Doohickie
10-11-2005, 07:34 PM
Got my Elantra GLS 5-door Friday; by Monday morning I completed my first mod: I removed the AM/FM Cassette and replaced it with a Pioneer DEH-P3700MP (http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/product/detail/0,,2076_4039_149245002,00.html) and also added a CD changer in the rear cargo area, a Pioneer CDX-P686 (http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/product/detail/0,,2076_4049_70228257,00.html) 6-Disc Changer. These two components link together through a Pioneer IP Bus cable. At some point, I'll try to document all this with pictures of the finished project, but none yet.
Location, location, location
The first big decision was where to mount the CD changer in the rear cargo area (trunk). After looking at TechWeb, it looked like following the antenna wire back along the door sills on the right side would be a good way to go. I wanted the CD changer off the floor to prevent it from getting hit by stuff that might be rolling around in the trunk and figured I could mount it on the right side somewhere.
Getting Started
To facilitate running the wire. I removed the rear hatch opening lower trim, the right side rear speaker trim, cargo area trim, seat back bolster (the part of the seat that's fixed and doesn't fold), rear door sill trim, lower seat belt anchor for the front passenger seat, lower B-pillar trim, front door sill trim, kick panel trim, and glove box door. I left the front end of the trunk trim attached and swung it forward to get access to the work area, but could easily swing it back to check fits, etc.
Once the trim was out, the location of the CD changer was obvious- there is a structural wall that the rear seat belt is attached to; there was adequate space for the changer between the wheel well and the seat belt with the unit mounted horizontally. I used the antenna ground bolt for the upper, rearward hole.
I made a slight mod to the mounting brackets: there are holes for several orientations of the unit, but I wanted to get it as far away from the wall as possible to ensure adequate space for running wires, so I drilled an extra hole in the bracket to move the changer out a fit further than the pre-drilled holes allowed.
I attached the brackets to the changer with the flange pointing inward to minimize the footprint. I held them up to the body wall and marked location of the brackets. I also made a template of the hole pattern on a piece of cardboard. I then held the template up to the wall and marked the hole locations. I took the brackets off the changer for the time being.
No Going Back Now!
I finally made the first permanent mod to my car- the holes to anchor the brackets. I loosely attached the brackets to the wall. I mounted the changer on them, then tightened them up with the brackets in the proper location. The upper, forward hole is on a recessed portion of the wall, so I used three flat washers to space it out to the same level as the other side.
Next came the first visible mod: I had to cut the trunk trim. I moved the trim into place and marked horizontal lines for the top and bottom of the CD changer on it. Then I took the changer off the brackets and swung the trim further into place to mark where to cut the front and back of the hole. I trimmed the hole on the top and front and back ends, and the forward part of the bottom end (from the bend line forward. I folded it over and tucked it behind the main part of the trunk trim. By leaving it attached, I can easily restore it if I ever take the changer out. It’s not a perfect job, but it’s not so bad that it draws attention.
I plugged the IP Bus into the unit and mounted it back onto the brackets, attaching the ground lug to one of the unit mounting screws.
Laying the Cable
I ran the cable along the same route as the existing harness that runs from the front to the back of the car. Starting from near the right rear speaker, I zip-tied the cable to the harness at several locations following the door opening. At the points where the existing harness went through tie downs or conduits, I followed as closely as possible, snaking the cable through the metal harness loops along the sill and through the plastic conduit at the base of the B-pillar. Where it went through the metal loops, I inserted plastic split conduit to avoid chaffing.
At the front, I continued to follow the existing harness routing through an indentation in the floor under the carpet and found a large area just in front of the radio to coil the extra cable length. I simply continued to zip tie the cable to the existing harness. After the last metal conduit under the front door, I used the plastic split conduit for the rest of the run to make sure it wouldn’t be chaffed in these areas (since it seemed unprotected to me). Five feet of conduit was enough to protect the entire length of the ten foot cable where it needed it.
Replaced all the trim pieces removed earlier except for the glove box door; the CD changer was complete. It ended up looking something like this:
http://webpages.charter.net/doohickie/Click_On_Index/photos/redrocketcdchanger.jpg
Head Unit Installation
The head unit was pretty straightforward and is described several places already on this and other forums, so I won’t repeat it here. It was pretty much a standard install. The only difference is that I needed to splice in the wire for the CD changer power into the adapter harness and connect the IP Bus cable. Also, the head unit has a bezel that would not fit through the existing opening in the dash trim so I had to omit it. The removable faceplate does not entirely fill the opening, however, so I used adhesive-backed foam tape around the faceplate to obtain a finished look. I powered everything up and it works perfectly!
