Avic F90BT Upgrade - Need The Laundry List

Opies_LS

Opies_LS

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Okay, I have just about decided to pull the trigger on this. I would like to know what others have done for the following. I have a 2006 LS presently with the Audiophile system.

Here are the questions...

1. What dash kit should I get for the silver in the GenII cars?
2. Do I need to buy a specific harness separately?
3. I want to be able to use the steering wheel controls, so is what I need for that the PAC control?
4. Will this work by default with factory speakers?
5. Is the VSS wire necessary and / or easily attached on a Gen II 06 model?

Any other suggestions, links, or considerations would be greatly appreciated.

I am comfortable with installing electronics as I work in IT for a living, but if there are detailed diagrams or installation instructions, those would be great too.

Thanks in advance,

OP
 
Man, Opie this is crazy. I am in the EXACT situation as you and have the EXACT same conditions. I will reply to this thread with what I've found so far.

TRU
 
OP, here's what I've found for us so far:

1. Silver Dash Kit - looks like a Metra 95-5000S. Sonicelectronix has this for $14.95, but be aware that it just comes with mounting brackets for the sides. There's nothing to support the bottom of the radio, and I'm not sure if that's needed or not. I may try to call sonic or somebody else regarding this.

2. Steering Wheel Control - I'm pretty sure we need the PAC SW1-PS. The only thing I don't know if our car (2006) uses the CAN bus or not. If it does, then we may need a different adapter. May have to call on this as well.

3. Wiring Harness - I think Crutchfield will sell this for $20 if you don't buy the stereo from them. I can't find any other place that carries it - yet. Sonic may have this as well, but I can't track it down on their site.

4. The actual stereo - I've been checking for prices on these, and it may be tough to get a new one for under 600. You can get reconditioned off of Ebay for less than that, but you lose most of your warranty right off the bat.

The iPod control cable will come with the stereo, so I think we're ok there. I want to double-check to make sure as well.

That's all I know for now. I'll update again when I know more.

TRU
 
2. Your LS is gen II, and gen II are all CAN bus. However, this does not affect which PAC adapter you need, because the steering wheel controls are just an analog signal and are not a part of the CAN network. SW1-PS is the correct adapter.

4. I wouldn't do reconditioned on an AVIC. Lots of AVICs have had weird crash/rebooting problems that take a little while to show up. People return them because of this, but when they are "reconditioned" the brief testing does not show the problem. Defective units are then resold. The odds that you would be getting one like this are pretty high in my opinion. Read some of the problem threads on AVIC411 to see what I mean.

Opie,
The VSS connection is a good idea to do, and it is easy to get to in a gen II LS. You can find it at one of the connectors on the right side at the rear package tray or at the driver's side kick panel. I'll have to look up the wire color for you.
Yes, it works with the factory speakers.
 
I forget but cant you use a Hard Drive with them? If so I recommend one rather than using a device like a iPod. This way you can hide the HDD in he dash and not worry about wires poking out of it.
 
JWerner2 said:
I forget but cant you use a Hard Drive with them? If so I recommend one rather than using a device like a iPod. This way you can hide the HDD in he dash and not worry about wires poking out of it.
Click to expand...

You can also hide the iPOD in the glove box or the center storage area. There is no need for exposed wiring. The connection to the iPOD comes from the rear of the AVIC, not the front. The AVIC will work with USB FLASH drives. I think it will also work with some USB hard drives, but not all.
 
I just personally wouldn't want the wiring coming from around the back to the front. Even while hidden if you are a person that does not create play lists and switches tracks its more convenient to just store a HDD in the dash than pull it out of the glove box and all,... just my opinion.

Drop in a HDD and its said and done right?
 
JWerner2 said:
...

Drop in a HDD and its said and done right?
Click to expand...

Not on the AVIC. Those who have gotten the USB hard drives to work, have to unplug and reconnect them every so often to keep them working. (Sometimes the AVIC won't see the drive, so it has to be disconnected and reconnected to get it to recognize it again.) Also, the connection to the hard drive comes from the same rear connection on the AVIC as the iPOD would.

If you have DRM'd music on your iPOD, then there is no way to play it from a hard drive, it has to be played from the iPOD.

So, in my opinion, it is not so cut and dry.

BTW, the iPOD is completely controlled from the AVIC (including playlist selection), so there is no more reason to get to it than there would be to get to the HDD.
 
