need head unit install HELP for 2006 Camry

[djmoogyjackson]

i just got an AVIC-D3 and after reading so many posts on here i was certain i could do the simple install on my own without paying $200+ to an install shop (can't really afford that at the moment anyway)
i have a 2006 Camry SE with the single cd JBL factory amplified system. I was sold the metra 70-8113 wire harness w/ factory amp bypass. i dont have anything to solder with so i crimped them the wires together and verified everything is tight, pulled somewhat hard on them and they wouldn't budge.
the problem is after i installed the avic-d3 and turned it on, there was a loud buzzing from all the speakers.
i immediately thought it was an issue with the ground, since i had originally spliced everything into the pioneer's ground (the metra's ground and the ebrake/mute wire for the d3 bypass) and grounded the pioneer to the only nearby spot i thought maybe i should ground them all seperately to the same spot (pretty much the only spot that some of the shorter cables i need to ground can reach such as the metra's ground and the mute). so i cut them and crimped ring terminals to fit in the bolt i used to ground them to the Camry. Still - same problem. So then i sanded the metal down and it looked nice and smooth/clean, so i re-grounded the metra's ground and the pioneer's ground (left the ebrake/mute ungrounded since they were not needed for troubleshooting purposes) but still the SAME buzzing sound from the speakers when the unit is turned on (even with volume down).
i thought this would be easy, am i a complete ass? here are some pics so you can see what i did
below: picture of the metra and pioneer grounded

below: another picture of them grounded

below: picture of what i'm grounding them to

below: picture of the metra connected to the pioneer's rca harness (the rca's for the speakers are connected and the blue/white amp turn on wire connected and the metra's ground)

below: picture of the metra connected to the pioneer's harness (all unused wires are capped off, ignition wires are connected, battery wires are connected, and pioneer's ground is shown)

the only thing not shown in the pics above are the ebrake and mute wires, they look just like the grounds though - they have a ring terminal so they are easily grounded.
am i missing something or just don't have any clue how to ground something properly?

[[SMAN]]

wow, ok whoever told you that harness would work should be fired. That harness was stopped being used by around the turn of the century. for the 06s that have an amp, the amp is digital. So you'll need the $100 converter harness that is something like this ( http://www.installer-parts.com/by_item.php?it=tyto-01 ). If you don't have an amp (the amp is behind the glovebox) then you use regular toyota conversion ( http://www.installer.com/item/displa...php?it=70-1761 ). Either way return your harness and pray you didn't mess up the JBL amp...

[djmoogyjackson]

i went to a local car audio shop and they had the model you mentioned, so i tried it out and the harness fit on that one also but i got no buzz but also no sound at all. then i noticed in the application guide it's for 2007+ camry and i called metra and they verified 2007 was the year the started the digital signal.

so i tried using the original harness shown in the pics again and i started the car up and revved the engine, once it got to about 4000 rpm's you could hear an audible engine whistle through the speakers. sounded kind of like a quiet supercharger, it was pretty quiet but noticeable if you listen for it. so then i used a spare wire and touched one of the bare metal ends to the ground and the other to an rca shield. the speakers popped once when i did it and then the buzzing became very quiet. it still buzzed more than it should but it got considerably quieter. that says it is a grounding problem?

the place i'm grounding it to is really the only option because no other metal spot on the car can be reached (that i can see) with the ground wire. should i try a ground loop isolator? do those really work for an issue like mine?

[djmoogyjackson]

so i crimped the pioneer's ground to the ground on the metra wiring harness to let it go through the factory harness to whatever ground it uses to see if there would be any difference. there was no difference in doing that but i did notice 2 things:
1) when i touch the shields on the rca's (basically grounding myself to them) the buzz almost goes away entirely
2) i disconnected the rca's so there would be no volume, then turned it on and turned the volume up al the way (to see how high it would go to see if there was a voltage issue maybe between the head unit and the factory amp), well when i maxed the volume out at 40 i could (barely) hear the fm radio. how is that possible with no rca's connected?

[[SMAN]]

Buzzing noises linked to engine RPM is caused by a radiated electromagnetic currents. A simple line driver or ground loop isolator may help. Often you get this when you run a 12V wire source next to your rca wires, it will pick up on this, keeping them seperated (or intersecting at 90 degree angles) will cut down on this. Usualy you don't see it with a factory system. I'm still thinking your using RCAs in either a non amped or wrongly amped setup. The JBL amp i believe is stored behind the glove box, so i would go and find it there and get the model # off it, that will help you confirm if it's digital or analoug cause i find it odd that they wouldn't use the digital one in the camry but they would in other cars (including the solara) up to 3 model years earlier (2004+).