Things Not To Do
One thing I learned was that some of the hard plastic trim pieces are painted. I got lazy with the dash trim; I couldn’t easily disconnect some of the electrical connections, so I just left them attached and rested the trim piece on the steering column. This resulted in some scratching of the paint on the top of the steering column trim piece. I’m trying to figure out the best way to fix this (perhaps by getting a new part out of a junk yard or finding matching paint). Bottom line: protect trim surfaces!
Location, location, location
The first big decision was where to mount the CD changer in the rear cargo area (trunk). After looking at TechWeb, it looked like following the antenna wire back along the door sills on the right side would be a good way to go. I wanted the CD changer off the floor to prevent it from getting hit by stuff that might be rolling around in the trunk and figured I could mount it on the right side somewhere.
Getting Started
To facilitate running the wire. I removed the rear hatch opening lower trim, the right side rear speaker trim, cargo area trim, seat back bolster (the part of the seat that's fixed and doesn't fold), rear door sill trim, lower seat belt anchor for the front passenger seat, lower B-pillar trim, front door sill trim, kick panel trim, and glove box door. I left the front end of the trunk trim attached and swung it forward to get access to the work area, but could easily swing it back to check fits, etc.
Once the trim was out, the location of the CD changer was obvious- there is a structural wall that the rear seat belt is attached to; there was adequate space for the changer between the wheel well and the seat belt with the unit mounted horizontally. I used the antenna ground bolt for the upper, rearward hole.
I made a slight mod to the mounting brackets: there are holes for several orientations of the unit, but I wanted to get it as far away from the wall as possible to ensure adequate space for running wires, so I drilled an extra hole in the bracket to move the changer out a fit further than the pre-drilled holes allowed.
I attached the brackets to the changer with the flange pointing inward to minimize the footprint. I held them up to the body wall and marked location of the brackets. I also made a template of the hole pattern on a piece of cardboard. I then held the template up to the wall and marked the hole locations. I took the brackets off the changer for the time being.
No Going Back Now!
I finally made the first permanent mod to my car- the holes to anchor the brackets. I loosely attached the brackets to the wall. I mounted the changer on them, then tightened them up with the brackets in the proper location. The upper, forward hole is on a recessed portion of the wall, so I used three flat washers to space it out to the same level as the other side.
Next came the first visible mod: I had to cut the trunk trim. I moved the trim into place and marked horizontal lines for the top and bottom of the CD changer on it. Then I took the changer off the brackets and swung the trim further into place to mark where to cut the front and back of the hole. I trimmed the hole on the top and front and back ends, and the forward part of the bottom end (from the bend line forward. I folded it over and tucked it behind the main part of the trunk trim. By leaving it attached, I can easily restore it if I ever take the changer out. It’s not a perfect job, but it’s not so bad that it draws attention.
I plugged the IP Bus into the unit and mounted it back onto the brackets, attaching the ground lug to one of the unit mounting screws.
Laying the Cable
I ran the cable along the same route as the existing harness that runs from the front to the back of the car. Starting from near the right rear speaker, I zip-tied the cable to the harness at several locations following the door opening. At the points where the existing harness went through tie downs or conduits, I followed as closely as possible, snaking the cable through the metal harness loops along the sill and through the plastic conduit at the base of the B-pillar. Where it went through the metal loops, I inserted plastic split conduit to avoid chaffing.
At the front, I continued to follow the existing harness routing through an indentation in the floor under the carpet and found a large area just in front of the radio to coil the extra cable length. I simply continued to zip tie the cable to the existing harness. After the last metal conduit under the front door, I used the plastic split conduit for the rest of the run to make sure it wouldn’t be chaffed in these areas (since it seemed unprotected to me). Five feet of conduit was enough to protect the entire length of the ten foot cable where it needed it.
Replaced all the trim pieces removed earlier except for the glove box door; the CD changer was complete. It ended up looking something like this:
http://webpages.charter.net/doohickie/Click_On_Index/photos/redrocketcdchanger.jpg
Head Unit Installation
The head unit was pretty straightforward and is described several places already on this and other forums, so I won’t repeat it here. It was pretty much a standard install. The only difference is that I needed to splice in the wire for the CD changer power into the adapter harness and connect the IP Bus cable. Also, the head unit has a bezel that would not fit through the existing opening in the dash trim so I had to omit it. The removable faceplate does not entirely fill the opening, however, so I used adhesive-backed foam tape around the faceplate to obtain a finished look. I powered everything up and it works perfectly!
Things Not To Do
One thing I learned was that some of the hard plastic trim pieces are painted. I got lazy with the dash trim; I couldn’t easily disconnect some of the electrical connections, so I just left them attached and rested the trim piece on the steering column. This resulted in some scratching of the paint on the top of the steering column trim piece. I’m trying to figure out the best way to fix this (perhaps by getting a new part out of a junk yard or finding matching paint). Bottom line: protect trim surfaces!