Mike Harootunian of AudioMax in Walpole, Mass. gives us a basic look at the latest body style Acura MDX remote start wiring.

Here is the all new MDX dashboard.

The panel on the side of the dash must be removed before the dash panel under the steering column can be removed.

In order to separate the steering shroud cover, three screws must be removed.

The ignition harness and can-bus wires can be found in the steering wheel shroud area. Constant is white, start is yellow, ignition is pink, accessory is orange, and second ignition is red.

Here the transponder wires are pictured. Using a module will not only allow the transponder bypass, but should also avoid from having to go into the door for door lock/unlock wires.

The parking light wire can be found in the driver’s kick panel. It is gray (+).

The brake wire can be found in a harness above the fuse box. The wire is light green.

Mike used a wire insertion tool to get a path through the firewall for his tach signal.

Any coil can be used for the tach signal. Any wire that is not common with the other coil wires can be used.

We all know the story. You buy a tone generator and thee weeks later it has been “borrowed,” the leads needs to be re-soldered or the housing is crushed. Rob Davidoski of Mobile One in Texas shows how to make your own from spare shop parts. Rob said, “This tone generator cost next to nothing to build and takes about fifteen minutes to construct.”

Take a walk around the bay, and start shopping. You will need an old, working alarm siren, a scrap RCA, a toggle (valet) switch, heatshrink, or electrical tape, a 9-volt battery and plug, and a detachable face-case.

Take a walk around the bay, and start shopping. You will need an old, working alarm siren, a scrap RCA, a toggle (valet) switch, heatshrink, or electrical tape, a 9-volt battery and plug, and a detachable face-case.

After pulling out these two screws, you can pull the speaker assembly out of the housing.

The piece we are after is the little circuit board on the back of the speaker.

Cut off the speaker and cut the long power wires down to size. Solder the switch and the 9-volt plug to the circuit board as shown.

The face-case is going to be the housing for the Tone generator. Drill a hole for the toggle (valet) switch (usually around a 1/4-inch diameter), and a smaller hole for your RCA cable.

Cut your RCA to the desired length, and then solder it to the two output wires that went to the speaker

Start installing the components into the face-case. Mount your switch, then run your cable out of the access hole, and snap the case closed. You are done.

You can also solder some gator clips to an old female RCA tip and use it to find speaker wires, or test speakers.

In order to remove the under dash panel, the side panel and wooden trim to the left of the steering wheel must be removed.

Frank Polek of World Wide Stereo in Montgomeryville, Pa. gives us a basic look at the Hyundai Veracruz SUV.

The side panel pops off.

The wooden trim also pops off.

Also, in addition, the vent, key, and wooden trim panels to the right of the steering column must be removed.

Here is what it looks like after removed.

The vent trim pops off and this unplugged.

The key cylinder trim pops off.

Now the under dash lip is exposed and the under dash can be removed.

This also allows access to the key cylinder wires.

With the under dash removed there is access to the vehicle’s wiring.

The brake switch wire is green.

The BCM is a black box located to the right of the fuse box.

The red/black wire is CAN-high, the blue wire is CAN-low and the orange wire is parking lights.

In order to access the tach signal, the plastic engine shroud must be removed.

The grey/black tach signal wire is now exposed.

Clarion Corp. of America offers the FZ709 mechless audio video entertainment head unit. Clarion’s FZ709 receiver features an iPod-focused user interface with USB, MP3/ WMA/ AAC playback from external sources, CeNET control and built-in Bluetooth hands-free, phonebook and audio streaming. Users can wirelessly connect with various Bluetooth devices such as mobile phones, PDAs and MP3 players. Other features include 6-channel 4V RCA outputs, 50W x 4 built-in amplifier and 18 FM/6 AM presets. The FZ709 is OEM steering wheel remote ready and CeNET Sirius/XM Mini-tuner ready. MSRP is $349.99. This product is available now. For more information, visit www.clarion.com/us/en/top.html.

