Training a new car audio installer? This is a great tool!!

Thought I would share this awesome find!! I was recently looking for good content to go over with a new installer I am training and found this online. It's a free DC "Circuit Construction Kit". It allows you to add different components to the circuits your creating like multiple batteries, lights, switches, resistors. It also lets you change the different values such as the voltage, resistance, curent, very useful tool!!       

DC Circuit Construction Kit

- 's
#car #caraudio #caraudiotips #12volt #installer #sandiego

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2003-2007 GM Vehicle Stereo Replacement Tips.

Are you looking to upgrade your factory car stereo with a advanced aftermarket car stereo? Or maybe you are installing one for someone. Is it going to be installed into a 2003-2007 GM vehicle? Silverado-Tahoe-Trailblazer-Suburban-Yukon-Jimmy-S10-Sierra Ect...Chances are these vehicles will be missing a very important wire behind the factory stereo, that wire is the "Switched 12Volt Accessory Power Wire". This is the wire that will be responsible for telling your new aftermarket car stereo, when to turn on/off depending if the key is in the on/off position. So where can you get a "Switched 12Volt Accessory Power Wire"? The easiest place to find this wire is right at the ignition switch.  

Chevy Trailblazer 

As you can see you will have to remove some panels, in order to get to the wires coming off the ignition switch

Once you remove the panels below the steering column you should be able to identify the main ignition wires by the colors and sizes  

A lot of the GM vehicles use the same wire colors at the ignition switch. For vehicle wiring info check out the link below.

Vehicle Wiring Info

You should be able to find a run of wires consisting of a red-yellow-pink-white-orange-brown- there will be more than just those wires, but those are your main ignition wires and in most cases will be the thicker gauge wires. In this Chevy Trailblazer I will use the "Brown Accessory Wire" before connecting. I always test the wire with a digital multi meter, just to make sure I have the correct wire. Once the wire is connected and insulated with electrical tape, I recommend adding a fuse within several inches of the new wire to avoid damage to the wiring and or vehicle if it were to become shorted (10amp fuse). Then you must run the wire up to the new car stereo. Avoid any sharp metal and or moving parts that may damage the wire. This wire should then be connected to the "Red" wire coming off the new car stereo harness. There are a couple things you should be aware of when replacing your factory stereo with an aftermarket stereo, in these vehicles when using the wiring method mentioned above. You should know your door chime and if equipped factory installed OnStar, operates through your factory car stereo. So when you remove your factory stereo you will lose these features along with the RAP feature, unless the proper integration module is used. The RAP feature? RAP stands for "Retained Accessory Power", so when you start your vehicle and drive around, turn the car off and take the key out. Your car stereo will stay on until your door is opened. This is an example of "Retained Accessory Power". If you would like to keep all these features, you will want to use a "Integration Harness/Module" instead of a basic wire harness. There will be a big difference in price between the two, the Integration Modules go for around $75-$150 opposed to the basic wire harnesses that go for around $10-$20. All and all the Integration Module will make the installation easier, because you will not have to run the additional "12Volt Accessory Wire". It will also allow you to easily integrate with the premium Bose systems as well as keep your Door Chime, OnStar and RAP system operating properly. It's kind of complicated, but if you have any questions let me know. I hope this helped... :-)

- 's
#trailblazer #chevy #car #caraudio #caraudiotips #sandiego 

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2004-2009 Toyota Prius Quick Tip For Stereo Replacement.

If you are going to be taking on the task of replacing your car stereo in your 2004-2009 Toyota Prius, or maybe you are going to be installing an aftermarket car stereo for a customer in their 2004-2009 Prius. This is something you are gonna want to note. I have had several people contact me about problems they were having with their A/C controls, after they had their OEM car stereo replaced with an aftermarket one. This problem will occur if you do not use a 68ohm resistor to connect two wires in the 20 pin white harness removed from the OEM stereo. Just locate the white 20 pin harness behind the stereo, there will be two smaller gauge wires in pin 9 and 10. The wire in pin 9 should be a "Pink" wire, and the wire in pin 10 should be a "White" wire, get a 68ohm/1amp resistor. Strip back the insulation on both the Pink/White wires about 1/4in. and connect one side of the resistor to the "Pink" wire, and connect the other side of the resistor to the "White" wire. After you solder the connections cover and insulate with electrical tape. And that's it! 

If you need more info about dash disassembly just click the link bellow, it will take you to Metra's install guide for the Toyota Prius dash kit 99-8213.
Toyota Prius 99-8213 Info  

- 's

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Portable Satellite Radio Installations, Mounting Locations?

