[MidLife]

Thanks to all of the other threads that provided guidance!

Installed a JVC KW-NT50HDT in a 2012 LX.

• Was able to reuse the factory Aux port
• Able to use a factory Honda trim
• Did not locate/verify the VSS location and have decided to sideline worrying about it. The GPS antenna is doing an awesome job by itself and waiting to see how it performs when the tree leaves return.

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Have to remove/pull out the trim around the tach first. Will need to unplug the connectors on the ECON and Hazard switches. Also, place some sort of protective cover or tape over the manual climate control.


There are two screws holding in the Aux port panel, then there are two bolts on the bottom of the radio that come out with I believe an 8mm nut driver.
Disconnect the four connectors on the radio. Again, this is the LX w/out premium.
Will only reuse two of the connectors, the other two will just be tucked away until someone figures out a way to convert an aftermarket HU video output to a signal that the mid can recognize.


- - Gray for power and speakers. Notice that the VSS is not present, since the car did not come with factory Navi.
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- - Brown has connections for the aux jack. (will not need to cut or touch this connector to reuse the Aux port, see below)
- - GA connections.
- - Antenna (This is the second connector that will be used.)

This is the Honda factory trim and brackets, for their Navi unit.
Trim: 77250-TR0-A01ZA ($33)
Driver's side bracket: 77256-TR0-A00 ($15)
Passenger's side bracket: 77255-TR0-A00 ($15)
Tapping screws: 93913-14420 (Quantity 6, don't just grab six screws from the floor of your garage)


The double din radio opening on the factory trim is slightly oversized, so I picked up this kit to snag the trim ring.


I was told that this is the kit you buy if you have the Honda factory Navi and want to replace it with an aftermarket HU. (the gray spots on the back of the ring are where I removed some clips that were not needed and frankly in the way)


This is the connector that is required for the 2012 power and speakers.


Important: This is the antenna adapter.
Looks like this is a new style that started in 2012. I am providing this becuase I was bought and returned two other adapters that were wrong.


This is the font of the unit with the trim ring installed. Yes, the radio that I am installing has a detachable faceplate.


Here's a side view to show how I bolted it in. Used the bolts that came with the radio.



(can only attach 10 pics per post, to-be-continued) update: was able to add an 11th

 

[MidLife]

Illumination: I pulled lighting control from the Hazard switch. The red (-) and gray (+) are the two wire used to light the button.



I attached to the gray wire. Word of caution: I do have a follow-up action (that may not get posted) to determine the radio's illumination current draw, since the factory wires are so thin. It is possible that I will need to move this to anther location in the car if the radio requires too much amperage.



GPS Antenna: I have heard that the factory Civic GPS antenna is under the dash, but I think it is to the right of the MID. Instead of pulling apart the entire dash, I placed it between the tach and speed odometer. Used velco tape to secure it. So far I have not noticed any effects on the gauges and the antenna works fine.


You can see where the GPS antenna wire is routed.

 

[MidLife]

Maintaining use of the Aux port.
.
It really bothered me that the Aux port would no longer be functional and it did not matter that the HU had one built-in.

This is the back of the connector. k:


This is the secret sauce. Typically it is used to convert a radio's high output speaker wires to a low output so you can install a radio amp. Here I used it to convert the high output of a portable satellite radio to the low AV input on the HU.(So far, so good). The converter is a passive device, so it does consume some of the power; that means that I did not reduce the 'gain' of both channels, on the converter. The converter does not require battery power.


I used these to build the harness. Doing this allowed me to stay away from the factory connectors, since I did not want to cut them.


One connector attached. I soldered and crimped the wires onto the pins.


The second connector attached. Yes, that is speaker wire. The small pins from the d-sub connector are on the tips of the wires. I smashed them just a little, to make sure they would be a snug fit onto the pins on the blue connector.


Used colored heat shrink to somewhat match the existing colors.
Old Color....New Color
Blue..........Blue
Pink..........Red
Green.......Clear


Connected the wires to the blue aux connector.


Carefully strapped down the wires. Used a small tie and as you can see, it fits under the connector lock, this should prevent it from sliding off.


Connected, connected.


Ok, could have taken better care of my radio over the years, but it is completely portable.


I noticed that the converter does consume a little bit of the power, but the HU that I installed allows level compensation on a per input basis.

 

[MidLife]

Final Approach:

The VSS is supposed to be on the blue wire on the blue connector. I could not verify it from a multimeter point-of-view and have tabled the idea of using it for now. (Pretty sure that the yellow connector is SRS related, so enter at your own risk.) The multimeter did not increase in voltage as the speed of the car increased.


