Ok, after what seems like an endless amount of searching, I can't find a stereo place that will help me install my in-dash navigation for cheap.

So...time to DIY.

Perhaps you guys can help me out here.

My Vehicle: 2008 Scion xB

Current Headunit: Factory

Future Headunit: Avic F90BT

Information that I have researched and gathered here:

Here's a PDF on how to install the factory navigation (if I had bought it with my car)

Here's a PDF on how to install the F90BT

Information about my wiring that I found here on this forum:

#513391: 2008 SCION XB 4DR SUV
Audio/Mobile Video
WIRE COLOR POLARITY LOCATION
Battery LIGHT GREEN (+) RADIO HARNESS
Accesory GRAY (+) RADIO HARNESS
Ground BROWN (-) RADIO HARNESS
Illumination GREEN (+) AT RADIO HARNESS
Power Antenna ORANGE (+) RADIO HARNESS
LF Speaker (+) PINK
LF Speaker (-) VIOLET
RF Speaker (+) LIGHT GREEN
RF Speaker (-) BLUE
LR Speaker (+) BLACK
LR Speaker (-) YELLOW
RR Speaker (+) RED
RR Speaker (-) WHITE

Speed Sense VIOLET (AC) AT RADIO HARNESS
ALSO AT ECU MODULE PIN A8
Speed Sense purple ac radio harness

Reverse Lights RED (+) AT INTERIOR FUSE BOX -
TOP LEFT CORNER
Reverse Light red + fuse box, top L, 30 pin plug, pin 30
"VSS Wire Behind Radio 20 pin plug PURPLE wire Pin 3" 

Accessories that I'm going to buy/bought already:

Double DINN In-Dash Reciever (because according to research the F90BT is not wide enough to fit)

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_120958202/ ... r-Kit.html

Receiver Wire Harness

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_120701761/ ... rness.html

I've read the bypass threads: here, here, here, and here

Ok, please, I have no experience in installing anything electrical...so...

1st. what's my first step? I don't know how to crimp OR solder wires....which of these products should I buy?

I think these POSI-PRODUCTS (halfway down the site) listed here:

http://www.crutchfield.com/g_820/Instal ... tml?tp=990

will help an amateur like me, but which one do i buy? I don't know what guage wire sizes i'm looking for to buy the right set. I also don't know how many I need.

2nd. I'm pretty sure i'm going to do the software bypass, the software bypass has very detailed answers about what to do with those files in the SD card and yada yada

BUT

There isn't much information along with PICTURES that tell me what to do with a light green parking wire that everyone mentions very vaguely before going on about the software side of the bypass again.

What is going on with it? Please refer back to the top of the post and check out the PDF I've posted about installing the factory navigation. Is there something about the parking wire that I missed that I was supposed to do?

3rd. VSS wire, this is the information i've located about it:

Speed Sense VIOLET (AC) AT RADIO HARNESS
ALSO AT ECU MODULE PIN A8
Speed Sense purple ac radio harness

Is this wire supposed to be crimped/solder onto something else? I thought the wiring harness I'm buying would have taken care of everything. Where does this wire go in relation to the harness? Does it plug directly into a headunit?

4th. Reverse wire. Same question as the VSS Wire

Reverse Lights RED (+) AT INTERIOR FUSE BOX -
TOP LEFT CORNER
Reverse Light red + fuse box, top L, 30 pin plug, pin 30
"VSS Wire Behind Radio 20 pin plug PURPLE wire Pin 3"

Is this wire supposed to be crimped/solder onto something else? I thought the wiring harness I'm buying would have taken care of everything. Where does this wire go in relation to the harness? Does it plug directly into a headunit?

You can tell I've been researching everything, and I've provided as much information as I could, is there anything else I'm missing before I finish purchasing everything? Sadly, this will be the first time I've taken a car apart to install something, but I figured I'll learn from this experience.