Pioneer offers its new 5.8-inch touch-screen A/V receiver. The AVH-3100DVD double-DIN multi-media system offers playback of iPod video, DVD/CD discs or downloaded DivX content, iPod and iPhone integration and Advanced Sound Retriever (ASR) technology, which restores sound lost during compression of a recording into MP3, WMA or AAC file formats, according to the company. Other sound-related features include MOSFET50 Watts X 4 amplification, high volt pre-amp outputs and two-way crossovers.

The AVH-3100DVD provides connection to other sources, such as an optional XM or SIRIUS satellite radio tuner (activation required), HD Radio tuner and Bluetooth wireless adapter for hands-free calling. Music devices with USB or mini jack outputs can also be connected via a USB port located on this receiver’s front or via an auxiliary mini jack input. MSRP is $450. This product is available now.  For more information, visit www.Pioneerelectronics.com.

Dual Electronics has two automotive entertainment head units that offer iPod control and HD Radio technology with iTunes Tagging. The XHD7720 and XHD7714 in-dash head units let listeners “tag” favorite new songs on FM HD Radio stations by pressing a button on a head unit’s front panel or supplied remote control. The “tagged” track information is transferred to an iPod when connected and then appears in iTunes in a list, giving users the option to find out more about the songs and artists, sample and purchase the songs directly from the iTunes store.

Both the XHD7720 and XHD7714 are compliant with digital disc and file formats (MP3 and WMA, including ID3 tags, and are also CD-R/CD-RW compatible. The XHD7720 is also Bluetooth-ready and compatible with Dual’s BTM60 Bluetooth module, while the XHD7714 features full built-in Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity. The XHD7720 and XHD7714 retail for $249.99. Both are now available. For more information, visit www.dualav.com.

Alpine offer its HCE-C105 rearview camera system, which is compatible with any in-dash screen that has a video input. The small 1-inch camera can be mounted anywhere on the rear of a vehicle and is connected to the compact hideaway box via 5-meter long cables. With a 138-degree wide horizontal viewing angle and a 105-degree vertical viewing angle, the HCE-C105’s camera captures a wide picture of the area behind a vehicle.

The KTX-C10LP license plate-mounting kit is designed exclusively for the HCE-C105. Constructed from cast metal with rust-resistant coating, the black license plate frame blends the rear-view camera with the rest of a vehicle. The frame has built-in LED lights to illuminate the license plate in applications where the original license plate light may be blocked by the camera, and has an adjustable camera tilt angle of 45 degrees for optimal viewing angle positioning.

The HCE-C105 rear-view camera retails for $220 SRI. The KTX-C10LP license plate-mounting kit retails for $60 SRI. Both are now available. For more information, visit www.alpine-usa.com.

Peripheral Electronics has announced the availability of its new CHYAH08, an interface designed to allow the replacement of a factory radio with an aftermarket head-unit in select late model Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles. This plug-and-play device facilitates a time-saving professional headunit installation while retaining full use of the factory amplifier and speaker system, as well as providing navigation radio outputs for nav/non-nav radio installation and steering wheel control interfacing.  Visit www.peripheralelectronics.com for more information.

Directed Electronics, a business unit of DEI Holdings, Inc. announced that the new Viper 350 Plus vehicle security system is now available at authorized Viper retailers worldwide. Introduced at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the Viper 350 Plus is an upgrade to the Viper 350, featuring new-style 4-button remotes with dedicated arm and disarm buttons.

Other enhancements include the Control Center – a combined antenna, valet switch and status LED in one unit – which means no drilling holes in the dash. The Viper 350 Plus also now features a super-heterodyne XR+ receiver, for range of up to a quarter mile. MSRP is $239. Available at the same price are the new Python 460 Max and Clifford Matrix +1, also introduced at CES. For more information visit www.directed.com.

EGOCorp USA, formerly Funkwerk Americas, announced the release of its EGO DASH TS hands-free Bluetooth car kit. The EGO DASH TS is an integrated version of the EGO Talk. It provides DSP echo and noise suppression for Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles.

Other features include incoming and outgoing calls mute the factory car-stereo. The privacy mode allows switching conversations back to the phone. Also, a phone’s voice commands and full audio volume control are accessible through the EGO DASH TS. Other features include: accommodates up to 8 different Bluetooth mobile phone pairings, car-specific plug-and-play wiring harnesses and a three-year limited warranty.