Prior to receiving my screen, I had read a couple posts from others stating how terrible the connector to the back of the LCD screen was, in that it was very difficult for it to make a good connection. I felt very lucky that when I installed my screen (the first time) I didn't have any issues with this connection. The problem I had was at the other end of the cable, where it connects to to the back of the computer, as the slightest touch to the cable here would cause a loss of signal to the screen.

Dave at DS Customs (from whom I purchased the screen) promptly sent me a replacement cable (thanks Dave!). Unfortunately, I have the encountered the connection problem that others have mentioned. There are just too many dang contacts in too small of a connector to try and get all of them to seat correctly.

Currently, the "G" in "RGB" just isn't quite making the connection, which makes my screen appear as if I am looking at it through 'rose colored glasses'.

If there is a bright side to this picture, I guess it is that the other end of the cable seems to be working fine so far. Which hopefully means that I won't have to remove the tunnel cover anytime soon, and I can concentrate on just farting around with the center console cover and the rear of the LCD screen.

The connector which I have grown to hate:

 

yup when I get mine(new one) Im heavily considering opening it up and hard wiring it to the chip. either that or Im gonna just get it working out of the car, and then coat the thing in silicone, which should hold it till the end of time.

I personally hate taking the center console out, every time Im afraid Im gonna break the top clip... maybe Im doing something wrong, but in any event, itd be a pain in the ***, if slowly after a year of going over bumps it came undone and I had to go back in there.

 

why don't you try what I did
https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....threadid=27383

I haven't had any problems with loose connection yet (hopefully) The way I had it setup in that post have the wire bent so that the wire pushes the plastic on the dash to force the connector into the board. I also added double side tape on the connector and along the top where the wire runs to insure no movement. You'll probly lose about a foot of wire, but its worth it to keep that connector in place.

 

I'm basically using the same concept alphared, but instead of routing the cable around the top and down the other side, I just have the cable making a 90 and going down the side. I still use the pressure from the side of the nav area to hold the cable in, and used a couple of the holes where screws used to be to tie-wrap it in place. The problem I think is more with the connector, in that it has lost some of it's stability with a few connects and disconnects.

It is so sensitive now, that even when securely in place, the lightest touch on the connector can make a loss of color appear on the screen.

I've got some confidence that I will be able to get it working correctly. But I'm not very confident that it will stay working correctly for long, once I drive the car some.

I may have to investigate one of ares' suggestions at some point.

Even with this issue, I'm much more happy with the computer, now that the screen stays on when I am driving.

 

I'm still holding out a month or so on starting my trip down this road to a car PC. I'm crossing my fingers for a better screen solution, or at least an upgraded cable design

What are your guys thoughts at this point on the brightness/glare issue on the screen? Is it usable in the daylight?

 

I don't know if the brightness/glare issue is with this screen specifically, or just having a screen in the dash in general. It would be nice to get a side by side comparison with the Xenarc screen and the factory nav screen, or any other screen. At night, the screen is plenty bright, even too bright, and I haven't looked for an easy way to adjust this yet. It is so bright that a reflective image of the screen appears on the windshield, which can be distracting.

 

the only way to decrese the brightness is with the buttons, which are hidden from view when installed...

need to call again, I want my screen back... credit card wont hold the charge any longer, they want the money now or I pay finance charges. but I dont even have anything for my 650$...

 

Yes, I am familiar with the buttons. Need to either make them acessible, or, find another way to launch the OSD.

regarding your screen: I forget ares if there is a reason why you can't get your money back on it. You can save yourself $200 nowadays on that screen.

 

You could always remote to make the monitor sleep when you don't need to look at it. I do that on my HTPC, using Girder. You could probably do a desktop shortcut, too, if you have a touchscreen.

 

Hmm, seems like you got an extra sensitive one. The other reason why I ran mines on top was to seperate it from the power cable (just in case of noise). Haven't tried the screen at night, but I did write a little program that will decrease the brightness of the screen (cause like most I can't access the buttons on the screen) the program is kinda dated (wrote it for win98) but still works for win2k and XP. only change is that you can't step down the brightness, it only cuts the brightness in half. If anyone wants it let me know. BUT you have to wait a bit, cause my pc crapped out on me and I can only boot into safe mode. So untill I fix my pc I can't compile it.

 

I had the same problem with my video connector. This is what we did and it seems to have solved the problem.

For the full write up with pics on the PC install, go here:

PC Install

 

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I also placed some padding underneath the connector and the board to reduce any down movement.