To have my screen dim when its night time what do I have to do??? Because that thing is bright as hell

Hook up the illumination wire.

And NOTE: If you hook up the illumination wire, the screen will dim and the background will change to a dark grey every time your car lights are on.

If you often turn on your headlights during the day (construction zones, highway driving etc), you might want to consider putting in a switch to the D3's illumination wire instead of hooking it up to something that is directly connected to the headlight system.

And NOTE: If you hook up the illumination wire, the screen will dim and the background will change to a dark grey every time your car lights are on.

So whenever the screen is dimmed the background changes to dark gray, even if you have a custom background? Or do you mean the nav screen changes to night mode?

And NOTE: If you hook up the illumination wire, the screen will dim and the background will change to a dark grey every time your car lights are on.

 

If you often turn on your headlights during the day (construction zones, highway driving etc), you might want to consider putting in a switch to the D3's illumination wire instead of hooking it up to something that is directly connected to the headlight system.

sooo if I want to hook it up to a switch, I just take the illumination wire and look that to the positive to the switch? and then ground it? please explain

And NOTE: If you hook up the illumination wire, the screen will dim and the background will change to a dark grey every time your car lights are on.

 

So whenever the screen is dimmed the background changes to dark gray, even if you have a custom background? Or do you mean the nav screen changes to night mode?

I'm referring to the navigation background going to gray.

Other backgrounds just dim.

And NOTE: If you hook up the illumination wire, the screen will dim and the background will change to a dark grey every time your car lights are on.

 

If you often turn on your headlights during the day (construction zones, highway driving etc), you might want to consider putting in a switch to the D3's illumination wire instead of hooking it up to something that is directly connected to the headlight system.

 

sooo if I want to hook it up to a switch, I just take the illumination wire and look that to the positive to the switch? and then ground it? please explain

The illumination wire is normally connected to a wire in the car that becomes +12v when the headlights are turned on.

If you want to do this manually with a switch, then connect a +12v source wire to one side of a switch. Then connect the other side of the switch to the D3's illumination wire. When the switch is closed, the D3 will dim. When the switch is open, the D3 will be in full daytime mode.

Right now, mine is connected to a wire in my car that goes +12v when the parking lights come on. I may just put in a switch between that wire and the D3 so that most of the time, the dimming will be automatic, but if I want to override it, I can open the switch.

And NOTE: If you hook up the illumination wire, the screen will dim and the background will change to a dark grey every time your car lights are on.

 

If you often turn on your headlights during the day (construction zones, highway driving etc), you might want to consider putting in a switch to the D3's illumination wire instead of hooking it up to something that is directly connected to the headlight system.

 

sooo if I want to hook it up to a switch, I just take the illumination wire and look that to the positive to the switch? and then ground it? please explain

 

The illumination wire is normally connected to a wire in the car that becomes +12v when the headlights are turned on.

 

If you want to do this manually with a switch, then connect a +12v source wire to one side of a switch. Then connect the other side of the switch to the D3's illumination wire. When the switch is closed, the D3 will dim. When the switch is open, the D3 will be in full daytime mode.

 

Right now, mine is connected to a wire in my car that goes +12v when the parking lights come on. I may just put in a switch between that wire and the D3 so that most of the time, the dimming will be automatic, but if I want to override it, I can open the switch.

alright thanks alot man... do you like how it looks when its dim or does it look stupid

alright thanks alot man... do you like how it looks when its dim or does it look stupid

I think it looks pretty good dimmed. I preferred the look of our former Infiniti FX35 factory nav though. The map backgrounds went to a more solid black than the dark grey that the D3 does.

The only thing I don't like about the D3 is that you can't manually override the effect of the illumincation wire without adding an external switch. Pioneer even included an on-screen button that allows you to switch between nighttime and daytime but it only affects the screen brightness. It does not affect the nav colors.

Pioneer even included an on-screen button that allows you to switch between nighttime and daytime

I was messing around with that, but didn't notice any difference. Does it only work with the illumination hooked up?

Pioneer even included an on-screen button that allows you to switch between nighttime and daytime

 

I was messing around with that, but didn't notice any difference. Does it only work with the illumination hooked up?

I don't recall for sure but I THINK it works without the illumincation wire hooked up - as long as you set a daytime brightness and a nighttime brightness in the settings.

I was messing around with that, but didn't notice any difference. Does it only work with the illumination hooked up?

yes

Pioneer even included an on-screen button that allows you to switch between nighttime and daytime

 

I was messing around with that, but didn't notice any difference. Does it only work with the illumination hooked up?

 

I don't recall for sure but I THINK it works without the illumincation wire hooked up - as long as you set a daytime brightness and a nighttime brightness in the settings.

