Hey everyone,

So I have successfully installed an aftermarket double din deck into my 2005 Acura TL (Non-Navi) without losing the stock amp or stock sub. I took pictures during the swap so I could share with you guys here on Acurazine.

Parts Use:
Double Din Dash Kit From KrankItUp
(inside kit had replacement mounting brackets, dash trim, harness, RCA mod to keep stock sub and Resistor Mod to keep stock Navi if you have one)
JVC KW-AV71BT (Selected for the detachable face option since I live in a rough neighborhood)
6 Piece Plastic Pry Bar Set from Harbo Freight Tools
Phillips Screwdriver

Ok, now to the install....

First I removed the 2 strips on the sides of the center console. They were fairly easy with the pry bars and didn't put up much of a fight.


The next step was to remove the dash trim below the steering wheel. Keep in mind there is a little grommet like screw that needs to come out first, so you don't damage it.





Make sure you are careful when removing the trim panel as there are a few wire harnesses connected to it. Detach the harnesses and the panel comes right out.



Next was to remove the side panel to the left of the radio.



There are four screws that need to come out first. 3 shown in picture below and a gold one by the shifter shown in the above pic.





Next we need to remove the glove box. Open the glove box and then bend in the two top corners on each side to clear the metal bar so the glove box comes all the way open.







Next, i removed the screw on each side at the base of the glove box to completely remove it.







Next you need to pull down the black trim on the bottom of the dash. Really easy, just stick fingers in between at the front and pull straight down.



Next, remove the 2 screws on the front of the panel and then use pry tools to pull panel off. Try not to loose the little gray grommets that fall out of the top. If you can get a flat head under them, it may be wise to pull those out first.





Once panel is down, there are 2 harnesses you need to disconnect to get the panel completely off.



Finally you will have access to the panel on the right side of the console. This needs to come off as well. Same steps used for taking off the other panel opposite.





Next, you need to remove the center console. First part to do this, you need to open up center console armrest part and remove the 2 screws at the bottom.



Then remove the 3 screws holding the cup holders and pull cup holders out. At the bottom of the cup holders there is a harness you will need to unplug. (Sorry i forgot to take pics of screws but you can't miss them. Also take out the other 2 screws in front of the cup holder.)



Once cup holder out, unplug the harness that goes to the 12V in the center console. Then slide the entire console back about 6-8 inches.



Next unplug the seat warmers.



Next use a skinny pry tool and pull the trim around the shifter off.



Next, remove the 2 black screws on both sides of the radio.





Next, use a pry tool on the bottom left corner of the vents at the top part of the center dash. There are 4 clips on the bottom and 1 on each side. I have taken pics of the clips for you.










Once out, there are 2 screws at the top of the climate controls screen and 1 on each side of the radio that need to be removed. Those can be removed with a screwdriver or a socket if you prefer. Once screws are out, you hypothetically can pull the climate and radio out. Now... i could not get the compartments at the shifter out for the life of me and could not figure out to take the base of the shifter apart either. So i muscled the tabs VERY CAREFULLY behind the tabs at the base of the radio. The tabs are located where you removed the black screws on both sides of the radio. Once the tabs were behind the radio tabs, the whole unit came right out.



Please note there are 3 harnesses in the back of the stereo and 2 in the back of the climate controls that you need to unplug before it all comes out.



Next, I wired up my harness and plugged it into the Blue stock TL harness.





Next I used my instructions from the kit and tapped into the AMP ON and the SUB +/- wires on the grey harness. I also tapped into my ground to bypass the parking break wire on my head unit.



Next i added some Y adapters to hook up both the factory sub and ran RCA's for my next project of putting my amp and subs in. I also ran a remote wire and 0-gauge OFC power wire along with the RCA's to the trunk. Then I taped everything up after soldering it and got ready for the head unit.





I removed the metal brackets that hold the climate controls and the headunit together. I then mounted the new custom mounting brackets that came with my kit. The brackets are almost identical to the stock ones, however, they are a little thinner and have more screw holes that line up with the holes on the side of the aftermarket head unit. i put everything together and put in the car to test. I had no audio! So I figured out the wire connectors i used to splice into the grey harness wires, weren't getting any connection. I pulled them off and soldered them (as i should have done to begin with). Hooked everything back up and WALLA it worked!