Buy a Wiring Harness and a Dash kit. Go on www.Metraonline.com , type in the year make model of your xB, and it will tell you what model number for the harness under "Harnesses - Into Car" and the Dash kit is under "Kits". All you need after that is the VSS and reverse wire locations, which you have. Soldering isn't too difficult, just buy a soldering gun and solder. Twist the connections together and solder them together permanently. Very simple install in that car, you don't have to worry about CAN or data wires like in German cars

If you've never done this before I would suggest finding a friend or someone who has experiance and might be willing to help you out. For the reason that if not done properly, it could possibly result in damage to your Pioneer. If you still plan on doing it here's my answers to your questions

1. Get one of these from radio shack, it comes with instructions for beginners. You may want to pickup some extra solder because this kit doesn't come with much.

Are you saying a person with no background information on soldering can solder wires together?

What exactly is soldering? Sounds like i'm melting the two wires together?

And what exactly is heat shrink tubing?

Is soldering the best way to do thing? Even more then crimping?

Which method would provide the best sound and clarity?

In my opinion, I believe soldering and heat shrink tubing is the best way to connect wires, mainly because it gives the cleanest looking and in my opinion the most secure connection. I feel that following the instructions on the link below, you could solder with no problem. The second link explaines the heat shrink tubing. Instead of using a heat gun like they mention, a Bic lighter can achieve the same results, just make sure you don't over heat it.

See this link: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-CV3fyPd8Qv ... b1808.html

Forgot to ask, but are these POSI-Products, basically POS? haha

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_669PP500/P ... tml?tp=990

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_669PP605/P ... tml?tp=990

The 2nd link actually comes in a variety of sizes and stuff, but I don't know how these products fare in the real world

They don't seem like they'd be as secure as soldering to me. Here's a link explaining what soldering is and how it works. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldering

2. I did the hardwire bypass myself so someone else will have to answer that question. However I believe you don't need to hook it up at all.

 

3. There'll be a pink wire on your Pioneer wiring harness, connect this to the Violet wire on your vehicles radio harness like your post mentioned, most likely you'll just need to tap into it using these. http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2104093 Generally the harness you buy doesn't account for the VSS wire so you just tap into it ahead of this harness.

Can you elaborate on #3 please? I'm not sure what you mean by tapping into it?

So I would just solder the Violet wire from my vehicle directly with the Pink wire from the Pioneer? I'm not even sure what that radioshack link thing is!

for #2, didn't you have to do something with your light green parking wire when you do the bypass?

When you tap into a wire it's usually a wire that doesn't have an end to easily connect to so you are tapping into the wire itself. So yes you would just tap into the violet wire (vehicles VSS signal wire) with the pink Pioneer VSS connection wire off the head unit's wiring harness. I suggest you visit your local Radio Shack and they can show you how the wire taps work. Or you could strip a small amount of insulation from the wire then solder the pink wire to it, then wrap it with some electrical tape. See the section "Tap Soldering" of this link. http://www.mmxpress.com/technical/connections.htm

Either way would work.

Like I mentioned earlier when it comes to the by-pass, I did the hard wire by-pass which requires relocating the yellow mute wire to a different pin location in the wiring harness, then grounding both the yellow mute and green parking brake wires. If you are doing the sofware bypass you don't need to be concerned about these wires.

Like I mentioned earlier when it comes to the by-pass, I did the hard wire by-pass which requires relocating the yellow mute wire to a different pin location in the wiring harness, then grounding both the yellow mute and green parking brake wires. If you are doing the sofware bypass you don't need to be concerned about these wires.

Well, one of the bypass threads here:

http://avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=141915#141915

The guy says the software bypass still requires the light green parking wire to be played with still. There's alot of conflicting information on here.

I think its safe to say that no matter what, grounding the parking wire will have no negative consequences either way. But what does it mean to ground the parking wire in my particular install?

Like I mentioned at the begining of my replies, I did the hard wire by-pass so I'm not an expert on the software by-pass. If they say you need to ground the green parking brake wire then connect it to either a metal part of the body of your vehicle or to the black ground wire of your Pioneer wiring harness which in your wiring list connects to the Ground BROWN (-) RADIO HARNESS.

