Stuck on a MediaBridge install
10-15-2012, 09:43 AM
#1
Engineer in Training
Thread Starter
Stuck on a MediaBridge install
Hey guys,
I'm trying to install a DICE MediaBridge1500HON to my '08 TL. It already has factory XM and according to the install manual in order to retain factory XM the DICE module must be installed directly to the factory tuner. However, the plug that comes with the DICE module does not have the same connector as the factory XM tuner. I'm considering connecting it behind the radio since the factory tuner's wiring 'should' go to the radio. My only concern is what if the plug still does not match or I lose the factory XM? That would be a lot of disassembling for nothing.
Has anyone run into a similar issue or know if they make a different cable? I've seen install videos of it done on earlier 3G TLs and the connector was different from what I have so maybe they changed the plug?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I can also provide pictures if needed.
I'm trying to install a DICE MediaBridge1500HON to my '08 TL. It already has factory XM and according to the install manual in order to retain factory XM the DICE module must be installed directly to the factory tuner. However, the plug that comes with the DICE module does not have the same connector as the factory XM tuner. I'm considering connecting it behind the radio since the factory tuner's wiring 'should' go to the radio. My only concern is what if the plug still does not match or I lose the factory XM? That would be a lot of disassembling for nothing.
Has anyone run into a similar issue or know if they make a different cable? I've seen install videos of it done on earlier 3G TLs and the connector was different from what I have so maybe they changed the plug?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I can also provide pictures if needed.
10-15-2012, 10:04 AM
#3
Engineer in Training
Thread Starter
I don't see why I can't keep the factory XM tuner even if I plug in behind the radio seeing as the harness leads 'directly' to the back of the radio. And since I'm using the provided T-Harness it should technically still be connected 'directly' to the radio.
10-15-2012, 10:13 AM
#5
Engineer in Training
Thread Starter
I'm gonna have to do a little digging and see if I can contact one of their engineers. I will report back and keep this post updated.
If anyone else would like to chime in please do so!
If anyone else would like to chime in please do so!
10-15-2012, 11:06 AM
#6
Engineer in Training
Thread Starter
Pictures for reference:
Factory tuner in rear passenger quarter panel with plugs and antenna disconnected:
Tuner plugs up close:
MediaBridge T-Harness up close:
Factory tuner in rear passenger quarter panel with plugs and antenna disconnected:
Tuner plugs up close:
MediaBridge T-Harness up close:
10-17-2012, 06:38 PM
#7
Engineer in Training
Thread Starter
Good news!
I was able to get a hold of one of their design engineers. He said that the note in the installation manual was mainly added for Civics. Apparently the Honda module they sell was being installed primarily on Civics and they discovered an issue in these cars when the module was connected behind the radio.
His reply:
So, I will be taking my car apart this weekend to install this unit. I will update this post with enough pictures to create a DIY out of it as well seeing as we lack one for a MediaBridge install. Hopefully some video too so everyone can see how it will work.
I was able to get a hold of one of their design engineers. He said that the note in the installation manual was mainly added for Civics. Apparently the Honda module they sell was being installed primarily on Civics and they discovered an issue in these cars when the module was connected behind the radio.
His reply:
when the module was connected to the back of the radio the factory SAT
would play at the same time as all other MediaBridge sources. But
when our guy plugged the MediaBridge into his trunk receptacle by the
Factory SAT then the problem disappeared. Therefore we added this
note to the manual. This issue seemed to creep up here and there but
not consistently so to simplify things we added the note to the manual
would play at the same time as all other MediaBridge sources. But
when our guy plugged the MediaBridge into his trunk receptacle by the
Factory SAT then the problem disappeared. Therefore we added this
note to the manual. This issue seemed to creep up here and there but
not consistently so to simplify things we added the note to the manual
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10-20-2012, 11:50 AM
#8
Engineer in Training
Thread Starter
Well, good and bad news.
Good news: Unit works perfectly. Streaming bluetooth is awesome
Bad news: Factory Satellite tuner stays on so there's 'bleed-over' across all MediaBridge sources.
