Gen 1 audio upgrade query

I just went for the head unit install and I totally wasted the front fascia when I went to remove it. It must had been cracked or was totally dried out/UV irradiated (I live in Santa Fe which is a very dry climate at 7000 feet above sea level and the car has been here since new). There is no way it is getting glued back together unless I'm some kind of magician, which I am not.

I just checked Olathe's online parts page and they want 1500+ for a new one. **** that sucks huge donkey dick! If anyone knows of a good used one, please PM me.

The good news is I was able to install a Pioneer head unit using the harnesses from a Crutchfield kit for a 98 Tacoma without cutting any factory wiring in the dash. The bad news is I now have no climate controls whatsoever. Please Please Please PM me if you have a decent used fascia to sell. There is no way I can afford a new one. That's nearly the price of a reinvolt battery!

 

You should still be able to have climate control, just hook up the three connectors on the bottom. I'm wondering if you might be able to remove a cable tie or two, or electrical tape, and get some more length out of the cable bundles.

 

You don't understand. I broke both "wings" off the fascia (where the air ducts are). It's totally useless. I basically put the metal frame back in that the display bolts into and that's it. The tape deck and a small grey box were the only components left from its' original state. I took all the other components (i.e. switches, circuit boards, climate knobs etc.) off the plastic fascia in hopes I can find a new fascia and put all the components back in. There is no place to put the climate control parts. I may as well focus on finding a new part and put it all back together when I find one.

Mine was incredibly fragile. I'm guessing UV as it is a 10 year old southwest car. It literally broke like an eggshell would have.

I'm stoked to have a real head unit in place at least. It got dark before I could figure it completely out but it has hands free BT, iPod in, aux, 4x50W etc. It sounded damn nice right out of the box. I'm looking forward to dialing it in in the morning when I have light.

 

Did you get your climate control working? I'm looking into adding a head unit where the cd player is or adding a usaspec ipod adapter so I can also get an aux in. my question about the HU, does the display still works with the oem radio? Which adapter specifically did you get from crutchfield? Also, my finish panel is broken and I called a local dealer and they quoted me at 215.00.

SPH-D710 ?

 

He told me he didn't get it working because he's waiting to reassemble everything including the climate control panel after the mishap with the fascia panel.

And so, about adding a HU, if you remove the two radio harness plugs from the back of the factory radio, then a third cable for AVC-LAN will not terminate correctly (the radio has termination in it according to the service manual). One way around this, I have thought, is to make a Y-cable splice (with connectors) for each of the two radio harness plugs, such that the factory radio and an add on accessory, such as aftermarket HU, maintain full connectivity with the car's harness). This would provide power to the factory radio and the AVC-LAN terminator in the radio, ensuring proper continued MFD functionality. This is how I currently have Toyota Blu Logic working in my Gen1 Prius.

The R4 plug, which holds the AVC-LAN cable wires, plugs into the CD changer female plug on the back of the radio, and terminates the signal from the MFD system.

A way around this issue is to purchase a Toyota CD changer Y cable for our specific vehicle (they are quite rare, and are not currently in stock anywhere in the US). One end plugs into the back of the R4 female plug on the radio, another end plugs into the R4 male plug from the harness, and finally, the factory accessory (be it CD changer, CD player t9200, possibly the USA Spec iPod adapter (I have it, and at the moment it will not work due to the AVC-LAN signal termination issue), or MiniDisc changer).

The way the USASpec iPod adapter works is it plugs into the CD changer R4 plug on the back of the radio-however in our case, it doesn't work because we need that Y cable. The Blu Logic Bluetooth adapter, however, connects in line with the radio harness plugs.

 

I've been reading and I found that the cas-lex cable adapter from usa-spec is the same as the y adapter from toyota.
Can someone confirm that the cas-lex adapter will work to add a hu.

SPH-D710 ?

 

Post a link to the cas-lex cable then I will buy one and try it. Now is the time as my dash is all apart.

 

They had to be looking at the wrong part; that's roughly ten times too high.

See this post for the part you need and how to find current dealer pricings.

-Chap

 

I was in 5Js salvage yard in Albuquerque getting a wheel for my 2002. The 2001 there has an intact facia plate. I don't know how long its been there - got hit in driver's side front corner - so it may well be as fragile as yours. I checked 5 yards in Albuquerque and this was the only one I found.
Ed

 

Here's the best example I can find.

USA Spec Lexus Adapter Connects the PA15-TOY iPod® adapter to select 2001-04 Lexus factory radios at Crutchfield.com

I am not convinced that CAS-LEX is the answer...the pin density is higher on the CAS-LEX than the CAS-TLC (all 12 pins) or the "old" PIE TOY-F/MM (see third link below)

Then again, there are plenty of reports of the CAS-LEX working in conjunction with the R4 plug from the radio and connector from the MFD. Of course, the plug on the PA15-TOY is also low density (12 pins).

