Sony XNV-770BT install complete (almost)

I got my Sony XNV-770BT installed this evening. All is good but I still have a few things to complete, probably next week:

1. Steering wheel controls via SWI-PS
2. backup camera install
3. Ipod adapter routing.

I used the Scosche double din. I used their plastic brackets because the metal stock ones had dimples that prevented a flush fit, and I didn't have the patience or time to file them down. I think I would prefer the metal ones, and may change that next week when I have more time. After all, I have to go back in there again anyway.

I did not need to build a relay to bypass the parking brake. I simply tapped into the ground with the light green parking brake wire and dvd's play all the time. If any of you get this HU, which I find really gorgeous, simply tap into the ground with a quick splice connector and you are good. I went this route because it is simply easier than contorting myself to try to find and slice into the parking brake wire. I must say I am giddy that I can watch movies in my truck. I don't know when I will ever do that, but on a road trip, my passengers can enjoy, or when I am on an all day stake out for work, it could be cool.

I have two aux inputs: one is to a hidden monster cable I have where I drilled a hole in my cubby hole in the front console, under the climate controls. The other is in my console vault, for when I am running weekend errands and want my mp3 player secure and constant.

I stuck the gps antenna/magnet on top of the HU, and it is working fine. No need to mount it on the roof or the dash (so far). I have the gps brains loose under the center console, under the plastic that houses the shift. Its where I had my USA Spec DF-TOY. I wanted it in the console vault, but the cable did not reach. I don't want it in the glove box where it would be most likely to get stolen. No thief will ever pull that plastic up looking for goodies, and its so easy to occasionally pull that plastic up to take it out to update maps and traffic camera locations and whatnot. It has one year of free map updates, but I think the traffic camera info is community sourced and free.

I paired my blackberry via the bluotooth, but it says bluetooth is unavailable when I try to initiate a call. I need to read through the instructions more, but I am suspect that the bluetooth mike became unplugged behind the HU. Its very crammed back there with all the wires, and I had to really shove the unit in to bolt it down (thus my desire for the stock metal brackets, as opposed to the plastic Scosche iso brackets). If I go back in there I will tape the mike plug to the connector to make it more secure.

For one of the aux inputs there was a speed sensor wire and a reverse wire, independent of the backup camera input. Does anyone know what that is for? I did not connect them to anything. Could that be why I have the bluetooth unavailable message?

I find the menus and navigation a little anal, but I expect that once i get to know the unit more, it will become more intuitive.

The Tom Tom navigation is actually simple and sophisticated at the same time. It knows where I am much more quickly than the portable Garmin I have been using. The look is clean and sharp, and I am happy I have good gps, not white label gps.

The gps voice continues when you have another source selected, so it attenuates the volume and tells you when to turn, so damn well, that you really don't need to be looking at the map: just let her cut in on your music or dvd, and she guides you like a sister who is paying attention for you.

I paid $810 on ebay, and it is the Sony flagship unit, so its a great value for high quality flagship all-in-one unit. The only other brand that has quality gps is Kenwood, which is supported by Garmin, and its $200.00 more for their flagship. Its really a beautiful unit, but damn there are a lot of wires back there, with all the accessories. I am sure that is the same for any all-in-one HU. I will try and shoot a few pics this week.

 

pics?

 

Ah, I am a news photog by profession and you called me out on the pics.

It was dark, and I was trying to get it all done. Will have some soon, and when I go back in to add the backup camera and the SWI-PS I will shoot some. I am also nursing a herniated disc, so I was managing some pain while trying to get it squared away. Phase two will be the finishing touches, so I do promise some pics.

 

your team won. Congrats!

 

Sorry to hear about your back, feel better. No risking injury for the sake of our curiosity.

 

Actually, installing the HU was like a physical therapy session, with all the subtle stretching and maneuvering. I actually feel better. It was like active recovery instead of restful recovery. Pics above.

 

Lookin' good. Are you happy with the fit? Any problems with the dash kit? What resources did you use to know all the components work well together?

 

Re asking this question: with pdf documentation attached.

I paired my blackberry via the bluetooth, but it says device is unavailable when I try to initiate a call. I need to read through the instructions more, but I am suspect that the bluetooth mike became unplugged behind the HU. Its very crammed back there with all the wires, and I had to really shove the unit in to bolt it down (thus my desire for the stock metal brackets, as opposed to the plastic Scosche iso brackets). If I go back in there I will tape the mike plug to the connector to make it more secure.

