I've been trying to find information on this, and what I've been able to find ranges from nebulous to downright useless. I don't want to axe the stock stereo in my Prius mostly because of look and feel issues (mainly that I really like the location of the volume knob...), but I do want the features that an aftermarket stereo provides (BT, CD (my CD player is broken), USB, aux in, etc.). Is it at all possible to pull 12V power from the 1CD hook up (I bought the car and it had the 1CD add in), and feed line out (my aftermarket stereo which I pulled out of my old car has a built in amp as well as line out) back into the stock stereo? I'm up for a bit of custom wiring/soldering, just I can't find a pin out diagram for the "Y cable" that's used for the 1CD in the Gen I Prius anywhere...
You can definitely do that. (Let's make sure I understand you: by 1CD, do you mean just a single-disk CD player, or is there some kind of fancy add-in called "1CD" that I haven't heard of?) The cable pinouts between the stock radio head, CD, and nav (if present) are in the wiring diagram manual. For audio there's nothing fancy, just left and right signals and ground. (Left and right might be balanced signals; check the diagram, mine's not in front of me.) You'll want a way to tell the head unit to switch inputs to your new source. That's trickier; there isn't just some pin you switch, there's a command you send it over the AVC-LAN bus. So that takes some custom digital circuitry. I think most people buy off-the-shelf gadgets that do that. The one I bought was the DICE iPod adapter (which also has a plain line in). I have an old thread about it with all the details. Others have used similar gadgets from other vendors. Look for posts by mlibanio. They typically connect to the AVC-LAN and pretend to be a CD or minidisc changer, and you can use the existing front-panel buttons to switch between the stock radio and the aux line in, or navigate tracks on an iPod. In the minidisc emulation, track names from an iPod show up on the MFD. Hope that helps, -Chap
Yes, "1CD" is the single disk CD player. Thanks for this, I'll look into it. I don't really understand what you're getting at here, why wouldn't pressing "Disc" on the dashboard switch to the new input? Does the radio require some kind of AVC-LAN connection to even switch to its external audio input? EDIT: Would something like this work? Everywhere only shows Prius models up to 2004...
Does any one of u know where to download - wiring diagrams for the prius's ??? 2007 Prius - 140K - Green
Well for starters you want the Gen II forums. Also, most people recommend you pay Toyota the $15 for access to TIS website and d/l all the manuals you need in the short access period.
I'm pretty sure if the head unit doesn't see any device on the AVC-LAN that identifies itself as a disc, then pressing the Disc button will only get you a message "The external system is not connected." There is a diagnostic mode you can enter on the MFD that will show you a list of what devices are detected on the LAN. I found it helpful while getting my DICE adapter working. I think that might be the unit mlibanio liked. Search for those posts to make sure. There was one that worked without any mods to the wire harness that came with it. I had to make a couple mods to the wiring that came with the DICE unit because, yeah, they had never tested it on a pre-2004 Prius and they wouldn't say it would work, but with a few snips and splices it works fine. At least the one I bought. Whatever updates they've made since then, you could still be the first one testing them on a pre-2004. -Chap
We're talking Gen 1. A lot of the vendors who sell audio accessories only advertise them for Gen 2 and later, so you have to check the forums to learn which ones will actually work in a Gen 1. I gambled and bought the DICE (they only advertise for Gen 2) and found out it works fine on Gen 1 with a few simple mods to the wiring that comes with it. I believe mlibanio found a different one that works in gen 1 with no mods. There were only something like 52,000 Gen 1s ever made (was that just the US market number? I forget), so some vendors just don't think it's worth bothering to test their product on our model. But Toyota didn't completely change how their radios work, so chances are pretty good they're compatible. -Chap
Could you specify which wires you snipped or modded to make it work? I really want to install an aftermarket headunit with bluetooth.
This is what always happens with information kept in a forum instead of a wiki.... I did specify all that in some detail at the time, you just need to search out my post on "DICE iPod G1 RESULTS" or something like that. I notice Danny has set up a PriusChat Wiki as well as the forums and there's not much there yet. When I have some time I'll try to set up a Gen 1 audio page there (and hope mlibanio will contribute to it, because I really want more details about those other mods, and it would be nice to have them in a wiki where they don't get buried and forgotten after a week). Note the wires I snipped/modded were in the harness coming with the DICE unit I bought - no mods on the car side, just plugged right in. So depending on what gizmo you buy, it might come with a harness that doesn't need any changes. I think mlibanio found one that does the same thing as the DICE and works out of the box. On the other hand, if you get something that doesn't work right away, if it's a different unit the fix might not be identical but you might still get ideas going over my old DICE thread. -Chap
I managed to locate your old thread with some searching. It turns out the green wire needs to be snipped on the DICE end. Thanks for your help.
This is interesting. I wonder if I could actually install a bluetooth head unit where my 6 disk unit currently resides using the DICE Unit? Run a power, remote and ground and use the pre-amp outputs of the aftermarket unit to feed signal through a 1/8 inch jack and use it instead of the changer. Hmmm....
