Linuxglobal

iTrader: (1)

Not sure where to start, but basically the kenwood unit sits in the rear and everything was extended from the front to make it as much plug and play as possible.

The headunit is accessible by just removing the rear plastics. I had to cut a bit of the rear metal to fit the unit. The screen was extended with a custom 2.5 meter cable (70pin). The original nissan hu just sends the audio to the kenwood through the aux port as a video 1 input. Steering wheel controls are connected to the kenwood only. Stock audio kno_b controls outline of the main unit into the kenwood.

Remote has ir sensor using the nissan controls linked to the kenwood ir remote with a voltage drop so it gets 3.0v when the car is turned on.

I have a lot of schematics from the project, I kept it in case any of my friends want to do this to their Z, it took a decent amount of time to get it all planned, wired, installed, and tested. Some parts took a bit of time to order as well.

I wrapped all of the lines in wire loom, ran it from the front to the back, installed all the plastics again and it was testing time.

PM me with any questions or I can answer them here. I started a build thread but people did not reply, so I didnt bother posting more detail on it.

kham25

iTrader: (3)

OP here nice to see how many people have followed through with this MOD after all this time.

Anyways i ended up getting a double din installed & now my Magellan was sitting collecting dust.I decided to install it in the Upper chubby and go from there.
The screen is not as washed out in the Upper chubby being recessed as it was in the 06 Chubby as mounted on the first page. This was my number one issue with the Magellan i could'nt see **** driving during the day. Spike lol..

I was not going to pay $325 for non functioning buttons + $50 for Mask Finisher.
I got the Nav dash from the Dealer this week & started hacking away.This is what i came up with. Installed this morning. Some spots i have to touch up,dash scratches so damn easily

l2iceman

iTrader: (8)

Nice! I just got the navi piece from Mike at concept z performance. Also picked up a Magellan 1700 this week. I'm waiting on the rear view camera from eBay lol as for the button panel area, I'm going to fab something up and wrap it in black leather while relocating the gps unit's speaker somewhere

kham25

iTrader: (3)

Best way to do it man.. That money saved now going to other MODS
BTW you can clearly hear the speaker behind the dash no need to relocate.. I tested it out before putting everything back together

l2iceman

iTrader: (8)

did you hardwire the GPS to the car? I've been reading into this, the Magellan's car adapter converts from 12v to 5v, so I can't just cut the cigarette socket part and hardwire it like that. I'm guessing I have to get an inline fuse or just get a socket extension in order to maintain the converter in the cigarette socket.

Linuxglobal

iTrader: (1)

Just solder the 12v ACC line from the radio harness to the leads of the 5v adapter to turn on when the car turns on. It doesn't need a socket extension, you can just solder the positive to the center of the cigarette light adapters and - to the outside pins.

l2iceman

iTrader: (8)

my concern is that the input on the plug is 12v and it outputs 5v to the GPS unit.

So my understanding from what you're saying, if I cut off the part circled in red in the pic attached and hardwire that to the radio's power, wouldn't it be sending 12v to the GPS and possibly fry it?

Linuxglobal

iTrader: (1)

Dont cut off the entire red part, in fact dont cut any of it, just solder the 12v power to the silver parts of the red section you highlighted.

That way the 12v will go to the adapter and the gps will get 5v.

l2iceman

iTrader: (8)

ahhh ok I see, that makes sense. ok great, thanks!

l2iceman

iTrader: (8)

Gonna end up using an extension so that I don't have to ruin the original adapter in case I decide to swap units and sell off in the future. And by going the extension method, I can simply cut it and hardware it directly to the radio power...plus I don't have a soler nor have I ever soldered anything lol

Linuxglobal

iTrader: (1)

That will work as well Just make sure you tape it together just so it doesnt slip out of the 12v socket over time. Solder cleans up well but i see your point down the road.

I made so many little adapters for my headunit swap, you can actually make your own 5v step down driver if you want to get creative.

Spike100

It’s wise to keep the Megellan’s power adapter intact. The adapter does in fact step-down the voltage, and also controls power spiking insuring a uniform power supply protecting the device and optimizing its processes.

The inexpensive and simple way to do this purchasing a generic power adapter.



Simply plug the Magellean into its own power adapter, plug the Megellan power adapter into this generic power plug (shown above), and wire the generic power plug to a power line from your car’s ignition, and ground the generic plug. Done!

--Spike

l2iceman

iTrader: (8)

Hey Spike, thanks for the idea. My idea is similar except I'm getting an extension(see attached), and cutting off the socket in the red box. I'll then hardwire the power into the radio's power and ground to the chassis.

This way, I'll still maintain the Magellan unit's step-down.

edit: I already ordered an extension online, otherwise I'd go with your idea to avoid cutting anything

l2iceman

iTrader: (8)

So I've mounted the unit to the navi console. Like the earlier post in this thread, I used pipe hanger I found at Lowe's. I didn't need to use anything else to hold it up, as it is held in really tight, I tried sliding the unit up and down, side to side...won't budge.

Sometime this week I'm going to use cardboard to cut out two pieces to cover the space where the navi button panel would be. I'm using two because there is supposed to be two pieces(button panel and finisher), and I don't want to use a single straight piece.

My plan is to get nicely cut pieces and then wrap it with a thin foam or fabric for the leather "cushion" feel, and then wrap it in black leather. I plan to re-wire the speaker and hook it up to this cardboard piece...I'm just having trouble finding a small enough speaker cover...worst case I'll leave the speaker just behind the leather...I'm sure the sound will still be much better than having it in the unit, behing the navi console.

l2iceman

iTrader: (8)

Hmm, I wanted to relocate the speaker up front with a speaker grill just so that there's something there lol it seems too plain being completely blank. I guess I can always look for a small Z logo and put it there...but I figured the speaker cover would be the most subtle..I'll see how the leather-wrapped piece comes out first haha

l2iceman

iTrader: (8)

seems like I'm going to have fun getting the video-in for the backup camera to work. Magellan has it's own input plug set up:

http://forums.gpsreview.net/viewtopic.php?t=21775

Apparently an old ipod video 5th gen cable will work. For those that hooked up the camera to their Magellan, what did you use? The backup camera has a single yellow video RCA out...so you must have used an adapter of some sort to get it to 3.5mm.

kham25

iTrader: (3)

I like your ideas so far for the project.. The backup camera sounds interesting.
After so long without having a backup cam I never gave thought to adding one

l2iceman

iTrader: (8)

Yea I've never had a backup camera, but for $20 shipped on ebay, figured why not since I'll have everything open and I've invested $300+ in the Magellan and navi piece.

djwatts

iTrader: (4)

I have an 07 z with the Magellan in place, currently where the button panel goes I left it empty. I do have the 03-05 control unit, any ideas on how to fabricate this to work?

kham25

iTrader: (3)

Most def can't go wrong. Now your gonna make me do this MOD as well lol..
Ill tell you though you grab a lot of attention having 2 screens in the car. I get mad people eyeballing inside my car now at stop lights etc