1999 Legacy B4 stereo/sat nav removal

[Kol12]

Hi, I want to install an aftermarket headunit. I have the double din factory stereo and sat nav configuration. I've been told that the sat nav screen won't display if the stereo is removed and that it requires some sort of wiring mod to keep the sat nav operational. I'm on a real budget and want to install myself. Just wondering if anyone is familiar with doing a headunit install in the stereo/sat nav version and if/what the wiring mod entails.

Thanks.

[Marky]

I've never seen factory sat nav in a B4

Does it actually work properly?

[sobanoodle]

I've seen one in a B4 I took for a test drive, had a useless JDM navi and everything else was in Japanese, including AC controls. If your's the same you'll need a different stereo surround panel, brackets, AC control unit in order to get rid of it completely, probably some wiring to do too. I'm pretty sure there was a write-up on here somewhere.

[sobanoodle]

Bottom left corner:

[thewabbit1]

Hey dude, I had the same issue!

It was a ***** of a job, but what me and a mate managed to do was find two pins connecting the sat nav to the head-unit which we could short to turn the sat nav on. However, these kept the sat nav on constantly (even when the car was off). To solve this we wired them into a relay which would activate when the car was turned onto accessory!

The sat nav now only works to show the aircon settings.

 sobanoodle said:

I've seen one in a B4 I took for a test drive, had a useless JDM navi and everything else was in Japanese, including AC controls. If your's the same you'll need a different stereo surround panel, brackets, AC control unit in order to get rid of it completely, probably some wiring to do too. I'm pretty sure there was a write-up on here somewhere.

I looked at doing that but it requires stripping the loom and rewiring the whole thing right back from one of the pillars. cbf doing that. Too easy to screw something up

[Kol12]

Hey guys, Yeah it's turning out to be a real pain in the ***. One car audio shop won't tell me how to do it but I'm hoping another is going to help. Wabbit are you saying what you've done doesn't have the sat nav working exactly like it used to?

Not sure what two pin your talking about, I found it was a 13 pin cable connecting the sat nav and factory stereo. One guy told me today they have to mount that bit of factory stereo somewhere else in the car then run a longer cable from the sat nav to it or something. Such a pain, can't afford lot's of shop labour. A guy at MadSoundz sounds helpful so I'm waiting to hear back from him.

[Kol12]

The other annoying thing that is happening is that every time I muck around in behind stereo the battery keeps going flat. The first time I realised I had accidently hit the fog light switch and left it on, then the next day it happened again. I may have accidently switched the headlights on this time but is there any reason for it to go flat otherwise? No trouble jump starting it when this happens. Is it better to just disconnect the battery while working?

[Kol12]

Apparently there are some Legacy B4 models that come with the mcintosh stereos that are amplified as well. Does any one know what versions they are and what the stereo/amp specs are?

[thewabbit1]

 Kol12'] Wabbit are you saying what you've done doesn't have the sat nav working exactly like it used to?

Pretty much, when it turns on it shows something in Japanese, and doesn't show any of the satnav stuff (not that it was useful anyway). It will still show the aircon settings however.

Is it better to just disconnect the battery while working?

Yea, probs is. I didn't previous to this install, but my mate helping me said he wouldn't do it if I didn't disconnect it. And it make sense. You're working with 12v that could give you a nasty jolt or worse, fry something else in your car if you short it. In saying that I still blew 5 fuses (the same one) doing the install

[quote name='Kol12 said:

Apparently there are some Legacy B4 models that come with the mcintosh stereos that are amplified as well. Does any one know what versions they are and what the stereo/amp specs are?

I'd say yes. Have a look under the drivers seat. If there's an amp there, then yes it is. You can use that amp, but it requires line outs from your headunit (RCAs). In my install we removed the factory amp, ran the speaker wires from behind the dash to under the drivers seat then connect with the factory speaker loom that ran to the doors.

Where are you located?

[Kol12]

 thewabbit1 said:

The sat nav now only works to show the aircon settings.

