ELDeFontes

I've been searching high and wide for a dedicated answer, I seem to be finding mixed research.


My current equipment is

2008 TL Non Navi

JBL MS8
Rainbow CS 265 X-Plain Pro Shallow 6.5" Components
ARC FD2100 50x2 @ 4 Ohm (Probably swapping out for an ARC SE)
SSA ICON 12"
PA-1500 Nakamichi

Unfortunately, I cannot take the task of installing this all myself so I've hired a reliable installer. Unfortunately again for me, he bailed from the install due to conflicting material on the TL and the JBL MS8.

Could someone please explain, or link me (because I've searched flipping everywhere) to a log where the MS8 is used with the factory head unit. My searches have found nothing but people with problems getting proper voltage, or even sound quality issues. The only install I've read that explains everything is niebur3's build. (https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-audio-bluetooth-electronics-navigation-94/high-definition-mobile-audio-demo-car-2004-acura-tl-dynaudio-arc-ms-8-%2Apics-galore%2A-804628/)

Even then, he uses an aftermarket head unit.

Thanks in advance to anyone who helps.

Joey tl

I've just installed my MS-8......you have to take you pre amp front L/R speaker wire and connect them with RCA cable and input them into channel 1/2 on the MS-8. I got a good signal at volume 33.........if it reads low then you need a line driver to boost the signal.

ELDeFontes

Are you using any other aftermarket equipment?

Nevermind, I see your specifications in your signature. Are you still using the JL stuff?

Joey tl

Stock HU non navi and yes I have 2 jl amps for my highs and sub......all speakers have been replace with aftermarket.

ELDeFontes

This may seem like a silly question, but are we positive the 2004 wiring diagram is the same for the 2008? I know the 04-08 is considered the 3rd gen, but I have yet to find anyone who's done this on an 08. All 07's or older.

Appreciate the help.

When you say all speakers...that means 2 tweets, 1 center, 2 6.5s front, 2 6.5s rear and the 10w6 is somewhere obviously.

My goal was to amp the Rainbow components with the ARC amp, have the MS8 powering the rear stock speakers (if possible), and leave the center disconnected.

Joey tl

2004-2008 TL same wiring. I replaced all speaker expect my center it's stock and I have the MS-8 powering that......door/tweeter and rear speakers have been replaced, stock sub have been removed and have a custom box in the truck . Yes you can have the MS-8 power your stock rears and disconnect your center.

Joey tl

You just can't use the same channel on the MS-8..

Joey tl

For example: if you have channel 4/5 use by RCA out to your amps you can't use those channels out on the high level output side on the MS-8

pohljm

Can you leave the rears on OEM amp and ms-8 to center channel?

ELDeFontes

Are you asking if I could or suggesting I should?

abirvalg

might be helpful to read though my posts in here as well
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-audio-bluetooth-electronics-navigation-94/%242k-worth-pictures-55-000-words-877250/

ms-8 will kill your DVD-A functionality, will introduce albeit a tolerable echo for you HFL callers and you'll have to work around the center channel being used for NAV voice, either by leaving it alone or mounting a small amp and a speaker with a switch

other that that the results are great
i'd share the tuning settings, but the rest of you stuff is very different, so they may not work

TL was a pain to tune right compared to my Ody, probably due to much smaller interior
but with patience and logs of settings it's very doable

08TList

iTrader: (-1)

Hi sorry for jumping in here but can someone tell me which connector exactly is the pre amp signal, and what does the high and low mean? Is it the big grey connector on the bottom of the amp or do i have to get at the top at some point by removing the amp? Just received the RF-BLD and am looking to take on the MS8 install again so trying to confirm some stuff. My audio system is stock besides my front door speakers which are JBL GTO638 with a 2 ohm impedance. Thanks to anyone who helps, pictures would be great too!

abirvalg

preamp is the smaller black one, they are both on the under side of the amp

high - speaker level (signal+current to drive a speaker)
low - line level (signal only)

MS-8 takes hight via molex adaptor and low via RCAs

i'm runing my MS-8 directly from the preamps (to RCA), no line drivers in between

heard a rumor "less equipment in a chain = less noise issues"

0 noise in my setup

Andy recommended to take fronts L+R and Sub into MS-8
IHC insists that Sub is not needed
I think i hear the diffeence with sub used, but then could be easily fooling myself
in any case, there is no harm in using the Sub input

with no line driver your HU calibration volume will be 35 when MS-8 OK's it

cnwahlheim

That is an interesting question about the wiring. I installed an Arc SRI OEM integration unit directly after the non-navigation head unit, and only the front L/R and sub wiring colors were consistent with the diagrams I found on this forum. Have you done any more research on this?

