INSTALL: Steering Wheel Interface 2006 Taco 4d 4wd JBL ( SWI-JACK )

WHAT ?
SUCCESSFUL PAC-Audio SWI-JACK STEERING WHEEL INTERFACE INSTALL FOR :
2006 Taco, jbl system, 4d, 4wd, JVC head unit

IF YOU HAVE A PIONEER OR SONY HU, YOU NEED THE SWI-PS.. ( I assume the install is 'very similar' with possible differences )
Steering Wheel Interface Pioneer Sony = SWI-PS
Steering Wheel Interface JVC, Alpine, Clarion, Kenwood = SWI-JACK

WHAT DOES THIS DO:
Enable the steering wheel audio controls for aftermarket HU. I have 5 buttons available to pgm on my steering wheel. Here is how I reluctantly mapped them. ( track up/down is missing, and I don't like it, but seek is "ok" and doesn't piss me off too bad, but i'd rather have trk u/d)

WHAT BUTTONS DID YOU SUCCESSFULLY PGM ON YOUR JVC ? ( alpine,clarion kenwood have different but BETTER selections
thatn the JVC)
vol up/down obvious choice
SEEK up/down ( Yes SEEK as in FF/RW through the song.., this sucks for me, I greatly prefer track up/down ! I use an iPod and cruise through my custom playlists, normally my only actions are volume and track next to skip to the next JAM. However, My remote control handles the track up/down ) If you like radio, seek will "seek to next station that comes in ) After Fukking around with the programming, I've concluded you CANNOT map track up/down to a JVC Device. You are in luck however, if you have alpine,clarion or kenwood..( Part Number: SWI-JACK )
*Source ( toggle your inputs... radio/cd/dvd/ipod/)
*If JVC: You can actually customize the "MODE" button if you want it to be mute, power or "Preset-Up" which takes you up to your next radio preset if you're a radio user. I chose to use is as "source" since the button reads mode and that is the function the " MODE" button performed on the stock Head Unit. With a JVC deck, you will end up "skipping" a few of the options that come canned with the swi-jack for JVC..


CAN I DO IT?
If you have just a little stereo install experience or consider yourself savvy I believe you can install the SWI JACK. You will have to reference the instrucions many times during the process, before starting I recommend bringing the instructions to the restroom with you for 10-20 minutes of focused reading after viewing this how-to. This has been one of the most simple mods i've done so far. SIMPLE, but kinda - easy.

MY BCKGRND/TECHNIQUE
Having no guidance other than a college degree, reading txt in forums, but no pics, I think the method I used was effective and relatively trouble free. It worked first try: except for the programming which I will help describe for you so it's easier. A second set of hands would have been a luxury but I was able to do it myself with only 2-5 beers and stuff. If I had to do this over again I could do it much much faster. With this strategy, you can Solder wire in the house somewhere comfortable, install device behind glovebox for plenty of room.

YOU SHOULD MOD YOUR OWN TACO AT SOME POINT ( unless you just can't )
I have learned so much, which is why I forced myself to do all these mods. Being single with no kids helps a lot. No distractions or time limits. The more you do yourself, the better you get. I had a ton of questions at first, but you just need to start and then people's instructions make more sense. After installing my head unit, ipod interface, and rear speakers I'm very confident to finish my complete upgrade... amp, sub(with box from MARV whom i'll be calling again soon to arrange ! ) , fronts, HD radio hd300..

Do I seriously have to solder a 150 ohm resistor ?
Yes, you have to solder a 150 ohm resistor.. It was not tough, and I can't wait to have to solder something else. You need a soldering iron and some solder. My technique I soldered in my kitchen on the stove, you don't need to solder while in your car with this strategy. Although I will show you below, the 150 ohm is brown green brown gold


YOUR SETUP vs MY SETUP
The parameters to know before purchasing this device are vehicle make-year and your Head unit mfg. Nearly every deck has an option from PAC-AUDIO

My Setup.
Vehicle: 2006 tacoma 4d 4wd with JBL ( was never asked about JBL )
Head Unit: My deck is a JVC KDAVX44.. Most important there is JVC ..