Going to try to get a hold of the engineer again and see where we can take it from here.
Good news: Unit works perfectly. Streaming bluetooth is awesome
Bad news: Factory Satellite tuner stays on so there's 'bleed-over' across all MediaBridge sources.
Going to try to get a hold of the engineer again and see where we can take it from here.
10-21-2012, 11:07 PM
#9
Drifting
Have you tried making any calls? I wonder how that well that works, instead of using the factory bluetooth, which is broken in my car.
Regarding the "bleedover", if you have the mediabridge and the xm radio on the same buss, and both are on, then ya, it makes sense to me you would be getting both signals at the same time if both are "on". I don't know much about the wiring for that, but I can tell you what the Helms book shows.
Helms book says that what you call the "tuner" is actually the Navigation Unit. The XM receiver connects directly to the Audio Unit which is the device where you insert the cd's. The navigation unit only has 3 connections going to the Audio unit (L + R + shield), and the rest of the navigation unit connections go to the HFL, MIC and Display Panel. Instead of plugging your new device into the Navigation unit, you plugged into the Audio unit, right? If you plug into the Navi, you run along the existing wires into the audio unit, but since you plugged directly into the audio unit, you are probably experiencing interference or "crosstalk" from wires that are not shielded or worse yet, you have 2 devices "T'd" into the same port and both are transmitting into the same pins at the same time. That's a bit more than just interference. You're actually hard connected.
By the way, you have an 08, but the Dice says for an 03 to 07. I know 03 doesn't sound right.. but why did they cutoff at 07? You may want to verify that. What happened to 08? haha Plus, the connector for the Navi unit may be different for an 05 as an 08. So you still may have a connector for the wrong year. I would ask the seller about that.
But I don't know the new system you have .. I just found it tonight.
Regarding the "bleedover", if you have the mediabridge and the xm radio on the same buss, and both are on, then ya, it makes sense to me you would be getting both signals at the same time if both are "on". I don't know much about the wiring for that, but I can tell you what the Helms book shows.
Helms book says that what you call the "tuner" is actually the Navigation Unit. The XM receiver connects directly to the Audio Unit which is the device where you insert the cd's. The navigation unit only has 3 connections going to the Audio unit (L + R + shield), and the rest of the navigation unit connections go to the HFL, MIC and Display Panel. Instead of plugging your new device into the Navigation unit, you plugged into the Audio unit, right? If you plug into the Navi, you run along the existing wires into the audio unit, but since you plugged directly into the audio unit, you are probably experiencing interference or "crosstalk" from wires that are not shielded or worse yet, you have 2 devices "T'd" into the same port and both are transmitting into the same pins at the same time. That's a bit more than just interference. You're actually hard connected.
By the way, you have an 08, but the Dice says for an 03 to 07. I know 03 doesn't sound right.. but why did they cutoff at 07? You may want to verify that. What happened to 08? haha Plus, the connector for the Navi unit may be different for an 05 as an 08. So you still may have a connector for the wrong year. I would ask the seller about that.
But I don't know the new system you have .. I just found it tonight.
Last edited by Chad05TL; 10-21-2012 at 11:17 PM.
10-22-2012, 04:31 PM
#11
Engineer in Training
Thread Starter
Have you tried making any calls? I wonder how that well that works, instead of using the factory bluetooth, which is broken in my car.
Regarding the "bleedover", if you have the mediabridge and the xm radio on the same buss, and both are on, then ya, it makes sense to me you would be getting both signals at the same time if both are "on". I don't know much about the wiring for that, but I can tell you what the Helms book shows.
