Here's everything I've learned so far about working with the audio system in a 2001 TL. Much of this info I got here on this forum, so I thought I'd reference it all in one thread for everybody.

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1. Accessing head unit

This is like two dozen steps, so I'll just link to some threads that have already covered
this topic (some with photos).

(The hardest part is the ashtray/seat heater switch assembly).

see this thread: http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96754
which links here: http://abunchofcars.com/diy_pages/o...ter_console.htm


2. Harness data

see this thread for a complete schematic:
http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showt...hlight=harness


3. Bypassing factory eq

Preamp goes out from HU to Bose EQ and back (the summed output doesn't come
back).
Three signal wires (left, right, summed l+r) plus a common.
These leads can be cut and tapped to get preamp out to an aftermarket amp, or fed back
into the HU to use the HU amp an bypass the Bose EQ. Leaving the summed and
common leads will allow factory sub to continue to work.

more info here: http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/archi...p/t-20248.html
and here: http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/archi...p/t-19642.html

If for some reason you want to physically remove the Bose EQ, say for some extra
space, it is attached to metal cage that the radio bolts into. Two bolts on side, two on
top/front (above head unit), and the whole cage drops out. The EQ is a small metal box
that sits directly above the HU, behind the climate controls.


4. Replacing speakers

Contrary to what you may read, all the speakers are standard 4 ohm speakers, and 6
1/2" speakers will fit in all four doors. You need 3/4" spacer rings, which you can make
or buy. Clearance from the magnet to the glass is very tight. JBL P652's work--you
can look up their depth. The cutout in the door (for the magnet and basket) is also
pretty tight.

However, just because they're 4-ohm, doesn't mean just dropping in new speakers will
sound good. You'd have to bypass the L and R channels going through the EQ to get
normal sound. (The EQ jacks up the treble and cuts the bass). Be forewarned: doing
this will result in a significant loss of volume.
The volume situation can be fixed by installing a line driver to boost the preamp signal.
Although that's what I did, you really should just skip this step and buy an amp instead.
Routing the boosted signal back into the HU results in decent sound quality and volume,
but is not something an audiophile will be happy with. (The HU amp is 12Wx4). (I tried
it and ended up buying an amp anyway).

Be careful that the windows don't catch your speaker wires and pull them out. Also take
care that the speaker terminals don't short on the small door openings. While you've got
the doors apart, consider pulling new speaker wire.


5. Factory sub/amp info

A common (L+R) signal is sent from the headunit to the EQ. The EQ amplifies this signal
and sends it to the sub amp mounted behind the rear seatback, passenger side. The
black box you see under the rear deck by the subwoofer is a passive crossover, not the
amp. (You can replace everything else and still use the factory sub if you provide
ground, power, and mono preamp to the Bose EQ).

Some harness data at the sub amp can be found here:
http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showt...e+twisted+pair

(Note: I found the orange wire to have too little power to turn on an amp. In fact, it
wouldn't even pull a 60mA relay. But, I was keeping the stock subwoofer running).


6. Removing door covers

All doors are pretty much the same, except the driver's door has more wire harnesses to
unplug.

Start by removing the big screw in the armrest, then the little screw behind a little round
cover behind the inside door release. slide the door release mechanism back about 3/8"
and pull out. There's a little plastic catch on the metal bar--unhook it and remove the
assembly.

The door cover is held on by plastic friction clips. They're pretty forgiving of being pulled
up without the proper tool. (Buy the tool though--it'll come in handy).

Remove the sail panels (black triangular plastic at front of front door windows) before
pulling up the front door covers. The sail panels pull out from the back (towards rear of
car), then slide back to free the front corner.

That's it--just unfasten the harnesses/lights and it's out.


7. Removing rear seats

These are suprisingly easy. The trick is to start with the one bolt holding the bottom seat
on. It's located right behind where the seatbelt latches stick out on the driver's side. I
think it's 11mm, and you'll need a socket extension. Pull seatbottom up from front and
remove.

There are three more bolts holding the seatback on. (On the bottom, one on each side,
and one where the other belt latch is mounted.

Slide the seatback up a couple inches and it will come free. This takes a little effort.