REFERENCES:
SWI-JACK Vehicle Application Guide ( fill out your head unit and vehicle for specific guides )
MY FULL PHOTOBUCKET LIBRARY
SWI JACK INSTALL TOYOTA
Very Accurate Diagram of white wires !
SWI PS PDF ( ONLY IF YOU HAVE PIONEER SONY, IF NOT DISREGARD )

So if you have the SWI JACK
( jvc, alpine, clarion, kenwood ) This will be a good guide for your Taco. I don't know how the year of the vehicle applies to the guide.
However, regardless of your HU and Vehicle, I believe this is a good strategy for this install. I wouldn't change much if I had to do it over again.

SUPPLIES FOR MY TECHNIQUE:
SWI-JACK Device $40-$60( for use with: jvc/alpine/clarion/kenwood )
3' or 6' 3.5mm Audio Extension Cable. Cheap ( my JVC Deck uses a stereo mini jack, so I bought a little 6' extender, as if you wanted to make your headphones longer to your ipod for example. specific use is for my install style behind the glove box to extend the kit for ease of install
Tap Splice connectors ( so you can just clip into existing factory wiring. see pics) example
Crimp Cap Connectors: Cheap for conecting whites, ground, and red. example
Heat Shrink Tubing Cheap: to shrink wrap your solder connection of your 150 ohm resistor.. Works great. Shrink with lighter or soldering iron.
Soldering Iron & Solder: $10-$50.. If you will NEVER use this again just borrow one. Personally, I want to solder something else.
GOOD general crimping / wire stripping tool..
22 gauge Red, white, black wires: EXAMPLE: specific use is for my install style behind the glove box to extend the kit for ease of install
Coat Hanger from Your Dry-Cleaning. Since my install is behind the glovebox, I need to feed the wires through the dash. Use a coat hanger to make a PERFECT cable-runner-through-thingy. Run the cable in 10 seconds. I just make an "S" shape and the friggin cables connect real nice on the "S" and feed through very slick.
Electrical Tape
Teeny-Tiny Flat head screw driver: Use for switching radio select switch and pushing pgm button on SWI-JACK.
"Moderate Strength" double sided sticky tape: Use for actually mounting the SWI Component

Here's mostly everything you need. There are 2 soldering irons, I returned the Weller battery powered version and bought the one with a stand and 'wiping sponge' cause it's messy if you don't have practice like me. I recommend doing the soldering on cardboard or similar.



Optional Supplies:
Beer/Cigs/Chew/Other Vice
If you're frugal you can buy from lowes/HD carefully open and return the product. I tend to keep what I buy otherwise I will just borrow from a friend.
Strap Head light for your head My new favorite tool: example, but not the one I bought from lowes which looks cooler: Headband light especially helpful if you like to work late like me !
Portable Radio for a peaceful install
Turn Off / Mute cell phone



Last minute tips:

1. Use my strategy, and solder in the house not in the dash of your truck.
2. Use the coathanger to run from glovebox to dash.
3. Bring a radio outside to your project
4. Make an electrical/or painter's tape flag on your white+150 ohm resistor wire.
5. disconnect neg battery cable before project.
6. 150 Ohm resistor is brown green brown gold. DON'T LOSE THOSE LITTLE FRIGGIN RESISTORS. THEY ARE TINY ! Don't even take it out of the bag until you are ready to solder it.
7. NEGATIVE BATTERY DISCONNECT EFFECT/STRATEGY: Once swi-jack is installed and you have verified it has juice, disconnecting the battery MAY clear ALL of its program settings.. It didn't for me, it did for others. We think it may be dependent upon the amount of time it's disconnected from the negative battery.. My "ultra safe" approach was: I installed the swiJack per instrucions, made sure swi-jack had juice then pgm'd it. Then I disconnected neg battery in order to 'safely' plug in the rest of the dashboard connections ( hazard light bar, temp control ) and reassembled the dash-kit face. Then I re-connected the neg battery and my unit was still pgm'd, But my disconnect was only for 2-3 minutes tops. The Key is to avoid having to EVER program this thing from an uncomfortable position, because that would be a bitch.

