INSTALLING AMATEUR AND CB RADIOS IN 2016 TACOMA

Has anyone tried installing a radio (cb, ham, commercial - or whatever) in the upper portion of the switch panel to the left of the steering wheel?

I removed my switch panel (forgot to take a pic when it was apart but snagged this pic off a video). On the left and right side are plastic sections of the inside of the dash (see arrows in pic). These have holes in them but not quite sure if it serves any purpose. In order to install my radio, these plastic pieces would need to get cut away. I don't know if they serve any purpose at all but at the same time, I am reluctant to start hacking away pieces of my truck. I don't think that they are holding the panel in because it seems like the clips on it snap into other locations. Unfortunately, this rig does not have a detachable face-plate. Also, I noticed that Me-so makes custom panels but unfortunately, my rig is a few mm too wide so i may have to get creative.

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

 

Unless it's a tiny radio I don't think you would have the depth maybe a radio with a detachable head.

 

Hmmm, depth didn't seem to be a problem - i will take another look. There were some wires & stuff but looked like they could be pushed out of the way.

 

I have 3 two ways in my truck two of the units are under the seats with remote heads the other is in the front of the consol (6 spd) manual) That one I'm not real fond of but I flat ran out of places to put it. I the future it will have a remote head as soon as I can find a long enough ribbon cable (the DMR radio is not remotable but I soon will be). Just make sure you have the room before you start cutting up things also consider cooling for the radio.

 

Do you guys have dmarc or Brandmeister up there ?

 

Yes our club has a DMR repeater and two Fusions VHF/UHF (W1MWV Conway NH) We are also the trustees for two repeaters on Mt. Washington W1NH VHF and our UHF analog. There is UHF repeater DMR repeater (W1IMD) up there also they are all on the MARC system. I'm the tech for the club so I'm never lacking entertainment keeping them running! The DMR Mt Wash is very wide coverage there is a station that is a regular in RI.

 

Got ambitious yesterday. I was originally going to install my Icom into the switch panel (on the left side of the dash) but finally decided against it because it would have required hacking apart portions of the inside of the dashboard. So, decided to put the Yaesu's head unit on there. Lots of pics...

First, here is a pic of the switch panel before the install...



Next, remove the switch panel. I used a knife on the right side to pry it toward me a bit then use your fingers to gently pull it out.



This is the back of the switch panel. Notice the four screws holding in the change pocket.



I removed those four screws and used a piece of plastic to use as a mounting plate for the Yaesu's control head mount. I used a plastic divider from a set of drawers that I scrounged from a Radio Shack store when they shut down.



Then, cut the plastic to fit it into the back of the switch panel.


Marked the four corner holes (it was easy because i was using clear plastic)...



Drill out the corner holes (9/16" bit)...



Then, cut a hole near the middle of the plastic (to run the wires through) and ream it out to fit a grommet. Also, I marked the holes in the radio's head mount holes.


Insert grommet...




Screw the plastic plate to the switch panel using the four original screws (my plastic plate was roughly the same thickness as the plastic piece that was originally in there)...



Then bolt the radio's head mount to the plastic panel.



This is it installed. Not quite happy because the wires show a little bit but it seemed unavoidable.




Then i installed the Icom below the Yaesu. Just bolted the bracket to the bottom of the dash.

 

Yup. Thank you. I chickened out and put one on the outside of the panel. In above pics.

 

I thought about mounting a control head on the left side like that but found it hard to see the display without leaning around the steering wheel.

 

Yup that’s what I don’t like about it. I may wind up relocating it. Maybe to above the stock radio using one of those multi mounts.

 

So, after using it in that location for a while, I agree with you and came to the conclusion really didn't like it mounted in that spot. So, today i re-located it.

I started with a piece of "L" channel aluminum that I found in the street a few months ago. Picked it up and threw it in the back of the truck thinking it would be useful for something some day. I cut off a piece about 4" long...



Then, puled off the plastic piece of the dashboard, drilled a few holes and screwed the aluminum on to it


Then marked the holes in the radio's control head mounting bracket.




Screw on the control head mounting bracket...


Check the fit


Relieve the corners and clean it up just a little with a steel wheel


This is it bolted up; i also used a Dremmel to cut out a small area of the plastic dashboard piece for the cables to go through:





Put it all back together, connected the cables and fired it up...

Needed some way of keeping it out of sight. I used a piece of an old inner tube; not very elegant but functional : - )

 

I had a CB in the early 1990s. It was great for bear alerts and traffic jam warnings. However a few years ago I mounted a CB and it had almost no radio traffic at all and this is in a fairly large city. I ended up pulling it out.

 

For me it changes day to day. Some times I get nothing all day, other days its non-stop chatter. Really depends on the weather around here, heavy snow lots of talk, no snow, nothing to complain about.

 

On my 2019 model TRD 4x4 OR, I have been having all sorts of RFI problems. Ive tried a passenger side fender mount, roof mount with a diamond K400 mount, and bed mount in the rear of the truck. So far the only location that does not result in RFI messing with the computers is the bed mount. I'd prefer the roof mount. I have completely abandoned the fender mount idea and re-run the antenna cabling.

I am currently looking for shielding recommendations so that I can shield the computers or the cabling. If anyone has any ideas shoot them over.

I have a yaesu ft8900r, and a diamond 2m/70cm dual band hp antenna. When the antenna is in the passenger side fender mount or the passenger side roof mount and I transmit using more than 10w of power the vehicle basically goes into limp mode, the "trc off" warning light comes on, the brake override sensor comes on, the check engine light, and maintenance light all come on until I disconnect the battery and wait 5 minutes. Sometimes the vehicle will also rev up in RPMs when I press the transmit button.

