[jbuddy]

JVC KW-NT3HDT Install

Just thought I’d post about my install experience with the new JVC HD LifetimeTraffic Nav Head Unit on my wife’s 2006 EX. I also installed the Boyo VTL375 backup camera license plate, and PAC-SWI-JACK Steering Wheel Interface. First off, there were some great threads that helped quite a bit. I also have the Service Manual which also helped but the online service manual at helms would probably have worked also.
Here are a few threads that were really good:

Pioneer AVIC F90BT 08 EXL
Installed JVC KW-AVX810 Headunit
Reverse Camera Installed On 2007 - Diy
Bakup Sensors/Camera no RES
How to tap backup/reverse circuit when in reverse
Installing DRL, Need Wiring Diagram (Wire through firewall)


I’m just going to cover some of the areas which I thought were a little tricky or I had questions about before I started.

Wire backup camera
This was a complete pain in the rear and probably took 75% of the install time on this task. I had trouble with the rear right hand panel next to the third row seats. You have to remove the seat belt bolts and the C-pillarfirst or you’re going nowhere. Here’s what it looked like finally removed.

I routed the backup camera extension wire at the floor line and around the third row hinge and then back up the D-pillar. I also pulled all the panels off the back starting at the top, then the sides, then the bottom panel (pull the handle cover and screws first). I had a little difficulty getting the wire through the grommet between the D-pillar and tailgate but I used a coat hanger and finally got it through. I then had to fish the wire down the inside of the tailgate to the taillight section.

I then pulled the license plate panel off the tailgate but as it worked out I didn’t have to do it(wasted a fair amount of time there). I had lots of conflict trying to come up with the best way to route the wire from the license plate to inside the tailgate but in the end I drilled about a 5/16” hole I think right in the tailgate behind the license plate and installed the wire through it with the supplied grommet from Boyo. Here’s a picture of the hole and then wire mounted and shown from the back side.

I didn’t use the security bolts from Boyo since you can’t remove the threaded insert on the Ody. I just used the original bolts which worked fine. Here it is installed.

The cable from the license plate was just long enough to reach over to the taillight area to connect to the extension cable which is nice because it’s easily accessible.

Reverse Wire
Originally, I thought I’d have to run a wire all the way to the backup lights, but I found a thread (one of those I referenced) that showed, even on an EX, a reverse wire at Connector C504 under the passenger side kick panel. The wire is in Pin 12 (green wire) on the underside of the connector. Careful, there are other green wires on that connector that are not the reverse wire. See pic:

If you take out the panel underneath the dash on the passenger side and pull the lower glove box (at least pull the stops and arm just like when you replace the cabin filter) then you can easily route the backup camera wires and reverse wire to the head unit area.


Steering Wheel Interface
I originally installed the PAC-SWI-JACK steering wheel adapter according to their vehicle specific instructions on their website. The instructions for the Ody have a note about installing a 560 ohm resistor (they do supply resistors with the unit) if the Mode button cannot be programmed. It turned out I did need to add the resistor to get the Mode button to be programmed. Another note, the remote control wire is located on pin 3 (white wire) of the main audio connector (Connector A, which is a 20-pin connector) and the remote ground wire is on pin 11 (brown). The Metra adapter cable that was sent with this unit did not have wires on pins 3 or 11 so I had to tap those wires behind Connector A. Just connect pin 3 to the remote wire on the head unit connector, and pin 11 to the ground (I just tapped the ground wire on the interface cable to provide extra ground connections).

The programming instructions for the PAC are a little tricky but it’s not too bad. The problem I had is I was trying to assume the Ch+ and Ch- to perform a Preset+ and Preset- but the JVC unit wouldn’t recognize the Preset functions. I was also trying to program the Mode button as a Band button function but that wasn’t recognized either. So, I settled for

Vol+ ==> Vol+
Vol- ==> Vol-
Ch+==> Seek+
Ch- ==> Seek-
Mode ==> Source

There’s also a slight delay with the PAC unit but I had one of the newer versions and the delay wasn’t too bad. Since, I wasn’t real happy with the button mappings, I thought I’d also try the Axxess ASWC steering wheel interface as it says it allows button remappings. The wiring and programming of this unit is much easier and it has an auto-detect programming feature that worked the first time. To make a long story short, after trying to remap buttons, I’ve come to the conclusion that the JVC unit does not accept the Preset or Band commands over the steering wheel remote wire. So, I’ve kept the mapping as above which is how the ASWC actually programmed them automatically. The ASWC does not have any noticeable delay either, so I’ve kept it in the car. I mounted it using Velcro on top of the right hand side air duct next to the head unit.


GPS Antenna Location
The GPS antenna was smaller than I anticipated which is a good thing. I mounted it under the dash behind the head unit as close to the windshield as I could reach(next to the light sensor). It comes with double sided sticky tape which seemed to work fine. Here’s a pic of the location. So far, the GPS reception has been fine – no problems at all with it mounted under the dash.

