Pics of my Drive+Play Install

So, thanks to all the good info prized from the forum here, I managed to get the dash torn down, the thing installed, and everything put back together without problems.

My commentary on the D+P and Harman Kardon is here . . . . http://priuschat.com/Harman-Kardon-DrivePl...led-t24016.html



Here we go . . . .

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The Controller. I had a really hard time deciding where to mount this. I bought the unit before I recieved my Prius and was a bit dismayed by the lack of a spot on the center console to mount this. I'm very happy with this solution, though.

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A closer view of the controller. The wire is run back thru the panel and down under the carpet to the center console where the "brain" lives.

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The Display. Again, there was quite a bit of head scratching before I decided on this location. But, I like it. It's close to line of sight, it's somewhat hidden and/or shaded, and who really looks out that ridiculous little window anyway??!

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Closer view of the Display. The little piece of trim I've mounted to here actually can be popped out without disassembling the dash, though you'd probably want to to run the wires anyway. If you can't tell, the display wire runs thru that tiny defrost vent (what were they thinking?) for the tiny window. Not into the actual duct, of course. It just squeezes past the foam that mates the duct to the opening in the trim.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Sep 1 2006, 12:59 AM) [snapback]312632[/snapback]</div>

I suppose you're right about the defrost, but that still leaves the main question, "Why the tiny little window???"

It just amazes me that you hear about all these little improvements to cars that don't get made because it would increase the price of the car $50 or something, yet here's a meaningless, useless piece of glass (and oh, and let's not forget the defrost vent that has to be run to it) that has to cost more than if they had just left it solid.

Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike the little window. I don't think it looks bad or has any negative effect whatsoever.

I just don't get it, is all.

But I'm open to being turned around if someone has a reasonable argument.

 

I HAVE had issues with noise. A ground loop isolator did work for me . . . mostly.

There's still significant noise, though. However, in experimenting a bit, I found that much of the noise is in the audio system itself.

I found a website with some info and they suggested powering the D+P with a motorcycle battery (or some such) as a completely quiet power source, and see what noise still exists. I did this and there was still quite a bit of hum from the system. Now, some of that may be vehicle induced. To power the car's head unit, I did have to have the car at least in AUX mode. So, while the engine etc. wasn't on, some of the onboard computers etc. may have been, and may produce some noise.

Try this . . . . With the vehicle in AUX mode (i.e. stereo powered, but vehicle off), disconnect anything plugged into the AUX jack and switch the Stereo to AUX (that's a lot of AUXs, ain't it?). Ideally, you'll hear silence. Turn up the volume to max. Whatever noise you hear is inherent to the system. Not much you can do about it. (Unless maybe there's some filter you can install between the head unit and the speakers.)

Also, some of my problem may have to do with how my wiring is routed. When signal wires and power wires run next to each other, you can get currents induced from the power wires into the signal wires. And because of the long lengths of wire provided with the D+P, I have them all coiled up together in the console. Not ideal.

Here's the website I mentioned
http://www.davidnavone.com/

He sells audio related electronics - mostly for high end super-systems - but useful in lesser systems as well. I emailed him for a recommendation and he suggested an Isolated Power Supply. I wasn't willing to spend the $, though. I did buy a big choke type filter (the N-25) from him. Didn't do squat. Nothing against his product, it just wasn't what the problem called for. And because the battery experiment thing didn't solve it, an isolated power supply won't help either.

I may try one of his noise de-couplers (the N-344 or N-555). They may be a higher quality than the ground loop isolator I bought from Crutchfield.

BTW, I have stopped using the audio signal out of the D+P, and am now just plugging into the iPod headphone jack for signal out. It's a stronger signal than the line out signal from the dock connector, so there's less amplification needed from the head unit, so any noise generated there is lessened. Also, it maintains your equalizer settings. The line out from the dock connector bypasses the equalization software and puts out an unmodified signal.

That doesn't solve the ground loop issue, though, so you'll still need that. If your GLI doesn't seem to work, I'd return it as defective. You should hear SOME difference with it.

I'm not sure what taking your head unit out will accomplish. Do you mean to replace it? If so, then yeah, a better unit might help. I'm unwilling to do it. The head unit is too integrated into the dash. Unless you're a real pro, I think an aftermarket install will look rotten.

I'm not an audiophile so I'm willing to live with a little noise over high cost/heavy modification/high frustration fixes.

Good Luck

Later . . . .