I'm still thinking you should get someone with a little experiance to help you out with this, because I'm not sure you fully understand what you're getting into.

I had no experience installing anything like this either (although I did know how to solder), and I had no problem with it in my Titan. I just did a lot of research beforehand and went kind of slow. The wiring harness that you'll buy will be color coded the same as the harness that comes with the F90, so you'll just match up like-color wires. Couldn't be easier. There's videos on youtube that show you how to solder. And yes, if you do the software bypass, you still have to ground the parking brake wire.

These forums are obviously a big help, but you should probably check out some vehicle-specific forums, too. That helped me out quite a bit with dash trim removal, running things like the mic and XM antenna, and finding the reverse wire. There's probably good info to be found on Xb forums.

I always crack up reading these post . You dont want to pay to get it done right after you spent how much on your unit and car. Todays cars are no place for someone with no experience. Do you do your own surgery to save a trip to the hospital?

Its actually good for us when one of you come in our install bay , we get to charge even more to fix all the things done wrong then start over and do it right.

Now i know some of you will say i can do it myself and maybe some of you can but for someone that has no knowledge at all as stated they should not be doing this.

I always crack up reading these post . You dont want to pay to get it done right after you spent how much on your unit and car. Todays cars are no place for someone with no experience. Do you do your own surgery to save a trip to the hospital?

 

Its actually good for us when one of you come in our install bay , we get to charge even more to fix all the things done wrong then start over and do it right.

 

Now i know some of you will say i can do it myself and maybe some of you can but for someone that has no knowledge at all as stated they should not be doing this.

Not all of today's vehicles require years of experience for the simplist of installs. He's not asking to put an autostarter in a Volvo, he's asking to put a radio in a Scion. With color coded wiring harnesses and all the information he needs, It's possible for someone with no experience to do this install. Every installer started out not knowing a thing..

I had no experience installing anything like this either (although I did know how to solder), and I had no problem with it in my Titan. I just did a lot of research beforehand and went kind of slow. The wiring harness that you'll buy will be color coded the same as the harness that comes with the F90, so you'll just match up like-color wires. Couldn't be easier. There's videos on youtube that show you how to solder. And yes, if you do the software bypass, you still have to ground the parking brake wire.

 

These forums are obviously a big help, but you should probably check out some vehicle-specific forums, too. That helped me out quite a bit with dash trim removal, running things like the mic and XM antenna, and finding the reverse wire. There's probably good info to be found on Xb forums.

Well, i'm pretty sure I can take apart the dash cause I have instructions on a PDF listed on the 1st post in this topic that I found on a scion forum =]

Could specifically tell me what it means to ground the parking wire. This what I think it means...

First I'll show you where my parking wires are exactly:

So I know where it runs to. And this is what I think it means to ground the parking wire, and you tell me if I'm on the right track.

The light green wire from headunit connects to the wiring harness. The wiring harness connects to the stock connection. From there, my parking brake wire in my case is red/white.

Here's where i'm confused... I cut the red/white wire in half? The wire coming from the stereo, I strip off of the insulation to expose the copper. Wrap the copper around the top of a screw somewhere in the car, and screw it down.

The wire come from the actual parking brake itself...Do I also screw it somewhere? Electrical tape the tip and leave it alone?? Strip it and then electrical tape it?

Ok for the VSS Wire

The Pioneer headunit VSS wire is pink, and specifically comes out of the power cord wires. The VSS wire in my car is violet, as stated multiple time.

Is this what I do with said wire?

That's what i'm doing, I'm searching, and posting only questions I need. Trying to be not too much of a noob

I always crack up reading these post . You dont want to pay to get it done right after you spent how much on your unit and car. Todays cars are no place for someone with no experience. Do you do your own surgery to save a trip to the hospital?

 

Its actually good for us when one of you come in our install bay , we get to charge even more to fix all the things done wrong then start over and do it right.

