rouxeny

Alright (flipping to "How to Watch DVD" section of user manual) let's see about DVD's. I've heard that too, but it makes no sense.

In reading the manual, there is no mention of having to have 2 monitors. The A/V signal for both nav and DVD leaves the Nav unit through a 26 pin port and enters the above convertor box. This has regular RCA outputs, including the typical yellow video one. This is what gets hooked up to the screen. Switching from nav to DVD simply requires that you switch the remote (flip button) and remove the Nav disc and insert a DVD.

As for the -90, it shares hardware with the -9. Nothing except the nav disc and the lack of a convertor box is different. Oh, I don't think that either is supposed to come with the nav speaker I have. It says in the install manual that it's sold separately. I'm not sure if the guy I bought mine from had purchased one also and it was just included in the price.

Here's a pic of how the inputs and all are hooked up.
- nav unit in upper left
- GPS, microphone in lower left
- Convertor box in middle left
- Speaker right of middle
- Video screen at extreme right

The only difference from this and my install is that the RCA L/R audio which are shown going into the monitor here, will go into a RF modulator.

Anyone2u

iTrader: (1)

Try this thread by Bjmnzzzz: Speed Wire.

As far as the other questions, you may want to contact Bjmnzzzz as he can more than likely answer all of your questions, although there's good news and bad news:
The good news is that he did a similar install including the Pioneer Nav (although I believe it's the other model) and can probably answer all of your questions, but...
The bad news is that he hasn't posted on this board since 01/08/02 when he listed his car for sale (and with all of the upgrades and at the price he listed it, I'm sure he no longer has it) but...
The good news is he listed his phone number!

onefastdoc

Rouxeny? Ha! I love that name. You know, the self install of your Nav system is probably more difficult than a Billroth I, and perhaps even a Billroth II, but if you are capable of performing a Roux-en-y gastrojejunostomy, you probably have the technical skill to install the Nav. On my previous 300ZX Twin Turbo, I gutted the entire Bose system and installed a new head unit, speakers, amp, sub, and cd changer. What a ***** that was. It took about as long as it would to do two Whipple procedures back to back with no first assist. Completing the task, however, was very satisfying. Sorry guys, I know no one knows what the hell I'm talking about, but I'm sure Rouxeny is getting a kick out of it......

rouxeny

Hmm, I'm wondering how easy it would be to bypass the parking brake lockout. Obviously, I want to be able to play DVD's while the car is moving. I don't plan on doing it much, and I always pay attention to driving while driving, but it would be a cool feature. Of course, some parts of the nav, and the above mentioned DVD play, cannot be done unless the parking brake is on.

I assume that pulling the brake enables a circuit and makes the parking brake wire "hot." What if I just hooked up the wire that's supposed to go from the nav to the PB to something else that was hot all the time? Would the nav system be fooled? Or, would it confuse it, because it would sense movement (gyro and speed pulse) and yet also think the parking brake was on?

Thanks for the speed pulse wire hint. I know that Bjmnzzz has the same install, but he doesn't make it to this board much, and he didn't do any of the install himself.

qirex

I guess my "general (surgery)" comment was missed...but yeah the bowels are flying in here!

Personally, I would be inclined to let somebody else handle the job. The diff byw a good installer and a great one is simply knowing the territory. Sure you *could* do it, but it wont look anywhere as slick and STOCK as some of the guys who do major installs in FL and CA.

I'm assuming that you're a resident and mebbe cost is an issue. If that's the case, and you're willing to live with the possibility of having a fault that will grow on you the longer you look at that piece of chipped dash then fine.

I used to work on motorcycles. I tought myself how to do it. I used to be an orthopedics resident - and figured hey! (I can rod a femur in 55minutes...). WHile it was very rewarding the first time, it certainly cost me more $$$ in the long run.

I'm sure that you could take your drinking buddy through an appy or even a small bowel resection, but you certainly wouldnt want him doing it on you.

Whatever you decide - good luck and lets see some pics when you're done.

p.s.

My installer put the control module Behind the screen (there's lots of space back there) and my external speaker is down by where your knee would be when driving - gives easy access to the volume control - if its on the speaker.

rouxeny

I'm not so worried about the money, I'm more worried about the time. The install shop I want to go to isn't open on the weekends, and I don't get out much before 6 or so on weekdays. I'd love to be there during the install, but I guess that won't really be possible. I just don't want to come back and find the speaker sitting in the middle of the dash. I seriously doubt my chief will let me take the day off to get my nav system installed.

I am starting to realize that putting this together by myself is probably not the best idea.


SBR - easy case!

qirex

what! no post-call day off??

the GS residents here in NJ started this year, and my buds in NY last year.

First of all - take it to a GOOD installer. Not some circuit city hack.

Thats what you pay them for. They'll give you some suggestions of where you whould have the stuff. If it all checks out - let them go. These guys take great pride in their work and want you to be pleased so that you send them repeat biz.

