The Navigation DVD/Vid Conversion & Relocation

These pix and info will be mainly for acura owners w/the factory dvd navigation unit. There is alot of work involved but with the steps already taken to perform the audio upgrade, it isnt so bad after all. Do the job in stages and you should be ok.

Here we go....

This is the navigation dvdrom player and the GPS antenna. I put it in the trunk to verify that the antenna doesn't have to be by the glass, like it used to be. It's gonna go under the passenger seat now.

Here it is. The DVDRom Player for the Navigation is not very big after taking it out of its factory installed "shell"

Originally, all these wires were bundled together in the trunk.(Dont worry, it gets worse) This is to make it easier to tell what to cut and bundle and leave alone. The green/blackstripe was factory spliced to another wire that was the same. So it got cut and the will be respliced. Only the necessary length will be added to the bundle. the same goes for the red/silver wire. The 3 wire bundle of black/yellow go to the fuel pump. and the bundle on the right is the rest of the wires that go to the nav player.

It's getting worse..just be patient and take your time

This is where it gets worse. The wire harness gets thicker, so there are more wires to work with and not get confused. I did this at night in the garage, so it's not too difficult. Since I'm gonna move the DVD player under the passenger seat, this is all I had to undo from the factory wiring. Now, the dvd wire harness is long enough to reach the new location. Of course, this means I will have to remove both front seats and the middle console...might as well apply damping material while I'm at it.

I decided to use CAT5 cable w/ 4 pair of wires inside instead of the recommended wire bundle from the instructions. As you will see, this can be an advantage, but should be done carefully to not get confused when reading the instructions.

this is the spliced outer sheath. as you can see, every pair is color coded and already twisted internally. this made for easy separation into 2 pairs w/similar color codes. what i decided to do was use them as follows, per instructions: Solid colors=Display bundle. they are paired as such: ORANGE=red signal BLUE=blue signal BROWN=composite signal GREEN=green signal the reason i did this is obvious, orange is close to red, blue is blue, and green is green, of course. that only left one color left, for composite. The spotted wires i used for the nav screen. Later you will see that i already routed the wires to the eventual switch location...w/slack for various mounting locations if necessary. Also, there will be 4 extra wires left over in the other bundle of wires, which i can use for power if i wanted on the rgb converter, but will simply leave blank. Also, these are single stranded wires, so it will be very easy to solder to the switch once i get it.

The way they go paired to the factory wiring. Read the directions provided on acura tl forum for deciphering...I'm only providing info that deviates from those instructions, but pix of everything I did. Instructions link is provided at the contents page.

All done, looks easy, right? Now i only have to run this one cable to the switch from the factory wires.

THE GOOD STUFF...FINAL ROUTING OF DVD CABLE. This is important. since there is a metal bracket for the side impact sensor, you should take special care to protect the nav wiring. I used flex loom and extra tape, along w/zip ties to keep the wires out of harm's way.

Taking the time to do this now makes for less headache later when it's time to install the dvdrom player and the seat.

Here you can see how the rerouted wire is located on the bare floor. nothing pinched it..so it was a safe path to use.

And a closer look at the extra wiring. I actually hope to install the RGB converter under the passenger seat too, if its small enough. if not, maybe under the driver seat. either way, there's alot of wire left over to place it pretty much anywhere in the cabin(the small bundle). The currently used DISPLAY and NAV SCREEN wires are connected at the very end of the llarger loop of wires, so that there is a connection while i get the switch. as you can see, the RGB converter wire is zip tied to this wire too. they are currently under the dash, awaiting the switch...Planning pays off in the end...jej

Here is what alot of you asked for, all the pix I could provide on this extensive process(of course made even worse by my relocation) RGB AVC rewiring...

Here is the circuitboard taken out.

In order to position the CAT5 cable w/out stressing the solder joints on the capacitors, I had to cut at an angle, you will understand why in a bit.

There are two jumper wires on the circuitboard very close to the capacitors, so I put 3 layers of electrical tape so I didnt have to worry about splashing solder on them or worse yet, causing a short. Plus this helped accomadate the wire as you will see...

Did I do a good job?

I looked for that tab that is in the directions, but didnt know what it was referring to. I do have a nice round wire, and a bit that would drill a hole just large enough to accomodate it w/out pinching it, so i did this instead. Yes, i verified that it wont cut into the wire, after all, it didnt cut my finger at all....you dont see blood, do ya?!?!?!

With all that space between the capacitors and that green connector, i bundled the wire there and secured it w/more tape. i used 3 layers to verify it wont move w/time.

Looks good, eh???

These are the RGB AVC power wires, easy to identify. See how the yellow one(illumination) isnt used.

the relay parts used

Spliced, wired and zip tied...

The relay isnt too difficult to wire....

The way the wire goes...nice and tidy.

Here is the finished product. easily accessible whenever a new version of the dvdrom comes out.

With the seat in its usual position, no one knows the dvdrom player has been moved. Peace of mind...

DVD Video Conversion Instructions

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