Helms book says that what you call the "tuner" is actually the Navigation Unit. The XM receiver connects directly to the Audio Unit which is the device where you insert the cd's. The navigation unit only has 3 connections going to the Audio unit (L + R + shield), and the rest of the navigation unit connections go to the HFL, MIC and Display Panel. Instead of plugging your new device into the Navigation unit, you plugged into the Audio unit, right? If you plug into the Navi, you run along the existing wires into the audio unit, but since you plugged directly into the audio unit, you are probably experiencing interference or "crosstalk" from wires that are not shielded or worse yet, you have 2 devices "T'd" into the same port and both are transmitting into the same pins at the same time. That's a bit more than just interference. You're actually hard connected.
By the way, you have an 08, but the Dice says for an 03 to 07. I know 03 doesn't sound right.. but why did they cutoff at 07? You may want to verify that. What happened to 08? haha Plus, the connector for the Navi unit may be different for an 05 as an 08. So you still may have a connector for the wrong year. I would ask the seller about that.
But I don't know the new system you have .. I just found it tonight.
Regarding the "bleedover", if you have the mediabridge and the xm radio on the same buss, and both are on, then ya, it makes sense to me you would be getting both signals at the same time if both are "on". I don't know much about the wiring for that, but I can tell you what the Helms book shows.
Helms book says that what you call the "tuner" is actually the Navigation Unit. The XM receiver connects directly to the Audio Unit which is the device where you insert the cd's. The navigation unit only has 3 connections going to the Audio unit (L + R + shield), and the rest of the navigation unit connections go to the HFL, MIC and Display Panel. Instead of plugging your new device into the Navigation unit, you plugged into the Audio unit, right? If you plug into the Navi, you run along the existing wires into the audio unit, but since you plugged directly into the audio unit, you are probably experiencing interference or "crosstalk" from wires that are not shielded or worse yet, you have 2 devices "T'd" into the same port and both are transmitting into the same pins at the same time. That's a bit more than just interference. You're actually hard connected.
By the way, you have an 08, but the Dice says for an 03 to 07. I know 03 doesn't sound right.. but why did they cutoff at 07? You may want to verify that. What happened to 08? haha Plus, the connector for the Navi unit may be different for an 05 as an 08. So you still may have a connector for the wrong year. I would ask the seller about that.
But I don't know the new system you have .. I just found it tonight.
I found something quite interesting though which may support what you're saying about being T'd into the wrong harness. I test the voltage on a couple of wires that are listed to be Ignition (+12V with key on and 0V with key off), and the Sat 12V wire which should be 0V with the tuner not selected as a source and +12V when the tuner is selected.
Here's what's really weird... When I'm on one of the MediaBridge sources like USB/iPod, BT, Sirius or AUX the factory XM bleed-over sounds muffled, or like there is a loss of treble. Once the factory tuner is selected as a MediaBridge source it still sounds muffled but only for 1-3 seconds then the sound quality goes back to normal. It's almost as if there is an equalization issue with the 'bleed-over audio' from the factory XM that goes away only when the factory tuner is selected and locked in as the source selection from the MediaBridge once 3 seconds have elapsed. This 3-second delay thing coincides with the voltage reading on the SAT12V. It reads as +12V with the key off, 0V for about 3 seconds (muffled audio period) then back to +12V (when the audio sounds fine again).
Right now I'm just waiting to hear back from him. In the meantime I might take the radio out again tonight to see if there's another plug I can go into. I seriously doubt there will be since the plugs are usually made so that they can't be accidentally connected to the wrong port.
10-22-2012, 05:28 PM
#12
Drifting
You keep calling the navigation unit a Tuner. You have the Navigation Unit in the picture above. But you call it a Tuner. It's not a tuner.. And the NAV unit is always On. The term tuner in stereos is usually in home stereos where all the Tuner does is tune to a certain frequency (from the airwaves). Car stereo's have a head unit which has a "Tuner" since it tunes itself to various frequencies but head units in cars do more than act as a tuner since they play tapes and cd’s. In the case of an Acura TL, the "Tuner" is the "Audio Unit" per Helms terminology. Generic Tuners feed into an Amp. Likewise, the TL audio unit/headunit feeds into the onboard amp. The TL headunit/audio unit is the “Tuner..” But it's not in the trunk. The trunk has the Navi unit. The headunit/audio unit/Tuner is up front where you plug in the CD/DVD/Tape.. The display is above that, and a separate device as you already know.
