1) When I enter an address and start the navigation process, it only shows me the regular map, without the turn-by-turn screen. The Guide Mode map screen is inactive, and I can't select it in the View Mode screen.

2) The night mode never turns on, even though I have the automatic headlights and dimming in my car. It's always on daytime mode.

3) Every time I make a call through my bluetooth unit, the people on the other end complain about the echo.

4) When I go to the "vehicle dynamics" screen (or whatever it's called) it shows the time, but the speedometer doesn't show up. Also, it said something about the "gyro" not being hooked up. Is this a serious problem, or does it not matter?

One other problem:

5) I have the XM/Navtraffic set up... and when I enter a destination, it first gives me an estimate of how long the route will take (which is usually a BEST case scenario, with no traffic - i.e. 0H, 28M)... but when I start moving, the time goes to "**H, **M"... should this update depending on the traffic?

Who did the install?

A local custom shop... not Circuit City or any of those...

1,2 and 4 sound like they either didn't install the correct wiring harness, or just wired the minimum, like speakers/power/ground etc. Sounds like they forgot to connect the VSS wire and possible didn't even ground the parking brake wire.

3 - You just need to update the hard drive with the bluetooth update cd. If you've already done so, then you need to look at mic vs speaker placement. If you're outputting the incoming audio (from the phone call) to the right speaker, and that's in direct pick-up lines with the mic, then yes the callers will hear an echo, because the mic is sending them their own audio...get it?

5 - Points to the VSS again. Your deck isn't getting info from the vehicle on speed etc.

Take your vehicle and install receipt back to the custom shop and demand they do it again, correctly.

Check out Crutchfield and find the wiring harness your car needs and make sure they used that one. When you order the harness for your car specific, it comes with a diagram that shows which wires get connected to which and it's all color coded.

I had them do the bypass... is this why they didn't hook up the VSS cable?

Oh and I fixed issue #3...

I just muted all the sound upon receiving a call (instead of just lowering it 20 dB) and I positioned the mic a little better.

1,2 and 4 sound like they either didn't install the correct wiring harness, or just wired the minimum, like speakers/power/ground etc. Sounds like they forgot to connect the VSS wire and possible didn't even ground the parking brake wire.

 

3 - You just need to update the hard drive with the bluetooth update cd. If you've already done so, then you need to look at mic vs speaker placement. If you're outputting the incoming audio (from the phone call) to the right speaker, and that's in direct pick-up lines with the mic, then yes the callers will hear an echo, because the mic is sending them their own audio...get it?

 

5 - Points to the VSS again. Your deck isn't getting info from the vehicle on speed etc.

 

Take your vehicle and install receipt back to the custom shop and demand they do it again, correctly.

Check out Crutchfield and find the wiring harness your car needs and make sure they used that one. When you order the harness for your car specific, it comes with a diagram that shows which wires get connected to which and it's all color coded.

Alright, I'm going to take it back to the installer... I am going to ask him to connect the VSS wire, and to figure out the nighttime mode (is there a wire that connects to the car's light sensor or something?)

Is there anything else that should be hooked up that would cause these problems?

im having the same problem with my night time dimming

im having the same problem with my night time dimming

1,2 and 4 sound like they either didn't install the correct wiring harness, or just wired the minimum, like speakers/power/ground etc. Sounds like they forgot to connect the VSS wire and possible didn't even ground the parking brake wire.

 

3 - You just need to update the hard drive with the bluetooth update cd. If you've already done so, then you need to look at mic vs speaker placement. If you're outputting the incoming audio (from the phone call) to the right speaker, and that's in direct pick-up lines with the mic, then yes the callers will hear an echo, because the mic is sending them their own audio...get it?

 

5 - Points to the VSS again. Your deck isn't getting info from the vehicle on speed etc.

 

Take your vehicle and install receipt back to the custom shop and demand they do it again, correctly.

Check out Crutchfield and find the wiring harness your car needs and make sure they used that one. When you order the harness for your car specific, it comes with a diagram that shows which wires get connected to which and it's all color coded.