I see. I honestly hate iPods tho:shifty: If it wouldnt be for the hardware detection problems I would stand my my words,... but now I must take them back:(


I do like my Samsung Behold and store lots of music and movies on it:D
 
If you permanently store a HD in the dash... how would you suppose one loads new music onto it? There would be a point in time where you would have to remove it to connect it to your PC.

For now I have the usb and ipod cables routed to my glove box. I just connect my flash drive in there or iphone and shut it. I receive all my calls via bluetooth anyway so there is no need for me to even touch my phone when I'm in my car. Plus the head unit charges the iphone too. :)
 
Like I said I wasnt positive about the Avic but I thought some had a Rip CD feature?
 
JWerner2 said:
Like I said I wasnt positive about the Avic but I thought some had a Rip CD feature?
Click to expand...

That would be the Z series. The f90 doesn't have any built in storage like the Z does. But that would be a nice feature to add if you could rip CD's to external storage device. Then installing a perma-HD into the dash would be ideal. Especially if you could put in a RW MP3 CD/DVD and copy.
 
JWerner2 said:
I see. I honestly hate iPods tho:shifty: If it wouldnt be for the hardware detection problems I would stand my my words,... but now I must take them back:(


I do like my Samsung Behold and store lots of music and movies on it:D
Click to expand...

I didn't really understand the dislike of iPODs until I got one myself. They are proof that Apple is no less evil than Microsoft.
 
Dacket said:
That would be the Z series. The f90 doesn't have any built in storage like the Z does. But that would be a nice feature to add if you could rip CD's to external storage device. Then installing a perma-HD into the dash would be ideal. Especially if you could put in a RW MP3 CD/DVD and copy.
Click to expand...

Yes, and they didn't carry the feature over to the new "Z" that is the replacement for the the Z1 to Z3.
 
hey jwerner,
the ipod interface is incredible, with a hard drive you would have to have a pretty good folder structure for it to work properly and to be able to find any music, and maintaining the folder structure is a PITA, the ipod uses all the MP3's tag info to orginize everything, so you can look up songs by many ways, (by artist, song, album) and the best part is you NEVER need to touch the ipod, mine stays locked in my glove box 24/7, and only comes out to have more media added, (which you wouldn't be able to do if it was a hard drive burried inside the dash) and every thing is controlled be the touch screen, even all the movies and videos are just a couple of touches away. i underestand people hating everything apple makes, but the Ipod is by far one of the best designed MP3 players ever built, expecially when you factor in all of the aftermarket support for it, everything now days is Ipod compatible which cant be said for 99% of all the other players out there, even though there are a bunch that are cheaper, have slightly better sound quality, or more universal (plays more media types)
 
Tru-Blu said:
OP, here's what I've found for us so far:

1. Silver Dash Kit - looks like a Metra 95-5000S. Sonicelectronix has this for $14.95, but be aware that it just comes with mounting brackets for the sides. There's nothing to support the bottom of the radio, and I'm not sure if that's needed or not. I may try to call sonic or somebody else regarding this.

2. Steering Wheel Control - I'm pretty sure we need the PAC SW1-PS. The only thing I don't know if our car (2006) uses the CAN bus or not. If it does, then we may need a different adapter. May have to call on this as well.

3. Wiring Harness - I think Crutchfield will sell this for $20 if you don't buy the stereo from them. I can't find any other place that carries it - yet. Sonic may have this as well, but I can't track it down on their site.

4. The actual stereo - I've been checking for prices on these, and it may be tough to get a new one for under 600. You can get reconditioned off of Ebay for less than that, but you lose most of your warranty right off the bat.

The iPod control cable will come with the stereo, so I think we're ok there. I want to double-check to make sure as well.

That's all I know for now. I'll update again when I know more.

TRU
Click to expand...

If you are getting the F90, the ipod cable comes with it for sure. Also sonic carries harnesses too. They supplied mine for free when I bought the unit just like Crutchfield does.
 
1LoudLS said:
... expecially when you factor in all of the aftermarket support for it, everything now days is Ipod compatible which cant be said for 99% of all the other players out there, even though there are a bunch that are cheaper, have slightly better sound quality, or more universal (plays more media types)
Click to expand...

That is the reason I have an iPOD, all the other things that work with it.
 
Thanks everybody for the input. I have been reading some of the comments on the F90BT here and at avic411.com. Appears they may be buggy. My budget is in the $750 range so going with a Z series or a Kenwood higher end unit isn't really an option.

