dbaygeorges

Hey guys,

I am very interested in dropping the new AppRadio from Pioneer into my 2002 CLK430 Cabriolet.

It appears that by reviewing previous 2 DIN install posts that this should work, and with an adapter from PAC (OEM2?) I can retain my cluster displays and steering wheel controls.

Is this correct?

Any help is MUCHO appreciated!!!

Thanks
Tony

MarcusF

Yes, it will work and you can retain the steering wheel controls. You'll need two PAC converters. One to convert the MB spec steering wheel signal to a generic signal, and a second to convert the generic to a Pioneer specific signal - provided it has a steering wheel controls port (I've never seen the AppRadio up close). Some details are here.

jonUF02

I have installed the Pioneer AVIC-x920BT with the PAC OEM2. I added an Infiniti BassLink sub, and now I am suprised how great it sounds without replacing any of the stock speakers or amp. I might do that as phase 2 soon, or just try replacing the speakers and keeping the Bose amp first.

My question is this: which steering wheel controls will be available if i install the adapters to make it work? There does not seem to be a firm answer to this from the installation page linked above or anything else that I found in searches. If it is just the volume, then I don't think it is worth it. If it were on the left hand, then maybe, but I rarely have my right hand on the wheel, and it seems awkward. If the phone answer button could work as well, or any other buttons, then I would probably go for it. I had one of the PAC wheel adapters in my previous nissan vehicles because the controls were on the left hand side of the wheel, and the volume, source, and track changing buttons all worked great.

Everything else with this radio is AWESOME. I highly recommend it, or the current model AVIC-x930bt. If you have an iPhone it is even better, but I'm waiting on the Android app that should be out soon for the Pandora link function.

LAWYER2

has anyone ran this app radio yet? Feedback?

jonUF02

New AVIC-X940BT now has compatibility for AHA Radio and Pandora apps on Android. I have the X930BT which is only compatible with iPhone. I have Android, and I hate iPhone, but they gear their products toward iPhone. I might have to upgrade to X940BT, but I'm hoping there is going to be firmware released or hacked to add this small feature to X930BT soon.

There are youtube vids that you can check out demonstrating the app functionality on these units.

LAWYER2

The new AVIC is about 650 on Amazon which isn't that bad actually! However, that Pioneer app-radio is listed at $285! The reviews are so-so though. Just wondering if anyone from here has tried it.

mgworek

Any updated on this? I am about to purchase my car tomorrow and want to update the car stereo.

jonUF02

Get Pioneer AVIC-X940BT, you will not be disappointed. You will also need the double-din cage kit ADT-VA133 to mount it into the dash. There are lots of pieces to wire in with this advanced unit, so go to a good installer if you are not very experienced with car audio. I will post up some pics of how it looks as soon as I can. You can add a custom splash screen at startup and change the button lighting to any color so it really looks factory.

You can find the wiring directions to integrate with the factory amp on the forums. I have my mids/highs running through the factory amp with the PAC adapter unit and replaced the two pairs of speakers in the doors with new and better quality units. I have the Infinity BassLink sub in the trunk running from the Pioneer unit sub output RCA. Everything sounds great. I might go a little stronger in the future and replace the amp and upgrade to even higher quality speaker components, but I'm very happy with this setup right now.

mgworek

Thanks for the update. I think I was able to find the wiring directions on the forum last night.

Going to review your posts and the others I have found before deciding if I am going to try to install it myself. I have installed many car stereos before never in this nice of a car. I don't want to screw anything up.

Did you try to wire up the steering wheel controls yet?

jonUF02

I think there are 2 interface boxes that are about $60-70 each that would be required to interface the steering wheel controls, and the only control you get is the volume, and that is on the right side of the wheel, which is awkward for me since I mostly drive with only my left on the wheel. Basically it's not worth it to me.

mgworek

Ok, I agree with you. It would be different if the phone buttons and navigation worked.

I was just looking at the AVIC-Z140BH as well. Could not find the size to see if it is the same size as the AVIC-X940BT. I know the actual screen is larger. Only reason I would go with this one is that traffic is built in.

Did you look at that model at all?

jonUF02

If you want to spend more $ and get the best then go for the Z, but only a few more features than the X940 which can be found much cheaper than list price. I don't use navigation very often, or even play DVD's. I think the most useful difference is voice command control on the Z, which used to be included on the X920 model, but they took it off for the X930 that I have, forcing you to upgrade to the Z. The Z also has higher preamp output voltage (4V vs. 2V), which only matters if you plan on changing to aftermarket amp setup with an all-out system.

The main reason I switched from the X920 to X930 was for the rotary volume control vs. small buttons. Without steering wheel control for volume, I think it's a LOT easier to change the volume with the rotary knob, which I do many times each time I drive the car. I see that the Z140 eliminates the knob for a bigger screen. In my opinion, the volume knob was more useful than the voice command of the X920, so I switched. This is why I would also buy the X940BT over the Z.

