ryang

I know there are a few people who asked about this, so I figured I'd post my success story....

I just went out today and bought an Alpine CHA-S634 6-disc MP3 compatible changer and the Alpine KCA-130B AiNET to M-Bus adapter. I already had the Blitz adapter to adapt my old Alpine changer, so I just hooked the KCA-130B into that adapter, ran the new AiNET cord and voila, MP3 on the factory unit!

Any questions about this feel free to post here and I shall reply

-Ryan

desco10

ryan-
i have a 99 acura tl and i wanted to get that same changer. they said that it wouldnt work. what year tl do you have? have they changed anything in the newer versions, i really want to try this!

rmarin2

That's great man! I've been looking to do the same! Where did you install the mp3 changer?

Also, all I'll need to get is the MP3 unit, the KCA-130B, and the Blitz adapter?

One more thing, POST PICS!!! LOL

Thanks

-Rich

AndrewBochenek

yeah man.. let's see some pics

this is something that i am interested in when i get my TL-S here in a week


-Andrew

StanMan

cool, thanks for confirming my suspicions! how do you control it?

congrats!

ryang

Sorry for the delay... here's the 411:

I think it should work with the 99 TL... anyone know if the 99 and 00 heads are different?

This is what you need:
Blitz HON/ALP adapter (or whatever brand adapter compatible with Honda/Acura and Alpine)
CHA-S634 changer
KCA-130b adapter.

Plug the blitz adapter into the back of the head unit, the 130b into that, run the AiNET cable, screw in the changer (be sure to change the bus selector from AiNET [setting 1] to M-Bus [setting 2] on the switch just next to the magazine eject button), plug in and enjoy!

To use just tap the CD button to switch to CD player, tap it once more to access the cd changer. By popular request, see the pics below for my mounting location and view on headunit. Note that the CD is on track 46 of about 140 mp3 tracks on that CD... man it's nice! I hated choosing only 15-20 of the hundreds of MP3s in my collection, now I can put them all on a few CDs and have my entire collection in my changer! One more thing, the unit WILL READ CD-RWs so you can just add/delete MP3s from a CDRW as you wish! You don't have to throw old CDs away ever again! hehe... Enjoy! Post any other questions

-Ryan

p.s. Sorry about these, just took them 20 mins ago in the dark

drcookie

Dang ... I need to get one of this for my birthday present.
The 6-CD changer in the dashboard is just not enough for my selection and the radio stations just repeat the same songs over and over again every single day.

Nice work dude !!!

Cheers !!!

randomwalk101

Does this work on 2002 TL? Do you have to take out the stock radio to plug the Blitz thing in? Also, how much is approx the cost for this mod? Thx

StanMan

you have to remove the radio to get to the changer port. i too have a 2002 and i know there is a changer port, but acura doesn't advertise (do they?) a changer for this car because it already has a in-dash changer. so will tapping the cd button another time change over to the mp3 changer if you hooked one up?

randomwalk101

I found the Alpine S634 on ebay for around $230...but where can I get the rest of the parts (130b and HON/ALP)?

rmarin2

I would like to know the answer to that as well.

desco10

You can get the adaptor from www.crutchhfield.com
its 9.99 look on ebay for the blitz cable they are expensive in the stores (99.00-120.00)

I really want this changer and have already did the research, I just need the money now. lol

are there any instructions for removing your radio on this board?
I havent looked yet but I'll search can someone send a link if they have it. Please dont yell, I haven't looked

ryang

I'm not sure if it works on an 02... maybe Acura figured that 6-disc in dash would be good enough for ya

I was lazy and didn't remove the factory headunit, i just removed that side panel and wood trim running from the stereo along the passenger side of the center console... just reach behind and plug in!

You should be able to find those extra adapters at local stereo shops... like desco10 said, the 130B should run about $10 but the blitz adapter is expensive... mine was somewhere around $60-80 I think (i bought mine about 2 years ago).

