How do I install a Pioneer AVIC N1?

[stahl]

So, I just bought this Pioneer AVIC N1 unit, which is still on its way. I've tried to gather some information as to what else I'll need to get it installed into my base vibe without moon&tunes in at least a semi-decent fashion and used this thread for help.First, the avic n1 is a single DIN unit, so I'll need (or at least should get) an adapter. orangecrush mentioned a part number in another thread, and I believe this is it: METRA #99-8205Second, the unit needs to be hooked into the existing (non-m&t) sound system. I'm envisioning that I'll pull off the paneling around the stereo (which I've done several times before for kicks), unscrew the factory stereo, disconnect it from the harness, and install that single din adapter.Now, I guess typically installing after market stereos means cutting up the wiring harness, unless I get this adapter: METRA #70-2003, which I'm assuming turns that harness into bare wires on the other end. Then I'll probably just follow the instructions that (will hopefully) come with the AVIC N1 when it comes to connecting the proper wires -- and um, how are those usually connected? Clamped, crimped, screwed, soldered, twisted and insulated with electrical tape?To hook up the antenna for fm radio, will I need this adapter (Metra GM Antenna Adapter (40-GM10))? Does the AVIC N1 even do FM radio? lolThe brain (or "hide-away") unit of the avic goes underneath the passenger seat. And then I'm guessing it's all about elegantly hiding the wires underneath the dash and carpet.Any ideas when it comes to wattage, voltage, ohm, etc? I pasted this thing (PAC OEM-2 Universal Factory Sound System Interface) into my clipboard from somewhere. Is that something I need? What about this adapter (#FAI-3 - Ford/JBL and GM/Bose Speaker Level Converter) ? Are these things for moon&tunes people only?

[Jahntassa]

First, yes, the 99-8205 is what you need to fit it into the dash.Second, yes, you want the 70-2003. Hacking off your factory harness is NOT a smart idea, especially if there're problems.Third, Yes, you need the 40-GM10 for the FM. And yes, the AVIC has an FM/AM tuner in itFourth, running the wires to the passenger seat is pretty easy. You can run it up behind the glovebox and down the passenger side. You don't even have to cut up the carpet to get it under the carpet and under the seat, due to the hole in the carpet for the under-seat A/C vent. I forget about the specific Wattage stuff, but it should work fine with your stock speakers.The other two adapters you mentioned you do not need.There are two other wires you'll have to connect for the N1 that are not standard, one is the reverse sense wire, and the other is the VSS (Vehicle Speed Sense) wire. You need these for navigation to work 100% properly. As soon as ragingfish comes back from the Michigan meet, i'll have him look up where you can find the wires to tap into. They're fairly easy to get to, I just don't remember which ones they are.If you don't do the reverse and VSS wires, the navigation will still work, but it'll be somewhat slow. And btw, the AVIC does come with a GPS antenna that you can either magnet-mount to the roof (best idea), place inside the dash (not as great), or just run it up to the dash and let it sit on the side of the dash (okay idea)

[stahl]

Thank you so much!I'll order the needed parts. I also gotta figure out what goes into the headrests. After all, my explanation to The Wife(tm) was that "honey, the kids will just peacefully watch Winnie the Pooh on our 8 hour trip to North Carolina". And that whole idea doesn't really fly without screens in the headrests, heh heh.I'm looking at this AVD-W8000 on eBay. Says they're 8" screens, is that measured the usual diagonal way? I cannot find any detailed specs for these things. Like how large the trim around the screen is, etc. I'm thinking they're too big for the Vibe's headrests. Anyone know for sure?And geez, these purchases quickly start adding up with all the adapters and accessories.

[Jahntassa]

Heh, I will guarantee that almost any monitor you find will be much too large for the headrests in the Vibe.Some come with 'mounts' that attatch to the headrest poles and sit behind the headrest..that way, no cutting. You can get some 'factory look' headrests with monitors already in them that just replace the factory headrests, but those tend to be around $1000-$1600 depending on the screens.If you put in headrest monitors, I would definitely reccomend getting some tint done.. And yes, on LCD's they are measured diagonally for screen size.

[stahl]

My tint (35% front, 17% back) is now 5 days old. I rolled down the windows yesterday for the first time.Just wondering what screens these are that Sh@dow! has in his car.

[sloth]

I used some scoshe parts from wally world that worked well for my aftermarket install. If you can't get the metra parts easily.

