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I thought my days of modifying cars were behind me. Clearly I was wrong. Ok, so I'm staying away from the big bumpers and spoilers, and I really am trying to resist the urge to turbocharge my engine (like, really trying!), but it's hard to suppress the tinkering bug!
My car (Lexus IS200) never came with factory fitted navigation, mainly because it was a £2000 option back when it was new! But one of the things I always liked about it (other than the clocks, which I still think are cool as!) was the motorised flip-round screen the nav came in. So I decided a retro fit was in order. But I didn't want to just transplant the stock nav system into the car as 1) it's a much bigger job than it sounds (the entire car loom needs replacing as there are no sub looms in Lexus' - it's either wired in or it's not, and Lexus don't include wiring and plugs for things that aren't specced from the factory), 2) it's antiquated - it's at best 10 years old and no updates, and 3) it's not touch screen and not 3D.
So the plan was hatched - got hold of the later 7" screen variant;
Promptly ripped it apart;
Pulled the screen out, and slipped in a cheap Chinese 7" GPS tablet (Windows CE, runs iGO 8 nav app, plan is to try and get TomTom Navigator running on it if I can);
A few pics of the GPS taken apart to re-locate the PCB inside to the outside, and some very crude wooden blocks glued inside the housing to hold it in place;
I'll spare you all the wiring configs and diagrams, but a little custom "mini loom" was made up using a luckily sourced OEM connector plug;
And the dash contents ripped out;
And the bit I was dreading from the start - cutting into my nice, virgin, unmolested, original loom!
It's actually quite simple - 5 wires from the nav housing need to be connected to 5 wires on the stereo plug that do the same thing: permanent live, switched live, ground, illumination positive and illumination negative (ground). So it's just a case of cutting and splicing with those corresponding wires on the stereo plug. Sounds simple, but I am TERRIBLE at soldering (like, really bad) so got a work mate to do it for me, and we tried to do it as OEM as possible, using the correct sized heat shrink, close as poss wiring colour matches and a nice loom sleeve to make it all look factory. Didn't do a bad job if I do say so.
And the finished article;
And a little video to show how it works. Basically, switch ignition on, and the screen rotates open. It remembers what tilt setting (three presets) you used it at so it defaults to that one) and on ignition off, it closes. I wanted the GPS tablet to automatically power on and off with ignition (it's power supply is hardwired into the original cig plug, and run up behind the dash), like the Sony and Garmin sat navs do, but that turned out to not be possible - it had to remain on a press button to turn on and off. Since that button was no longer accessible, we ran two wires in place of it, and basically extended it to a point on the lower console out of sight but easily reachable, so I just have to turn it on and off manually. Not the end of the world - I can do that while the screen is automatically opening.
I also fitted a little box of tricks to the electric mirrors that folds them in and out on remote lock/unlock. Originally they didn't do this - there's a button you press on the drivers door console to do it. Manual isn't my thing, so a bunch of wires and a burnt finger later (told you I can't solder) and they're auto too!
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24-11-2019 22:58:56
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