Hey! I installed an Alpine aftermarket unit in my 2009 Prius. I had some difficulty with wires and where to connect, especially when trying to locate the brake wire to connect to. I also noticed while searching that a lot of other people had issues with this and I never found any direct answers on this forum. So, if anybody is looking to do an install and wondering where certain wires are and how to keep all steering controls, send me a DM and I would be happy to help. Pic of the finished product below!
Great idea, I wish I had taken pictures throughout the install, but here were the main takeaways: Pre-Install: 1) I went through Crutchfield.com and ordered the Alpine iLX-W650; mostly due to its responsiveness in the videos and it's large 7" screen. It seemed more quick to respond when touching the screen, and let's be honest, no one likes a lagging touch interface, lol. And after install, I can confirm that it is highly responsive to touch and very large as you can see in my first post photo. 2) Crutchfield will match all wiring you need to your car model (I have the touring package with JBL, so there is a different wiring setup if you do not have JBL. Crutchfield will know what wiring you need). I also bought the $24 dollar prewiring service where they connect ground wires, all speaker wires, and power wires to the adapter plug, so that part of the install was plug and play which was very nice. 3) The wires that do not come connected are the brake wire connection and the steering wheel controls; those two items gave me somewhat of a headache and that's why I wanted to post since my research on this forum didn't really have a solid answer as to how to connect those and their locations. Installation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a62BIe--kXQ&t=540s&pp=qAMBugMGCgJhchAB 1) The link above leads to a video that really helped me with some aspects of the install, but it was lacking on steering wheel control connection and brake wire connection, which I stated above gave me the most trouble. It helps with the dash removal, which is what I mostly used it for, and direction on how to tap into the stock microphone which I will go over later. 2) I removed the entire dash and took out the factory stereo. I then plugged in the Alpine Unit and made sure it turned on, which it did. I utilized the plastic mounts sent by Crutchfield and bolted it in to see how I wanted it positioned. Once I did that, I unbolted it to start with the steering controls. 3) In terms of steering connections, I didn't want to splice wires since I may sell the car in the future and reinstall the factory radio, so after some research, I found the adapter on amazon linked above that will plug into the steering control. It also has a resister already installed that will let you keep your climate controls, which you have to install yourself if you do not buy the adapter above. After I plugged it in, I had to call Crutchfield customer support so they could let me know which wires from the adapter connect to the PAC SWI-CP2 steering control adapter (this will come with the Crutchfield wiring package). You will utilize the three wires extending from the Scosche module and disregard the red and white AV plugs. After Crutchfield gave me direction, I used crimpers to connect the three wires extending from the Scosche adapter to the PAC SWI-CP2 adapter, turned the stereo on, and everything worked flawlessly without having to be programmed. If it does not for you, you can program it post connection with the directions received from the PAC SWI-CP2 adapter. 4) After that, everything was complete except for the brake wire tap which was the most difficult part and it must be connected to connect a Bluetooth device. Some models will let you ground the wire to fake it out, but mine required a press in, press out, and another press in of the parking brake to get it to work. Some have installed a fake switch to go around this, but I did not as I don't plan to watch DVDs or anything while driving for safety reasons. Also, my unit does not play DVDs. The wire you need to connect to the factory brake wire will come from Crutchfield with a label on the end that says "Brake Wire." There will also be a reverse wire for the camera, but I already had a backup camera in the top unit so I just wrapped that end in electrical tape. This is where I wish I had taken pictures, but I finally located the red brake wire at the top of the parking brake metal attachment in the driver floor area. You will need to remove the connections from the panel below the steering wheel/column to access the brake wire and shine a light above the parking brake. You will see a tiny white snap in piece with a red wire extending. I have big hands, but they were just small enough to get my hand up to the top of the parking brake metal piece and wiggle the white snap out. I thin peeled the red protective coating away from a section of the red brake wire and wrapped the brake wire labeled from Crutchfield around it and covered it with black electrical tape. I then turned the unit on and engaged the brake, then disengaged it, and then engaged it again and the Bluetooth button lit up and my phone paired quickly. Once you are paired, it will pair everytime you get in the car without having to engage - disengage- and engage the brake. Note: the wire can be fed from the radio and panel below the steering wheel to the brake wire to hide it. 5) This step involved tapping into the stock microphone instead of having an aftermarket microphone hanging from the car somewhere. This step was completely covered in the video I linked above, so follow that guy's steps and it will work well. It did for me anyway. I fed the wire through the ceiling lip, and then through the trim on the driver side door and behind the dash. This is all covered in the video. 6) I then mounted the radio, put on the plastic piece Crutchfield sent (it looks almost stock but in the right lighting you can see a slight difference in texture and color), and re-installed all dash and vent panels. 7) I fed the USB wire for Carplay below that middle panel below the stereo, so it is just a USB female end extending from the floor below the center plastic cover. I just purchased a USB extender that will look almost stock, linked below. I'll follow up after I put it in but I plan to run the USB wire below the floor carpet and into the center console for Carplay plug in. BATIGE Square Single Port USB 3.0 Panel Flush Mount Extension Cable with Buckle | eBay 8) Enjoyed the new radio setup and hands free everything. It's been really nice not having cables running across the dash from my phone mount, and it's been much safer being able to reply to texts via the microphone. The price was $460 total including the unit, all wires, wiring package, adapters, and tax and shipping. Let me know if anyone has questions about certain steps and I'll do my best to help!
Thanks for the writeup! I'm also thinking of getting this exact Alpine unit for Carplay support. Does the brake wire stuff only apply to cars that have Bluetooth built-in? My 2008 Prius doesn't, and I use an external Bluetooth adapter plugged into the AUX jack in the center console to play stuff from my phone. Also, the Alpine unit itself has Bluetooth, so I won't even need the adapter any more. Do I need to worry about the brake wire part? My main goal is to preserve steering wheel controls for temperature; not even necessary for the volume controls - I don't mind using the controls on the Alpine. Best Buy has also offered to install it if I buy it from there - do I need any extra parts if I don't care about steering wheel volume controls and my car doesn't have built-in Bluetooth?
Hey thanks! The brake wire will apply regardless of Bluetooth. Also, if you buy the Scosche adapter above, you will keep climate controls on the steering wheel and whatever controls you have for audio. I have a 2009 touring so it has it all. The Only issues you may have doing a self-install are the three wire connections from the Scosche adapter and tapping into the brake wire. It was easy enough for me to not want to spend the extra money for a professional install. Also, the Scosche adapter has a resistor installed that will allow the stock screen to access climate controls, so I highly recommend purchasing that or you won’t have climate access anywhere. Go with Crutchfield, they’re great. Hope that helps!
I'm not so confident I can do this myself, which is why I was hoping Best Buy's free installation would suffice. If I need extra parts apart from what comes with the Alpine, I might have to do it myself (not sure if Best Buy will install the extras too)...
Oh they have free install, well then I’m sure they know what they’re doing. I am not mechanically or electronically inclined and had never done an install prior, and I did it in four hours with a socket set and butter knife to remove the dash. So, it is doable for a novice, but I understand not wanting to undertake it. Direct message me if you decide to do it and I can lend a hand.
The only extra parts that are needed are that Scosche adapter, a socket set, and panel removing tools (butter knife for me) which I highly recommend all. The reason I went with Crutchfield is because they pre-wire everything for you excluding the controls (Scosche adapter) and brake wire. Everything else was plug and play.
Hey! No, that became obsolete with the new unit installed, that hookup no longer runs to the new unit. But it’s not needed since it has Bluetooth and the new USB input. I ran the USB input under the carpet and cut a hole for input in the middle glove.