Regarding your compatibility table, I wondered why the video link says 03 to 07 and the table says 04 to 08. Obviously 04 to 08 sounds more accurate. Anyway, I just hate discrepancies like that because it makes me think someone had their head up their butt when they produced the video. anyways.. So that question is answered. But you can't expect the Navi unit(in trunk) to be off when the XMradio is On.. Both are designed to be ON at the same time or not at the same time. It doesn’t matter. XM receiver doesn’t plug into the Navi Unit in the trunk per Helms.
I would make sure the DICE unit is for a navi system. Notice in the video, it is a non-navi system. It might or might not make a difference with XMradio. Either way, it probably should be connected up front, to the Audio Unit, which is the "Tuner" or DVD/Tape player device. Maybe you already have it that way? You probably have it connected right if you are up front at the Audio Unit. .. so nothing you can do except wait on support.
Regarding your compatibility table, I wondered why the video link says 03 to 07 and the table says 04 to 08. Obviously 04 to 08 sounds more accurate. Anyway, I just hate discrepancies like that because it makes me think someone had their head up their butt when they produced the video. anyways.. So that question is answered. But you can't expect the Navi unit(in trunk) to be off when the XMradio is On.. Both are designed to be ON at the same time or not at the same time. It doesn’t matter. XM receiver doesn’t plug into the Navi Unit in the trunk per Helms.
I would make sure the DICE unit is for a navi system. Notice in the video, it is a non-navi system. It might or might not make a difference with XMradio. Either way, it probably should be connected up front, to the Audio Unit, which is the "Tuner" or DVD/Tape player device. Maybe you already have it that way? You probably have it connected right if you are up front at the Audio Unit. .. so nothing you can do except wait on support.
Last edited by Chad05TL; 10-22-2012 at 05:34 PM.
10-22-2012, 05:59 PM
#13
Engineer in Training
Thread Starter
You keep calling the navigation unit a Tuner. You have the Navigation Unit in the picture above. But you call it a Tuner. It's not a tuner.. And the NAV unit is always On. The term tuner in stereos is usually in home stereos where all the Tuner does is tune to a certain frequency (from the airwaves). Car stereo's have a head unit which has a "Tuner" since it tunes itself to various frequencies but head units in cars do more than act as a tuner since they play tapes and cd’s. In the case of an Acura TL, the "Tuner" is the "Audio Unit" per Helms terminology. Generic Tuners feed into an Amp. Likewise, the TL audio unit/headunit feeds into the onboard amp. The TL headunit/audio unit is the “Tuner..” But it's not in the trunk. The trunk has the Navi unit. The headunit/audio unit/Tuner is up front where you plug in the CD/DVD/Tape.. The display is above that, and a separate device as you already know.
Regarding your compatibility table, I wondered why the video link says 03 to 07 and the table says 04 to 08. Obviously 04 to 08 sounds more accurate. Anyway, I just hate discrepancies like that because it makes me think someone had their head up their butt when they produced the video. anyways.. So that question is answered. But you can't expect the Navi unit(in trunk) to be off when the XMradio is On.. Both are designed to be ON at the same time or not at the same time. It doesn’t matter. XM receiver doesn’t plug into the Navi Unit in the trunk per Helms.
I would make sure the DICE unit is for a navi system. Notice in the video, it is a non-navi system. It might or might not make a difference with XMradio. Either way, it probably should be connected up front, to the Audio Unit, which is the "Tuner" or DVD/Tape player device. Maybe you already have it that way? You probably have it connected right if you are up front at the Audio Unit. .. so nothing you can do except wait on support.