If you or maybe your friend/customer are looking to add satellite radio to your vehicle, then a portable unit may be the best option. On most of the early 2000's vehicles, satellite radio was not a common feature to have on your OEM stereo. And if you did have the capability to add the feature, most the time the hardware is no long available, or if it is, it is extremely expensive. whatever the case. Installing a portable satellite radio unit may be the simplest inexpensive way to to enjoy Sirius or Xm while you're on the go. Some of you may also be a little confused and say Sirius? XM? didn't they merge into one company? Well yeah, in some aspects but it's kinda complicated right now. In order to activate a XM portable unit on a XM account, you will need a unit with a (Alfa-Numeric ID) and in order to activate a Sirius portable unit on a Siriur account the unit must have a all (Numeric Serial Number). What makes it even more confusing is that most the portable satellite radio units will be labeled "SiriusXM" these units are actually made for the XM side and have "Alfa-Numeric" IDs...Anyway, check out some of the installs I did. 

Jaguar

 I like to take advantage of unused ashtrays and or small closing pockets when it comes to the placements.

Sometime to get the pocket or ashtray out, it requires quite a bit of disassembly. 

 Once I have the ashtray or pocket removed from the vehicle, most of the time I use ABS plastic to fabricate a mount to secure it in place.

 You always want to check and ensure clearance of the wires on the back of the unit, and always rout the wires away from moving parts.

This unit fit perfectly!

With the ashtray open you can see and operate the unit. 

With it closed you can't see any aftermarket components everything is hidden, but you can now enjoy your satellite radio!  

 Mercedes

 Same thing as the Jaguar, I first removed the ashtray

 Then I made a mounting braket out of ABS plastic.

Before I mounted it I checked for clearance.

Once mounted, it was ready to be connected!

It turned out really nice!

Can't even tell it's there.

This satellite radio was installed into smaller pocket above an ashtray

This was another Mercedes, the satellite radio unit was installed in a small pocket right below the ashtray.

The bottom of the pocket could actually be remove, making the mounting fairly easy.

Once again always make sure you have proper clearance for the wires

that will need to be connected.

 This one came out really nice! And was probably the easiest one to install.

Always keep in mind these units are ment to be portable, so if mounted into small pockets or ashtrays you may not be able to remove them as easily, or you may not be able to move them at all. But that is just something you wanna go over before the install :) anyway that's it, till next time...

- 's
#sirius #xm #car #caraudio #caraudiotips #sandiego #12volt

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Tesla Roadster 2.0 Flip Out In-Dash & Rear View Camera Install.

This is one of the installations I did on a Tesla Roadster 2.0 I went with a motorized Kenwood In-Dash that had navigation/bluetooth and I added a IPod cable and rear view camera. Everything came out perfect! If you have seen the JVC this vehicle comes with, then you could imagine how happy the owner was after we installed this new system for him.   

Before I could mount the rear view camera, I had to drop the rear panel under the back of the vehicle. It is fairly easy to do, because it is just a piece of plastic

This is a picture of what the factory JVC looked like

Once the JVC was removed I then wired the new Kenwood harness into the vehicle

To mount the rear view camera, I first cut two identical pieces of black ABS plastic into rectangles about 3in wide and 4in tall. Then I used a hole saw that was the same diameter as the flush mount rear view camera, and cut a hole through both pieces in the same spot. After that I took both pieces of ABS and mocked them up in the center, right below where the license plate mounts with one piece of ABS on each side of the plastic mesh. I was able to wedge the pieces of ABS down into the same grove the plastic mesh sits in across the bottom piece of the bumper. Once positioned to my liking, I cut the plastic mesh in the center holes of the ABS. With that removed I could now slide my rear view camera in through the two pieces of ABC with the plastic mesh sandwiched between holding everything into place. To make it a little more secure, I riveted the two pieces of ABS together right above the rear view camera, and used a plastic screw cover to make it look finished.  

I hid all the navigation and bluetooth hardware behind this pocket on the driver side, up to the right, there was plenty of room

 If you can notice the windshield wiper lever had to be modified in order to allow the in-dash to open and close properly without having to turn on the windshield wipers. 

This is what the factory windshield wiper lever looks like before any modifications

First I cut about an Inch off and took the two main pieces apart. I then used a piece of black ABS plastic and cut and filed it so it fit perfectly

Then I glued all the pieces together

Once the glue had cured fully, I lightly sanded the hole lever

 After I polished it with a dremel it was all finished and looked great!

  Unfortunately you will lose the white markings on the windshield wiper lever, but personally I think it looks better without them :-) anyway that's it...Let me know if anyone has any questions! 

- 's

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