Left with this message... Clicked once and it will not return until power is completely removed from the radio. So far the GPS antenna works fine, except for tunnels.


Here's the initial look.


Color matching lights and screen.


A little iPad action with Pandora. I am pretty certain that the armrest USB goes directly to the MID, so it will never support this HU. Why does it bother me that I have to plug directly into the HU? Could be that I just want to protect it against damage...


Will post more pics and a video or two in the future.

 

[showoff2]

nice work ..... did or do u get any error messages....dose ur steering wheel controls work

 

[HoNdA_FaMiLy]

Front royal???.... I live like 20 mins away... IM at Herndon... Hahah... Nice HU u got there....

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket 4G LTE from At&t.

 

[MidLife]

nice work ..... did or do u get any error messages....dose ur steering wheel controls work

Forgot to mention the steering wheel control.

Will be installing it within a week or two. I think is called the ASWC, either way I will post pics of the install.

 

[Marchael]

Loooks good! Does that mean you lose all the controls previously where the nav unit sits now?

 

[MidLife]

Front royal???.... I live like 20 mins away... IM at Herndon... Hahah... Nice HU u got there....

Thanks and you know what a nightmare our commute can be...

The JVC KW-NT50HDT gets live traffic feeds over HD radio. The subscription is a lifetime one and is include with the radio. That is the reason I went with this unit. It also warns if I am speeding, which is a good thing since now I am traveling down some new roads. k:

Based on traffic conditions, I could get routed through your neck of the woods one day. LOL

 

[MidLife]

Loooks good! Does that mean you lose all the controls previously where the nav unit sits now?

Which controls? I didn't have the Honda Navi, Hands-free, or bluetooth from the factory

BTW, the bluetooth in this HU rocks.

 

[bamathrasher]

awesome write up dude, thanks a lot . Never realized how bland our dash is with the factory radio... now i want to do this.

 

[MidLife]

Friday Fun

The unit has text-to-speech that it uses for navigation and calling out street names. It also uses that for custom startup and shutdown messages.

This is me trying to have a little fun and giving props to all of ya'll.

 

[BirdsBeChirpin]

Very sweet write up! Can you give me a link to that dash kit you bought? My pioneer head unit came with a trim ring which was too big. I sanded it down on a belt sander and it looks pretty good, but I like how yours looks better

Thanks!
John

 

[MidLife]

Very sweet write up! Can you give me a link to that dash kit you bought? My pioneer head unit came with a trim ring which was too big. I sanded it down on a belt sander and it looks pretty good, but I like how yours looks better

Its the Metra 95-7801. Metra 95-7801 1990-2006 Acura,Honda DDin Install kit | eBay

There is a hairline gap around mine and I accepted it with the understanding that the navi unit could use some air circulation for additional cooling. Plus, I have the detachable faceplate.

 

[82801BA]

DD with detachable face is good.

 

[dpzlilfrank14]

any dashboard lights come on? it seems like some do in the video..does the imid system still work perfectly with the music and everything? and does the usb in the armrest still work?

 

[MidLife]

any dashboard lights come on? it seems like some do in the video..

If you mean error/problem lights, the answer is no. The lights only come on with the video becuase I did not crank the engine.

does the imid system still work perfectly with the music and everything?

Nah, the iMid screen will be blank with an aftermarket HU. The blank screen will still show mileage, time (i think), and temperture. I am certain that with the appropriate development skills, that someone could take the video out from the HU and feed it to the radio screen of the iMid. My assumption is that the feed would need to be convert to B-Can or ga-net.

and does the usb in the armrest still work?

The usb in the armrest goes directly to the iMid, so I can still upload pics but will not be able to use it for music. If my HU had a usb connection on the back of it, I would work to have the armrest usb feed the HU while also feeding the iMid...

 

[MidLife]

DD with detachable face is good.

Thanks!

Of course the goal is to only remove it when needed, but I have already been in a few parking garages where I felt it was needed...

 

[BirdsBeChirpin]

Its the Metra 95-7801. Metra 95-7801 1990-2006 Acura,Honda DDin Install kit | eBay

There is a hairline gap around mine and I accepted it with the understanding that the navi unit could use some air circulation for additional cooling. Plus, I have the detachable faceplate.

Thanks dude!!

 

[OhNoItsFelix]

Insanely nice install and write up. MUCH appreciated.