Well, I'll have the Ottonavi unit this Friday and I'll know pretty quickly whether it will work with my JBL option. They advertize and have stated in emails to me that it will work with JBL, I sure hope so. If not, then I'll have to figure out another way to energize the JBL amps.
Got the Ottonavi today. Hooked everything up and it does not turn on the JBL amp. Everything works, but no sound. Very frustrating. I don't know, maybe I did something wrong. There was still two connectors from the car that are not plugged in. One is the XM antenna. That's fine, but the other is a multi pin connector and I could not find anywhere to plug it in. There is a amp turn on wire that is separate, but where should I hook it?
Check the manual. Call the company. Some units have a multi pin connector used to for an external CD changer. There is almost no need for an external CD changer but some HU still have the plug. It could be used for satellite radio, but this unit doesn't show SAT as an option. Most units--the amp turn on wire gets connected to the JBL amp turn on device. Either you're missing something or the Ottonavi email was incorrect.
I went out and bought a Scosche TA07SR from Best Buy. I thought I had it wired correctly, but still couldn't get any sound. Seems I don't have a switched wire going to the Scosche like I should. This is very frustrating. I put the old radio back in because it was getting too late. I'll talk to Ottonavi tomorrow. When I wired it with just their harnesses, everything turned on and worked except for the sound. If I use the Scosche, then I really need to cut one of the Ottonavi harnesses and I really don't want to do that just yet. Does anyone know if I can just run the Amp Turn on wire from the new HU to the JBL Amp? Something about a CAN bus that I think will not let that work. Not sure.
European exteral amplifiers (not necessary JBL) need just turn on +12V signal (the wire from Chinese unit works well). US models need a CAN connection and some CAN message to activate JBL amplifier. I don't know a Chinese unit whith the full US JBL interface. The China HU shows up CAN connection, but it is used just for the steering wheel control buttons. The steering wheel phone buttons don't work usually.
I just called Ottonavi. The guy was extremely helpful even to the point of guaranteeing me that if it doesn't work they will even cover shipping. Very nice support. Unfortunately their expert is out till Thursday. But this gentleman said it will work with JBL and that it's most likely an internal setting/mode that needs a code to set to external instead of internal amp. I sure hope he is right. I'll put it back in tonight and try what he says. He says I do not need the Scosche or Tato interface.
IT WORKS!!!! It works with the JBL sound system without any fancy interface. And I mean, everything works. The problem? There is a setting for either an internal amp or an external amp. You access the audio menu by pushing in the tuner knob. First comes up Bass, Mid, Treble, Balance, Fade, ASL, and then finally iamp or eamp. Select eamp and VIOLA, works perfectly. All the steering wheel buttons work fine including the phone pick up and hang up buttons. Very nice! I'm impressed with this unit.
Glad everything worked out. I'm sorry I was more then a little skeptical. I'd appreciate your impressions after you've used the unit. Is the quality of the FM better, about the same or worse then your stock unit? Same question with a CD/IPOD. Volume. Sound quality. Any quirks with the unit.
AM & FM reception is worse than stock unit, CD & IPOD sound is better than the stock unit. No quirks so far other than the set up of the unit. The internal versus external amp setting for one. And you have to go into the Navigation menu and have it search for a connection. It does it fine, but nowhere does it say that in the instructions.
I wonder if the price wouldnt' be better by going to a local junk yard rather than EBay. Sometimes sellers on EBay are comparing the rice to a new unit from the dealer rather than the true value.
But I'd rather have the Ottonavi unit than the OEM unit even at the same price because the Ottonavi handles the IPOD so much better. UPDATE: I think I found the problem with AM/FM. If I change the amp setting from external to internal the radio sounds PERFECT. I must be getting a high signal out when on Radio with the external amp setting (which is backwards, I should get a low signal out). Ottonavi is investigating and said they would send me a new unit when their next shipment arrives.
Hi Glennl, I have this same unit installed on my Prius from an aftermarket shop. The dealer had it installed before I purchased the car. I am having some issues that I hope you can shed some light on. 1) The Ipod connection so far is not great. It can play songs from playlist, Genre's, but can not from Albums and Artists. It just keeps trying to load the information. 2) I can't seem to rename my radio stations to either frequency or custom name. It just keeps reverting back to a scrolling default state. Did you have any of the above issues and if so, how did you resolve them? Did you by any chance upgrade your firmware before using it? BTW - My radio sound is fine and also can hear sound fine from Ipod/DVD, etc..The only odd thing is a big THUMP sound when turning the unit on after turning it off. Not sure if its the affect of using the unit with my JBL speakers. Not a big deal, as I leave my unit on all the time. Thanks!
I haven't had any of the issues you have had. I can select artist and then the song. I have not tried to name any of my stations. Also, I never got a big thump when turning the unit on.
Thanks for the reply. Looks like it was a bad Ipod cable.. As for the Thump and not being able to rename the radio stations, I may just have to live it with.. Thanks!
should i buy one? i like how it looks and saw a respond to your post with another review. pretty good review minor flaws but for $600-$700 can't expect a perfect diamond. what do you say? I have non JBL by the way