For one of the aux inputs there was a speed sensor wire and a reverse wire, independent of the backup camera input. Does anyone know what that is for? I did not connect them to anything. Could that be why I have the bluetooth unavailable message?


See documentation below:

 

Please post some daylight pics Please I have been looking at the same setup.

 

Very nice + clean work!
i have the same metra kit and love it. It fit real seamlessly with the dash and around the clock and hazard button.

 

Here's some more photos. I went back into the dash to route the bluetooth microphone, so I documented some of the process.

My intention was to swap out the factory metal brackets for the plastic Scosche brackets. The metal ones had dimples, so I had to file them down first.

Before


After


However, I stuck with the Scosche brackets because the metal ones had fixed holes, and I was trying to get the h/u as recessed in the dash kit as possible. In addition, the Schosche brackets have grooves so the faceplate snaps in. If I went with the factory metal brackets, I would have had to go to a Toyota parts place to get some of those yellow dashboard clips, so I aborted the metal brackets. The Schoshe brackets were adjustable so I slid them as far forward as possible. They also flex a little which helped getting the unit to fit in there with that giant birds nest of wires behind it. I wish the unit did not protrude out as much, as you can see below, but I guess I just have to live with that for now.



A newspaper is the easiest way to isolate the negative battery terminal so it doesn't touch anything when you are working with the wires and h/u


I'm sure most of you have seen this process before: The climate control panel pries right out easy enough:


A 10mm socket with a long extension takes out the four (not two, look closely) bolts that hold the h/u in:


There's a motherload of wires behind an all-in-one h/u and the toughest part is getting them all crammed in there. Mr. Marv was kind enough to spend some time on the phone with me, and he recommended a narrow dowel to poke in there as you are closing it up, to push some of the wires into the deeper recesses. Also, any unused bundled wire should be slackened out away from the HU so it has somewhere to go. If its all neatly bundled behind the HU, you will not fit it in there.


I soldered my connections at my kitchen table and used shrink tubing to protect the soldered splices. This is what it looks like:


To bypass the parking brake, which I did primarily because it was easier to do than find the parking brake wire and tap it, I simply spliced the green parking brake wire from the HU directly into the ground wire. That all this Sony unit needs: you don't need to create a relay or toggle switch. Super easy:


I used a coat hanger to fish the bluetooth mike up through the steering column, which is where I chose to mount mine. My hope is that location picks up the least road noise:


Here is my mike location. The clip fit perfectly on the rim of the speedo:


I have two aux in plugs, and one ipod connection. Here you see the ipod connection in the cubby just to the right of the steering column, and one of the two aux jacks in the console cubby just below the climate controls. I simply Dremeled a hole in the bottom corner of that cubby. I still have to do the same for the one next to the steering wheel:


The Sony has a removable Tom Tom unit, so you can take it to your computer and update maps and traffic camera locations and whatnot. I didn't want it in the glovebox, or anywhere a thief might find it. I simply stashed it under the plastic of the shift console, which is where my DF-TOY controller was. The plastic pops up with a tug very easily. I don't anticipate taking it out except a few times a year. I didn't even veclro it: it sits there nicely:


Anotherview showing were it sits:


My second aux plug resides in my console vault. This is for weekend errands, so the unit can play constant and remain secure all the time, as I am getting in and out of the car for errands:


A view looking into the console vault:


The unit sticks out of the Scosche dash kit just a wee bit more than I like:


The screen moves via a motor for discs to eject. The disc slot is otherwise hidden behind the screen:


Frontal view with Tom Tom navigation. The gps antenna is magnetic and I simply slapped it on top of the h/u and it works fine. No need to mount it on your dash, which I think looks incredibly fugly:


Look! It alerted me to a speed camera! Unfortunately, it did not alert me to two other speed cams nearby, but I already knew of them. I will now try to update those speed camera locations through the Tom Tom community, which is a nice feature.


Interesting. It displayed the Shell logo for the Shell gas station, as opposed to a generic gas pump:


Well, that all I've got for now. Next week or so I will install my backup camera, and my SWI-PS adapter for my steering wheel controls. To do this I will have a helper, because four hands are an asset when getting all the wires tucked in back there. The bluetooth works great so far for the phone functions. The phone book only holds 300 entries, that you can upload from your smart phone, but I have over 500. I have not figured out how to selectively edit that and get just my obvious contacts in there. I haven't tried the streaming audio bluetooth yet. The DVD screen looks gorgeous, the lines of the unit are simple and clean.

