Hi guys,
I've finished my carputer install over the Thanksgiving weekend. I'll post some pictures soon.
I ended up driving the speakers directly from my Pioneer DEH-3700MP after market HU's built in amp. Sounds terrific, rivaling the JBL system. Luckily, the 6 speakers in the Highlander Hybrid were driven from 4 channels (FL, FR, RL, RR) speaker connectors at the factory amp output. Thanks to tlbmds in this
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t93584.html thread for the wiring info. The HU connections were done by pulling +5, ACC, GND from the factory harness. Thanks to Luc from this
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t97292.html thread for wiring info.
I was able to use those input connectors to the speakers with relative ease. The most time consuming part was bringing the signals back to the right rear where the amp was, but it was moderately easy to do. With additional electronic hardware, I was able to pipe the aux input from the computer into the HU, and control the HU from the factory steering wheel controls.
Qckfrze, I toyed with the idea of modding a full 2-din VGA touchscreen (which retails about half the price of the motorized 1-din version), but the Highlander only had 2-din space to spare on the console. Using all that space for a 2-din screen would leave no space for the HU/stereo. Besides, I've never done cosmetic molding (with bondo/fiberglass), so I didn't think I can do a good enough job with making things look factory. :-(
I'm almost completely happy with the install. One nagging issue:
The Highlander Hybrid has two antenna inputs to the OEM HU, while the after market HU had only one. I taped off the smaller antenna lead from the car and used the one that fits into the aftermarket HU. The FM reception is poorer than in the OEM HU, and I can't get AM reception at all. Perhaps the AM antenna was the small lead?
Does anyone know about radio antennas in the Highlander Hybrid? Is there a antenna unifyer for this car so that we can put both inputs into an aftermarket HU to improve FM and get AM reception?
Thank you very much cam2Xrunner and JLTD for your help in the forum. Your input has been invaluable!
Khoa