[stahl]

The part numbers in my first post actually contain links to a site that sells them. I just ordered them. Except for the antenna adapter, going to pick that up at Circuit City in a few minutes.I guess Wally World is not wallyworld dot com (not work safe!).

[sloth]

Sorry wally world as in wall mart.

[Jahntassa]

He's a little too far north to immediately recognize WallyWorld (I think it's a southern thing?)I'm definitely not a fan of scosche stuff...yeah, they get the job done, but it's a last-ditch go-to if you can't find anything else. While metra isn't all that and a bag of chips, it's still slightly higher quality than Scosche is... At least from what i've run into from when I was doing installs on a daily basis..

[stahl]

well hopefully there's not too many ways a 24-pin (or whatever) plastic adapter with a bunch of bare wires on the other end can be too much of a headache. I've had enough headaches already. When hardwiring my Radar Detector, it didn't work. I used the lighter adapter and it didn't work either. I thought I hosed my detector. Turned out the hardwire kit had a bad resistor and the lighter adapter blew a fuse. Phew. Ordered a new hardwiring kit.I installed my RoyalTek RBT-3000 (bluetooth GPS) under the dash, right on top of the air vent. One day of sitting in the sun and it was dead. I removed the battery to prevent it from exploding, but I guess a capacitor popped or something. Who knows. I replaced it with a GPS from Socket. Yesterday was the ultimate test. We went to Cedar Point and I had the car sit out in the sun from 11 am to 6pm. My wife pointed out how I'm conducting rather expensive experiments. GPS still works, however. Hopefully it'll continue to be able to take the heat. On the other hand now *I* look like a raccoon. Burnt all over except where the oakleys covered my eyes.

[Jahntassa]

Wow...I've had my old RandMcNalley serial GPS installed inside the dash (stock GPS antenna location), and it's been powered 24/7 for about two weeks..no ill effects.. That RoyalTek is supposed to be good stuff too..wonder what happened..

[stahl]

Yeah. I bought the RoyalTek for its data logging capabilities.When I turn it on (with battery), or plug it in (with or without battery) the battery led is barely visible, but it's orange. the center led (indicating gps fix) is dead. I can actually still connect to it over bluetooth, but it doesn't send any data or respond to anything.But to be honest, the Socket GPS is more compact and feels more sturdy than the RoyalTek, at least the RBT-3000, which has sort of an el cheapo plastic feel to it. It's also the size of a small 2 button computer mouse, whereas the Socket GPS is more the size of a Mini DV tape. But maybe that's the reason why RoyalTek released the RBT-1000. Smaller, better, cheaper, but no data logging at all.Yours is powered 24/7? It's always on? Any idea how long it would take for the battery to drain? Er wait. Serial. It's only on when whatever it's hooked into is running, correct?

[Jahntassa]

Heh..no, it's ALWAYS on. Basically there's four wires coming out.Data +Data -5v +5v -Because it's so old, the GPS fix takes about 3-4 minutes from cold start, which..of course..sucks. So... I cut up the adapter from my XM MiFi (which is the ONLY XM (other than the Tao2Go and Pioneer Aireware) which uses 5v, so don't try this with the other ones!Anyway, yanked the LED out of the XM adapter so it doesn't suck as much power, put the GPS on that, and have a relay that swtiches on with the computer so the same power supply will power my USB hub.It will drain the battery, I have no doubt. But I think it would take at least 2-3 days. Unless I get an Optima Red or Yellow top, then it'd probably take a LOT longer.But yeah, it only pulls about 0.08 amps. Or rather, it did when I ran it through my multimeter.

[Sh@dow!]

Quote, originally posted by stahl »My tint (35% front, 17% back) is now 5 days old. I rolled down the windows yesterday for the first time.Just wondering what screens these are that Sh@dow! has in his car.http://www.directed.com/video/monitors.aspScool down to Overhead Video Console* OHC100I got the units very very cheap from work on clearance and then modified the drop down section to fit the headrest. I can still detach the monitor from the housing if at all need be. Soon to come will be the Ir transmitterfor headsets, Ps2 itegration and custom video switcher for playing diff things from left to right on the screens.