Microphone Location
There were some good threads on microphone location and I was deciding between the headliner and the instrument gauge area. I ended up installing in front of the instrument gauges by lowering the steering wheel and pulling the bottom of the trim out towards the steering wheel slightly which provided enough space to run the microphone wire and it turns out there are a couple grooves in the clear plastic instrument gauge facing so you can slip the wire in one of those without pinching the wire. Here’s a pic of the final location. So far, the sound is good in this location.

Antenna Connection
You need an antenna adapter to connect the Honda OEM antenna connector to the head unit. Only reason I bring it up is that the JVC instructions talk about a wire for a power antenna, so I didn’t hook it up since the Ody antenna is fixed. Result was terrible reception. It turns out the Ody antenna is amplified, so you need to hook the blue wire from the adapter to the power antenna lead on the JVC connector. Reception is great now.

VSS Wire
I had mixed feelings about whether I should even try to hook up the Vehicle Speed Sense (VSS) wire. The JVC unit works without it and I think just gave me one warning the first time we used the Nav function after the install. It is supposedly used to give accurate location and speed info even when the GPS signal is not present (tall buildings, underpass, etc.). I’m not sure if the adaptive sound volume control uses the VSS or GPS speed info. Anyway, all the info I could find on the VSS wire indicates there should be a Blu/wht wire from the PCM available (pin 29, connector A) either by the driver’s side kick panel or at the PCM (in the engine compartment. Unfortunately, the EX model does not have that wire connected since that wire is really for the OEM nav unit. However, after some research, I found that the Output Shaft Speed Sensor on this car is a Hall-effect type which produces square wave pulses between 0 and 5 volts which is what the VSS line is looking for. This output signal is located on PCM Connector B, pin 40 and called NC. So, I tapped this wire using a Posi-tap and tested it on an Analog Multimeter. Just going slow, I could see the voltage vary between 0 and 5 volts. Perfect! I then ran it in a wire loom to the firewall grommet just above the accelerator pedal. I poked a small hole through it and ran the wire and sealed with silicone. Pictures below should help.

Here is the attachment sequence:

Anyway, after connecting to the JVC, there is a status screen that shows the speed pulse count and it was running about 1800 pulses (per min?) @ 40 mph so it’s working.

I’ll post a review of the unit a bit later.

 

[jbuddy]

More VSS routing

More pics of routing of VSS wire in case it might help-

Routing VSS Wire behind fuse box and over to heater cable grommet:

Going through firewall at heater cable grommet:

 

[jbuddy]

Oh yea, I forgot....

LOL, I should probably show how this thing looks installed….

 

[deepdezal]

Very Nice!

how do you like JVC headunit and do you have a factory rear DVD unit or after market.

Deep

 

[jbuddy]

Initial Review

Ok, now time for a review but I must admit since I don’t drive the car on a full-time basis I have somewhat limited experience at this point. Also, just as an aside, I drive a 2010 Ford Fusion with Factory Nav which is quite good so a lot of my comments will be because I’m comparing the two because I have no other basis for comparision.

First off, the JVC NT3 is pretty fast at boot up. I measured 9 seconds to backup camera view and 11 seconds to the menu. Some of the reviews of other aftermarket brands talked about considerably longer boot times.

The Boyo VTL375 camera view is pretty good but a little more wide angle than on my Fusion, but it does the job and you can see items right next to both corner bumpers. The nice thing is the license plate frame makes the camera almost unnoticeable from the rear unless you really look closely.

The HD radio works well (at least in the LA area with lots of stations) although there is a 2-3 second delay when tuning in digital stations similar to what you experience with satellite TV. I’ve had no trouble tuning in stations. I sure wish the unit would accept Band and Preset Up/Dn commands from the steering wheel control. The 7-band equalizer is nice and comes with a bunch of presets you can try if you’re not a perfectionist. You can search for HD only stations or both analog and HD. There is no RDS on analog FM stations but song/station information is obviously available on HD stations.

I haven’t tested the Ipod interface yet through USB, but I have tried a USB stick with mp3s pasted into various folders. The unit plays by folder pretty much exclusively (rather than search by Artist or Album, etc.) and doesn’t allow for playlists the best I can tell, so it might pay to think about how you name folders and setup the songs on the USB stick. The USB port is on the front of the unit only and there is no provision on the rear for a USB cable in the glove box, for example. The unit also takes SD cards and I think they work basically the same way. I do not have the Satellite Radio interface so no comments on that.

Supposedly, this thing will also play video in from multiple sources including DVD’s and has a video out. I don’t have an external display in the rear and wasn’t really planning one so video wasn’t high on my list when I bought the unit but it’s nice to have the option. It does play video right on the head unit itself. It would be interesting to see if there are limitations on watching video at speed since there are real safety concerns with that I’d think. Speaking of that, the unit includes the typical park brake input line so it’s up to each user how they want to hook that up.

It has adaptive volume control to increase the volume as the speed increases which is probably very necessary on the Ody! It also has a function to provide a loudness offset for each source relative to FM so you can get a relatively consistent volume.