 

Now i know some of you will say i can do it myself and maybe some of you can but for someone that has no knowledge at all as stated they should not be doing this.

I don't want to pay to pull my pants down and bend over. I asked on this forum for good competitive priced places to go for installation here:

http://www.avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=142521

Don't think I didn't try, cause then you're just ignorant. The general consensus for installation here in Southern California is $300. That's just for the navigation, I haven't even added the cost of adding in the PAC Controller for Steering wheel capabilities.

We're in a Recession right now remember? Alot of people are interested in DIY, so if they don't want to pay you $300 (which is all labor, which equals all $300 into your pocket). They rather save the $300 install, and paid their rent or buy groceries, and support their kids. You can go look for a new job if that's your attitude when you're working in the installation bays.

Well, that's why I'm here, I'm learning to gain knowledge, and I think this is a good place to learn. That way, I can help my friends. Don't you help your friends out as well? Besides, I think I'm on the right track.

And do I really know what an installation place is going to do/promises to do?

Worst Case Scenario:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/31/man- ... stall-gon/

Here's a short snippet:

...he bought a Pioneer AVIC Z2 GPS unit and some other components from Circuit City last July for more $3,000 and decided to let their installers do the installation work for him -- apparently after he was told that it'd slide into his Honda Civic without any modifications.The problems then allegedly began when the installer whipped out a heat gun, which was purportedly intended to be used to mold a mounting guide for the GPS unit but instead wound up melting one of the Civic's heating ducts. As if that wasn't enough, the installer apparently also used tape to hold the GPS unit in place, installed the antennae on the inside of the car instead of the outside, and used a glue gun to install the speakers instead of bolting them in place...

I don't need that drama right now, you never know if they're going to have sex in your backseat, tag your car follow you home then steal your headunit, screw up the installation themselves by wiring the wrong thing (nobody's perfect), or something to that effect.

Besides, I think the knowledge learned here will help me wire my car or future cars. Everyone has to start somewhere right?

MegamanX, bottom line is you're not building a rocket or performing surgery as compared to in a previous post. You're installing a radio and you're going to buy all the pieces needed to make it as easy as possible. You have pictured instructions on taking apart the dash, color coded wires to hook it up, and the right dash kit to mount it in. And if that isn't enough, the unit also has a detailed installation manual to help you. The steering wheel module is not too difficult if you read the instructions and follow them as exactly specified for your Scion xB

Grounding the parking brake wire means connecting it to a negative, either by screwing it to bare metal on the vehicle itself with a ring and a self tapping screw, or simply splicing into the BLACK wire off the avic harness. But that's not all you have to do to bypass it, depending on which way you go you either have to move a wire in the plug and ground that as well or modify an internal file in the unit itself. Both methods can be found in the hacks/mods section with detailed instructions. Don't let someone discourage you, it's not difficult. And if it gives any more credibility to what Im telling you, I also work at an "installation bay". Good Luck and post results.

-CMIYC

MegamanX, bottom line is you're not building a rocket or performing surgery as compared to in a previous post. You're installing a radio and you're going to buy all the pieces needed to make it as easy as possible. You have pictured instructions on taking apart the dash, color coded wires to hook it up, and the right dash kit to mount it in. And if that isn't enough, the unit also has a detailed installation manual to help you. The steering wheel module is not too difficult if you read the instructions and follow them as exactly specified for your Scion xB

 

Grounding the parking brake wire means connecting it to a negative, either by screwing it to bare metal on the vehicle itself with a ring and a self tapping screw, or simply splicing into the BLACK wire off the avic harness. But that's not all you have to do to bypass it, depending on which way you go you either have to move a wire in the plug and ground that as well or modify an internal file in the unit itself. Both methods can be found in the hacks/mods section with detailed instructions. Don't let someone discourage you, it's not difficult. And if it gives any more credibility to what Im telling you, I also work at an "installation bay". Good Luck and post results.