Then I started the process of putting everything back together. Upon putting it all together and firing up the head unit, i noticed i could not eject the screen. The bottom of the custom trim face wouldn't let it clear. I pulled the the custom trim piece back out and used a grinder to grind down the bottom for more clearance. I hooked it all back up and everything cleared. System looks great but i should have unplugged the unused middle channel speaker. I have an annoying hiss that only comes out of that speaker. Most likely because the stock amp is still sending power to the speaker with no signal. Other than that it looks and sounds great and I am so happy I did it. My next step is to hook up my 12's and my amp.

Also for those wondering why i wanted to keep the factory sub since i'm putting in 12's... it was mainly so when I am not running my 12's i can still have a little base from factory sub and it won't be too loud for my kids.

Also so sorry for the messy write up. I am exhausted doing this and can barely keep my eyes open. I hope my write up helps someone else despite the messiness.

And finally... the finished product!



Oh also... i lost the use of the little compartment below the deck. The lid won't open up all the way because it hits the bottom of my headunit. I was ok with this because i was able to route my USB through it and when I am not using the USB the compartment opens just enough to stuff the cable in and close so no wire hangs out.

 

Did you have any problems with your VSA, ABS and tire pressure gauge light come on after install. I had a place install my double din dvd player and now the lights won't turn off and they don't know what is wrong.

 

Nice work, I may go this route if I end up keeping my car.

 

Hey jzwick13... No issues over here... Thanks cherplex... I really like it and it sounds actuall really good with stock amp...

 

Nice... I wonder how this would differ with the factory Nav.

 

Man, super nice job, looks clean. I have a question about the custom trim. Does it just slide into position, or is it held behind the silver dash pieces? I looked up that Krank It Up place -- they're the only ones I've ever seen that offer such a piece. I'm surprised no one else has done it before.

 

Yea, it is held in by the silver trim. I have ordered some new trim pieces and am waiting for them to come in. I plan to experiment with my old ones and bondo those half moons up and wrap the trim in a carbon fiber. I will post pics once i have done. The more and more i look at my deck, I decide i don't like the half moons anymore lol.

 

I got the dash kit from Krank It Up. Can't wait to get it installed! At this point, I've been waiting so many years for someone to manufacture a kit that I won't care if there are half-moons or not; I'll just be glad to have something fitting in there properly. I've been using the original HU hooked up to aftermarket amps (with hi-lo converters) but I've never been satisfied with the sound, especially the thud-like bass. I'll post a pic of my installation when it's done, probably 2-3 weeks. Thanks again for the info.

 

No problem Greengecko... i'm glad i could help... i felt the same way about the half moons... i was like i don't care! i just want my aftermarket hu! lol but now that it's been in for a while... i have the urge to perfect it and do without the half moons... as for the LOC's... i've never been a fan of them either... i'm a bass nut too... since this thread i have put in a 12" MTX Thunder 9500... thing pounds! Good luck with your install.

 

sorry i'm a little unclear about the tapping into the subs part, the kit came with a modded rca cable and it just needed to get tapped in from the head unit? or head unit and you had to run a wire to the sub..?

i had a shop do my install and they couldn't get the subs working now i'm stuck with it

 

This is awesome I had no idea you could accomplish this with the stock system. What I would like to see is a connector made up simply for the grey connector so you don't have to splice. I always like the possibility of going back to factory without hacking anything.

 

Just spliced into the wires in the grey hardness behind the head unit.

 

I can still put everything back to stock with little extra work. I didn't cut the wires in the grey harness i just spliced into it and soldered my wire onto it and then taped it up. To reverse, just cut the RCA's off and then tape the wire... or i could even just leave the RCA's there and the harness will still plug right into the stock deck and work normal. Then if I ever sold the car, someone could always wire up an aftermarket deck and keep stock sub.

 

What did you do with the navigation controls. The red and blue wires. my factory navigation does not work I dont know where to connect those 2 wires.
Thanks

 

Mine was a non-navi TL... but you can take the positive and negative from the center speaker and hook up to your navi and the Navi will work out of the Center Speaker only. Which sounds fine. I helped a buddy of mine do it to his 2007 TL... Check out the pic below for better instructions on getting the Navi to work...

 

Thanks for replying. i did looked at that pic, i still didnt get it sorry, but where do i hook up those positive and negative on the navi?
from the gray harness to where on the navi?

