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To All Prius and Audio Experts.....Help With Radio Installion.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by falcinator, Apr 28, 2006.

  1. falcinator

    falcinator New Member

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    After countless failed attempts dealing with the blasted Prius radio harness I am finally coming to the conclusion that the only viable work around is to actually cut into the harness and splice a new headunit from there.

    Everything else failed for me. I have the dreaded six disc JBL system and just wanted a simple swap out to a player with more robust features, i.e., usb support and an aux line in. After puttering around with multiple harnesses that weren't compatible I found this and sent off for it. http://www.bazooka.com/product_feature.asp?id=298&pg=2
    I thought it was designed specifically for Prius' that had JBL systems but alas it only seems compatible with the rest of the Toyota line of cars.

    So.....my only option seems to be a direct splice. This was my last resort as resplicing the original player if need be will certainly be shoddy and a bit ugly on a future resale, umm years down the road.

    But right now, I'd like to accomplish this small task and finally get my damned mp3 player direct through the sound system.

    I know the smaller 5 wire harness has circuitry that helps with dash displays like temp., mpg and the like so I assume I HAVE to keep the original player installed with the smaller harness attached.....? And mount the new player below with spliced wires from the other harness.


    Any help.....would be much aprreciated!

    Thanks guys!
     
    #1 falcinator, Apr 28, 2006
  2. priusenvy

    priusenvy Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(falcinator @ Apr 28 2006, 06:28 PM) [snapback]246945[/snapback]</div>
    It is compatible with the JBL system, I'm using one right now. The problem appears to be that you don't understand its intended purpose.
     
    #2 priusenvy, Apr 29, 2006
  3. hilore

    hilore New Member

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    I believe that someone did manage to remove the built-in radio head unit and
    replace it with an add on custom radio and keep the LCD intact. Some kind of
    diode is needed to trick the LCD to think that the factory radio still attached.

    Search for METRA wire harness at this site.

    Good Luck!
     
    #3 hilore, Apr 29, 2006
  4. falcinator

    falcinator New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Apr 29 2006, 06:51 AM) [snapback]247139[/snapback]</div>
    Well since it's apparent to you that I don't, I'm glad I got smarmy attitude instead of an explanation. One of the reasons of this forum is to help educate others when you're able to so either help me with an answer that could actually pull my nice person out of the fire or don't bother responding at all.

    I imagine this wire's use is intended solely for the amp and not the headunit itself but then again I don't understand it's intended purpose.
     
    #4 falcinator, Apr 29, 2006
  5. tmorrowus

    tmorrowus Member

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    I'm using the bazooka harness to add an aftermarket audio system to my JBL 2004 prius.

    It it isn't just plug and play, you have to do some soldering or otherwise make connections, run wires, and you have to somehow workaround the issue of the front woofers and tweeters needing a crossover. Most importantly you have to know what wire goes to what. The bazooka harness just makes it neat so you can unplug everything if you want to go back to the stock system when you sell your car late.

    If you need advise on what you are doing wrong, you'll need to let us know the details of what you were trying to do. What exactly are you trying to connect to the speaker, 12V, Gnd, ACC, Illum, Ant and any other connections on the aftermarket head unit.



    It occurs to me that you might not realize that the speaker connections are at the JBL amp under the seat, not at the head unit. If you are dropping in a new head unit and want to use the original speaker connections you will have to run wires from the head unit to the JBL amp area. And of course deal with the crossover issue (perhaps by getting new speakers with crossovers).
     
    #5 tmorrowus, May 6, 2006
  6. falcinator

    falcinator New Member

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    Well I hate to say I gave up but I gave up.

    After banging my head into every problem revolving around the HU/JBL nightmare I did finally realize that I had to go after the amp itself. I haphazardly spliced all my aftermarket wires to the harness, plugged the old harness into the empty slot on the Bazooka harness and plugged the Bazooka harness back into the amp and VOILA...! Jackshit happened!

    At the very least a fuse wasn't blown. I decided this simple task of switching power from the HU to an aftermarket was just beyond my grasp. I have zero experience in these matters and I am far short of an EE degree.

    So.....I decided to put my 6gig Zen Micro on the side, shell out mucho dinero for a 4gig Nano and await the ordering of the new DICE unit......or whatever the hell comes first and will work with this monstrous setup that is the 04 JBL/NAV/6CD demon that is my Prius. For as much as I enjoy this car......I now....despise it!

    Oh well, thanks to all for the help that was provided...! :D
     
    #6 falcinator, May 6, 2006
  7. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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    It is tricky to replace the HU, especially with JBL. Consider the JBL system as an HU in 2 pieces: the sound sources and controls in the dash, and the preamp/amp under the passenger seat. What connects the 2 boxes together is FIXED line level R+/- , L+/-, and a digital control signal (TX+/-). The +/- means its a differential floating ground signal. This is true for the analog audio output as well as the digital network communications. If you replace the HU, you'll also have to forgo the JBL amp as well. The amp has 7 speaker outputs: FL tweeter, FL mid/low range, FR tweeter, FR mid/low range, RL, RR, and center. You can skip the center, and possibly rework the tweeter/fullrange connections, possibly with a passive crossover.
    Also the HU terminates the digital communications, so if you remove it, you have to terminate the TX lines with a 160 ohm resistor.

    The intent of the bazooka harness is to add a subwoofer to the existing system. In the case of JBL, it will take its input from the rear speaker outputs.
     
    #7 DanMan32, May 8, 2006
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