Regarding your compatibility table, I wondered why the video link says 03 to 07 and the table says 04 to 08. Obviously 04 to 08 sounds more accurate. Anyway, I just hate discrepancies like that because it makes me think someone had their head up their butt when they produced the video. anyways.. So that question is answered. But you can't expect the Navi unit(in trunk) to be off when the XMradio is On.. Both are designed to be ON at the same time or not at the same time. It doesn’t matter. XM receiver doesn’t plug into the Navi Unit in the trunk per Helms.
I would make sure the DICE unit is for a navi system. Notice in the video, it is a non-navi system. It might or might not make a difference with XMradio. Either way, it probably should be connected up front, to the Audio Unit, which is the "Tuner" or DVD/Tape player device. Maybe you already have it that way? You probably have it connected right if you are up front at the Audio Unit. .. so nothing you can do except wait on support.
Tuner - XM Radio 'box' in the trunk
Radio - In dash screen/radio/cd player etc.
Navi - DVD player in trunk
Also, the unit does (or at least is supposed to) support the Navigation TL radios.
The instructions say:
"Use on radios with SAT or XM
button for best experience. Must be
selected to support Sirius Connect
tuner. Available on North American
radios. Factory SAT tuner can be
retained if this integration kit is
connected directly to the tuner."
On another note, the Engineer got back to me with:
I'm fairly certain I've seen an adapter for those connectors available
online but I must find them again. Perhaps at Metra Auto
http://www.metraonline.com/ but I am not finding them yet. When I
find the adapter again I'll be sure to send you the link. I haven't
tried using such an adapter so I may have to research further and work
with you to see if it will do what we want.
About your findings with the Ignition line voltage level... I remember
Honda vehicles having some funky voltage levels on the Ignition line
and the levels you record there look correct. But the voltages you
show on Pin 10 for Factory SAT power control line verify that power is
being given at the incorrect time. For now the remedy is to connect
the Honda harness in the trunk next to the factory SAT tuner (which in
your case should require the use of an adapter cable). Perhaps we can
account for this behavior by adjusting how the MediaBridge operates
but to understand it correctly, I'll have to discuss this with the
engineer who designed this portion of the product's functionality.
online but I must find them again. Perhaps at Metra Auto
http://www.metraonline.com/ but I am not finding them yet. When I
find the adapter again I'll be sure to send you the link. I haven't
tried using such an adapter so I may have to research further and work
with you to see if it will do what we want.
About your findings with the Ignition line voltage level... I remember
Honda vehicles having some funky voltage levels on the Ignition line
and the levels you record there look correct. But the voltages you
show on Pin 10 for Factory SAT power control line verify that power is
being given at the incorrect time. For now the remedy is to connect
the Honda harness in the trunk next to the factory SAT tuner (which in
your case should require the use of an adapter cable). Perhaps we can
account for this behavior by adjusting how the MediaBridge operates
but to understand it correctly, I'll have to discuss this with the
engineer who designed this portion of the product's functionality.
10-22-2012, 06:29 PM
#14
Engineer in Training
Thread Starter
2 Updates
1 - Apparently '07 & '08 TLs (although not officially called so by Acura/Honda until '09 if I'm not mistaken) had the option for Technology Packages. If the car came with the capability of XM NavTraffic (which my car does), then it's considered to have a Tech Package. Unfortunately vehicles with Tech Packages are not compatible. For now i will have to disconnect the factory SAT and the MediaBridge should work correctly.
Source: http://www.siriusxm.com/servlet/Sate...me=SXM/Wrapper
2 - If the appropriate adapter cable isn't available then they will look into designing one.
He's going to look into the pinout of the trunk mounted factory XM tuner and see what it would take to make a converter if there are none available for purchase.
I explained to him that I have plenty of experience with the +12V industry as well as electronics engineering. If all goes well, we will be working together in the near future to design a workaround to help expand the compatibility of Honda/Acura.
Side Note: I have noticed older TLs that had white plugs (that their harness is meant to T into) at the XM Tuner as opposed to the black ones that I have. And now that I think about it these were pre-'07 vehicles...aka vehicles before the 'Tech Package'.
