Thread: 2004 Subaru WRX

cool. looking forward to seeing your setup. I've got a head unit, amp, speakers on their way, and if I don't blow anything up, I'll be moving on to the TMZ screen / computer.

quick question, because I haven't seen this specific question answered anywhere and you just did it -- does the HU mount into the gauge pack (formerly the clock) using a metal DIN sleeve or brackets?

anyway, congrats on getting everything installed.

The DIN housing that you buy comes with all you need to mount directly to the head unit. Sadly, I was forced to (And others have been as well) to Dremel away the tip of the DIN housing as it was a bit too small all around, but I managed to get away with ONLY cutting the sides, even though the top and bottom are VERY tight fits (Unsure if I can ever remove the Head Unit & Housing haha). Pictures coming soon hopefully!

right on. Good thing I bought a dremel this morning. I'm going to try not to annoy you with too many questions, but I've got lots. And I'm sure I'll have more after I get done pulling out my seats, carpets, etc this weekend.

Did you run your power line through the unused grommet in the firewall behind the brake pedal? That's what the conventional wisdom seems to be, but I'm thinking of running it along with the factory wiring above the fender liner (requires taking off the wheel.)

I used the factory grommet that's there. It holds the wire in place with no chance of it being cut due to vibration and no need for drilling or customizing. It's totally hidden, can't be seen at all, and works fine. I see no reason not to use it, was quick and easy!

Questions are fine, not a problem! Hopefully I'll have pictures up soon!

So we know you have a WRX how about a Carputer in it? J/K I love WRX's and would love to see what yah have done.

Bad news for the WRX! I was driving, had just pulled out of my neighborhood when LOADS of white smoke seemingly just starts pouring out of my dashboard and the hood scoop. As fast as I could I pulled off and got the hood open, only to find that my hot wire had grounded out somewhere along the line and had totally melted the wire insulation leaving only the wire, a horrific smell, and a terrible feeling in my stomach.

Sadly, the wire burnt through part of the fuse box cover (Has to be replaced), as well as began to make a hole in my clutch master cylinder. For now, I won't replace it, but if it leaks it'll have to be replaced at a price of ~300ish probably. Pretty terrible! Morale of the story: Use an in-line fuse!

For now, the smoke smell has been eradicated mostly. If it's still around in a few days I'll take the car in to be detailed. I decided to let someone else do the wiring this time to prevent this problem and make sure it's done right. That way if something goes wrong, they'll pay for the fix! The labor will be around $60 / hour to do the wiring --> Not too bad IMHO!

Alas, sad step backwards, soon I will test my CarPuter and see if anything got fried. I'm praying! Updates and pictures still to come.

Ouch.

but that justifies the hours i spend telling people to use fuses.

hope you get it sorted soon.

I need to keep a link to this thread to refer people back to when they try and scrimp on their wiring.

holy moly. So sorry to hear that, dude. Now I'm a little freaked about doing my install tomorrow. I'm just running an amp for now. I take it from your description that you didn't have an in-line fuse, right? I'm running 4 gauge in split loom with a 60 amp fuse six inches off of the battery. Did you manage to figure out where your line got grounded?

I beleive one of the wires fell out of a crimp cap and touched the seat bolt on the side or something, or perhaps something under the door jam. Unsure. I had not, sadly, used an in-line fuse.

Today I had a local shop redo the wiring for the computer itself and I was VERY pleased with the job they did. They ran the wires much better, got the Auxillary sound working on my Head Unit (Lets me hear the computer sounds), and the wiring is all very hidden and very clean. They put an in-line fuse in, which is great, as well. (Edited to mention the shop charged me a total of $87 for everything, including the fuse holder wiring, tubing to put the wires in, etc... VERY clean, would have paid twice that for this job!)

Once again, I'm rolling in my WRX and feeling good about it after a few sad days for it. The smoke smell is 97% gone now, and the only parts I've had to order are a fuse box cover since mine had a hole in it from melted wires. Hopefully the clutch master cylinder will never leak, and then I won't ever need to replace it.

Pictures still incoming!