8. Rear deck info

if you need to remove the covers over the rear deck, remove the rear seats, lift the
subwoofer cover and remove (unhook brake lights from in trunk first). The two carpet-
like covers can be removed by first pulling up the C-pillar covers (compression clips),
removing childseat anchors, pulling up the two fasteners holding it down near the center,
then gently pulling out.

one of the main culprits of rear deck rattle/vibration is the metal heat shields above the
brake lights. You can see these from inside the trunk by removing the bulbs. There is
also a wire harness laying across the driver's side of the deck that was not padded.
You'll never get it completely rattle-free because the rear deck is such a sonically poor
location for a woofer, but you can get the worst of it out.


9. Installing cd-changer

The HU has built-in cd-changer control capability, and a separate harness plug-in for this
purpose.

Options include:
factory cd changer (6-disks, no MP3's, high cost)
Blitzsafe adapter with compatible cd changer (control cd changer directly from headunit)
adapter with AUX input that you can use for any audio source

This last option is what I did: the HU does not control the changer--I have the changer's
control panel velcro'd to the dash. (I wanted the increased sound quality of not using an
RF modulator, but I like the little display/control panel that shows me the name of the
song, etc.)

To switch between regular CD and changer/aux you just press the CD button (on the
HU) twice.

I think there are other manufacturers of adapters, but I've been very happy with my
Blitzsafe adapter for around $75 at enfig.com. As an aside, the engineers at Blitzsafe
actually returned my emails and answered my questions.


10. Running power through the firewall

There is an unused grommet just above the gas pedal. I found this to be the easiest
place to get through the firewall.


11. Using the space above the HU where the factory cd changer would go

this space is a standard 1/2 DIN size, so any 1/2 DIN device (equalizer, etc.) will fit
there. If you keep the factory head unit, you have one bracket on each side to hold
whatever you put there. If you are going aftermarket, you'll probably have to fab some
brackets or something.

It's fairly simple to mount something there and still keep the factory face from the
useless cd holder. That way you could put an equalizer or something there and still have
a completely stock dash.


12 Available space in the dash

I don't think there is any. If you pull out the factory system, you have 2 1/2 DIN slots to
work with. Otherwise, there really isn't any extra room to be found (unless you modify
the dash, remove the ashtray, etc.). There is some free space above the parking brake
by the driver's left foot.


13. Ground loop problems if you keep the stock head unit

I'm a pretty smart guy with good audio/electrical knowledge, and I couldn't fix it. Ended
up going with a ground loop isolator. If money's no object, go with the Jensen ISO-MAX
2 channel--it'll run you about $130 if you look around. I used the PIE GLI for about $20,
since I'm on a budget (of sorts).


14. Remote turn-on power from amp

If you keep the factory head unit, this lead only provides about 9 volts, and will not pull
an efficient relay. (I couldn't get it to trip a 12V relay drawing 60mA, or a 9V relay
drawing less). I made the mistake of running my cd changer and
line driver/EQ from this lead and couldn't understand why it didn't sound great).

Sadly, I don't know the solution to remote turn-on. I think the answer is a 5VDC relay
on the remote lead. I used a relay on the switched power to the Bose EQ (Yellow wire,
smaller harness), and it introduced terrible noise into the subwoofer. (I'll try the
smaller relay on the main remote lead tomorrow).

15. A word or two on keeping the stock head unit

If I knew how much effort it was going to be (many days and nights in the garage), I
never would have attempted to keep the damnned head unit to preserve the dash. Even
after the money and effort I've spent, I might still replace it.

 

The factory headunit has a separate harness plug-in for the Bose EQ--contains the preamp in/out and power. This harness would be unused with a different headunit, hence the BEQ woundn't be hooked up or have any effect. (But you could tap into it if you wanted to use the factory sub).

 

The possible leads for remote turn on are the main remote lead in the big harness, and the power going to the Bose EQ in the small black harness.

The main remote lead (on my car at least) doesn't have enough current to turn on an amp or drive a preamp. (This lead goes to the Bose subwoofer amplifier behind the rear seat).

Putting anything on the power to the Bose EQ cause a drop in volume from the subwoofer, as you're stealing power from the BEQ.

