New England B.S. Thread

whelp...another dream crushed.

 

It was awful. It took way longer to do the console cover than it did to do both seats.

 

Which one? Framingham or Hopkinton? I think I may have saw you too, you still have the soft topper on?

 

I got up bright and early this past Saturday to put one of those random company Android Auto head units (I think it was Roadanvi...no, not Roadnavi, Roadanvi) into my BIL's 2020 Corolla. The 2020 Corolla has CarPlay but no AA. I was going to throw a 12" sub in too to give him some low end kick. The Joying HUs are beloved around here, so why not.

For a successful stereo install you need three things, right? A set of mounts, a wiring harness and a pinout if you plan on adding any additional components. So let's run down the points.

Pinout
The wires are kinda labeled, but there's two different blue wires that say remote...so which one do you use? I guess I'll have to put a meter on it and see. 0 for 1 so far.

Mounts
The head unit is set up for the OEM mounts. Of course, the plastic shroud that goes around of the back of the radio (Corolla is tablet-style) doesn't quite fit with the OEM mounts. Okay, this is a budget HU so I do some trimming here and there. No dice, there's no way this is going to work. I decide to live with the gap and I can just screw this in and be done with it. The Roadanvi (no, not Roadnavi) HU is smaller than the stock HU meaning the OEM mounts are no longer in the OEM positions. Of course it's Tetris getting the Corolla's dash back together. Fine, I'll figure out something with zip ties and make it tight enough that all the other trim pieces will hold it in place. 0.5 for 2, if you're keeping score.

Wiring
This is advertised as a PnP unit. None of the wiring is labeled or set up in any way that makes any sense, but I've got an engineering degree and a can-do attitude. This isn't rocket surgery. Think any of the harnesses match up? Not a one...actually, one of the antennas matched, but every other plug wasn't even close.

Final score, 0.5 out of 3.

There's no way this unit was designed for this car. I could have dealt with missing any one of the above items. No pinout is fixed with a DMM. Mounts? I could have built something to work if I truly needed to and everything else was easy. I might have been able to ping the seller and plead my case for mounts. Same with the wiring, I'm sure I got the harness for a prior generation Corolla, or maybe a Camry and an exchange might have worked for me.

However, given that literally every single part of this didn't work, back it went. Of course, I purchased it through the Roadanvi store on Amazon and not Amazon directly, so we shall see how the return process goes, but I bought it with my AmEx so I'm sure their purchase protection will get my back if I need it. I ended up sourcing a 9" Jensen HU that will serve the purpose well enough for AA at a very similar price point for my BIL. He's not the type that will need an Alpine Halo 9 for his setup.

It's rare to get so beaten back with a project. Of course I'm planning on doing the plugs in my truck on Friday so I'm sure I'll feel even worse by midday then.

 

Dis frigging like, on all 3 pieces.

Plug and play should be just that, especially with the damn harness. Grrrr

 

Dumb question but it's been 30 years.

Found out today one of the sway bar links snapped (not sure exactly when). Started noticing a few weeks ago a shimmy when braking like warped rotors..would the link perhaps mimic that?

 

I’ve been running Fox 2.0’s for a couple years on the SD and they’re holding up just fine to the salt. I believe they are the same finish.

 

Silly accent lights sell trucks. The Taco became a "lifestyle brand" a long time ago, unfortunately.

 

Oh, I know. Trust me, the number of people who use it as a glorified sedan and never use the bed....I understand

 

Makes me wonder why any truck comes with carpet

 

It's cheap.

 

https://www.masslive.com/news/2023/...arly-500-catalytic-converters-police-say.html

 

Apparently cats are more expensive in Holyoke? 470 cats worth $2 million, that’s about 4x what I would have expected. Glad they caught the douche bags!

 

Some cats are worth more than others, if you sell to the right people you can make out pretty good. They probably mostly stole newer cats is my guess

 

I'm guessing they mean the replacement cost of new cats, other pieces, labour, etc..otherwise yikes

 

Happy Birthday @Brownmatthall !!!!!!!!

 

So... who wants to take a chance with me and get one of these things? Is it the authentic Hamyak? Absolutely no way. But if it shows up and is halfway decent it could be a fun time. If not...I've wasted more than $40 on a night out drinking.
Tracked mini ATV motor scooter type thing.

 

I'm in and bought one

 

Alrighty then, I'm in. Wifey doesn't know it, but she got one too.

I'm expecting pure Chinesium, electrical conduit and soda can level construction TBH, but it could be fun for an afternoon or two before it self-destructs.

 

My work firewall blocked the website...

I'm in. That can only mean good things.