I almost bought one of those changers off ebay myself but I'm impatient and went to the stereo shop where I used to work and got the "good ex-employee who just brought us a 12 pack of beer" price. Total price was around $260, mind you I had the blitz adapter from my old changer install and that price is not included in above number.

Anyone (especially Seattleites) need any help finding equipment or whatever just let me know...

-Ryan

jasonb

Ryan:

I'm just down in Portland so if you can recommend a site to find the adapter and cable I'd appreciate it! Thanks.

Jason

ryang

There's a stereo shop in Aloha on TV highway... Car Stereo City i believe.... I stopped in once with my girlfriend who lived nearby. She had her stereo installed there and they seem to be a pretty good shop so try them. If you can't find one local, let me know and I'll see if I can't have one mailed to you.

There are a few other guys on the board that work in stereo shops that may be able to help... anyone?

-Ryan

randomwalk101

hey ryang,

I stopped by CarToy today and they have an adaptor for $59 (or was it $49)? It's not Blitz though...but the adaptor itself has one end is a box-like shape connector (as with other TL's stock connector) and the other end is round shaped (with pins in it)....does this sounds like the right one?

Anyways, as far as pricing goes, total package (equip) will be around $300....not bad at all for an mp3 players allowing you thousands of songs.

randomwalk101

Okay, this is it..

http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/PERHONIL?ref=posn
http://www.nextag.com/serv/main/buye...earch=CHA-S634
http://www.nextag.com/Alpine_KCA_130...oduct=55168201

calvinpham74

can anyone write down step by step on how to install this. is this easy to install to install? I am not good at this, but i really like to install this on my car. can anyone help me out?

jasonb

Glad I came upon this site and this thread. I visited a Cartoys about 4-6 months ago when I got my TL and the rep there said that there was no possible way to add a changer to a TL. Guess I'll be heading in tomorrow to prove them wrong!

randomwalk101

The fifth message down on this thread is all the instruction you'll need..as far as hooking up the receiver to factory deck. To access the plug behind the radio, Ryang said you only have to remove the side panel and reach back there and plug it in...

Edub-TL

Good info..
So like this right?
Alpline--(M-Bus setting)----103b--Blitz--HeadUnit

Also, the the Changer have any AUX inputs?

ryang

$300 is a pretty good deal... just make sure you're getting the right stuff. Car Toys has never been on the top of my list when it comes to good stereo experiences.

I went to blitzsafe's website and found the picture below which looks almost exactly like the real one you will need. I'm assuming other brand adapters should work fine, but at the shop I used to work at we always swore by blitz. The blitz model number is: HON/ALP DMX V.1 See pic below



Random: all of those links you had were the right stuff as far as I know... again, I'm not 100% sure on other branded adapters but I'd assume it'll all be the same.

Oh yeah, the connectors should be one blue square plug into the deck and a circular DIN style to go to the changer. Plug the KCA-130B in right here, run your AiNET cord and away you go! To solve as much installation curiousity as i can, see link below (and DON'T LAUGH ):

Alpine Installation Instructions (272Kb .JPG)

This is a very easy install! Should take you just about an hour... I can post more detailed install instructions if need be Good luck!

-Ryan

Fury TL-X

ryang,

How was mounting of the changer itself? Pretty straight forward stuff?

ryang

Fury: Really easy since I had that old Alpine changer in there beforehand j/k..

From scratch it's no big deal.. all I did was screw on the side brackets to the changer, climbed in the trunk on my back, held the changer where i wanted to mount it, used a sharp metal poker to mark my drill points, drilled, screwed, mounted, done! Only about 20 mins of work...

