New Pioneer DMH-WC6600NEX flush mount install

Pioneer has a much higher resolution screen than oem. Picture quality of rear camera will degrade some when upgrading the head unit. Delay is likely normal.

 

Does the rear camera have power even when not in reverse without a Germes or ABC kit? I’m guessing it does but curious as I installed that one pretty early on.

 

I guess testing the wires for voltage would show me this or is there another way to know?

 

That’s what I was thinking, although if I took my dash apart and bypassed my Germes I could access the camera from my pioneer directly. Just not sure if maestro supplies camera power.

mostly curious how the stock setup works re rear camera power. I’ve been told it’s 6V

 

Not sure how the HU triggers it but I can turn on the reverse camera while driving and also in park with this Pioneer.

 

Is there any adapter that allows the oem microphone to work with this head unit?

 

Yes but it didn’t end up being good quality as reported by many so the general recommendation is Enfig mic or the pioneer mic, both of which can go in the stock location. I use the pioneer mic with some foam holding it in place. I think the Enfig mic is slightly nicer but also costs extra vs the pioneer mic which comes in the box.

I am not sure if your ‘22 would take the TOY2 but it seems that way. Maybe call Enfig to confirm if desired. I thought the overhead console was the same so not sure why they have TOY1 and TOY2.

https://shop.enfigcarstereo.com/product/enfig-mic-toy2/

Some photos of using the Pioneer mic. I just made a foam sandwich for mine instead of a plastic piece.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/kenwood-dmx1057xr.707365/page-3#post-25404930

NOTE, the OEM adapter kit produced was high quality but the call clarity with CarPlay was reported as worse for some reason and I’m not sure we know precisely why. The OEM microphone is amplified or boosted or otherwise messed with and probably isn’t very good to begin with, sort of like the OEM backup camera. From a quick review, it is no longer available and wasn’t ever compatible with 2020+

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...pter-for-aftermarket-hu.775756/#post-27726114

 

the factory camera is definitely 6v.

from what i've gathered, and from my own install, the camera is only powered up as needed, normally it's powered up with the factory radio monitoring the canbus for reverse activation, then the oem radio firmware takes over once that signal is received and switches the video to the reverse input, while also starting up the cameras power supply to turn it on.

 

Thanks for the insight and info. I’ll try the pioneer mic first (since it’s “free” so to speak), and if the quality isn’t great, I’ll buy the Enfig

 

Note that Enfig may need 3.5mm to 2.5mm adapter or maybe the other way around, I’m rusty on this, but make sure you check on that before opening things up

it’s possible to slip the mic wire under the headliner without dropping it. Use a thin solid core wire to feed into the center console area. I like 18 gauge, anything you can steal from an old florescent fixture.

 

Correct, this is how it works. Although I just wanted to add that the CANBUS portion is only on automatics. Automatics communicate the reverse position to the head unit over CANbus. The manual transmissions give the head unit that signal via 12V from the backup switch circuit. Same concept for camera though….radio gets reverse 12V, then in turn provides the camera 6V power and switches view to camera feed.

Aftermarket always-on camera accomplishes what it does by turning on the camera 24/7. In my case the Maestro sends 6V to the camera upon the truck key being in run. So far no ill effects from that, which always made me wonder why the OEMs choose to only turn it on on demand. They don’t even need to let you select it to view at any time, I just don’t know why they turn the cam on and back off every time reverse is used. Seems unnecessary when it could just always be powered. Mystery.

 