1 - Apparently '07 & '08 TLs (although not officially called so by Acura/Honda until '09 if I'm not mistaken) had the option for Technology Packages. If the car came with the capability of XM NavTraffic (which my car does), then it's considered to have a Tech Package. Unfortunately vehicles with Tech Packages are not compatible. For now i will have to disconnect the factory SAT and the MediaBridge should work correctly.
Source: http://www.siriusxm.com/servlet/Sate...me=SXM/Wrapper
2 - If the appropriate adapter cable isn't available then they will look into designing one.
He's going to look into the pinout of the trunk mounted factory XM tuner and see what it would take to make a converter if there are none available for purchase.
I explained to him that I have plenty of experience with the +12V industry as well as electronics engineering. If all goes well, we will be working together in the near future to design a workaround to help expand the compatibility of Honda/Acura.
Side Note: I have noticed older TLs that had white plugs (that their harness is meant to T into) at the XM Tuner as opposed to the black ones that I have. And now that I think about it these were pre-'07 vehicles...aka vehicles before the 'Tech Package'.
10-22-2012, 07:59 PM
#15
Drifting
I guess an XM receiver can be a tuner too since it does switch channels.
So anyone want to be the guinea pig for the pre 07's? haha
So anyone want to be the guinea pig for the pre 07's? haha
11-12-2012, 10:31 AM
#16
Engineer in Training
Thread Starter
01-04-2013, 06:47 PM
#17
2 Updates
1 - Apparently '07 & '08 TLs (although not officially called so by Acura/Honda until '09 if I'm not mistaken) had the option for Technology Packages. If the car came with the capability of XM NavTraffic (which my car does), then it's considered to have a Tech Package. Unfortunately vehicles with Tech Packages are not compatible. For now i will have to disconnect the factory SAT and the MediaBridge should work correctly.
Source: http://www.siriusxm.com/servlet/Sate...me=SXM/Wrapper
2 - If the appropriate adapter cable isn't available then they will look into designing one.
He's going to look into the pinout of the trunk mounted factory XM tuner and see what it would take to make a converter if there are none available for purchase.
I explained to him that I have plenty of experience with the +12V industry as well as electronics engineering. If all goes well, we will be working together in the near future to design a workaround to help expand the compatibility of Honda/Acura.
Side Note: I have noticed older TLs that had white plugs (that their harness is meant to T into) at the XM Tuner as opposed to the black ones that I have. And now that I think about it these were pre-'07 vehicles...aka vehicles before the 'Tech Package'.
1 - Apparently '07 & '08 TLs (although not officially called so by Acura/Honda until '09 if I'm not mistaken) had the option for Technology Packages. If the car came with the capability of XM NavTraffic (which my car does), then it's considered to have a Tech Package. Unfortunately vehicles with Tech Packages are not compatible. For now i will have to disconnect the factory SAT and the MediaBridge should work correctly.
Source: http://www.siriusxm.com/servlet/Sate...me=SXM/Wrapper
2 - If the appropriate adapter cable isn't available then they will look into designing one.
He's going to look into the pinout of the trunk mounted factory XM tuner and see what it would take to make a converter if there are none available for purchase.
I explained to him that I have plenty of experience with the +12V industry as well as electronics engineering. If all goes well, we will be working together in the near future to design a workaround to help expand the compatibility of Honda/Acura.
Side Note: I have noticed older TLs that had white plugs (that their harness is meant to T into) at the XM Tuner as opposed to the black ones that I have. And now that I think about it these were pre-'07 vehicles...aka vehicles before the 'Tech Package'.
Did he have the nav package?
03-11-2013, 03:54 PM
#18
Engineer in Training
Thread Starter
All of that info is interesting, When I purchased my 06 I was told I had the tech package but do not have nav/traffic because it does not exist in that year. What they said was the nav itself with the option to use voice control was the tech package. I do however have the white plug so I hope that I have better luck.
Did he have the nav package?
Did he have the nav package?
You should be fine as long as you have the white plug. And yes, my coworker had the navigation package.
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