-Ryan

lushgrass

so let me get this straight...

with the parts listed earlier in this thread, we can convert our stock audio system in the 2000 TL to play mp3 cd's in it's 6 cd changer.. is that correct?

if so, how do you switch between cd's since i saw the cd number in the pic to be #46... or does it work differently?

are tehre alternative parts currently available? is it advisible to do this in comparison to future parts coming out?
ie is there an alternative product coming out soon or currently out that would be better?

can it read cd-rw cd's? the stock cd changer doesnt.. or at least mine doesnt.

jasonb

Seeing as the most I've ever done on my car is change the oil, I think I'd be better off buying the parts and taking it to a professional shop. I wouldn't have the foggiest about running the necessary cords to the trunk.

StanMan

my bro hooked up this mp3 changer to his older style alpine headunit and all he can do is sequentially change tracks and cds. he cannot jump or use the folder system. i think this is basically what we are limited to as well. i can understand changing tracks, but how do you change between cds within the changer???

randomwalk101

the Alpine MP3 changer (CHA-S634) comes with a REMOTE....does that answer your question?

StanMan

uh, no it doesn't.

calvinpham74

is it on the right or the left when you want to plug the adapter on? It look so simple. I think i will buy the parts here and do it myself. But i want to know is it on the left or right can anyone tell me?

ryang

lushgrass: Yes, you can play a CD chock full of MP3s on the factory headunit! All you need is the Alpine changer and the two adapters I listed earlier. You will need to remove the factory Acura changer if you have it and install this one in its place (they should be about the same size and possibly would use the same mounting brackets making your job much easier)... also you will need to run the new wiring included with the Alpine changer. In the picture I was on CD #1 - Track 46... see below on how to change CDs. Alpine is very good equipment so I wouldn't worry about anything else coming to replace it.. and yes, it will play CDR and CDRW discs!

jasonb: Changing the oil on a car is probably 10 times harder than installing this changer. I'd recommend giving it a shot... if you want really detailed info on exact steps to install, just leave your email address and I'll shoot ya over a nice step-by-step with pics.

stanman: Here's a link to the info Alpine puts out on this changer... I'm confused to the use of folders too, but see what this says: CLICK ME Look at the bottom left of the second page for "About MP3" -- you will need Acrobat to view the file.

Regarding changing discs... the buttons 1-6 (normally used for radio presets) will access that numbered disc in the changer when in changer mode (press CD once to access in dash CD, press again to access CD changer).

calvinpham74: The changer plug is on the passenger side of the headunit on the very bottom.

Hope I helped to answer your questions!
-Ryan

StanMan

ryang, i think it's similar to copying the folder structure from the computer to the disc. the thing about my bro's older alpine headunit (hooked up to the new mp3 changer) and our factory radios, is that it probably does not have the right display and button set up to properly navigate...leaving us to sequentially change tracks and spilling over from the last song to change discs. it could be that you need ai-net technology to properly navigate, something we all know stock headunits do not have because it uses the m-bus technology.

jasonb

Ryan:

I would be grateful if you're willing to do that...thanks! I think I need to get ahold of an Acura Service Manual, is there anything like this available to the public? I've scoured over this website since finding it 3 days ago and most of the stuff that people are doing to their TL's is incredible!!

I want to learn and get cracking on my own TL!

Jason
jason@nortom.com

johnnyb_s

Here is a link with pics for installing a CD changer to our TLs...

ENJOY

CD Changer Install Instructions w/pics!

1999TL

DAmn i got to do this.

bnaderi

someone try this on a 2002 or one with the in dash 6 and see if it will work for us or if there is a way to make it work for us

calvinpham74

hey ryan the ink that post early. is that the right stuff for us to order? I will order it soon if it the right stuff and do on my own. It sound so simple enought. I never install stero system before, but i think i can handle it. thank in advance ryan..

paultl

hey ryang,

will this install work with 2002 w/ navigation?

any thoughts from anyone?

nsrayani

yea...can anyone confirm if this will work on a 2002 TL w/ or w/o navi. i am very interested but want to make sure this will work

randomwalk101

Yes it worked on *ALL* models. I just checked with an installer at Car Toys and he said he installed on a '03 TLS (same system as 2002 if you're wondering). I didn't do it cuz I want to do it myself and save on the $80 labor.