My solution was to build a simple circuit to flip a relay using very little current. Cost about $5.00 at Radio Shack to build.

(I used a pot, turned up to 25k ohms, instead of the resister shown).

Schematic here:

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~antoon/circ/relay5.html

 

Just discovered something very interesting about the 2nd gen doors: the grilles in front of the speakers are highly directional and have an enormous impact on SQ.

The grilles built into the doors are over 1/8" thick, and have holes about 3/16th" in diameter: you can hardly seen through them at 45 degrees.

I was trying to set my EQ the past few days, and a friend said that he thought I had imaging problem--the sound was only really good in certain spots.

I was thinking it was the speakers, and was measuring for new ones when I discovered that they sounded much better with the door covers off. I ended up cutting out most of the honeycomb grilles behind the speaker cloth and the difference in sound quality was dramatic.

This is probably of more interest to people without component speakers, since higher frequency sounds are more directional than lower frequencies.

Anyway, if you're curious, drive around with the front passenger door cover off for a day or two and you just might be amazed.

 

Finally replaced the speaker wire. Quite difficult for the fronts, not too bad for the rears.

For the rears, you remove the B pillar cover, the seatbelt, the door cover, the speaker. You can push the wire all the way from inside the B piller (under the harness you see) through the boot, into the door.

For the fronts: very difficult to access where the boot comes into the cab, so I just pushed the wire through a small hole in the boot from the outside. (Also suprisingly difficult because it's hard to get your hands back there. Only solution I could fine, and how I'll need to seal the holes I made with something that will stick to rubber and remain flexible.

The wires were easy to run, lifting up the edges of the carpet and tying them to the wire harnesses already there.

Took me 12 hours, but it was worth it--really makes a huge difference at high power levels.

 

Jonesi was kind enough to provide this link for removing stock HU:

http://www.skyeflye.com/acura_cls/I...001-2003_CL.pdf

 

Also, here is the original link for center console (HU removal):

http://abunchofcars.com/diy_pages/ot...er_console.htm

 

Can we get updated links on removing the center console/HU?

 

Damn, we dug up that link a couple months ago and now it doesn't work either. I know there's a reliable one for the icelink install... hang on.

 

I can't find the original link right now, but here's a member who took pitures and made a really nice .pdf file of his install:

http://www.skyeflye.com/acura_cls/In...01-2003_CL.pdf

 

Perfect, thanks.

 

Someone update #4

Pictures and What-not

 

3. Bypassing factory eq

Preamp goes out from HU to Bose EQ and back (the summed output doesn't come
back).
Three signal wires (left, right, summed l+r) plus a common.
These leads can be cut and tapped to get preamp out to an aftermarket amp, or fed back
into the HU to use the HU amp an bypass the Bose EQ. Leaving the summed and
common leads will allow factory sub to continue to work.

more info here: http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/arch...hp/t-20248.html
and here: http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/arch...hp/t-19642.html

If for some reason you want to physically remove the Bose EQ, say for some extra
space, it is attached to metal cage that the radio bolts into. Two bolts on side, two on
top/front (above head unit), and the whole cage drops out. The EQ is a small metal box
that sits directly above the HU, behind the climate controls.

 

3. Bypassing factory eq

Preamp goes out from HU to Bose EQ and back (the summed output doesn't come
back).
Three signal wires (left, right, summed l+r) plus a common.
These leads can be cut and tapped to get preamp out to an aftermarket amp, or fed back
into the HU to use the HU amp an bypass the Bose EQ. Leaving the summed and
common leads will allow factory sub to continue to work.

more info here: http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/arch...hp/t-20248.html
and here: http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/arch...hp/t-19642.html

If for some reason you want to physically remove the Bose EQ, say for some extra
space, it is attached to metal cage that the radio bolts into. Two bolts on side, two on
top/front (above head unit), and the whole cage drops out. The EQ is a small metal box
that sits directly above the HU, behind the climate controls.

wanna update that?

 

none of the links seem to work

 

yeah I need some info on how to make the sub work again
Bypassing factory eq

 

i just installed an aftermarket HU and i still want my factory sub to work. is there any way to tap it into my new HU. if so what wire do i need to tap and where to route it to?

