User:Woozle/1987 Nissan Maxima/dashboard mods - Revision history

Woozle: moved Woozle's Nissan Maxima dashboard mods to User:Woozle/1987 Nissan Maxima/dashboard mods: user-specific stuff should go under user page

2009-11-15T13:26:04Z

moved Woozle's Nissan Maxima dashboard mods to User:Woozle/1987 Nissan Maxima/dashboard mods: user-specific stuff should go under user page

← Older revision	Revision as of 13:26, 15 November 2009
(No difference)

Woozle: /* Faceplate Mods */ Wiring Mods (started)

2007-08-27T21:28:12Z

Faceplate Mods: Wiring Mods (started)

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:28, 27 August 2007
Line 10:		Line 10:

	I mounted two illuminated pushbuttons on the mounting bracket. One of them switches the antenna between half- and full- mast; the other turns on the radio while the ignition is off. The buttons I used are apparently no longer available, but compatible replacements are:		I mounted two illuminated pushbuttons on the mounting bracket. One of them switches the antenna between half- and full- mast; the other turns on the radio while the ignition is off. The buttons I used are apparently no longer available, but compatible replacements are:
	* [http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=360-2000-ND yellow button]		* [http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=360-2000-ND yellow button]
	** [http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=360-1611-ND original part]		** [http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=360-1611-ND original part]
	* [http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=360-2001-ND green button]		* [http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=360-2001-ND green button]
	** [http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=360-1612-ND original part]		** [http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=360-1612-ND original part]
			==Wiring Mods==
			One non-standard rectangular connector, I cut off the connector and attached quick-disconnects:
			* yellow / red dots - probably '''antenna half-mast control''' - attached to one orange wire with quick disconnect
			* orange / blue stripe / red dots - '''antenna activation''' - attached to two green wires with quick disconnects

	''to be written: wiring/circuits for the custom buttons''		''to be written: wiring/circuits for the custom buttons''

	==Leftover Cables==		==Leftover Cables==
	===DIN connectors from EQ===		===DIN connectors from EQ===

Woozle: saving this for now, even though not finished

2007-08-27T19:09:23Z

saving this for now, even though not finished

New page

==Overview==
This page is about modifications I made to the dashboard of my [[1987 Nissan Maxima]] station wagon so that I could install a standard-sized CD/radio. The uncertainty in some places is due to a combination of circumstances:
* I can't find the notes I made at the time
* I originally did the modifications over a year ago, and now can't remember many of the details
* The [[Dual XDM6820|CD/radio I installed]] was stolen and some of the wiring got ripped out, so I don't have all of what I was originally working with (e.g. at least one of the Crutchfield cables seems to have been taken along with the CD/radio)

One of the first things I did was to carefully saw the dashboard in half with a pipe saw, right in the middle of the thinnest part over the steering wheel. ''[need picture]'' This makes it much easier to remove and replace, and is barely noticeable aesthetically. Doing this may even help prevent the dashboard from getting broken during future work, as the removal of the complete (un-sawed) dashboard involves some rather scary twisting and creaking noises if I remember right. I had to read written instructions in a 3rd-party tech manual before I felt confident enough that I was even doing it properly.
==Faceplate Mods==
The adapter kit from Crutchfield came with a metal mounting bracket and some cables. Unfortunately, they didn't quite do the job. For one thing, there was no way to set the antenna's "half-mast" control. For another, I couldn't figure out how to hook in the EQ module. I don't remember whether the CD/radio unit would have worked properly without the mods; perhaps those two issues were enough to make me decide to try to wire it up my way instead of just patching it together with the provided cables.

I mounted two illuminated pushbuttons on the mounting bracket. One of them switches the antenna between half- and full- mast; the other turns on the radio while the ignition is off. The buttons I used are apparently no longer available, but compatible replacements are:
* [http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=360-2000-ND yellow button]
** [http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=360-1611-ND original part]
* [http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=360-2001-ND green button]
** [http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=360-1612-ND original part]

''to be written: wiring/circuits for the custom buttons''
==Leftover Cables==
===DIN connectors from EQ===
I've had to abandon trying to use the EQ module, for now; unfortunately most car radios don't seem to have a pre-amp out/in (is that a high-end $ thing?), so there's no way to get the EQ into the audio chain. (I did figure out what each of the pins were for, though, as documented on the [[1987 Nissan Maxima]] page.)

The connectors are male 1/2" DIN connectors; you can buy matching sockets from [[Digi-Key]]. The 7-pin connector is compatible with Digi-Key's 8-pin connector; just don't use the center pin. ''Note to self: find part numbers.''
===Antenna===
The car's antenna has a connector with two pins and a shield; the adaptor from Crutchfield brings this out to two standard antenna plugs. I'm not sure how that is supposed to work; is one of them for when the antenna is at half-mast? Further experimentation is needed. For now, I just plug in one of them and leave the other one hanging.