Pgm the device from the drivers seat because it will take you a little while to get the hang of it so you want to be comfortable and not have to try and program with your hands stuck in the dash. When done, THEN you can mount behind glove box.
DETAILED INSTALL WITH PICS IN 2nd POST:

 

DETAILED STEPS WITH PICS

STEPS 1-8 are done in the house, NO SOLDERING IRON IN THE DASH !
Before programming, here are the pictures step by step:

1. Stop the Insanity. Tape/Wire/Zip all the unused wires on your SWI.
You're only going to use red, black, white and either the stereo plug or blue wire wrapped around the stereo plug depending on your HU!
See left side bundled wires


2. cut 2 feet each of the following from your 22 gauge wire kit: ( you can always cut back later if you want, I didn't, I just bundled them later.! )

a. 1.5' - 2' red wire
b. 1.5' - 2' white wire 1
c. 1.5' - 2' white wire 2 ( will be cutting to solder resistor )
d. 1.5' - 2' black wire
​

In this pic, I forgot to show RED , make sure to include a strip of red.


3. Cut 1 of the white wires from step 2 at about the 66% mark eyballed. This is where you'll add the 150 ohm resistor ( confirm resistor based on your vehicle )


4. In safe area: Solder 1 end of the resistor to the 1 white wire you cut from step 3. Solder it "in line" like you're 'extending' the wire
The 150 Ohm resistor is BROWN GREEN BROWN Gold



5. Slide heat shrink tube down and over your solder. You'll solder the other end then slide the 3" or so tubing over both solder points where you will heat n shrink it. Buy shrink tube that easily, but barely slides over your 22 gauge wire. It will be easier to shrink.

6. Solder the other end of the wire you cut.


Here are the 2 whites ( 1 with the resistor ) and the black, don't forget red too.


Bring your shit out to your ride:





9. DISCONNECT NEGATIVE BATTERY 1 minute ( Place where it ain't hittin the post, i use a small plastic unused junction box. )
10. Remove Glovebox 1 minute ( place in back seat for 4d )
11. Remove Head unit 3 minutes.. place with cables in tact space permiting on an old sweatshirt, or I've also used the glove box


12. Connect your extension cables at the glovebox to the

$45 SWI-JACK Steering Wheel Control Module Designed for Clarion, Kenwood, Alpine, JVC and Blaupunkt

SWI-JACK harness using crimp cap connectors 3 minutes ( you already bundled all the unused cables ! ) This connects your extensions you made in your house to the harness provided by SWI JACK so you can work very comfortably.

red to red
black to black
YES both custom white AND white+resistor go to white on the SWI JACK that's the "hard part" 3 white wires will be together! No sweat dude. Done here for now.
​

13. Run your custom extension cables FROM the glovebox TO the dash using your little hanger technique I highly recommend.. 1 minute. Just "snake it around the S". I aim for the what I consider the middle opening, it will come out just behind where your clock/hazard harness is
Bundled and wrapped on hanger for easy feed:


Coming out TO the dash FROM the glovebox on hanger thingy:


14. Back in the dash: Connect your custom extensions to factory wires:
If you are staring at the plug like you were going to plug it into your mouth with the clip on top from top left to right: 1,2,3,4,5 are empty... But 6,7,8 is what you want baby ! Colors listed below.

*At about halfway through the black extension wire you ran through your dash, cut your black wire. Using 1 of your 3 splice connectors, "tap into" PIN 6 of your factory steering wheel connector. using the second half you cut connect that to your head unit ground. So you've tapped into pin 6 and connected to ground.

*Using splice connector, connect white only to pin 7
*Using splice connector, connect white with resistor to pin 8
*Using crimp cap, connect red to factory HU Red.
*If JVC, plug in the stereo jack ( or your extension you bought ) to the SWI at the glovebox. male end into the HU. if not, wire blue/yellow to your head unit.

On my 2006 taco: there are only 3 wires going into the factory SWI harness:
Pin 6 = white red stripe ( connects via splice tap to your black )

*** I have received a few questions about pin 6 and ground... here is further clarification if you get confused **
You cut the black wire in half... 1/2 butt end goes into your tap splice to pin 6 the other end of that firs cut piece goes to HU ground bundle.
The other half of your cut black wire goes from HU ground bundle to the SWI-JACK Black... That's why you cut it in half ! Make sense ? It should once you get in there.
So, you'll technically adding 2 more wires to your HU black/ground bundle with the crimp cap connector.!

pin 7 = purple white ( connects via splice tap to WHITE ONLY of your white extension )
pin 8 = yellow black ( connects via splice tap to white with resistor which you placed electrical tape )


All 3 factory SWI harness wires tapped into and secured with electrical tape.