No, it does not work when the illumination wires not hooked up.

I wonder how difficult it would be to connect the illumination to some sort of day/night sensor? That would be sweet.

I wonder how difficult it would be to connect the illumination to some sort of day/night sensor? That would be sweet.

Like the ones for the automatic headlights in newer vehicles?

I wonder how difficult it would be to connect the illumination to some sort of day/night sensor? That would be sweet.

 

Like the ones for the automatic headlights in newer vehicles?

Exactly like that. I can't imagine it would be that difficult. I wouldn't want to tap in to a factory sensor but add one. I was thinking about this after I posted. I might try to find one from an Explorer. I have one in my LS but I think an Explorer would be easier to find and cheaper. I have the D3 in my Mustang and it doesn't have that sensor anyway.

Or you could add a switch and be done with it

Or you could add a switch and be done with it

By just adding a switch you will never be done with it. You will always have to turn the switch on and off. I would not bother with something like that personally. Having it "know" when to change is the best solution to me.

Seems silly to me, Can't imagine it wasting half a second to flip a switch..Maybe I'm too laid back

Or you could add a switch and be done with it

If you hooked it up to your 'illumination' wire, or the headlight switch this is done already. I can see where he is coming from that it would be neat to have it switch on its own, but if you have to turn on the headlights anyway...why bother?

Or you could add a switch and be done with it

 

If you hooked it up to your 'illumination' wire, or the headlight switch this is done already. I can see where he is coming from that it would be neat to have it switch on its own, but if you have to turn on the headlights anyway...why bother?

Yea it would already dim when the headlights were on and then if the headlights were on during the day and you didn't want the gray background...half a second later switch is flipped and everything is bright!

Or you could add a switch and be done with it

 

If you hooked it up to your 'illumination' wire, or the headlight switch this is done already. I can see where he is coming from that it would be neat to have it switch on its own, but if you have to turn on the headlights anyway...why bother?

Because in FL, and other states, you have to turn your headlights on during the day if it is raining or foggy. Most of the time the auto sensor would not determine it to be night so the screen would stay bright on it's own in that situation. Intelligence is always the best solution IMO.

I"m curious? I have a D3 in my 07 Explorer and a JVC KD-ADV38 in my 06 Escape. The JVC has an option to set the time that it dims...so it dims at 6pm and undims at 7am. WHY wouldn't Pioneer do this? It's so simple. Functionality-wise, the JVC is leaps and bounds above the Pioneer. It doesn't have GPS, but if JVC did offer a 2-din GPS with the same functionality as the KD-ADV38, I'd be all over it. They only offer a single din unit. Anyway, my two cents. Pioneer WAYYY dropped the ball on this simple offering.

he JVC has an option to set the time that it dims...so it dims at 6pm and undims at 7am. WHY wouldn't Pioneer do this?

Because it's much more user friendly to be able to dim it automatically when the lights are on. If your lights are on, it's probably because it's dark outside. Which is the only reason I can think of that you would need to dim the screen anyway. And if you are parked somewhere and watching a video (with your lights off), you can watch it at full brightness without having to go in and change any settings. Having it auto dim/undim at a certain time of day is kind of a "bling" feature. It's pretty neat, I guess. But it's completely unnecessary.

Functionality-wise, the JVC is leaps and bounds above the Pioneer. It doesn't have GPS, but if JVC did offer a 2-din GPS with the same functionality as the KD-ADV38, I'd be all over it. They only offer a single din unit. Anyway, my two cents. Pioneer WAYYY dropped the ball on this simple offering.

But that's exactly what it is. a simple offering. It's not meant to be the full-featured flagship model of their in-dash GPS lineup.

The D3 is under $1000. The KD-ADV38 is a single din DVD unit with a small LCD screen and no GPS and it retails for $600. If they were to make a double din unit with a full sized LCD screen with navigation, it wouldn't be under $1000. Hell... JVC makes a DVD/nav unit, but it's only a single din unit, yet it retails for the same price as the D3.

The D3 is about the lowest price name brand double din navigation unit on the market. Pioneer didn't drop the ball with the D3. They had to leave features out so they could sell it at that price. Basically, if you want something that's chock full of features, you're gonna have to spend $500+ more than what you can get the D3 for.

to do this automatically,

GOOGLE "photo optic diodes" and learn how they work.

go to Radio Shack, buy a photo diode for $3 and a relay for $5.

hook the photo diode up to control +12v battery to the relay, and output the relay to the illumination input to the deck.

mount the diode just out of sight in a defrost vent, or base of A pillar, or speaker hole.

easy cheezy.

and of course, you could power the diode/relay off the headlight switch illumination, and then, it would ONLY dim if you had the LIGHTs ON and it was DARK.

hth?