08TList

iTrader: (-1)

i dont see any light green or purple wires on the black connector to take the input from, only on the grey. Are there different wires used to get the front left and right signal when using the black pre amp connector? Should add that my car is an 08 incase thats the issue
Thanks

abirvalg

driver door +green, -blue
pas door +black, -grey
sub +red/blue, -white/green

they are not the same color coming out if the amp, so black and grey connectors don't color match
i gave you the colors on the black - low end signal straight from the HU

08TList

iTrader: (-1)

awesome thanks, i got the inputs soldered to the rfbld connector. Did you tap into anything for the ms8 to use to turn on the stock amp or do you know what would be used? In the manual it says the ms8 should turn the other equipment on and i saw something about a red and yellow remote turn on wire in the black and white molex connector. I used the RF and RL low level into the RF-BLD and will be running RCAs from there into the ms8 input.

abirvalg

i did you the red/yellow remote wire to turn on ms-8
in your case you'll probably want it on RF-BLD

the problem with that remote is that it's always ON
since the HFL has to work even when the HU is OFF the remote wire is hot whenever the car is ON

so i ran the HU's remote wire into the cente storage and put a breaker switch in there, so i can actually turn off all of the audio components when i don't plan on listening to music for a prolonged time

08TList

iTrader: (-1)

ok so i got everything hooked up with the fuse tap i got today to test everything out,but im having one issue. My cars battery was low so im charging it now but i couldnt get the stock head unit to turn on for some reason. The red anti theft light was also flashing on it from what i remember so im thinking something with the wiring being disconnected now that theyre running to and from the ms8. Any clue what i did wrong? Ran into a similar problem last time i tried hooking up the ms8 i think.

abirvalg

a fuse tap?
what for?

08TList

iTrader: (-1)

the add a circuit type, not the single prong thing. I used it to tap fuse slot 32 for the remote turn on signal, im using that signal to turn on the ms8 and the RF-BLD

abirvalg

why not the remote that comes out of the HU? (i can give you the colors if you can't find them yourself)

i mean i don't know yet what exactly is wrong with your setup, but that's one thing that i've done differently and mine works fine ... so ...

is your HU working at all? is it asking for a code?

08TList

iTrader: (-1)

i already had the remote wire setup in the car from when i first tired to wire the ms8 but just needed a new tap to reconnect it to the driver sider fuse box, i can switch to the red and yellow wire though and see if it helps. The head unit doesn't turn on at all, no passcode or anything else besides the red anti theft light. Could it be locking up thinking its getting stolen somehow?

abirvalg

stolen, no
there is no "lock down" feature
there must be a wiring problem, once it's powered it should ask for the code
does it work with all the aftermarket stuff disabled?
have you had you battery unplugged while you wired things? i'm wondering if if you may be had fired something

red/yellow should be easy enough to try, but you need to get the HU working first

08TList

iTrader: (-1)

got the head unit working but can't get any output from the ms-8 for some reason. It was just a battery issue, needed a charge so thankfully no issue there. Just can't figure out why theres no output, i'm using the hi level outputs and found some stuff on diyma but no definitive answer yet, any ideas?

abirvalg

my first guess would be, you haven't tuned it, or you have, but you've managed to reset it somehow, since MS-8 won't output until you run the complete setup and measurements

now there is also a "mute" function but that should be easy to figure out

if MS-8 lights up blue and it shows no greeting asking to select the language, then you can try resetting it from the remote and running the tune again

08TList

iTrader: (-1)

i've tried tuning it a few times but had issues with leaving the microphone in which could be the source of the problem, no sound comes out during the acoustic measurement phase either

spoke to a someone from jbl today and they said it couldve gotten damaged somehow and might need service, but i'd like to and will keep trying for awhile before bringing it in

does the acoustic measurement need anything to work right? I'd assume it does since it would need to know all the outputs

abirvalg

the measurement phase doesn't use the HU, it generates the signal within MS-8
so if your gain is set to something audible (a good start is -25) and nothing comes out of the speakers, then either the speakers are disconnected or the MS-8 is defective

if you're using any amps after MS-8 try bypassing them, to see if they may be causing the problem

or temporarily attach at least one speaker to the high level output on MS-8 to test it

i feel your pain, it seems like you're having issues every step of the way

EDIT: another thing to keep in mind, and i'm sure it came up in your call to tech support, is that any output channel can only be used for EITHER high OR low output, don't hook up both on any one channel