As I mentioned previously, the Axxess (Metra) ASWC steering wheel interface control set up easily and works with no noticeable delay.

We’ve only tested the Bluetooth phone interface with my wife’s very old LG basic phone. Her phone does not allow phonebook download for example. May be time for a new phone. But, in any case phone calls so far have been good but need to do more testing at freeway speed to see how the microphone performs. It takes up to 5 bluetooth devices and will auto connect to the last device used if desired. The auto connect process is very fast and has connected to the phone inside the house from the garage. Haven’t found a way to do voice dialing as the unit does not include voice commands in general.

The more I play with it, the more I like the Nav features. It routes very fast. It has the usual text-to-speech for street names, etc. The standard female voice is fine by my ear, but my wife thinks it sounds a little bossy. You can change the volume of the voice command from the main Nav menu without having to dive through too many submenus. It has options on whether to mute, reduce or maintain AV sound during voice guidance. A voice command setting of 0 mutes the guidance voice and maintains AV volume which is what I usually use unless I’m in an unfamiliar area. I have it set to only issue voice commands out the left front speaker but that can be changed. You can control the radio from the Nav screen with an overlay so you don’t have to switch to the AV mode. I like the lane guidance and the identification of the direction of your secondary turn (the one after your upcoming turn). It includes speed limit info and will notify you if you go over the speed limit by a user defined amount. Clock is always visible on Nav screen, and you can switch between time of arrival and estimated duration of trip remaining with a button push. I’m not yet sure if the traffic flow is taken into account for the time of arrival (it does on my Fusion which is great for alternate route planning) but it does allow you to change routes if there are any traffic incidents on your route. You can get a listing of traffic incidents and it also shows them on the map if your scale is at 1.5miles per unit or less. The traffic incidents include not only accidents but also slow traffic although I have yet to figure out what values are used to set a notification. There seems to be a difference between “slow traffic” and “stop and go traffic” as well so we’ll see. You can set up to 99 user-defined POI’s on an SD card using their POI software which uses Google maps as a basis. The face is removable and you have to remove it to get the SD card in and out. Easy to do. The Travel Info function can display weather for the current day or next 3 days and includes a surprising amount of news and sports.

Lastly, the screen is fairly easy to see in all light conditions (it does have an illumination function to dim when headlights are on or by some time setting). Funny thing we found is that if you wear polarized sunglasses the display is difficult to see well. Unpolarized sunglasses do not have the problem. You can set the button illumination color to almost any color desired to match your mood or whatever.

Not sure what else to cover at this point, so hopefully people find this somewhat helpful. This is a fairly new unit on the market, so I’ll try to answer questions if there are any.

 

[jbuddy]

VSS Issue....

Ok, after initially thinking I had this solved I thought I would share a bit more on the VSS hookup. It turns out that the wire I used does indeed have the correct square wave pulse between 0 and 5 volts and is proportional to vehicle speed. The only problem is the frequency of the pulses is probably 50x what would be expected from a 4 pulse per wheel revolution signal. At about 65 mph, the pulse frequency from this wire is about 3000Hz. I think it has to do with the gear ratio at the output shaft sensor and the final drive gearing. In any case, the JVC calibrated ok at low speeds, but once I got on the freeway the frequency evidently gets too high and the unit can't correctly read the signal when the van is going over about 60 mph. I've monitored the signal with a data logger and the signal is fine - just way too fast probably for the unit. I've talked to JVC (who was actually fairly responsive) and even tried a second unit from Crutchfield (great customer service), but same thing happened.

Long story short - it's probably not worth your time to try and hook up to this wire unless you know for sure your head unit can handle it. No big deal on most of the new in-dash Nav units, as the VSS is just optional and doesn't really add that much functionality.

 

[sgoyal]

Jbuddy, looks like a very nice install. A question: How do you (or your wife) find the reach of your new unit?

I've always thought the mounting position of the aftermarket double-din units is too far back.. I don't know why someone doesn't make a kit that puts the front face about where the factory radio controls are. Why is it set back?

Just curious how you like the ergonomics?

thanks,
Serv

 

[jbuddy]

Serv,

I don't find the reach distance to be noticeable. My wife hasn't complained either. Also, keep in mind, this unit has a removable face and sticks out from the adapter plate so it's pretty close to the same distance as the OEM radio.

Only thing I notice is with all the features, you have to make sure you don't stop paying attention to the road!

 

[sgoyal]

Thanks. Looking at your completed picture, it seems the bottom of the unit is set in atleast an inch or so. Is that not the case?

 

[jbuddy]

That's probably about right. Hasn't been a big issue for us and my wife is 5'4" and I'm 6'3" but I suppose it could be for others. I will say it was something I was initially concerned about but it was more of a different look than actual functionality once we had it in.

I'm guessing the reason the aftermarket adapters are like this is that if you want to keep the HU basically perpendicular and not slanted, you have little other choice unless you have it sticking out forward quite a bit at the top which doesn't seem like it would look good. And a slanted face wouldn't be good for glare I'd imagine either. Compromises all around I guess.....