[stahl]

3-4 minutes for a fix is quite a bit. Mine still takes a minute or so. I usually just pick my destination, start driving, and wait for it to get its fix and yell at me that I needed to go south rather than north.Hardwiring it to be always on would probably be sort of risky for me since I eat, sleep, and work at home and have a non-existant social life. Although I'd probably go bonkers in the process, I could easily go a week without even touching the car at which point the battery acid will probably have all dried up.

[stahl]

Oh boy. I just picked up the packages from the front-door. Was wondering when the UPS guy would show. Checked the tracking page and it said it had been delivered at 6:30 pm. Well, whaddayaknow. Would have been nice of the guy to at least ring the bell so I know it got here.I now believe I have everything, the 99-8205, the 70-2003, the 40-GM10, and the AVIC N1 -- without any kind of manual, documentation, or install instructions whatsoever. Crap.Is it too complicated for someone to help me with this remotely? I'd like to do the install myself. I don't have a problem with sticking together clearly marked connectors, but when it comes to this bare wires stuff -- and worse, it's a used unit, so it's not quite as neatly package anymore.Anyway, I just want to get it installed soon so I can leave feedback on eBay instead of leaving positive feedback and then finding out that the unit didn't work to begin with. Yeah, risky business. Oh well.I'm so lost right now, lol.

[stahl]

I've attached the mess in the photo:Starting from the left:Still unopened, the 99-8205 dash adapter kit.The thin thing is the 40-GM10 antenna adapter.The gray thing is the hide-away unit.Below that, halfway sticking out of the package is the 70-2003 harness adapter. To its right is the GPS antenna.Next, the audio cable from 3.5mm to whatever (is that cinch?) red/white.Next is probably the antenna cable -- judging from its looks which is sorta like the adapter I bought.Next, and to the left of the head unit, is the rear output harness that gets plugged into the head unit.Then obviously the head unit.Below the headunit are two loose wires, pink and purple. The pink one has a led on it and a plug, the purple one ends with just the plug.The *really* scary part is the harness thats above the head unit. It ends in a lot of bare wires that I have no idea what they do. The long unit in the upper right hand side of the pic is a Memphis 16-MC3004 4 Ch. Amp which he added as a bonus (which I have no idea what to do with), some heavy gauge stinger cable (again, no idea), and that little remote is actually a CXC3173 Pioneer remote, which isn't for this unit, but works. Not that I can verify that.

Attached files

[Jahntassa]

Okay, here's a basic install:First, connect up your two harnesses. The 70-2003 and the harness with the blue connector.Match color for color. You want to keep that black box on the HU wiring harness. That's important. DON'T CUT IT OFF. Don't forget to ground the p-brake wire, which is going to be that long wire in the harness. Also, there are two grounds for the N1. You can wire them both together on the OTHER side of the black box (read, not between black box and HU)Okay. Obviously your RCA outputs are on that second harness sitting right next to the N1. Hook those up if you need 'em. That long wire with the wierd connector gets plugged into the back of the N1. I generally use the straight side, and use the right-angle connector for the hide-away, unless you have problems fitting it in the dash, in which case, reverse it. I don't believe it matters.Now...you will have to run that interface cable and the antenna extension cord to the hideaway box. Generally i'll run it behind the glove box, down the kickpanel, under the doorsill, and then under the carpet where it comes out by the vent under the seat. The 40-GM10 plugs in behind the radio and into that antenna extension.If you want, you can put the GPS antenna inside the dash, but I reccomend magnet-mounting it to the roof, or having it on the dash. It doesn't really matter, and is up to you. You can follow my Roady install instructions (http://www.vidrenlabs.com/vibe.htm) for running the wire up to the rear. The GPS antenna plugs into the hideaway box.The hideaway box is pretty self explanitory. Make sure it's screwed down in the direction indicated. You don't need long screws, simply getting it into the carpet (1/2" or so) will hold it down fairly well. And they don't leave too much of a mark if you take it out.The purple and pink wires are reverse and VSS. If you want the full functionality of the N1, you need to connect these two wires. PM ragingfish and ask him where you can get them. Reverse is above the glove compartment, and VSS is behind the gauges. For basic operation, they aren't completely important.Now, IF you have the latest software (I forget which version number, 1.3?) You will NOT be able to watch video while driving. The latest software determines if you can watch video based on the gyro sensor in the GPS unit. If you're moving, it cuts off. If you have 1.1 or 1.2 you should be fine. I think it says on top of the NavDisc.The shroud comes off the N1 around the face, just tug it off gently, you'll see how it stays on. There should be four small screws, two on each side, holding the unit to the 'cage'. Unscrew and KEEP THESE. Don't lose them. You can mount the cage into the dash-kit, or you can 'iso-mount' it, where you screw the N1 directly into the kit. It's up to you to determine which way looks better. One is not neccesarily better than the other.If i'm looking at that correctly, that guy sent you 1/0 guage ground wire, and probably 4 guage power wire. That, is good stuff. That amp is pretty strong too. If you think you might want to hook up the amp later, keep it. If not, put it up in the for sale section here, you could probably get some cash for it.As said though, it's a pretty decent unit.Umm..looking at the blue harness. Does it have all the wires? It should have:RedYellowBlackBlackLight greenBlueGreenGreen/BlackPurplePurple/BlackWhiteWhite/BlackGrayGray/BlackAnd probably one or two more (blue) The latter four are important because those are your speaker outputs. If those have been completely cut off...well..you might need that amp, or in the least, a new harness.