 

how would i make the factory sub work again?

 

check out this thread to keep the factory sub when use aftermarket HU.

https://acurazine.com/forums/audio-video-electronics-navigation-22/keeping-factory-sub-when-adding-aftermarket-headunit-99-03-tl-326253/

 

Hello can you explain to me how would i go about using my factoy amp and sub...i am not sure what wires are the power, negitive and the ingnition...and what the input and out put wires are.

 

Would this apply to a 2002 TL-S non navi?

 

Hello. Looking for a bit of help. I have a 2000TL non-navi with bone stock Bose stereo system.

I plan on installing aftermarket sub with amp and will be keeping the stock HU. I have read many of the topics on this but need some clarificiation on a couple of issues:

Is it recommended to bypass the Bose EQ for the factory sub?

Is the factory sub crossover bypassed when I tap the input at the factory sub amp? (I understand this will enable me to determine my own crossover level with my new sub amp.)

Thanks for any help in advance.

Diggs

 

I beleive that all the sub EQ and all the crossover filtering are IN the sub amp, and the sub amp receives a flat full-range signal, and if you grab the balanced preamp signal going into the amp, you should be golden.

 

OK, I think I've got a couple options to use an iPod...

1. cassette adapter...yeah, yeah....not that great but already have it.

2. wired fm modulator: thoughts?

3. Harmon Kardon Drive & Play (1st gen) ...don't like the remote control and neither having another display panel on my dash...

4. DICE adapter....R2 kit. Yeah, I know i'ts probably the best but it's $150 on top of the iPod.

5. Putting in my "old but new" Alpine 9885 out of my older car and have hi-speed controls/battery charging w/ the $30 cable....BUT...have to rewire whole car cuz it's Bose equipped....

What are your thoughts guys and gals?

 

Just wanted to say thanks for the quality info/write up.......nicely done!

 

blitzsafe is another option its cheaper than the dice unit and usaspec

 

In case anyone need to access the head unit on an old TL, the link in the first post is dead, but you can still access it through the internet archive:

http://web.archive.org/web/200407171...er_console.htm

Hope this will come in handy.

 

Anybody know if the stock chime/beep still exists after removing the stock HU?

Ex: when you leave the headlights on and turn the car off, the car chimes to warn you the lights are still on.

The reason I'm asking is because it sounds like the chime comes from the front driver side door speaker.

 

The chime still works for me and I replaced the stock headunit.

I also found out with my 2001 cl-p that if I leave my lights on and set the alarm that the head lights will turn off on thier own after about 30 seconds. I thought this was pretty cool.

 

hello, I am going to replace the speakers, head unit and put a sub in the trunk. I keep reading about that i have to rewire the car with new speaker wire to acheive the best sound. Is this true?

 

Thanks! This is just what I was looking for.

 

Absolutely, factory wire is not real good, in fact its not good at all. Aftermarket wire is bigger for less resistance, oxygen free would be preferable....

 

I rarely pipe up in here but this info is not correct. The factory speaker/signal wires in the TL/CL are more than sufficient to run higher wattage signal through. You would need to send a fatty signal from amp to speaker in this car to warrant a change in cable. I carry some nice shit on spool. The strand diameter of the OEM speaker cable is larger than anything aftermarket that I've used recently.

Yes, the factory cable is less flexible. But more resistant? NFW.

 

really? i didn't know all that....so what your saying is that unless I plan on winning sound-offs, It wouldn't be at all worth it to put in aftermarket speaker wire??

 

Correct. There would be absolutely no benefit to changing out that wire. If at some point you upgrade your speakers to something humongous that suck a lot of juice then definitely run larger cable.

 

that goods news, that just opened up about a hundred bux!! woohoo!! So my Kappa components will run great with stock wire....nice.....

 

Thanks for compiling this info.
This link is broken:
http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showt...hlight=harness

-cp308

 

All the links dont work

 

4 years old

 

During my search a "Factory" wiring diagram. So many phony sites, simply copy and paste information from the forum and turn around sell back to unsuspecting customer like me for $ 9.99. Finally, I settled for $ 5.99 at www.wiring-diagram.com. Which turned out to be genuine factory drawing.