I have purchased a new head unit and am just reviewing the installation notes and wondered if I could get some advice from the board members if poss…
On the ISO connector there is a blue/white wire that can be disconnected if neceesary, the instructions say the following about this wire:
“The pin position of the ISO will differ depending on the type of vehicle. Connect these when pin 5 is an aerial control type. In another type of vehicle, never connect these.”
Assume this related to a power aerial, which I do not have - should I disconnect these then, or is it OK to leave them connected? My feeling is they should be disconnected, but would appreciate some second opinions.
I hold myself completely liable for whatever outcome
Not necessary to disconnect that wire.
I’ve had to splice an additional wire into it to get my Bose speakers working, to power the amp. If you haven’t got Bose then it should be pretty straightforward for you.
My interpretation was it being for a powered aerial that extends and retracts automatically. The other half of the connection says “auto aerial relay control”.
That was what I was expecting, but when you read the instructions you start to second guess. I was hoping I could just plug it and not worry about the extra wires or making changes to the configuration.
Can I also ignore the handbrake sensor, speed signal input and reverse gear signal input as well?
I connected the handbrake cable in to the live cable at the handbrake lever, it’s under the gaiter which just levers out. Probably best for access to take the whole console out as it’s a bit tricky to connect to he cable. But having said this I’m unsure about whether you need to do that, it’s about making sure you’ve applied the handbrake before viewing videos. I’ve never got that to work anyway and not bothering to try again.
The speed pulse cable, forget it. I’ve tried to get my head around trying to find where it goes, I still don’t. It’s to do with turning the volume up as your speed increases, a setting with most inbuilt units but I’ve never been able to sort it on an aftermarket unit.
Cheers Mick, I will connect the handbrake cable then as it seems it just clamps to the input wire of the handbrake switch. The reverse gear cable is unnecessary as no rear cam. Assume the speed signal cable would connect to the speedo somehow, but not really bothered about auto volume increasing so won’t be messing with that either lol.
There is a GPS aerial which I am thinking of running beneath the centre console to the rear and having it on the parcel shelf behind the windblock. Likewise, the external mic (somewhere between the seats towards the back) - I don’t want any visible wires if possible.
The only cable I have visible is the one below. That tucks inside the console when not in use, that’s the fly lead to the phone for Android Auto. Is your Pioneer unit wireless connection for AA/CarPlay?
Yes, it’s the Pioneer DA360DAB with wireless AA and Apple Carplay. It requires a wired connection to set up, but I have a USB socket in the console which I will connect to the new unit.
So my head unit works as intended, when checking the settings there is a system connection screen which shows that the GPS works fine and the speed signal works as well.
But, the reverse signal says LOW and doesn’t change when I select reverse, so something with that connection is not right (I am thinking about a reverse cam for completeness - just because, why not?)
The patch cable I used was the Connects2 CTSMZ002.2 here: Mazda Steering Wheel Stalk Control Adaptor - CTSMZ002.2 (dynamicsounds.co.uk) which has a violet/white sub-wire that is for reverse input. I connected it to the corresponding purple/white reverse input wire from the head - same as I did for the corresponding speed signal wires which works OK.
Yes the camera is stuck with 3M tape to that plastic cap in the centre. I removed it and cut a slot in it to take the cable, then fed the cables through inside the boot lid.
Tricky part was feeding the cables through the rubber boot grommets where the existing cables for the numberplate lights go through. It was easier to take a sharp blade and open up the grommet hole
so you can get the cables through as they have the plugs/sockets on the ends. Once in I silicone sealed around the grommets and that plastic blank plate to prevent any water ingress
Another tricky part is finding a route through from the boot to the cabin. I poked a piece of wire through from the boot corner right side past the suspension turret and in came out near the base of the seat belt area. You’ll need to remove the lower part of the back panel behind the seat and the door sill cover to thread the cables through to the head unit. You need to remove the plastic boot liners too to run a cable to the reverse light feed. All cables come with the reverse camera but I needed a little extension cable to reach the rear lamp cluster cable.
It’s easy enough just fiddly, most easiest part is connecting to the head unit once the cables are in.
So you connect the live and negative feed to the live and negative of the reverse light feed and run the RCA to the head unit? I have seen some guides concerning routing the cable through to the front and what that entails, looks like it will be a swear ( ) day lol
Yes red spliced into the reverse then black just find and earthing point.
It was fun trying to find a poke through gap from the boot to the cabin, apparently there is one on the drivers side lower corner of the boot. Cables attached to a piece of wire and poke away. I shone a torch down there and I could see light coming out in the cabin side for guidance
Have fun.
MickAP shows us an effective method if you need to pass the video wire out as well as feed the power in.
However, there are (were) some with an rf link. I was looking at these a couple of years ago. I’m not sure what is on the market right now but it can make the wiring simpler.
But I eventually ended up with a bit of a cheap cop-out and hooked the rf camera into my sat nav (Garmin rf camera → Garmin Satnav) and kept the original NC headunit.
Here’s how I connected the 12V power pair through the umbilical for the rf–linked camera mounted on that third bit of plastic.
Thanks Richard - that’s a good write up. I have already ordered the reverse cam and am happy to get stuck in sorting the wiring, it’s no fun if not a bit of a challange!
My current concern is where to earth it… I know you can earth to the car body, but I don’t really fance rubbing down the paintwork or drilling into the metal to secure an earth. Are there any existing earthing points in boot area I could use?
) day lol 