All Systems Go.

April 7, 2018

Since the new JL Audio TWK-88 DSP arrived earlier than I expected, I could now reinstall everything back into the truck. The first thing to do was mount my Alpine PDX-V9 to the new upholstered left-side platform. Since there was no change on this side, getting the amp bolted down and back in the truck on the driver’s side was pretty quick and easy:

Marking the mounting holes.
Bolting (screwing) the Alpine to the platform.
Installed and all wired up.

The passenger side platform required more work. For starters, since I switched out the Kenwood amp for the new (and smaller) Soundstream rear amp, it gave me more room on the platform, so I had one of those ‘light bulb moments’ and realized that with some small rearranging, I could fit 3 components underneath the passenger’s seat instead of 2:

Using masking tape to mark the new mounting holes.
The tape actually kept the cloth from wrapping around the drill bit.
DSP and rear amp bolted down; middle item uses Velcro for removal.
Yay! Super NES Classic fits perfectly in between the DSP and amp.

I used Velcro to install the Super NES Classic to make it easily removable just in case. With the passenger side components mounted, I installed the platform and wired all the components back up. When I went to reinstall the passenger seat, I noticed that there was a couple screws under the seat that were too close to the top of the DSP. I’m pretty sure the added thickness of the cloth I used to upholster the platform pushed everything up just enough to cause concern. I needed to do something about those screws, or they would most likely scratch the DSP if ever the passenger seat was slid forward.

The screws were holding the seat airbag module on a metal bracket that was bolted to the bottom of the seat. I removed the bracket, used some extra brake caliper mounting washers from my mountain bike spare parts, and gained the clearance I needed:

Good thing I checked the clearance again.
Airbag module bracket, you can see how the screws stick out too much.
Dipped into my MTB spare parts for a solution.
Spacer moved the bolts upward.
Not perfectly flush, but more than enough for what I need.
All clear now.

Last thing to do was label and install the fuses for the DSP and rear amp, since I was refreshing stuff I ran dedicated power and ground from my Blue Sea fuse block to the right side of the cabin:

Dedicated power to eliminate any unwanted noise.
I ran out of fuse space, it’s all full.
And all done!