Plug in stereo jack ( in my JVC HU to the OEM STEERING WHEEL plug )


When you're cutting the electrical tape to secure your splice connections, make sure you absolutely cut the frick out of your ring finger with a brand new razor blade ! After getting blood on your interior, secure the wound with shop towel and more electrical tape.



17. You're done with the wiring. Pull most of the excess wire from your custom extension cables from dash to the glovebox and push your Head Unit back into the dash. temporarily / single screw secure the HU, but tuck the cables as if it was a success so all you have to do is screw the bolts and snap in the dashkit.

Nice n Clean. If you wired right, you're done in the dash


Reconnect your battery, Since you have so much room, with extension cables, bring the swi-jack to the console area and bring your tiny screwdriver.
turn on the deck and make sure a light comes on in your device.. if yes, then you "probably" wired things right and it's ready to program.

I'm not gonna go into detail on programming here. Post if you can't understand the programming but read the directions first !

A COUPLE TIPS FOR TO PROGRAMMING:
Toyota "VERSION NUMBER" is 8. early on you have to tell it you have a toyota by pushing the pgm button 8 times. ( SEE INSTRUCIONS )

Radio Select button is for ONLY 1 USE... While programming, it tells the device what kind of radio you have. THAT IS ALL THIS IS FOR. Mine is on 2, because i have JVC. ( SEE INSTRUCTIONS ) All you have to do is match to your radio mfg which is provided in their instructions or online. You can just set it to your mfg at ANY point in this process and never switch it again.

I programmed in order:
vol up
vol down
SEEK up
seek down ( not next track ! unavailable for JVC )
Source ( aka tuner->cd->dvd->ipod )

Even once you've done it right, there is a "slight delay" between you pressing the button and the HU reacting. I found no way around this, but I'm not bothered by it. It simply takes a little getting used to and is still better than no controls !

It takes several tries ! About 30 minutes for me to get it working as well as test some strange scenarios.
When you're doing it right. You will go fairly fast so you need to know exactly what you're going to pgm based on your HU mfg options.


OK. so lets say you got it programmed right ! nice job.
Here's how I mounted behind the glovebox.

Double sided sticky tape on SWI-JACK Unit:


Bundle Wires:


Sticky Box to side next to GloveBox closed positon ( plenty of space )


re-install glovebox.. Air shock on glove box can be tricky with large hands

 

Thank you very much!!!
I am going to be installing a new Kenwood deck and was a little nervous about how to go about installing the SWI-PAC.
I'm sure if I combine this post with all else I can find on the boards, a few PMs to you, that I can do it, too.

 

Very nice write up , alittle late but nice. I just made a much more inferior write up minutes ago to help but now I see my work was in vain thank you sir.

 

Lol thanks burgman...
I just checked out your post. If it makes you feel any better, that fukking writeup took me about 3 hours ! But I had to finish and have it make sense.

good thing is that you got yours done too pretty easy...
I couldn't find much info when I installed mine, so I wanted to make it more of a one source. I had to search all over the damn place before I felt comfortable to get started, then I said fuk it and just banged it out(kind of)

 

Good write-up man. Rep sent!

 

Hey Jimirich:

You can do this. However, depending on your experience, I might tackle 1 project at a time. 1. install head unit first. get it all setup and functional. Once that's successful, then do the swi-jack. Not sure if I could have done both in one day, but I work slow.. That way if anything doesn't go well you know where to troubleshoot. However, you can definitely do both if you have more experience than I did.

Your setup ( and install ! ) should be exactly the same as mine except for programming your device, you have more options. ( verify w/ instructions I only glanced )

With the Kenwood, you will use a tiny flathead screwdriver to turn your "radio select" switch to 3. 3 is kenwood so the PAC SWI can "talk" to your Head Unit.

