Lotus Elise - Power Acoustik Headunit Install

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I recently bought a Lotus Elise, and the head unit that came with it was a flip out screen which hit the windshield wiper when it opened. I liked the Power Acoustik Headunit I had in my Ferrari 360, and decided to put the newer version of that stereo in. The new version has a volume knob instead of a volume up and down button.

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I also installed a backup camera, which took the majority of the install time due to running wires to the rear of the car. The Elise has some pretty bad blind spots, so I wanted to upgrade to having a backup camera, Android Auto, and single DIN to not block the air vents.

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The install of the head unit was easy, it was a single wiring harness to buy, two wires to swap on that harness (swap the red and the yellow on the ISO connector), and it just worked!

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For the reverse camera, I ran the wires under the dash to the center tunnel (you don’t have a center console on an Elise), then under the rear carpet, through a firewall behind the driver’s seat into the engine bay, through the engine bay into a grommet into the trunk area, and finally into another grommet near the license plate lights. Having a fish tape was required and super helpful.

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I wired the power and ground into the reverse lights, which are near the license plate lights using 2x t-taps.

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I wired the reverse trigger of the head unit to the reverse line on the wiring harness I bought using a heat shrink connector, so it automatically turns the reverse camera on when you shift into reverse.

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And of course, had to drill a small hole for the reverse camera.

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And finally, I sealed it all up. I used cloth wiring tape on all the wiring that runs through the engine bay for heat prevention.

I added some Dynamat I had leftover on the firewall and under the passenger seat. I found a floor mat trim button I was missing under the seat too! And a quarter.

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