[stahl]

Thank you so much!!The blue harness has all cables on it. However, some are cut off at oh, say, 6 inches length and taped off. Specifically:GreenG/BPurpleP/BlackWhiteW/BlackGrayG/BlackThe other ones all look fine. Some of these I don't really know what to do with, like cellular mute (black/yellow, probably only used for hands-free phone kits), and "auto-antenna remote control" (blue). I'll just leave them alone for now.I'm glad the 70-2003 has the labels on the wires. Also, the blue (auto antenna) and red (acc), have these ends on them that almost look like needles. Do I leave those as they are?I'll probably just ghetto twist the wires together before I actually solder them...ermm, I should solder this stuff, right? I'm gonna hook up batt, acc, ground and see if I can get it to turn on.As for software, I see one 1.1 CD and one 1.2 CD. One is east one is west. The guy wrote on a post-it that the other 1.2 cd (east, i believe) is in the drive. So that should all be fine. Phew.

[Jahntassa]

Okay, that's fine. He probably used the amp then.Cellular Mute - If you have a handsfree kitAuto-Antenna RC - You need to connect this to the blue wire in the 70-2003 to power your FM/AM antenna for receptionThe needles are probably from something else..go ahead and ditch 'em.And yes, soldiering is the best method. Twist together to test is fine..but just match color to color and you can't go wrong.

[russ257]

i say crimp connections are easiest. the speed sensor wire you will need is i belive pink with a black stripe and and located in the bundle near the passenger. those needle connections are for easy disconnect the other end should be included its a crimp connection as well you can use those or snip them off and wire it however you do the rest. you dont need to hook up the revers wire unless you plan on using a rearview camera all that does is automatically switch whatever screen you are viewing to the rear camera when you put it in reverse

[binary]

I'm a firm beliver in RTFM... http://www.pioneerelectronics.....htmlAll the manuals for the AVIC N1 are available here.

[stahl]

Yep it's no longer a problem. Thanks everyone!

[binary]

You got it installed?Lets see some pics!

[stahl]

No, lol, unfortunately not. I'm going to give it another shot this weekend. I just haven't had time yet. With no longer a problem I meant that Jahntassa helped me out quite a bit over IM, and pointed me to the manuals etc.I've got the harnesses all soldered up, and the head unit in place, but haven't had time to actually go about removing the passenger seat and putting in the hide-away unit. Work is keeping me busy.Tonight I tried to see if I could already put the GPS antenna where I want it -- right behind the radio antenna with the cable going in through the trunk (making a little cut into the rubber hose protecting the wires) and then run them underneath the headliner to the B pillar on the passenger side and down to underneath the seat. I had some trouble getting the headliner to come off (don't have the right tool to pull out those flat plastic thumb tack looking things holding up the headliner) and some of the plasic pieces by the passenger's seat belt.I'll try again tomorrow I think.

[stahl]

Still not much progress. Here are the pics from the headunit install, though: The harness all soldered up, taped off and connected:Same thing, different angle:Headunit is in place, bezel is still hanging just off one wire.Wires are just hanging out for now until I properly run them to the passeger seat and tuck everything away neatly:screen retractedscreen up:and out of all the exciting stuff it can do, im listening to the radio:I'm hoping to find a free hour or two tomorrow to properly hide away the hide-away unit. Right now it's a passenger-keeps-stepping-on-it unit.