CAS-LEX
http://usaspec.com/product.php?ProductID=63

CAS-TLC
http://usaspec.com/product.php?ProductID=64

Here is another Y adapter, it looks more like what I think the plugs need to look like:
http://www.pie.net/index.php?option....tpl&category_id=131&product_id=145&Itemid=40


For now, I have the Blu Logic up and working fine. And, as I have no iPod, the only useful part would be AUX in, but what I'd really want is USB to audio. There are kits that do just that but are pricy, and I've already made an investment and installation in my existing hardware...so I might just have to get an iPod someday. Besides, it seems it works well with the CD changer interface on the MFD.

 

So if I purchase this I can install any aftermarket radio and still be able to use my touchscreen. Correct?

 

Do not purchase that cable. I bought the same one from Toyota...the smaller 12 pin plugs do not fit into anywhere in our harnesses.

What you might need is the Y adapter with the larger plugs. But! That may not necessarily work because I don't know if your HU needs to communicate with AVC-LAN, I would have the see the wiring diagram for the cable to know if that's the case. Either way, the R4 plug needs to terminate into the radio for the AVC-LAN bus to work, and with it, the display.

Here's the thing: The only way I can think of to maintain touch screen functionality is to make two Y adapters (call them a passthrough for now) (purchase a total of 1 pair of male - female Toyota 1987- stereo connectors, connect the colors together, and include a pigtail long enough to reach the CD player slot, so you can splice on your aftermarket HU wiring harness) for the audio system plugs that go into the back of the radio, that way you're feeding directly into the speakers. If you do not at least supply power to the radio, then the terminator for the third plug (R4) on the radio will not terminate the AVC-LAN signal, causing the MFD to be intermittent.

Why was something like this never made for our cars? Because I figure low demand ment manufacturers never spent the money to develop and debug a cable for our uses.

The above method is basically how I have Blu Logic installed in my Prius. Here's a picture, you can see how the cable configuration acts as a passthrough.

(not my picture, credit snyper [OP] on Toyota FJ Cruiser Community)


Final edit for the day:

This is my idea: splice the colors together, along with a pigtail for the aftermarket harness. Hook everything up, and it should work correctly (and with the R4 plug plugged into the back of the stock radio, receiving power, the MFD should work).

 

Okay, I am in need of help after reading this thread. I have an 02 that has an Audio button that is not working very well. I am wanting to put in an after market stereo and am looking for the most efficient way to do this. I understand about mounting the new Head Unit where the CD player currently resides, but what wiring harness/es do I need? The Y harness idea I understand, but which harness and where can I find one?

 

Okay. I ended up making the Y-harness/pass-through described by Electrontechnik. With everything connected as it should be the new HU I am using still will not work, but the stock radio will. If I disconnect the connectors at the back of the stock radio the new HU will work. I am not sure if this is an issue with not enough power being supplied to have both radios connected, or if there is an errant signal from the stock HU that is causing an issue with the new after market HU. The new unit is a JVC and it simply says "check wiring and reset unit" when the stock stereo is connected. Is there any way to supply it with its own source of 12v power? Does any one have any suggestions?

For every one's information I used 2- Metra 70-1761's and 2- Metra 71-1761. I used two male sets and one female set to make the pass through and used the other female set to mate to the stereo's connector.

If any one wants pictures, PM me and I can email them to you or I can email them to some one and they can post them here if they'd like.

-Mike

 

I wonder if you can pull enough power from the cigarette lighter to power the radio.

In theory, the idea works but as we can see, the practical application hits a snag. The only thing I can possibly think of is the AVC-LAN is messing something up.

My Blu-Logic Bluetooth harness basically does the same thing as the radio inline "Y" that I envisioned and MikeBeavers made. The schematic for that cable though, is not easy to come across.

 

Why not leave the entire factory wiring in place......

Tap into the 12V auxiliary, 12V constant and Ground wires (going to the factory radio) for your new HU, leaving them still powering the factory radio. Then cut the speaker wire outputs at the factory radio (only) and wire those into the speaker outputs of the new HU?

Seems to me this would leave all original functionality intact and give you the new music you're looking for.

 

That's basically the same thing as what the pass through adapter I had in mind would do, without any taps, which depending on the design are not as reliable as a pass through connector design.

The idea is to do it without cutting any factory wiring. Ideally, it should work.

 

New gen1 dash panel info here if anyone needs to order one;
Replacement Center Dash Panel | PriusChat