a single plastic screw and grommet, remove this and there are 3 clips holding the lower dash panel in place. Pull carefully, forward, not down, and the panel should come out towards you. When pulling the panel out, you should be facing it, no longer under the dash. The dash panel will hang down and to the left (there are still some wire connectors attached. The now frees up removal of the side panel of the console (after removing 2 more screws next to the radio stack.

After both panels are out, remove the plastic screw from the carpet, and pull the flap of carpet down. This exposes the side view of the back of the radio. Removing the radio stack IS NOT NECESSARY!!!!!!
Carefully remove the plug (you have to depress the small button to release it from the radio (14 pin connector), hook up your device, hide the unit under the rug flap (I have the Blitzsafe M-link mounted with 3M double sided tape to the black plastic box under the carpet flap), run the wire along the console side under the plastic (this is a bit of a pain, but once you see how the wire will sit, it only takes a little effort (you can use a flat blade screwdriver to assist, but be careful not to dent the wire), and finally, run it to the top console box. (Where the silver trim lies, next to the left side of the upper console box tray, a small U groove must be drilled so that when you close the console box, you won't chop the wire . The drilling MUST be done prior to reinstalling everything. Make sure the wire fits well in the U groove.

Lastly, the bottom of the top console tray box should also have a small piece of plastic cut out (I used an Xacto knife and cut a shallow arc where the top box will meet the lower console box, again to avoid cutting the wire with the bottom of the top console tray box.

Reassembly is easy- just reverse the above steps (this time the knee panel goes in 1st).

Legal Disclaimer: I take no responsibility for personal injury, property damage, or other liability in attempting this install. If it's too much work, take it to a stereo shop.

Good luck!

erdoc48

I didn't have to revove the whole console to do mine, just the lower dash panel and the panel near your knee, when sitting in the driver's seat.

ocarman3

Thank you all for the pointers. I am going to delv into this this weekend. I will let you know how I make out. I think that I am going to use the driver's side panel approach, but I am going to route the wires to a metal bracket located on the passenger side. I will let you all know how I made out. Thanks again.

Ollie Carman

Ron A

Here's a thread with some scans in case you get stuck. https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90964

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

I know people say that you don't have to remove the whole console, but I did. It was impossible to fit the USAspec behind there without it in my opinion. I also had to make it look clean under there. After taking out the lower console there are only 4 screws and the airconditiong unit above holding it in. I just let the Navi sit on the shifter till I put everything in. Very easy, only takes 5 more minutes and you'll get a cleaner install!

jonnyn

I think it really depends where you want to run the connector.

I saw a thread (can't find it now), where someone simply pulled the carpet just below the drivers panel on the side of the console and used a homemade tool of some sort to push the locking tab and connected the adapter without removing any of the console parts.

I did mine in conjunction with the short shifter install so I already had the thing apart.

I did hate the removal of the silver pieces. I expected it to snap at any moment, but they did come off in one piece.

05whitetl

When you turn your iPod on and click over to the XM channel, how do you only hear your iPod and not the XM preview channel in the background? I dont have XM subscribed, so I hear either the preview channel or the emergency channel. How does yours work??

erdoc48

Some people have complained about the 'bleed' issue when XM is heard over the iPod. I have never experienced this in my car. I'm not sure why it happens. I have the newest version of the M-link as well. When connecting the iPod, make sure the audio system is off, then connect your iPod (and the iPod should go on when connected), then hit the Disc button twice to connect to the Blitzsafe. It should work properly. You have to have the audio off first before connecting the iPod. After doing this a few tgimes, it will become routine to you. If you're listening to the iPod, the XM button should not be used at all.

Danoli

I attempted this on new years eve. I got the metal side strips, both driver side lower dash pieces and the side panel (by your knee) off. I found a nice place to tuck the blitzsafe unit and wires behind the center storage compartments. However, I could see no way to reach up to the back of the radio. you guys have really small hands or something. lol also I saw from the scans that there are like 5 connectors on the back of the head unit which one do you disconect?

I think Im going to give it a try again, if I cant get it though Im going to pull out the AC unit and nav. Did you have that duct puller the recomend in the service manual? I tried using a metal snake but I couldnt seem to find the clip to release in there so I gave up. (was running out of light and had to get my new years drink on.

thanks in advance for any tips you can give.

06 TL AT-Navi

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

I used my hand to pop it out, I remember it being just a grab and slightly pull. I had the blitzsafe unit before the USAspec and the USAspec is alittle larger and I felt like I needed to put it behind the navi. My hands are by no means small, thats why I had to take everything out. And it just makes for a cleaner install