Hello everyone,
Great site, soooo glad I happened upon this forum.

Bought my brand new 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited last week and paid local stereo nerds to install the AVIC-Z1 I just bought at the same time. Besides nicking my dash and installing the iPod adapter connection wire backwards (i.e. no audio) they seemed to do a pretty decent job, except for the strange way they approached the headlight/parking ground situation:

Instead of installing Ducatiboy's circuit (why couldn't I have found this site last week?), they used one of the blank option buttons on my dash to install a button that I have to push everytime the Z1 boots up. Pushing this button apparently sends a 12V charge (or whatever) and bypasses the parking block, enabling DVD playback while moving etc. Their button works fine, that is until nighttime, when the Z1 refuses to cooperate with my headlights and I basically have a headlight in my dash shining in my face at night. The installer said they used the headlight wire for their button, and there is an automatic dimmer function in the settings that senses the amount of light in the car and automatically dims the display accordingly. Not only have I found no mention of this function anywhere in the Z1 manual or on this forum, but the night display on the Nav map is apparently completely useless/unavailable to me now. This sucks. Questions:

Does this automatic dimmer exist?

I can dim the uber-bright daytime Nav display at night, but then the regular AV interface is so dim it's almost impossible to see. I have the Day/Night setting set to 'Automatic', but is there no direct toggle for nighttime Nav display?

And most importantly, if I buy Ducatiboy's circuit and have it installed, will it enable my night display, sync the Z1 with my headlights correctly, and automatically enable the DVD/parking/video situation without me having to press any buttons when I start the car?

Thanks so much for any help!!
T

Looks like your installers are dishing you some human waste/by-product. The Z1 does not have a photo sensor...I know some are wishing Pioneer can do something with the IR sensor but as of now...nothing. These installers crack me up. They come up with anything to get their customer's off their back. You would think with the internet information out there they would not come up with this crap. I highly recommend that you buy the DucatiBoy Circuit and this can be completed by yourself. Do not go back to those jokers who installed your system; based on what they told you, they obviously do not know what they are talking about regarding the Z1. The DB Circuit will dim the Z1 when the headlights are turned on...only if you select the "automatic" option in the settings. You can select the "Day" option which will make the Z1 stay bright all the time: I would suggest reading your manual to get more information.

Thomos said:

Hello everyone,
Great site, soooo glad I happened upon this forum.

Well, we are glad to have you here as well.

Thomos said:

Bought my brand new 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited last week and paid local stereo nerds to install the AVIC-Z1 I just bought at the same time. Besides nicking my dash and installing the iPod adapter connection wire backwards (i.e. no audio) they seemed to do a pretty decent job, except for the strange way they approached the headlight/parking ground situation:

Instead of installing Ducatiboy's circuit (why couldn't I have found this site last week?), they used one of the blank option buttons on my dash to install a button that I have to push everytime the Z1 boots up. Pushing this button apparently sends a 12V charge (or whatever) and bypasses the parking block, enabling DVD playback while moving etc. Their button works fine, that is until nighttime, when the Z1 refuses to cooperate with my headlights and I basically have a headlight in my dash shining in my face at night. The installer said they used the headlight wire for their button, and there is an automatic dimmer function in the settings that senses the amount of light in the car and automatically dims the display accordingly. Not only have I found no mention of this function anywhere in the Z1 manual or on this forum, but the night display on the Nav map is apparently completely useless/unavailable to me now. This sucks.

That's messed up.

Thomos said:

Questions:

Does this automatic dimmer exist?

bongus already answered this, but basically no. It would have been nice and other units had this, but not the Z1.

Thomos said:

I can dim the uber-bright daytime Nav display at night, but then the regular AV interface is so dim it's almost impossible to see. I have the Day/Night setting set to 'Automatic', but is there no direct toggle for nighttime Nav display?

I think you hit the "V" button on the bottom right when it's dim and you can adjust the brightness. (when it's dim you adjust the dim brightness, and when it's normal you can adjust the normal brightness)

Thomos said:

And most importantly, if I buy Ducatiboy's circuit and have it installed, will it enable my night display, sync the Z1 with my headlights correctly, and automatically enable the DVD/parking/video situation without me having to press any buttons when I start the car?

Thanks so much for any help!!
T

Yes, basically that's what it does, that's why I created this circuit. To do exactly what you said. But in order for it to automatically enable your night display, you have to wire the input wire of my circuit to a 12V when lights are on wire. It's usually called the ILLUMINATION wire and I don't know where it is in your vehicle, some one here will, but you hook that to the input of my circuit and the output of my circuit to the Z1 and you will be good to go. (and my circuit needs power and ground as well)

I'm betting they hooked your little button up to a constant (or switched) 12V source on one side and to the illumination wire of the Z1 on the other side. If that's the case, the unit will stay in the day mode all the time. A simple test would be to push in the button while the map is displayed and see if it switches to night mode.

Then I would go to this installer's manager and let him know just how full of it his installer is and how you don't appreciate being fed a line of crap like that.

Thanks to everyone for all the advice/input, much appreciated. I just have one question about Ducatiboy's circuit:

The "Starting..." text that appears when the Z1 boots up only appears for a few seconds. Does Ducatiboy's circuit have a timed pulse, or is it a constant signal? i.e. sometimes it takes the unit longer to boot up, will his circuit still bypass the necessary blocks even if it misses that short window of time when the text appears?

Thanks again!
T

Is this a d-u-m dum question?

Sorry if it is, I don't know much about these circuits etc.

Thomos said:

Is this a d-u-m dum question?

Sorry if it is, I don't know much about these circuits etc.

No the only dum question is:

"Officer don't you think it's wrong to let me off with just a warning when, in fact, I was speeding?"

Thomos said:

Thanks to everyone for all the advice/input, much appreciated. I just have one question about Ducatiboy's circuit:

The "Starting..." text that appears when the Z1 boots up only appears for a few seconds. Does Ducatiboy's circuit have a timed pulse, or is it a constant signal? i.e. sometimes it takes the unit longer to boot up, will his circuit still bypass the necessary blocks even if it misses that short window of time when the text appears?

Thanks again!
T

Sorry I didn't see this till today, must have missed it.

The starting is slightly longer or shorter sometimes. It's not a constant voltage, but it's a couple pulses in the "window". The window is about 2.5 seconds and can vary as much as 2 seconds. I have the pulses timed so that one of the 3 pulses I do should hit that window no matter how the unit boots up. It's pretty reliable actually. I have unit SN #1 in my truck and it's been working perfectly and is exactly the same software and timing that I sell today.

I was just about to tweak the software again so it would only need one pulse and it would be even more reliable (not effected by any weird wiring or possible remote start issue or anything) but with this change in Pioneer units in July 06 I might not bother.