I've had systems in my cars *forever* and I've seen the full gamut. From the guy that "installed" it (re: hooked up all the wires) - to the guys that made it *LOOK* like the car came like this from the factory. I doubt you'll able to match that bowelboy

post up around here to see who is hype in your area. BTW while he has your dash out - have him hard wire your radar detector and any other devices phone charger etc that the stupidass aux power in the wrong end of the car prevents you from using. Hell, get that handsfree kit custom installed too!

rouxeny

Actually, I took it to what I think is a pretty good installer. He quoted me about 6+ hours, about $500. That seems pretty high to me, but he was very concerned about pulling all the panels. Personally, I'm worried about that too. They've never pulled apart a Z. I told them I had the service manual and that there are plenty of resources here, but they didn't seem too interested. He wanted to mount the GPS receiver in the middle of the dash! (My nightmare!). He put the Farenheit screen up against the nav pocket and said, "Hmm, looks very tight, you sure no cutting?" I had to tell him that it gets installed from the back! Argh, now I'm undecided again. I just didn't get an overwhelming feeling of confidence from him.

It really really doesn't seem that technically challenging to take the car apart yourself. Even my wiring problems are pretty easily solved. I'm sure if I had some help from sombody with a little bit of experience, we could get it done.

I'm going to go do a test pull-apart of the center console to get some idea of difficulty.

qirex

yeah...you definitely want somebody that has done it before.

Here's one...check withh your Nissan dealer, or better yet the local bmw/mercedes dlr.

I wonder where the stock unit is located? Is it incorporated into the FM/AM antenna?

My GPS antenna is on my dashboard - tucked into the base of the windshield.

Where on the dash did he suggest? You really dont want it obscured.

rouxeny

The stock nav GPS is located in the dash, just where it meets the front windshield. It is under the plastic. I do not think GPS signals need to be directly exposed to the satellites, ie. it can go through a layer of plastic. There is a similar pocket on the passenger side (I think.)

vicmar90

Hey Andrew, I was thinking maybe you should contact Nazar and ask him what he would charge? He seems to be very knowledgable and a 2-hour drive might be worth it for a custom job. Plus he might give a discount since he is selling to members of this website and we are planning to attend his meet in the spring.

rouxeny

Alright! The Video screen is installed, partly at least. I followed Scaf's thread, as hotlinked above. It's very good. Some things I would add, use a magnetic screwdriver, this will save you some headache. When you pull the top of the console towards you, it takes quite some pulling. It finally pops out with a heart-stopping POP. In the bose radio, Bose gets in one last screwjob because the tabs you have to push on the wiring harnesses are on the bottom of the unit, not on the top. They're hard to see. Finally, watch out for the two metal "legs" of the console. They bend easily.

Here's a pic of the unit out.

rouxeny

The little cubby comes out with the removal of 4 screws. There's a little metal bracket that comes out also, 2 more screws. I used 2-sided tape to hold the screen in. There's some around the sides and bottom. When they say the Farenheit fit is tight, it really is. If you look very carefully from the side, you can still see some of the tape. This is very difficult to see unless you look for it, and is completely invisible from the front.

rouxeny

As you can see from the above and next pic, you can just see the top edge of the Farenheit logo. If you repositioned the screen a little, you could probably get rid of it.

Here's a shot of the front, sorry about the quality.

rouxeny

As you can see, there isn't any cutout for the IR port. As described previously, I'm trying to bypass it. I have a bit of fiberoptic from my home stereo system that I have sitting around. It's tough to see from the pic, but I threaded the cable through one of the screw holes and directed it at the IR receiver on the monitor. It's taped to the housing with some electrical tape. I tried to have the end come out under the nav door, but it looks like it'll be very difficult to do. I think I'll go for one of the vents instead. Either that or I'll reroute to under the dash.

This is just the fiber optic cable. If anybody wants pics of the actual setup, I'll get some.

You can see I took some of the insulation off to try to get it to fit out of the nav door space.

rouxeny

Here's a pic of the back of the Bose. There is an RCA for the antenna (I assume), then the two white harness sites are connected to the car.

Does anybody know what the two black ones are for?

rouxeny

Here's the final product. You can see the 4 port dongle from the nav, and my fiber optic bypass.

The next problem is...where do I hook the power up to?

Like I said, the electrical wiring will be my biggest problem.

I then did a little dissection of the are behind the seats. The mail box slot cubby holes do pull out, but not that easily. I broke the little flip door, it's very hard to get a handhold otherwise. I ended the day by pulling up the side sills. Very easy. It's getting dark, so I'm stopping.

A lesson learned, do this when you have lots of time. The car is now undrivable, and I probably won't have time to work on this again until this weekend. Also, I forgot to unhook the negative terminal on the battery, so I guess I'm headed for an idiot light when I do start the car.

Overall time, about 1 hour for the take apart, though this could be done in much much less time if you were a little more experienced. The installation of the nav screen again takes minutes.

abz123

Nice job Rouxeny...see you are doing the installation yourself. The logo should be covered up once you put the trim piece on. Plus I'm going to put something on top of that trim piece to cover up the two screw holes.

vicmar90

Andrew, I'm impressed! That screen fit perfect and looks great. Can't wait to see when everything is done. Good luck with the electrical part.

abz123

If you chicken out about hardwiring it to the car, this works good from radioshack. $5 a piece. You can strip a portion of this and soldier (then tape) the fm modulator power wire to it. Plug the M plug connector to lcd and you have power to both devices. Run it under the door sill trim and it won't be visible. They have a bunch of them (some with on/off switches) at radioshack. Little advice: tape all connector together with electric tape so they don't accidently get pulled lose.

http://www.radioshack.com/category.a...0%5F000&Page=2