I bit the bullet and got this. I installed it today and it's working well. For those who like this stereo but can't stomach the $1200 price tag, I just kept searching Amazon and finally got it for $750 (new not refurbished). All the Maestro crap still put it about a grand, but better than $1500+. Creative Audio was the seller; sounded like a shop in the midwest. Have it connected to an Audio Control 1200 W amp, Infinity Reference components, and a Rockford Fosgate sub in the Skar box. It's really, really loud and the audio quality is way better than trying to run stock speaker wires to an amp or LOC. I've had zero issues with it connected via bluetooth, really nice audio features, CarPlay works well. And where I thought I might lose features, I actually gained some, like vehicle data, CarPlay dash controls, different programmable selections for the steering wheel controls. Crutchfield will say you cannot buy the iDatalink USB and GPS/NAV adapters, but you can. It's a USB-C, but Pioneer includes a USB-C-to-USB-A adapter. Only issue is the mic, which sound impossible to adapt. But it sounds like the Pioneer one can be routed overhead where the factory one is, should you choose to do it. As far as the install, the Maestro vehicle-specific firmware MUST be installed first via a PC. Save yourself a headache and buy all the wiring harnesses. Some Toyota plugs are left loose, and one Maestro connector can use one of two Toyota connectors. It's the white one there, not the black one. After that, install the Pioneer CarAV app on your phone, connect your stereo to it as a hotspot, register the device, and follow the instructions for updating the firmware (tricky but doable). In my case, everything worked flawlessly. Very happy with this.

 

The four pin tees off what would normally be front speaker outputs, and redirects them to the factory amp, then back out to the speakers. If you have an aftermarket amp, none of it matters because you will not be using ANY of the speaker outputs, and you can leave that plug (the 8 wire Toyota connector that connects to one of the connectors in the Maestr T and runs to all the speakers) unplugged. You will be using the RCA pre-outs for your amp, and then you'll run the speakers off that amp (which is a whole other subject, and how you choose to do it varies).

 

Cross-posting from the info thread since this one is much more active.

Has anyone had any luck getting the gauge display functionality on the Pioneer to display transmission temperature? I know how to do this with e.g., ODB Fusion via an ODB2 adapter but I'd love if I could find a way to work this work entirely in the head unit display.

 

Has anyone figured out the resolution on the FW update after 1.3? I stuck 3.x on there the other day, and 'presto' tiny icons in CarPlay

 

Hi all, I need help! I’m installing the satellite radio module. The module comes with a separate antenna. Do I have to use that antenna? Confused how this works. I installed the 6600 back in 2020. On the back of the HU, I currently have a stock black wire connected to the GPS port on the bottom corner of the HU using an adapter. What does that wire do? I was hoping to use this existing wire as the antenna for the satellite adapter module.

Also, I still don’t understand how the CarPlay handshake works with these HUs. There’s Bluetooth, and WiFi. Seems like both are needed? Seems like maybe CarPlay is a local WiFi connection with the phone, and the phone is a hotspot. Some phones it seems solid, other iPhones I can’t seem to get it to work.

The backstory is that I sold the Tacoma and am helping the new owner install the satellite module and set up CarPlay on his phone. Damn the wireless on these units is confusing to me.

 

This is the kit I had to get to use the existing antenna

 

Thank you, much appreciated. I used that adapter kit. I connected the existing black wire (which maybe is the wire to the shark fin antenna?), which was already plugged into the back of the HU in the GPS port. But. I don't know why I had it plugged into the GPS port with my original install. My theory is that it's the antenna for a local wifi connection between the Iphone and the HU, and this is needed for wireless Carplay. I don't understand the fundamentals of the carplay connection I think.

Anyway, I removed the existing black wire that was plugged into the GPS port, and used the adapter to plug ithis wire into the module below instead of the GPS on the HU.

But, when I do that, I get an error message that carplay/phone Wifi won't connect because there is no GPS connection. We don't have Sirius up and running yet because we need to call and get his account transferred over to this new device, but it seems like the black wire (assumed this is the shark fin antenna), needs to somehow be wired to the satellite adapter AND to the GPS port on the back of the head unit?

Doesn't seem like there's a way to do that, so maybe I have to use the new antenna that came with the kit in the photo below? And then the black antenna wire remains plugged into the GPS port. And there's the other antenna wire (labeled as 5 below), perhaps that goes to the shark fin.

I will keep seaching to see if I can figure this out, any suggestions appreciated.

 

Sat/XM wire is black, the GPS antenna is white. So maybe you have them switched for some reason.

This thread has helpful install tips if you haven’t seen it yet.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/pioneer-dmh-wc6600nex-information-thread.672425/#post-23620029

 

That Sirius plug can be tough to get it in sometimes, might want to check and make sure no bent pins. If you decide to pull it back out, I would start over like it’s a new install. Just remember usually it’s something extremely simple.