The head of the radio is mounted above the driver side dash by the A pillar. The wire from the radio head unit to the base unit runs down the A-pillar to the floor board and back to the rear cubby behind the left rear passenger seat. The antenna cable runs from the base unit, located behind the left rear passenger seat, through the plug in the middle of the rear of the cab, up the rear of the cab, and down the right passenger side of the bed. When the antenna is in the roof mount configuration the extra cable runs up the back of the cab, into the right passenger side of the bed and then up to the roof from the right rear window on the right passenger side.

I am fairly certain that the battery ground and antenna ground is good, I get 5x5 signal reports on all power levels up to 50w without any noticeable engine noise.

 

@Boondoggler

Have you measured SWR? can you power the radio with a separate battery? Not full time, just for a test. See if you have the same problems. Even powering with a 12v psu would be ok for a test. As long as you don't need to be driving.

 

I have not formally measured the SWR. I got a meter from HRO but they didnt sell me the right connectors so I need to make a trip back down there. I used a multimeter to check the electrical ground of the roof rack mount and the bed mount. The roof rack mount is 100% grounded and the bed mount needs a better contact. I always get great signal reports, so, ya, not sure if grounding is causing the problem b/c roof mount sometimes makes the vehicle freak out but bed mount never does. Bed mount is the farthest location on the vehicle from any electrical components that run engine and 4wd systems.

Regarding the 2nd battery, my "elmer" did suggest that after we moved the antenna to a few different locations. He'd also suggested trying RFI shielding around certain components. The wifey has a northstar in her 4ru, I could borrow it for a bit to run the test. I do think its worth a try.

Supposed I did go with a 2 battery setup, and the 2nd battery solved the problem. Would you suggest pairing the batteries together so that the vehicles charging system could keep both batteries charged or would you suggest keeping the 2nd battery isolated and charged via some alternate method - tender, solor, etc?

 

The second battery is a troubleshooting method, not necessarily a solution. After the problem is identified, then we will engineer a solution.

There are two solutions: #1 eliminate whatever is generating the RFI. #2 shield whatever is receiving the RFI. #1 is preferable, because it's probably indicating a different very tangible problem.

Good signal reports through the repeater is not valid data for troubleshooting an RFI issue.

 

Summary:
Ok, so for anyone following or that may come on this in the future, myself and many of the "elmers" that I have been working with suspect that RFI is intermittently getting into the trucks computers and causing error codes and system malfunctions when transmitting > 20 watts. I have only tested on the 2m frequencies, mostly in the 144 to 147 MHz range, the problem is intermittent, and the problem gets more consistent as you move the antenna from the rear of the truck closer to the firewall. I have tried antenna mounts on the front passenger fender forward of the firewall, roof mounted to a prinsu rack, and bed mounted.

Errors Caused:
Keying the mic has caused the following errors: engine to rev up a thousand rpms or so(no more than 2k), trc off light, check engine light, brake override malfunction indicator, and the truck basically goes into limp mode - which can be very unsafe if driving full speed. Its actually quite concerning to think about what this vehicle could do if someone else is next to me and transmits.

Testing Notes:
Here is a list of all of the tests that I have completed and steps that I have taken (the error has occurred during all of the scenarios below):
- transmit on many different frequencies in the 2m band (144 to 147 MHz)
- tested with the antenna mounted in 3 separate locations (front right fender, roof, and right rear fender)
- tested with 3 different antennas and a different antenna cable
- tested the swr on different frequencies and getting that same results every time - 50w forward, 3w returned, 1.1 swr (afaik this is a good swr)
- tested the electrical ground of the antenna, all 3 antenna mounts, and the electrical ground of the radio (its grounded the chassis) - everything is very grounded. When testing the grounds I would put one end of the multimeter on the mount / wire and then touch the other end to the vehicle chassis. I think I am doing the test correctly.
- tested the continuity of the electrical ground cable, electrical power cable, the antenna cable shield, antenna cable center, and verified there was no short from the antenna cable shield to the center - all continuity is good
- tested with the power wire connected to two different places on the vehicle battery terminal
- installed ferrite filters in all of the following locations:

- one on the power and ground cables inside the engine compartment - forward of the firewall - using one turn / loop
- one on the power and ground cables inside the cab as they exit the radio base - using one turn / loop
- one on the hand held cable as it comes out of the radio base - using one turn / loop
- one on the antenna cable near the base of the antenna - using one turn / loop
- one on the antenna cable as it comes out of the radio base​

- tested with a completely separate battery (12v 9ah) located in the engine compartment
- antenna cable is 16', mic cable is 6', and power / ground cables are long enough to go from the battery in the engine compartment to the cubby in left rear passenger side of the truck

Vehicle & Radio Notes:
2019 tacoma, 4x4 offroad, ft yaesu 8900r, diamond 2m/70cm nr770hb

Thanks again @k8md and @EWCFred for the side bar conversations and guidance. If anyone has anything else to try, let me know. I am taking the truck to the dealer for service today. I will be having a conversation with them.

 

Do you have a local HAM club nearby? Sounds like a fault in the radio.
I've got a 2017, FT-7900r,

$124 Larsen NMO2/70B Pulse Larsen 144-148/440-450 MHz Dual Band 37.25" Antenna - Black

Larsen NMO2/70B on a ditch light mount with no issues.

 

Ya, there is a club. My Elmer is putting me in contact.

I took it to the dealership today. I was unable to reproduce it in the bay (go figure) so the tech was unable to pull any codes. I am going to try over the weekend to repro it. I will not clear the codes and then I will take it back so the shop foreman can try to diagnose it further.

I am not an EE, what sort of fault in the radio could cause the behavior that I have described - especially considering that the error still occurs when the radio is running on its own power supply and not physically connected to any of the vehicles systems (aside from the antenna mount which is just connected to the chassis)