onecoolee

For those of you trying to install a new head unit in your Z, but keep the existing factory navigation system, and keep the voice, the info below will work ! THis is what I did, and it works great, just like the factory navigation system does. Keep in mind that you will have to have a Mute capable head unit, and you will have to wire a seperate speaker for the nav voice. A small price to pay for the much better sound you will get out of an aftermarket head unit.

Anyways, here is what I did:

The output of the NAV system is about 7.5-9 volts. This is not enough voltage to trip a standard 12 volt (30A) relay. So, what I did was this. You have to setup a 2 stage system, composed of a transistor and 12v relay, to switch the mute circuit on a new head unit.

Parts I used:
1. Potter and Brumfield 12V Relay (Bosch will work too)
2. TIP31 high power NPN Transistor (Radio shack sells it)
3. Various length wires and crimp-type connectors
4. 1 kohm resistor (1/4 watt)

NAVI-SYSTEM WIRE MAP:
Mute wire from NAVI control to head unit - R/B
NAVI earth ground - B/P
NAVI Voice input + L/B
NAVI Voice input - W/B

Transistor circuit:
All transistors consist of a Base (B), Collector (C), and an Emitter (E). The pacakge will tell you, if you buy it from ratshack, or look online for a datasheet for your transistor. THis circuit will work for an NPN only. A pnp transistor will be wired differnetly, so make sure you get the proper parts !

1. Wire Mute (R/B) from NAVI control to the transistor Base (B) through a 1kohm resistor (Limits the current so you don't fry the TIP31).
2. Wire the Emitter (E) to vehicle ground
3. Wire the collector (C) to postion 85 on 12V relay

Relay CIrcuit:
1. From 3 above, wire the output of the collector to position 85 of a 12v relay.
2. Wire postion 86 to 12v switched by the ignition (only on when key is on)
3. Wire postion 30 of the 12v relay to vehicle ground
4. Wire positon 87 of the 12v relay to mute input on the new head unit.
5. Position 87a is not connected

Here's what happens:
When the voice control turns on for the navi system, it send the R/B wire high (7.5 volts). This voltage triggers the transistor to open up, and essentially provide ground to the relay. Once the relay is grounded, the relay is energized, and switches the constant ground (suppleid by terminal 30) to position 87, and supplies a ground signal output from the 12v relay. This ground signal MUTES your new head unit. THat's all...simple circuit, great results !

Don't forget that you will have to add a seperate speaker for navi voice under your seat, and run the 2 voice output wires from the navi control to this speaker. If you mount it under the driver's seat, you may have to turn the volume up slightly to hear it...

Good luck, and I hope this helps those who are adding aftermarket headunits to a Z with factory navigation...

One-cool-ee

Gish

onecollee- Did you listen to your system before the installing the new headunit?? I installed my components (see sig) and the system is very limited by the HU. My question, if you did, how much % better does it sound? I am thinking about an aftermarket HU.

Gish

onecoolee

Yep, I found the same thing...that Bose/Clarion head unit really suxx. I even posted a thread about it a few weeks back. No matter what I did, or added, including high end line drivers, and special high end line out convertors, my system still sounded bad, even with great amps and speakers. So, I bit the bullet and upgraded the head unit too...it sounds alot better now. If I had to give you a percentage, its hard to say, but I would guess in the neighborhood of 10-20 times, so 2000% better with the new head unit.

The bottom line is if you want good quality sound, you will have to eliminate all signs of anything Bose/Clarion in your Z...

issac

Any idea if this relay setup would work on an Alpine CDA-7998, I know it has the mute feature.

onecoolee

Look in the alpine manual to see if the head unit is looking for a low going signal (ground) or active high (12v)...msot mute circuits look for the mute line to be grounded. If the alpine is like the pioneer, it should work. If its not, and is looking for an active high signal, all you need to do is put 12 volts on the relay terminal that is getting switches, and it will mute the head unit. Either way its an easy modification to my original plans. I would bet a bunch of money that the alpine is the same as the pIoneer...

An easy way to check...take the mute line and touch it to ground, and see if the head unit displays mute...it should. That will be the surefire way to know. This won't harm anything, and could save you alot of time figuring things out...

Good luck.

issac

If I need the active high, what will I need to modify? Position 30 into 12V instead of ground?

onecoolee

Thats correct...that should be all you need to do if you need the active high for a mute.

Gish

Hey onecoolee,

Just got my Alpine 7894 from Etronics.com in the mail today! I am having it installed on wednesday, and will give the stereo shop the format you used to wire the Nav to the HU (a BIG thank you for posting that). I can't wait to finally get rid of that SHITTY headunit and listen to the full potential of my $1000 Boston Z6 speakers. I will let you know how it sounds......

Gish

Marked350Z

onecoolee,

Great post, but all this technical stuff is just over my head. Can I just install a new HU and not interface it with the Nav unit and get the Nav voice to work through a seperate speaker? I don't need the stereo to mute and I rarely use the annoying nav voice. The few times that I use the nav voice I can turn off the stereo or lower the volume. Is the Nav voice powered by the HU or is it self powered and installing a seperate speaker is easy as finding the speaker leads from the Nav unit (would that be the navi voice input wires that you mentioned in your post?).

Thanks in advance for any info or insight.

issac

Just finished my install using these instruction on my Alpine 7998, worked like a charm. The alpine did need to go to ground.

Thanks onecoolee for the great post!

onecoolee

Marked350Z, yes, you can hook the factory NAV system up to a separate speaker, and leave the actual muting circuit disconencted totally. Obviously, it will not mute at all, but who cares if you don't use the anv voice anyways...

isaac...I am glad everything worked out for you...I knew it wouldn't be too tough, my mod used redily available parts (ratshack) and the cost probably was not too bad either...

Hopefully others upgrading their head units will find this thread useful too...

davez

can you hook the nav speakers up to the door speaker wires instead of using a different speaker?

tommygun350z

This is my first visit to the site, but I feel the first thing I need to say is that the Bose sytem is junk. I do custom home audio/video for a living and once in awhile I have to install a Bose system for an older couple. Some people swear by the name and if they don't want to buck up for M&K, Klipsch, or Theil, fine. I didn't think their car audio was just as bad. When the temperature outside is below about 50F my CD player will not work and/or constantly skips. You would think that the engineers would have built it more stable and with an ESP of a few seconds! My HU is gone when I can come up with the funds. Great post to start this discussion! My NAV isn't going to be worthless now. No highs, no lows, it's has to be Bose!

boma

iTrader: (2)

I just did this, and it works fine! There's just a clicking noise from the relay as it switches, but it's not that bad.

MyZNeo

Does the factory nav have to be hooked up to speaker to work? I never use the voice... and want to install a new HU without losing the nav.

MyZNeo

Never mind I found plenty to help through the HU change.... Thanks to everyone!

TxTitan

Is this necessary if you don't want the voice? I have the factory nav & I'm installing a kenwood ddx8017 this week so it would be the time to do it if I have too..

boma

iTrader: (2)

No it's not.

G352NV

iTrader: (13)

Man I have to study this! I really want to do this to my new kenwood 7017! Thanks for the post! I hope I can figure it out!

boma

iTrader: (2)

It's not that hard. Just buy the exact parts he mentioned. Go back home and hook up one thing at a time according to his instructions......

50 steps later .... you're done! =)