 

-CMIYC

thanks for your help man, I'm almost ready to take this project on. I got a question for you, how do you usually take off the dash panels and such that are held on with clips? I was thinking about using a screwdriver with a piece of cloth over or tape over it maybe and crowbar style out the dash panels.

Also, I'm doing the software bypass, so I know I will ground the parking wire coming out of the headunit, but what about the other end? The end coming from the Parking Brake, do I ground that as well, or just tape it up the tip and leave it hanging somewhere?

I wouldn't use a flathead screwdriver. If you go to use it and the screwdriver slips, you can have a nice scratch on your dash. And tape wont be too effective since the corners can tear through the tape thus rendering the tape useless. In the shop we use what we call "blue tools", they're like little plastic crowbars of different shapes that won't scratch the panels. Obviously with this being your first job you probably don't have those tools, and I don't know off the top of my head what can be a subsitute, maybe another member will have a suggestion.

As far as the parking brake wire, you are not touching the vehicles parking brake wire at all. You are only going to tamper with the light green parking brake wire on the avic power harness. all you have to do is cut it to about 4", strip off about 3/4", then cut back some insulation on the black wire to expose the wire inside, wrap the light green tightly about the exposed black wire, and solder/heat shrink or tape. Then do the software part.

CMIYC has a good point here guys.

This stuff isn't Rocket Science... IF you have some technical ability and a little bit of confidence and maybe a lot of patience, you can probably pull it off.

Just take your time, get the right tools for the job, (including adapters, pac units if needed) follow the instructions and ask questions if needed...

That's what the forums are for.

Plus, a scion is a pretty straight forward install...

If you don't feel comfortable, hire a pro... otherwise, go for it, but TAKE YOUR TIME and do it right.

I agree it's not rocket science, however, someone who has never delt with electronics and vehicle wiring could do damage to either their vehicle or head unit if not done correctly. I've seen it happen many times, and some of the instructions I was pointing out weren't quite getting through (hence me being skeptical) however, I think he's catching on so I'm feeling more comfortable with MegaMan X simply by the amount of research he's done and the questions he's asking, plus he's making sure he fully understands everything prior to jumping into it. Like the others mentioned, take your time, double check your connections, make sure they're secure, and don't forget to disconnect the vehicles battery before you start.

thanks for the vote of confidence guys, here's a little off topic question I want to ask, and perhaps you guys can answer....

I want to install this switch:

12VDC Toggle Switch with Safety Cover

From what I understand about electrical wiring right now...

This switch on the bottom has a "POWER" which I assume I should wire the power (duh), "ACC" goes to whatever it is you trying to turn on with the switch, "GROUND" goes to ground (I'll would just tied it to a bolt/screw on the car)

Would I be able to use this:

Wire Tap-In Squeeze Connectors

and draw power to the switch without any splicing/cutting/soldering of wires?

I was going to wire tap it into the wiring harness power

I was also going to drill a hole in one of my car blanks, and install it there...see attached pic

Because I'm taking apart the center console already, I figure I do it for fun, and it'll look like a NOS switch! haha...

but in all honesty, I wouldn't have an idea what this switch would do, any suggestions??

NOw that's a funny question...

You want to put in a switch, but you don't NEED it, so you want some suggestions...

I like it!..

How you buy some cool interior accent lighting (not the cheezy under dash neons, but some cool led stuff, and run them to this switch?

How you buy some cool interior accent lighting (not the cheezy under dash neons, but some cool led stuff, and run them to this switch?

A fine suggestion. With some LED's and some creativity, you can add nice touches to your interior.

Never was a fan of under dash neons, only the under dash blacklights caught my interest.

I think I'm going to go with some creative interior lighting, but can you guys tell me...

Would I be able to use this:

Wire Tap-In Squeeze Connectors

and draw power to the switch without any splicing/cutting/soldering of wires? Or would I have to solder the wire to the power?

I was just going to solder

You can use those, but sometimes they don't cut into the wire enough to make a good connection. There's a few different ways to make connections, just soldering is by far the best way to establish a scure and clean connection.