Would love to hear responses from owners here. Does the newer firmware help?

Also, I have heard the NAV isn't that great which is a primary reason for buying it. I would much rather have in dash.

I am planning on buying new to get the 2 year warranty if I do.
 
joegr said:
2. Your LS is gen II, and gen II are all CAN bus. However, this does not affect which PAC adapter you need, because the steering wheel controls are just an analog signal and are not a part of the CAN network. SW1-PS is the correct adapter.

4. I wouldn't do reconditioned on an AVIC. Lots of AVICs have had weird crash/rebooting problems that take a little while to show up. People return them because of this, but when they are "reconditioned" the brief testing does not show the problem. Defective units are then resold. The odds that you would be getting one like this are pretty high in my opinion. Read some of the problem threads on AVIC411 to see what I mean.

Opie,
The VSS connection is a good idea to do, and it is easy to get to in a gen II LS. You can find it at one of the connectors on the right side at the rear package tray or at the driver's side kick panel. I'll have to look up the wire color for you.
Yes, it works with the factory speakers.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Let me know what you find. Appreciate it.
 
I don't know how close the color of the double din silver face is to the nickel silver console.
They just came out with it.
The black one used to be 9.99.
I cut down a factory nav plate and used the side pieces from the kit.
The side pieces are all you need and hold the unit firmly in the factory cradle.
I went a bit nuts with my setup and added new wires, subs, 4 amps (1700 rms watts of Rockford Fosgate) and a din of equalizer and crossover
controls where the ashtray used to be.
This nesessitated making some new pieces to finish it off.
I used Duplicolor Seattle Silver E8800957 from Autozone and it is very close to the factory color.
The 2 red switches are on/off to reboot and a switch on the illumination wire that is hooked to the ashtray light wire.
The screen brightness goes to half when you turn on the lights and I don't want it to dim if it's just getting dark or if it's raining.
My 3.0 update just shipped from Pioneer so I'll have it next week.
The touch screen buttons can lag or freeze up.
The unit also reboots on it's own sometimes.
I'll see how well the new update fixes it up.
If you buy one you should get it with the 3.0 update.
Otherwise it's 70.00 unless you're comfortable hacking the unit.
Though I usually don't buy an extended warranty I paid an extra 100.00 for 3 year replacement in this case.

100_1765.JPG


100_1764.JPG


100_1766.JPG


DSC_0049.JPG
 
04SCTLS said:
I don't know how close the color of the double din silver face is to the nickel silver console.
They just came out with it.
The black one used to be 9.99.
I cut down a factory nav plate and used the side pieces from the kit.
The side pieces are all you need and hold the unit firmly in the factory cradle.
I went a bit nuts with my setup and added new wires, subs, 4 amps (1700 rms watts of Rockford Fosgate) and a din of equalizer and crossover
controls where the ashtray used to be.
This nesessitated making some new pieces to finish it off.
I used Duplicolor Seattle Silver E8800957 from Autozone and it is very close to the factory color.
The 2 red switches are on/off to reboot and a switch on the illumination wire that is hooked to the ashtray light wire.
The screen brightness goes to half when you turn on the lights and I don't want it to dim if it's just getting dark or if it's raining.
My 3.0 update just shipped from Pioneer so I'll have it next week.
The touch screen buttons can lag or freeze up.
The unit also reboots on it's own sometimes.
I'll see how well the new update fixes it up.
If you buy one you should get it with the 3.0 update.
Otherwise it's 70.00 unless you're comfortable hacking the unit.
Though I usually don't buy an extended warranty I paid an extra 100.00 for 3 year replacement in this case.
Click to expand...
Is yours the 90 or 900? Is the firmware update the same for the 90 and 900?
 
VSS is a white wire with green stripe. You can find it at connector 210 behind the driver's kick panel, low down and behind some other connectors. 210 is a 12 pin connector with only a few wires going to it, and no connector mated to it, if I recall correctly.
 
Opies_LS said:
Is yours the 90 or 900? Is the firmware update the same for the 90 and 900?
Click to expand...

Mine's the 900.
The only difference is the 90 comes with the ipod cable.
I got a cable on amazon for 30.00.
It also has 4 volt preamp outs instead of 2 for at least the sub.
Otherwise they're the same thing.
The 900 is just a bit older and I only bought it 2 months ago for 700 shipped with a 3 year replacement warranty.

The update is the same for the F700/900/90BT and was just released.
 
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