With the Kenwood you have nice options.
HERE IS THE PDF
1. vol +
2. vol -
3. mute ( I skipped this )
4. Source ( i used this "mode" on steering wheel )
5. seek up ( i used this and seek down because I HAD TO if you see in the pdf jvc has no trk up down, you're lucky )
6. TRACK +
7. TRACK -
8. disc up/fm
9. disc down/am

While programming, you can easily "SKIP" unused functions. The functions I listed above are the ONLY CHOICES YOU HAVE. So you skip them, or use them that's your only decision.
If I had kenwood, I would use volume+-, track+-, and source on my Taco Steering wheel.

 

Very nice write up.

I installed one of these for my Pioneer HU last summer. No write up to really help, and the instructions that come with the unit are, well, they are very confusing to say the least. But, with my sons help we got it done, and it works great.

One thing to keep in mind....... If you ever need to kill the power to the unit for any reason, you'll need to do the programming all over again. I reworked some of my wiring a few months ago, and did not know that, and the controls only worked intermitently.

 

good write up dude! im gonna be doing this soon in my pickup glad someone beat me to it.

 

Great writeup! Pioneer guys, keep in mind you'll need SWI-PS and not JACK.

 

Hey Rocketball..
this is strange to me. I swear that even after I toasted/then reconnected the the negative battery cable, this thing was still programmed correctly ? ? I distinctly did this test.. Maybe i was tired... Although using standard logic, it makes sense it would clear the unit's memory...

However, if someone has made it to a successful programming stage, future re-programs *should* take only a couple minutes ...

 

A very clear, correct how-to, Acozzens. Your thoroughness and method of presentation warrants this being made a sticky!! (IMHO) I have in the past had to copy n paste several different threads from different forums to proceed with mods but this is the definitive how to for installing the pac swi.

 

Great write up! I have one in my truck and it would have saved me some time being able to read through this thread when I installed mine months ago. Rep sent

 

Thanks for the appreciation everyone.
This writeup did take a long time to compile, so i'm really glad it is helpful.. I wish I had it before I did mine

Side Notes:

I am nearly done with another 'decent' writeup on Redline Tuning Gas Shock hood lift... Although redline's instructions are very good I thought it might be a nice sanity check to read before installing the Quick Lift hood system ( which is an awesome product )

I also do posess some 'moderate' video editing skills, so I might throw in some video tutorials, but I'm running out of projects. Based on the positive feedback from this writeup, I'm inspired to do some video work, but THAT takes a long time to compile ! Plus I'm not a model like that taco tunes honey-dip you'll have to see my ugly mug.

thanks,
ACOZZENS

 

Maybe the lenght of time it's disconnected has something to do with it. I had mine disconnected for a few hours to do some rewiring.

 

I'll bet that's it ! it must 'hold a little juice' for it's memory. Mine was disconnected at neg battery only for a short period of time. I always disconnect before plugging anything in. In this case, it was the remainder of the dash. ( heat controls, and hazard/clock bar )..

I did make a note in the original post regarding this so thanks for mentioning it because i like that info to be as accurate as possible.

thanks man,
AC

 

Great write up. I have installed these in both my Dodge and Nissan and never had a problem. The Taco is kicking my a$$ right now. I have referred to this post several times and for some reason am unable to program the Swi-PS. I have power and can clear the memory but I get nothing on the programing. I have disassembled and rewired/reconnected in attempt to overcome some unknown issue on my part but can't seem to. I did notice you said pins 1-5 are empty but my Taco has an extra purple/white wire in one of those pins. I've tried both purple/whites but neither seems to do the trick. Anyhow, sent you a PM. Thx.

Disregard: OMG, I'm an idiot. Ground to pin 6! Duh..... I was grounding to ground not Pin 6. Makes all the difference. WTF was I thinking?

 

Nice work on the self-troubleshooting..
I thought it was because you had an 09 taco, so disregard my return pm.

Yeah, ground to pin 6 and ground like you said.
It is mentioned in the writeup but may not be clear.

nice work on the install.
AC

 

Okay thats just badass now.... I don't think I've ever seen a install guide so well written out... good job!

 

great write up made it more easier to install, only issue now is that i can't get the programming to work right,for some reason volume up is volume down, volume down is mute and so on. guess i gotta try again