 

Alright, I'm going to take it back to the installer... I am going to ask him to connect the VSS wire, and to figure out the nighttime mode (is there a wire that connects to the car's light sensor or something?)

 

Is there anything else that should be hooked up that would cause these problems?

To be quite honest, I'm not sure about wiring specifics other than what's in my vehicle.

The VSS wire is your speed sensor. You having problems with navigation/time most likely is because of this wire and it's improper connection.

As for nighttime mode, your installer just needs to find the dimmer wire in the harness and connect that.

What kind of car do you have?

When I did my install, I got great information from an online forum dedicated to my vehicle (F-150 forums.com), so you may get better info if you find a forum dedicated to your vehicle.

I hope you get your problems worked out

I actually took it back and got the VSS wire hooked up, along with the ILL (illumination) cable...

The nighttime mode issue is fixed...

The speed sensor on the Vehicle Dynamic screen shows up, but it's way off it says the "speed pulse" is like 11 when I'm driving about 70 MPH... and the damn GUIDE MODE is still grayed out!!

Do I have to reset the unit, or calibrate it or something? I couldn't find a calibration feature...

I would reset the deck itself and drive it for a while to see if it catches itself up.

I noticed that when I went from the Z1 to the Z3 image, my GPS was off...I mean it had me going the right direction, but my position on teh map was about 20 feet to the left of the road I was travelling on

What I did was go to the page where it shows the info about the speed sense and I did a "reset all". I can't remember if those were the exact words, but whichever the choice is on the bottom of the screen that resets the positioning sensors, then that's what I did.

It took about 10 miles of driving, but after that all my stuff was right; speed, position, direction etc...

Hey, did they ground the light green parking brake wire? Also see if they took the cell mute wire out of harness #2 and put it in to harness #1 in the bottom right hole and grounded that too.

I would reset the deck itself and drive it for a while to see if it catches itself up.

I noticed that when I went from the Z1 to the Z3 image, my GPS was off...I mean it had me going the right direction, but my position on teh map was about 20 feet to the left of the road I was travelling on

 

What I did was go to the page where it shows the info about the speed sense and I did a "reset all". I can't remember if those were the exact words, but whichever the choice is on the bottom of the screen that resets the positioning sensors, then that's what I did.

It took about 10 miles of driving, but after that all my stuff was right; speed, position, direction etc...

 

Hey, did they ground the light green parking brake wire? Also see if they took the cell mute wire out of harness #2 and put it in to harness #1 in the bottom right hole and grounded that too.

That's what mine is doing right now... I was driving down the freeway last night and it was showing me as driving down a non-existant road to the LEFT of the freeway the whole time.

I'll make sure to do the reset right now and see how that goes...

I would reset the deck itself and drive it for a while to see if it catches itself up.

I noticed that when I went from the Z1 to the Z3 image, my GPS was off...I mean it had me going the right direction, but my position on teh map was about 20 feet to the left of the road I was travelling on

 

What I did was go to the page where it shows the info about the speed sense and I did a "reset all". I can't remember if those were the exact words, but whichever the choice is on the bottom of the screen that resets the positioning sensors, then that's what I did.

It took about 10 miles of driving, but after that all my stuff was right; speed, position, direction etc...

 

Hey, did they ground the light green parking brake wire? Also see if they took the cell mute wire out of harness #2 and put it in to harness #1 in the bottom right hole and grounded that too.

 

That's what mine is doing right now... I was driving down the freeway last night and it was showing me as driving down a non-existant road to the LEFT of the freeway the whole time.

 

I'll make sure to do the reset right now and see how that goes...

it sounds like ur connection status is bad..goto menu -> system -> hardware -> connection status and see.

it sounds like ur connection status is bad..goto menu -> system -> hardware -> connection status and see.

