Midnight Installs

Well, not quite midnight, but still.... Walked into Home Depot for a 1/4 sheet of MDF at 8:58 (the checkout guy made sure I was aware they were closing in a minute), then over to the autoparts store for rubberized undercoating.

Started with the rears, pulled the panel & speaker, set up a cardboard template, cut out, and started spraying the baffles with undercoating. Got two coats on last night, and put a third on this morning.

I'm totally wishing I had a router right now, would have made a much nicer baffle, and much faster too... but after all, it is going behind the factory panel, so it's not like anyone will ever see it.

Panel removed


Factory speaker & cardboard template


Baffles being painted


No crap about the image quality... 11pm at night, shot with a 500w halogen work light and an iPhone. Will probably get these finished up after work.

 

what did you use to cut these out? a dremel tool/ rotozip? if it works who cares? what kind of rubberized undercoating?

 

bought a cheap $40 jigsaw from Home Depot (it'll be going back). If I were more patient, I would have waited until tomorrow night when I can get into the woodshop and do it right - make a hardboard template on the router table with a flush cutting bit, then make the baffle from MDF.

Doing it right to me would have been making a 2-part baffle - a 3/4" MDF backplate that the speaker actually mounts to, and a 1/2" MDF trim ring mounted to the backplate that would serve as a block plate for any surrounding obstacles. The trim ring would have an internal diameter the same size as the speaker's outer flange diameter, and would be 1/2-3/4" in width. This is how I used to make them several years ago when I was installing stereos "professionally" (i.e. on-the-job training from some very gifted installers)

Undercoating I picked up from a local auto parts store. I ended up getting the store's brand (I think it was CarQuest Auto Parts). I normally would have used a 3M brand, but forgot to do my homework on which 3M part to get. None of the 3M can's said anything about "sealing" or "waterproof" - at least the store brand spoke of sealing.

 

Midnight #2 - Alarm preparation

Took a break from the speaker baffles - the weather is getting kinda cold here so the undercoating isn't drying very well... maybe I should just take them inside and let them dry up down in the basement .

Stopped by the stereo shop on the way home from work, picked up a Clifford 3.3x alarm/remote start system. Thankfully the manager there is an old co-worker there and gave me the system pretty cheap.

Alarm module


Window automation control modules (crappy pic, will try to update it later)


Factory transponder key interface module


Remotes & alarm antenna/transmitter


By the time it's all done, I'll be able to lock and unlock, remotely start the car, turn the radio on and off (no more need for the key in the ignition), and roll down the windows - either collectively or separately front and rear. In addition, the windows will roll up when the alarm is armed, and I'll have full one-touch operation from the driver's door.

 

WTF?! Awesome! Can't wait to see it all finished

 

You should double or tripple up your rings if your using 1/4". 1.) to make sure your speaker will clear the window, and 2.) 1/4" mdf is kind of fragile because it is so thin and i wouldn't trust it to hold your speaker there securely.

 

I used 1/2" for the rear rings... depth isn't a problem. I'll use 3/4" for the fronts, but will add a 1/2" ring surround to the front. Depending on what I end up doing later on down the road, I may try to glass in an enclosure in the door (always wanted to do that) for either a pair of 6's or an 8" midbass. We'll see.

I'm in my woodshop class tonight, so I'll be making the front baffles and rings tonight... try to get some pics up of that process. I'm also hoping that I get the wiring info for the alarm that I need to finish the process here soon (my Car Toys buddy had better come through soon)

 

Just for you, when it does get done (which should be by Oct 16th at the LATEST), I'll do a video demo for ya

 

Read my mind! ^

 

for the car wiring check out the12volt.com

 

I've looked there... they don't have good info (i.e. wire list from DEI's directechs.com - Anyone have an account they're willing to share???) for an '06, but I'm going to assume that the '05 is the same, and someone posted the schematic for that.