What else did it show before?

If you have the sat nav displaying the air con settings, outside temps etc then that's all my done in the first place. It displayed air circulation settings as well.

I installed the antenna adapter today and had another good look behind the sat nav. Disconnected the battery also this time and all was good! It turns out the sat nav requires the power (connector with all the wires) plugged into the factory stereo and the 13 pin cable connected to function. I can't think of any way to make this work, the power connector is now plugged into my aftermarket headunit and there's nothing to plug the 13 pin cable from the sat nav into.

I'm in Putararu..

Edited November 7, 2015 by Kol12

[thewabbit1]

If you were in chch i'd have come help!

so out the back of the sat nav is a cable with that square connector, by trial and error i managed to short two of the pins together that would then cause the sat nav to turn on (can't remember which tho =/ ). However it would not turn off. That is why I put in the relay. I cut the connector off the cable, and then attached the mentioned wires to the switch side of the relay. The other two pins on the relay were then connected to the switched 12v source (the wire that turns on/off the stereo). Therefore, when you turn your car onto accessory, the sat nav display will turn on allowing you to see what settings the aircons on

[Kol12]

Is the square connector your talking about the 13 pin cable? Like this: http://geb.ebay.in/g/ImportHubViewItem?itemid=281347933523&us-seller-13-PIN-SQUARE-Ce-NET-DIN-CABLE-CORD-CLARION-PANASONIC-SUZUKI-SUBARU

How do you short the two pins? What is the relay?

"The other two pins on the relay were then connected to the switched 12v source (the wire that turns on/off the stereo)."

Do you mean the wire from the stereo harness? Like this bit?

[Kol12]

I can't work out what the purpose of the 13 pin cable from the sat nav connected to factory stereo was. At this stage I think it is just so it receives power from the wiring harness plugged into the factory stereo which is stupid I reckon. I can't think of any actual data or information that the sat nav requires from the factory stereo except just a power source..

So maybe what we're saying is that the 13 pin cable from the sat nav just requires a power source to function and not any data by being plugged into the factory stereo.

Hope that's not too confusing.

[Kol12]

Turns out that 13 pin cable is a data cable. I'm guessing it probably transfers audio data from the sat nav to the stereo when it does actually work as a sat nav.

[Marky]

Silly question but does your sat nav actually function in NZ? 90% of the ones I have seen in jap imports are japan-only (I mean there's exceptions to the rule but still)

[thewabbit1]

 Kol12']Is the square connector your talking about the 13 pin cable? Like this: http://geb.ebay.in/g/ImportHubViewItem?itemid=281347933523&us-seller-13-PIN-SQUARE-Ce-NET-DIN-CABLE-CORD-CLARION-PANASONIC-SUZUKI-SUBARU

Yes, that one

How do you short the two pins?

I just did it trial and error (with a paper clip - don't judge) till it turned on. Then I cut the cable and found the correct wires

What is the relay?

A relay is basically a switch. When current is detect through pins 30 and 87 (ground and 12v switched), it opens the circuit through pins 86 and 85 (the two 'shorted' wires)

[quote name='Kol12 said:

"COLOR=#333333]The other two pins on the relay were then connected to the switched 12v source (the wire that turns on/off the stereo)."

Do you mean the wire from the stereo harness? Like this bit?

[/color]

Yea, so the wiring harness has a number of wires all serving different purposes (google your headunit to find the correct pinout). There will be a ground wire, 12v constant and 12v switched. These are the important ones. You need to make sure you differentiate between the 12v constant/switched. If you don't already have one, get a multimeter. Cheap one from Jaycar for $20 will do the job fine. Makes it so much easier trying to find what each wire does

[Kol12]

Ok, I'll have a think about whether I can handle it otherwise I might take it to auto electrician and see if they can. I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the info.

[Kol12]

Hi Marky, No the GPS did not function, only displayed aircon/circulation and outside temp.