The only benefit of the new X940 over my X930 is the integration with Android (via bluetooth) on this new model vs. iPhone only on mine (via cable). I think I will just bite the bullet and get an iPhone instead of upgrading my radio for this feature, then I will also have the benefits of iPod mp3 menu integration and a hard-wired connection.


I don't think any of the other steering wheel buttons would work, such as phone.

mgworek

Thanks for all the info.

I agree that the volume knob is better on the x930/x940 then the Z.

I think I will just stick with the X940, I have an iPhone so I don't need android but I can find the x940 cheaper then the x930.

mgworek

hey, don't mean to bug you, one last question.

I got the AVIC-X940BT, ADT-VA133, PAC adapter.

I just wanted to make sure I didn't need to get a wiring harness adapter or a antenna adapter.

Thanks.

jonUF02

Yes, you need them both. Here is how it goes:

Pioneer harnesses > PAC OEM amp adapter > Pigtail harness to fit car.

I believe the wires on those items line up directly by the same wire colors except you will need to tap a 12V switched source because the car's harness does not have one for some reason. I just tapped the cig lighter below.

There are a few threads about which pigtail harness to buy.

Make sure you look up the parking brake "bypass" procedure on the AVIC-X940BT harness. You should find videos on YouTube. Normally you have to doctor the Pioneer harness into the raido a bit and move one wire to a different slot, then tie that wire to the Mute wire and ground them out.

Since you have an iPhone, you will also want the iPod specific cable that plugs into the rear USB lead. CD-IU51V is the official part number, if you search it on Ebay you will find cheaper copies. Some say the copies don't work right, but mine did.

jonUF02

A couple pics, sorry they are from phone camera.

mgworek

Found the wiring harness and got the antenna adapter.

Thanks again!

MarcusF

In addition to adjusting sound levels, the PAC boxes allow you to change radio stations using the steering wheel controls. It can change tracks on an iPod/iPhone as well. I believe you can change tracks on USB attached drives, but since I can’t manipulate folders I never bothered. The ability to manipulate tracks and folders may be HU dependent. I have verified this works on an Alpine HU.


This write-up goes through replacing the head unit, wiring up the PAC boxes for steering wheel controls, and wiring up the PAC audio converter. No factory wires were cut in that install.

mgworek

Oh wow, thanks for letting me know. I might look into hooking up the steering wheel controls then.

Already have that write up bookmarked and have studied it many times. It helps a lot.

mgworek

jonUF02,

You mentioned that the car harness doesn't have a 12 volt switched power and you tapped your cig lighter.

The wiring harness I got does says it does have a 12 volt switched power and a 12 volt constant power.

Do I still need to tap into cig adapter?

Thanks

jonUF02

I think the pigtail adapter has the wire for switched 12V, but if you match it up to the car harness I think that there is nothing connected there on the car side. You could test by plugging the pigtail into the car harness and testing power and switched power leads with a multimeter

jonUF02

The left wheel controls on mine are for the dash info computer system, I don't think they will do anything with the radio. The right has volume and phone buttons. It might be possible to program the PAC interface unit to make these do something, is that what you did for track controls? I had my old Altima wired up for steering wheel controls with a generic PAC box that had to be programmed to recognize what each button input controlled. Basically the buttons sent different voltages to the PAC and it deciphers based on programming and sends the appropriate commands to the Pioneer.

mgworek

Ok thanks. Makes sense, just wanted to make sure. Don't wan't to waste my time doing the wrong thing.

How hard was it connecting the wires for the navigation system? Pink, Violet/white, light green?

I think i can do the stereo part with no problem, just not sure about the additional wires for nav going to the speed signal. parking break, and reverse gear signal.

jonUF02

The reverse trigger was already wired when I got the car with a previous radio and backup camera, I'm not sure where it is connected to. The parking brake wire is just grounded out (see bypass procedure), and I don't have the speed sensor connected, since it does not really serve any purpose except the MPG "eco graph" feature that I don't care about. I have my new backup camera wired to the reverse tail lights for power, so it only gets power when the car is in reverse. I suppose you could run a wire all the way down the car to trigger the radio reverse wire from the reverse bulbs as well. The purpose of that connection to the radio is to trigger the camera screen when you have the backup camera connected. If you don't have a backup camera, then you don't need it either. I put the nav antenna up on the corner of the front dash at the base of the windshield. I have a sirius box inside the arm rest, but there could be a better place for that, and the sirius antenna is just sitting up on the rear deck inside the car, it works fine there.

MarcusF

If I use the folder buttons on the multifunction steering wheel to select audio (on the left), the up and down buttons (also on the left) will change radio stations. If an iPod or an iPhone is plugged into my head unit those same up and down buttons will change tracks. The volume buttons on the right side of my multifunction steering wheel control the volume on my head unit. The MF steering wheel need not be in audio mode to control sound. The phone buttons on the right of my multifunction wheel do not control anything. One reason I bought this head unit is because it works with my steering wheel. If your Pioneer doesn’t do this, I can only guess it either doesn’t have these features or something isn’t configured properly.