 

Hello Great DIY, i followed this and was able to install a aftermarket kenwood dnx570hd in my acura tl 2008 non nav.

I am having some noise when the head unit is on and it increases as i increases volume

Any clues???

 

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/94...0/208/dgr5.jpg

Might be a stupid question but is there a way to switch units out? Like put the double din where the climate control unit is at?

 

Can you send me link to the kit

 

You can thank cdguy707, he made the original post: www.KrankItUp.com

 

Thank you I appreciate it

 

Someone on the forums did this mod with the climate and double din switched around. Can't remember the thread link but it can be done!

 

I've never seen it done. From the pictures I've seen, the area behind the nav screen is shallow and won't accommodate a double-DIN unit. Take a look through the forum for pictures of installations and you'll see what it looks like.

 

I am assuming you can no longer use the buttons on the steering wheel. Would I be correct? Is that a plus or a minus on the operations of your unit?

 

I just purchased the kit as well.. My only question is should I leave the factory sub hooked up as well as wire up my aftermarket amp and sub? And is it easy to disconnect the center speaker? I know it doesn't work and I don't want that hissing sound lol

 

I ordered the same kit from KrankItUp and it just came in today.
Im stumped too. I need to bypass the factory amp, as it is blown(Max level volume seems like mid level)
Which is fine as i have a sub+amp in my trunk ready to be hooked up.

From my understanding i have to run new wire from the speakers directly to the pioneer hu (4 channel) to bypass the factory sub.(Which is fine because all i want is the 4 door speakers running) Can anyone confirm this? Thanks.

 

Were you able to figure out what to do?? I just got an 06 with factory navi and an aftermarket 7" Pioneer touchscreen. My whole navi touchscreen is unresponsive and will not take any inputs, I had to change the battery and it is stuck at "enter code".

From what I read the navi operates through the tape deck not just the audio but other features as well. I could care less about the stupid audio directions I just want my damn screen and maps working. Apparently from what I've been able to gather you have to plug the navigation into the circuit board of the tape deck anyone ever heard of this?

I think I will buy a $10 broken radio off eBay to salvage the circuit board but still have no idea where to plug it in. If it doesn't work I may just sell the Appradio 2 and the mounting bracket, which actually looks pretty clean.

ANYONE PLEASE HELP IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEA!! Thanks.

 

I need help how to connect the factory sub I want to keep it with my aftermarket radio.

 

Were your wires connected to the same color for your factory harness?

 

Looks good!

 

Dude, not cool. No need to repost 50 pictures.

 

What wires exactly did you put the rca plug ends on and what does the back of the headunit look like?

 

Depending on the year of the vehicle, it determines the wire color for the RCA connection.

2004-2005: Red/Blue (+) Center conductor of the RCA
White/Green (-) Shield

2006-2008: Yellow/Black (+) Center conductor of the RCA
Light Green/Red (-) Shield

It plugs into the subwoofer output of your headunit. Each headunit is going to look different, so having a picture of his JVC headunit isn't going to do you any good.

 

Great tutorial!

 

Im about to install a double din myself. Is there a way to keep the center channel speaker? Maybe an rca splitter?

 

Unless you're going to use a 5.1 processor or some sort of level adjustment, the center channel will be playing at the same volume as the door speakers. Short answer, no.

 

Will it be that much louder? Do the tweeters not run with the door speakers as well? I assumed the tweeter and center were for the highs.

 

The center channel has a 3" midrange speaker that want to see midrange to mid/high signal. if you really want to use it, get an inexpensive hi-low adapter (you can buy at local stereo shop or BestBuy) combine both RCAs into one and hook them up to the wires for center channel signal. Adjust the gain to a low setting, you don't want the center channel to over power the fronts.
Paraphrased from KrankItUp

 

The center speaker is irrelevant in a stereo system. It's there because the factory Acura navigations uses it for the navigation voice, and suppresses the other speakers while the nav voice is talking. It's only other purpose is for DVD-Audio discs -- who has THAT?? If you're going to replace the factory unit with a double-DIN (as I have done), you can just forget about the center speaker. It won't help with sound quality.

 

I see. Not worth the splice.
What did you do with the orange/white & orange wires from the Krankitup kit? The aftermarket radio only has one orange/white used for dimming.
I read the orange (dash lights) has to be grounded. Is this correct? Can I simply splice it to the black ground on the harness?