I have 1-2 bars and the connection says "OK"... and I usually have all satellites lit up. Occasionally I get one sat darkened out but usually it's all of them.

it sounds like ur connection status is bad..goto menu -> system -> hardware -> connection status and see.

 

I have 1-2 bars and the connection says "OK"... and I usually have all satellites lit up. Occasionally I get one sat darkened out but usually it's all of them.

what bars? theres like 10 that go from the center of the screen to the right and then theres bars that come up next to the satellite icon that look like cell phone bars. if you only have 1-2 bars out of the 10 lit up thats not a good signal. if its the cell phone-like bars then youre connection is good.

it sounds like ur connection status is bad..goto menu -> system -> hardware -> connection status and see.

 

I have 1-2 bars and the connection says "OK"... and I usually have all satellites lit up. Occasionally I get one sat darkened out but usually it's all of them.

 

what bars? theres like 10 that go from the center of the screen to the right and then theres bars that come up next to the satellite icon that look like cell phone bars. if you only have 1-2 bars out of the 10 lit up thats not a good signal. if its the cell phone-like bars then youre connection is good.

Yeah I meant bars as in the "cell phone" style bars. The satellite icons (which there are 8 of) are usually all lit up, occasionally it might drop down to only 7 or 6... but only 6 when I'm under an overpass or next to a tall building.

it sounds like ur connection status is bad..goto menu -> system -> hardware -> connection status and see.

 

I have 1-2 bars and the connection says "OK"... and I usually have all satellites lit up. Occasionally I get one sat darkened out but usually it's all of them.

 

what bars? theres like 10 that go from the center of the screen to the right and then theres bars that come up next to the satellite icon that look like cell phone bars. if you only have 1-2 bars out of the 10 lit up thats not a good signal. if its the cell phone-like bars then youre connection is good.

 

Yeah I meant bars as in the "cell phone" style bars. The satellite icons (which there are 8 of) are usually all lit up, occasionally it might drop down to only 7 or 6... but only 6 when I'm under an overpass or next to a tall building.

hm...then is ur unit bypassed or are you trying to access it while in motion? half the options get grayed out if your in motion and not bypassed.

No, it's bypassed... how long is it supposed to take to calibrate? Once it's calibrated, should the "Guide Mode" be selectable when I have a route entered?

Not to mention, it's still pretty inaccurate... I'm driving down the freeway, and it's not aware that I'm on it. It thinks I'm on a side street that's parallel to the freeway.

Example:

I was already on the freeway, but when I entered a location (I just hit Return Home), it told me to make a left at the next street, then get on the onramp and merge onto the freeway. HELLO?!? I'M ALREADY ON THE DAMN FREEWAY!!

Where's the GPS antenna mounted? Is it level, on a piece of metal (or the provided magnet) and is the space above it free of metal covering?

For instance, mine is mounted inside the dash. It sits about 6 inches behind the rear of the Z between the Z and the fire wall. It's completely enclosed in the dash, but there's no metal above it. I've got 90% signal and it only took about 5 miles for mine to sync up the second time.

The first time was with the Z1 stock drive. I installed it, fired it up and it was spot on. I don't know why I had to re-calibrate it when I went to the Z3 image...

Where's the GPS antenna mounted? Is it level, on a piece of metal (or the provided magnet) and is the space above it free of metal covering?

 

For instance, mine is mounted inside the dash. It sits about 6 inches behind the rear of the Z between the Z and the fire wall. It's completely enclosed in the dash, but there's no metal above it. I've got 90% signal and it only took about 5 miles for mine to sync up the second time.

The first time was with the Z1 stock drive. I installed it, fired it up and it was spot on. I don't know why I had to re-calibrate it when I went to the Z3 image...

Not sure... I'd have to call the installer to find out.

Don't forget, Guide mode and Route mode aren't available until you've entered a destination and the navigation is doing it's thing...

Not sure... I'd have to call the installer to find out.

you dont know where your antenna is? if its not visible and its bein covered then that could be your problem. its supposed to be out in the open, either by your windshield, your rear window or on the car itself.