I'll double-check the speaker wiring when I get the unit out today. Also, the battery idea is a good one and will verify that I'm using the right wires. Will probably use a AAA as it shouldn't take much at all to get the speaker to pop and scratch.

Glad to hear that the speed sensor wire runs right to the connector, as now I can cut off the long wire that Pioneer supplied and reduce the bucket of worms behind the dash a little bit.

Too bad about Best Kits not selling to the public. Try buying one from a local installer as I did. I'd buy one here and send it to you, but Seattle is about 2 hours away and I won't be back there for another month or so. By then you will no doubt have found a suitable kit.

One area of caution that I meant to mention (you've probably already noticed this) is that there is a dash standoff leg above the radio opening. When positioning the dash on and off, it probably wouldn't be too hard to scratch the surface of the AVIC. I even considered making a temporary protective screen cover of cardboard to use when removing/installing the dash.

 

I appreciate the offer for the kit. I'm sure I'll eventually find the kit. Let me know what you find out with the wiring.

 

Have you figured out which wire to use for the parking brake connection? I've pulled panels and searched all around the parking brake lever but haven't found it yet.

 

I wired the parking brake lead to ground. That way I don't have to apply the parking brake in order to operate the navigation or AV.

With the lead grounded, it will go by vehicle speed. Otherwise, the nav features will not be available unless you apply the parking brake.

 

Thanks, I'll try that. I remember you telling me that without the green wire hooked up you couldn't use the nav functions, so that must be what's happening. Most everything works good but I can't search for an address, etc., etc. I thought I tried grounding it this afternoon, but maybe it wasn't a good connection.

Figured out the radio problem. I need to spend more time RTFM.

 

I grounded the green wire today and all the nav functions are now there. I will probably continue to search for the right parking brake lead, as it will get rid of the nagging messages about the incorrect brake wire hookup. But otherwise it's working great. The little antenna is performing well up on the front of the dash, so I'm glad I won't have to go to the trouble of mounting it on the roof. So far, so good.

 

Actually I read somewhere in the manuals that the parking brake lead message will come on regardless.

I connected to the parking brake lead and still got that message.

For me, the message is better than having to apply the parking brake everytime I want to make nav changes.

 

I think the message that will come on regardless is the one that warns about paying attention while driving, or something like that. My parking brake wire message keeps telling me that the wire is connected incorrectly. I think the connection usually has voltage and then goes into a ground state when the brake is set. Not 100% sure about that, but that's the way it looks on the schematic.

Also, on page 12 of the operator's manual it makes mention of clearing problems by pulling over, setting the parking brake, releasing the parking brake, and then setting it again. With it permanently connected to ground, you'd have no way of doing this.

BTW, where did you find the parking brake lead, and what color is it??

 

On the backside of the parking brake, there is a connector near the far left corner firewall.

Just disconnect it and tap one of the wires. I tried to tap each wire at one point or another, but still kept receiving the error message.

I'm thinking our parking brake circuit does not have 12v to it, but just completes the ground when switched.

 

I'll get out later this morning and take a look for the switch.

Technically, it's not a straight 12V to the switch, as the grounding of the wire would just cause a fuse to blow in that case. But rather, it's 12V through a resistance (the PB light) that gets grounded to complete the circuit. I suspect the AVIC is looking for that voltage, and the resultant drop when it's grounded, in order to work correctly.

I think to find the correct lead to connect up to, you could turn the key on with the parking brake OFF and connect a test light (grounded on one side) to each wire and watch for the parking brake light to light up.

Once connected up correctly, it might be necessary to cycle the parking brake a couple of times while at a standstill as the manual suggests, or it might even be necessary to reset the unit.

I'll report back if any of this works.

 

Another area of concern I have is that the unit is always on when the key is on. Because my truck is diesel, I have to turn on the key (unit starts to come on) until the glow plug indicator goes off. Then I turn to START (unit goes off) until the engine starts. Then I release the key (unit comes back on again). I've hears that start-up times are always the toughest for electronics, so it seems unwise to double every one. I'm thinking of wiring the power leads through the upfitter switches so I can control when the unit comes on and goes off.

 

The test-light theory did not pan out. Further research is necessary.

 

You're more ambitious than I! LOL!

 

I wish! I guess I just have more time on my hands.

Just finished looking over the wiring diagram and FINALLY found the schematic for the parking brake switch. The PK/OG wire goes to the ground and the LG/RD wire goes to the instrument panel. The book says the light green wire must go to the power supply side of the switch, so that means the LG/RD wire. Connecting the ACC wire from the AVIC to the upfitter switch will have to wait until I'm in the mood to pull the dash off again.

 

Followup - good news and bad news. I hooked the green AVIC wire to the LG/RD wire from the parking brake but STILL get the error message. When I go to the Destination page and cycle the parking brake on and off, the icons dim and highlight like they should, but the error message persists. I even did a reset on the unit, but it didn't resolve the problem. Based on this, I would have been better off leaving the green wire just grounded. Back to the drawing board.