[djmoogyjackson]

well i went to a local store and got some ground loop isolators and it fixes the buzz if i hold them outside of the dash. soon as i put them back in the dash to prepare to mount the head unit they buzz really loud, but this time it's from electrical interference. everytime it gets within inches of the factory wiring (not for the radio, but for other components) it starts buzzing loud again. thinking it might have been interference all along, i took the ground loop isolators out and tried holding the rca's out of the dash but no luck - still a buzz regardless.

the problem is that there's nowhere i can ziptie it that would be out of the way of electrical wiring, there's bundles of wires everywhere that i could possibly tie these rca's to. so that only leaves me with one option, if it even exists, maybe to cover the metal shields of the rca's, etc, with some type of tape or something that can shield them from the electrical interference. i called home depot and they said they have aluminum foil tape that MIGHT take care of it with a few layers of the tape.

i tried looking behind the glove box but can't see well enough to see if there's an amp or not. i still have the window sticker from when i bought the car and it says "JBL sound system", also the single disc cd/tape player in the dash says JBL on it as well. i'll take a look at the non-amplified wire harness tomorrow (shops are closed now) and see what it looks like and maybe give it a shot.

[djmoogyjackson]

also from what i was told by a tech earlier today, mine has an analogue amp and he said they started the digital amp the next year in 2007 models.

[aitkenkingfish]

question are you now getting music as well as a bussing? or is the head unit still not working?

[djmoogyjackson]

when i hook it up with the harness alone i get music and buzzing, the buzzing stays at the same audible level regardless of the music's volume.

when i add ground loop isolators and hold all the rca's outside of the dash (away from the existing electrical wires behind the dash) i get music with no buzz, but when i start the engine the power dies (not good) and i have to disconnect/reconnect the negative terminal on the battery. this only happens intermitantly with the isolators (never happens without them) and seems to be dependent upon where the isolators are physically placed. anytime they're behind the dash it causes the whole car to die when you want to start the engine.

when i add the ground loop isolators and put everything behind the dash i get tons of buzz due to electrical interference, no matter where i put the isolators and rca's they are a few inches away from some type of existing factory wires and i get the interference

i looked behind the globe box to try to find the amp (even though i was sold the car as having the JBL system and the single cd head unit says JBL on it, i wanted to see the amp for myself) and behind the glove box i saw a black box that has some white text stamped on it, which i googled hoping to see that it was listed as a factory amp but i got no results back. here's what was on the black box:

4430m
87010-06430
AA44315-180

[djmoogyjackson]

ok so i've verified i do indeed have a factory amp, i found a picture of a toyota jbl amp online from a toyota avalon, mine looks EXACTLY like this
http://drri.home.comcast.net/~drri/avalon/amp.jpg

[djmoogyjackson]

one of my friends recommended a new idea, he said the voltage being greater from the head unit going to the lower voltage factory amp might be causing an issue. and that made me think about how some factory amps operate at 2 ohms. could either one of those play a part in the problem?

if so, should i try a voltage reducer or something of that nature?

just grabbing for ideas at this point...

[[SMAN]]

At this point, if the amp works fine with the OEM head unit, i would try swapping you aftermarket head unit, see if that fixes it. It seems as though everything is wired correctly and i'm going to assume you have good connections on all your wires. People do make EMF reducing foil and stuff that you can wrap the wires in. But it looks as though something is up with it. Buzzing is expected if you touch the RCAs while the amp is on, but if the ground loop isn't fixing it, then perhaps you have a bigger problem such as bare wires touching It's just gonna take a lot of time and testing to get it right. Or you bypass the whole JBL system alltogether.

[djmoogyjackson]

finally got everything squared away. as it turns out, some Pioneers are notorious for not having a good internal ground for the RCA's, adding an ADDITIONAL ground from the head unit to the vehicles chassis took care of the problem.

[aitkenkingfish]

thats some good info to know. thanks for the tip

[shinner]

Originally Posted by djmoogyjackson

i have a 2006 Camry SE with the single cd JBL factory amplified system. I was sold the metra 70-8113 wire harness w/ factory amp bypass.

Sorry to bump this but I'm about ready to install a Kenwood HU in my '06 SE....I also bought the Metra 70-8113 based on Metra's website when I entered the vehicle info. Did you end up using this Metra part?

I haven't dropped the glove box yet to verify that I have the JBL amp and what the party number might be, but I do have the same stock HU (JBL single CD/Cassette) as you listed.