Wabbit, what was the relay you hooked it up to and where is it? Is it somewhere behind where the stereo goes?

[Kol12]

Calling out to @thewabbit1 I know this thread is about a year old now but I never got around to fixing the satnav unit to the show the air con settings etc like you have and I am keen to have another crack at it! 

 

I'm not hugely electrically skilled so was wondering if you would mind drawing up basic diagram in how to wire that relay up to the satnav? Is it a relay like this one from jaycar that I'll need or perhaps a lower current one? https://www.jaycar.co.nz/automotive-relay-150a-spdt/p/SY4073

 

Is the relay supposed to have a plug with it to join your wires to or do you put the wires on spade terminals and connect them that way? And how exactly do you tee the wire in the switched 12v wire in the stereo wiring harness? Cheers mate!

[thewabbit1]

2 hours ago, Kol12 said:

Calling out to @thewabbit1 I know this thread is about a year old now but I never got around to fixing the satnav unit to the show the air con settings etc like you have and I am keen to have another crack at it! 

 

I'm not hugely electrically skilled so was wondering if you would mind drawing up basic diagram in how to wire that relay up to the satnav? Is it a relay like this one from jaycar that I'll need or perhaps a lower current one? https://www.jaycar.co.nz/automotive-relay-150a-spdt/p/SY4073

 

Is the relay supposed to have a plug with it to join your wires to or do you put the wires on spade terminals and connect them that way? And how exactly do you tee the wire in the switched 12v wire in the stereo wiring harness? Cheers mate!

 

Will reply more in depth tonight

[Kol12]

Cool man, can't wait! 

[thewabbit1]

soooo..... (this is thinking back a while.....)

 

On the (square? or maybe round) plug that joined the satnav to the stereo I poked around and tested all combination of the plugs (used a paper clip). I found two, that when join, would power the unit on. Stripped back those wires and connected them to a relay base like this (https://www.jaycar.co.nz/horn-relay-base/p/SY4069) with this relay (https://www.jaycar.co.nz/spdt-30a-horn-relay-12v/p/SY4046). In my earlier post i think i got the pins on the relay around the wrong way... Have a read up on how a relay works - it will help.

 

So, in terms of wiring the unit I made use of vampire clips and chocolate blocks soldering would be best, but this has survived nearly 3 years with no issues

 

85 goes to ground, typically black wire in your radio harness, use a multi-meter to check and tap it in with a vampire clip

86 goes to the switched 12v source (the one that turns your radio on) usually red or yellow/red, again a vampire clip

 

Its always good to test thing as you go, so in this case turn the car on (so the radio turns on) and using the continuity function on your multi-meter check that pins 30/87 are connected.

 

Then, using the chocolate blocks, connect the stripped wires to 30 and 87. Some relays may have 5 pins, thats fine, you don't need the last one.

 

It may sound hard, but really its not. I'm no electrician, i've played around, blew a few fuses, wrecked a few bulbs/voltage regs ect, if in doubt, use your multi meter. If you get nothing, its likely you blew a fuse - nothing major, that's why you have fuses (also grab a few spares - i think the radio circuit is a 10a... may be wrong on that....)

 

If that all works, you will now have a working after market stereo and a/c controls!

 

[Kol12]

Excellent! The relay base that's what was missing. I reckon I can give this a go. The vampire clip, I'm not familiar with it but... googling it is commonly called a T splice or wire tap connector, I'm no electrician either... What's the reason for the chocolate block connectors? Couldn't plain wire connectors be used? 

 

The tricky part I remember is that there is not a lot of room to work behind the satnav and stereo as some the cables are short and it only comes out so far...

 

 

Edited November 27, 2017 by Kol12

[thewabbit1]

Vampire connectors make it real easy to splice into an existing wire without cutting, I've just always used chocolate blocks, any other connector is fine. And yes, prepare to graze your knuckles a bit, its pretty tight

[Kol12]

Cheers man. I'll let you know how it goes!