All in all, I think its a clean, smart, elegant unit and very happy with the purchase so far. The cool thing is the gps is locked in as soon as you start driving, unlike my portable gps units in the past. I am a news photog, and sometimes I am jumping in my truck to chase breaking news, and I could not stand the several minute delay of getting the portable out, plugging it in, booting it up, waiting for the positive uplink connection, and then typing in an address. This is hands down worth it for me for that alone. But I am just giddy how luxurious it is to have a quality all-in-one HU with all the other features as well.

 

I wouldn't be so quick to switch to Scosche. See the pics in my above post, as it may not be better. The fit is good, just sticks out a little too much for my liking. Makes it look aftermarket instead of factory, which could entice a thief. Next step is a 2-way alarm system.

 

Johnny - that is interesting. The metra kit I have is not textured and fit like a glove. Wonder if they changed designs at some point and improved it?
You are right, yours does not fit at all...

 

Do you guys think mine sticks out too much?

 

to each his own, but what i did with mine was keep the top horizontal edge of the headunit flush with the trim piece. I had it sticking out about a 1/4" first but then took it apart and mounted it flush. I like it much better now. Looks like it came that way from the factory...aesthetics was pretty high up on my list.

 

Nova,
Thanks for the detailed post; makes me feel like I can tackle this type of install. I have a few questions for you, or anyone who reads/posts this thread:
1. Can you use the stock Toy BT mic above the rear view mirror as the mic for this HU?
2. Can you re-route the back-up camera feed from the stock rear view mirror location to this HU? If so, how difficult would these first two be, in your opinion?
3. Did you incorporate the satellite radio module for the HU? My '11 stock HU has satellite right now and I want to continue that, so I was going to install the XM module as well. Do you know if the current satellite antenna can be used for 1) the new satellite module and/or 2) the gps antenna?
4. I noticed in your pics that you have 3 wires for inputs located in your truck: one to the vault, one to the right side cubby and one to the left side cubby. Just curious, why do you need 3 different inputs? Why not leave your iPod connector in the vault location instead of the cubby location so it is always secure, charged, yet handy to reach if needed to remove? I plan on installing a similar, if not the same, HU in my truck. I have an iPod that is dedicated to be in the truck. I only remove it to update playlists every so often. I'm trying to figure out in my own head where I'd mount all of this stuff (HU, iPod, Tom Tom unit/antenna, XM unit, BU camera feed, BT mic feed, steering wheel control) so I'm hoping to pick your brain a bit here. Sorry to bore ass you so much. Thanks in advance!

 

My scosche kit was adjustable for depth, so I could run it as far in as needed. Also on the kit it seemed like you were better off using the plastic mounts just because the factory metal ones put the screen at and angle that caused the screen to not be clear.

 

Regarding the satellite radio, I don't have it and know nothing about the installation and as to whether one sat antenna can double for two, so someone else will have to answer that one.

Regarding the backup camera, I have an '06 and backup cameras did not come in these trucks. I will add this: a backup camera has a limited, although very handy use. If you already have a backup camera integrated in your rearview mirror, I would consider leaving it as is, and not messing with trying to rewire it to the h/u, as you would not be gaining much from doing that.

Regarding the outputs, I put the ipod connector in the second day when I took the hu out again, and the two aux input wires were already fished in place, so as a last minute thought I put the ipod controller there. I don't think the Ipod connector could reach the console vault, to be honest, but I could be wrong. Not a bad idea, except the only ipod I own is a little nano, which I don't use a lot. When I put in the backup cam and the SWC-PS steering wheel button controller, probably next weekend, I will see if the ipod connector reaches, and maybe re-route it there. Thanks for that thought. I don't particularly need three inputs, but since they were there, and I already had two with my USA Spec DF-TOY, I just kept those two inputs as I had before. I can guesstimate the length for you tomorrow on that ipod connector just by pulling the cable out to its full extension from its current location.

I have the unit as far back as it can go in the brackets, and not sure if there is any more room behind it with all the wires, even if I dremel out and modify the bracket to make the unit go back more. When I do the backup cam and steering wheel controller, I will have someone helping me, and hopefully can push the wires deeper into the dash, and maybe get the unit to sit a little deeper. Just another half inch would make a difference. I also hope to have an alarm installed before the weekend, maybe tomorrow. Maybe I can cajole the installers to help with the finishing touches of the hu mount.

 

Thanks for the response Nova!