I need a current install guide for the Clifford 3.3x alarm system that I bought though (hence the need for the account sharing). It came with a "quick reference guide" but it doesn't give any detailed info on what the wires do or are supposed to go. There is a guide on the12volt.com for the DEI 5202 alarm platform, but it's got an older wiring schematic.

 

Not quite midnight for these, but still some progress... All in all, I spent almost all day Friday working on the window wiring & rear speakers (tending to my 9 yr old all the while), a couple hours Saturday (sans the 9 yr old), and most of Sunday evening finishing the alarm components (while tending to the 9 yr old again, and visiting with a german "exchange" soccer guy - long story, don't ask ), so there's some "midnight" hours in there.

Rear speakers completed. I've got some 50 sq ft of Dynamat Extreme lying around, but I'm gonna save it until I've got enought to completely install it (and for when I've got the rest of the projects on the truck completed)



Cig Lighter/Aux Power outlet - rewired the cig lighter and aux power outlets to constant power. I hate not having a working power outlet when the car's off (like when I need to charge my cell during a soccer game)



Enlarged image of the connection - I've opted to solder all my connections in this truck. I've used crimp connections before, but never considered any of those cars to be long term, and I can't recall how many times I had to fix a crimp while I was installing due to either a poor crimp or wires breaking.



Alarm update - Alarm install is complete (no, I'm not going to post pics of my install, but as promised to Toucan, I will set up a video on with a demo) but there were a few snags. One, the factory key transponder interface isn't working properly... It programs like its supposed to, but I don't think the firmware is up-to-date. The car just cranks unless I hold a key head up to the key cylinder (I don't have to put the key in, just near the slot). It's either the firmware or there's something wrong with the transponder itself. Either way, I'll know this afternoon after stopping by the stereo shop for a firmware update (I wish the current version was printed on the damn module).

Two, the front door window module isn't wired into the doors yet. I'm opting to running the wires into the front doors, so that both front door switches have the one-touch operation. I could just hook the passenger's door up in the driver's door, but I'd rather "do it right" than do it quick. As soon as I can get my hands on some 12 gauge wire, I'll run the wires and make the hookups. Another reason it wasn't a priority is b/c the front speaker baffles are still getting the undercoating and primer coats - I'm saving it all for a single door removal.

Much to the suggestions from others in the Lighting forums, I ordered (& received) some LED lights for the cabin. I got a pair of WLED-xHP in a Cool White color for the map lights and a 4-LED 3022-xx for the dome light. In retrospec, I should have pulled the dome light out and measured it's length rather than go by what Sylvania's website said. Turns out I should have ordered a 3610, 3710, or 3910 version. The 3022 fits, but just barely. Here's a pic of the dome & map lights - you can see how close of a fit it is on the dome light.





Map Lights
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=/mini-wedge.html

Dome Light
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=/festoon.html

Last of the weekend mods was replacing the rear view mirror. This mirror came out of a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am GT1, and when that car got totalled, I had no problem ripping the mirror out.

Two reasons for doing this - I can't quite see how the stock mirror with the auto-dimmer works, least with a canopy shell on the bed. I turn it on and off at night with headlights shining in both directions, and nothing changes, and two, the GM mirror has some "domelight" like lamps built in. I don't care that the only light that comes on is the center light - I've always liked having lights in the footwell area. Plus, there's some additional switches on the front of the mirror to turn them on manually.

Front shot of the mirror


Bottom shot of the mirror showing the lights

 

Nice with the LED lights. I've thought about replacing mine with something brighter as well. It hasn't really been a priority though so I keep putting it off. Is it a significant difference?

 

it's ridiculous how much of a difference there is...

I'll throw the stock ones back in tonight and take some before/after photos when it's dark out.

 

I know these really should go in the Lighting forums, but since Italyn asked, here he gets....

These aren't the greatest of shots - I left my digcam at home, and had to take these with my iPhone. Trust me, it's a HUGE difference.

Before



After


Before


After

 

Very cool man. I appreciate the extra pics! I should really get on top of it and do mine.