Nissan Enthusiast Forums

gtcompscientist · #1 (**permalink**) 02-08-2007, 08:10 PM

OK... so I took the plunge (which was kinda scary I might add) and I took the whole center unit apart to install a switch on the speed wires. The bad news is that it took me two tries (stupid me in too much of a hurry). The good news is that you can benefit from this and now we all know that it works!

Let me start by saying that what I wrote in the other thread was spot on. I created this so that people would know that it works, and would know where the instructions (with pics) were. The process isn't too hard to boot.

First I gathered all the tools and stuff I would need. The shopping list is as follows:

A switch (Single Pole Single Throw, SPST)

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Wire (I used 20 gauge, but smaller wouldn't hurt, it looked like the wires were more along the lines of 24 gauge)

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Electrical tape or Wire Nuts (I went with wire nuts because it is faster and more reliable IMO)

The tools you will need:

Wire snips (you have to strip a lot of wire, and trust me you don't want to do it by hand)
Flat head screwdriver (...doesn't need to be anything specific)
Phillips head screwdriver (I believe it was a PH1, but it could have been a PH2, either way it was a decent sized one)
Cloth to keep from scratching everything while taking it apart.

How to get to the wires:
(** THIS IS DIFFERENT THAN THE BASIC BOSE UNIT, THERE ARE MORE STEPS! **)

1. Remove the bottom cover:

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All this takes is a little prying near the back of the panel (the end closest to the front of the car).
It will come, but be careful.

2. Remove the fascia piece around the CD changer. All you do is pull carefully around the top and wiggle it out, it should just pop right out.

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*NOTE: I did this install from the passenger seat, and was able to just let this piece dangle while I did the install.

3. Next you should remove the A/C vents. The vents come out with a little bit of encouragement. You do this by placing a cloth in the seam and using the flathead screwdriver to carefully pry each side loose. The best I can tell you is to pry about an inch above the bottom, that is where it worked for me.

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4. Now you access to the myriad of screws you have to remove. First start by removing the two gold screws on the bottom (yes, doing this first is better).

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5. Now you have to remove 6 screws. The first 4 that you remove are the one's that hold the CD Changer in place. The other two (of the first four) are next to those screws and hold a bracket in place that has to be taken out. The 4 pictured below are the first that you should remove, and the other two are located below the changer.

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6. Now that you have taken those screws out you have to loosen (don't remove, they are a pain to get back) the two screws that hold the bracket that I mentioned in. The screws are squeezed between the CD Changer bracket and the side of the hold. Loosen these about 3 full turns and you should be good.

7. The last of the screws come out now, the two gold screws holding in the top of the changer. You can see them in the second picture of the A/C vents being removed.

8. Now you can pull the whole thing forward. Unrealspeed was right, you just have to pull... it won't break, but you should be careful.

9. Now that you have pulled the entire unit forward you can disconnect the wire harness that you have to mess with. The harness is the one closest to the driver (it's about an inch and change wide, and white). It's a standard connector, so just make sure to push the tab when pulling it out.

gtcompscientist · #2 (**permalink**) 02-08-2007, 08:11 PM

10. Now, take a good look at the connector. I have put a picture below, as well as the diagram from the service manual. The thing to remember is that the diagram is backwards when you are looking at the connector from the front (like the picture).

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11. You will be splicing the switch into wire 8. That is the slot 2nd from the left, on top as you look at it in the picture!

12. The next step is to find the wire and cut/strip it, it is the color of the severed wire in the picture below.

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13. Now splice in the wire that you are going to run for the switch. You can see one of them is already done in the picture above. Once you are done, with this, put the tape covering it back together, and start buttoning the whole thing up.

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Where you put the switch is up to you, I still haven't figured out where to put it, but I want to make it look professional, so it might take me a few days to figure out the placement, and grow some to cut into my new car!
Here is it's temporary location:

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** OH! I almost forgot. I didn't do this, but it would have been a huge help. I would do this on a flat surface and put the car in "N" and put the parking brake on. Some of the stuff gets in the way if you don't do this. But make sure that the car is off when doing this!!!

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So... now that I had it installed... I went for a test drive, and by God if it didn't work! I took a movie of how it works, but I am warning you it's not very good. I was the only one there, so I played stunt driver, switch thrower, and cameraman. One thing that I noticed right away is that because this is the speed sensor. When you break the connection, it doesn't think you are moving, so it doesn't update the GPS map. Once you turn the switch on again, it takes it a minute to update where you are, and if you do it for too long, it might be COMPLETELY off for a while.

Movie Link

Hope this is useful... if anybody near Atlanta wants to do this now, I'll gladly help out. It took a couple of tries to get it right, so I have taken that thing apart 8 ways to Sunday!

strazz · #3 (**permalink**) 02-08-2007, 08:33 PM

Huge props to you on this, great pictures and explanations along the way!! What a pioneer!

Voripteth · #4 (**permalink**) 02-08-2007, 09:08 PM

Thanks gtcompscientist for being such a pioneer! I'm not sure I have the courage to make the same change but at least we know how!

Silent Z · #5 (**permalink**) 02-08-2007, 10:00 PM

HOLY COW gtcompscientist!! You are the man!!

Is your temp location for the switch in the passenger footwell? Also, are you going to have remove all that again if you decide to put that switch somewhere else?

Sorry if this is covered in the vid. I can't watch it because of my firewall at work.

dhwang · #6 (**permalink**) 02-08-2007, 10:30 PM

wow. nice job man. i def dont have the balls to do anything more than give my car an oil change.

mrebean · #7 (**permalink**) 02-08-2007, 11:10 PM

nice job! great info

gtcompscientist · #8 (**permalink**) 02-08-2007, 11:36 PM

Thanks for all the props.

To answer all the questions:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silent Z

Is your temp location for the switch in the passenger footwell? Also, are you going to have remove all that again if you decide to put that switch somewhere else?

The temp. location is exactly where you guessed. The footwell was the only place that I could put it without drilling a hole or anything. And I am going to have to take at least some of it apart to re-position that switch. The work isn't all that hard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhwang

wow. nice job man. i def dont have the balls to do anything more than give my car an oil change.

It's really not that hard. Just go for it! Installing the switch is going to be the hardest part.

UPDATE: I called Nissan to see if I could get a "blank" switch that matches the "VDC Off" Switch next to the steering wheel. It's $35 and they don't have a blank one, only the VDC and TCS versions. I'm not even sure if it will work, so I'm probably going to hold off on that for now. I'll update you if I make any changes.

Indyguy · #9 (**permalink**) 02-08-2007, 11:43 PM

Excellent work! I come from an off-road background where people are custom fabricating their own suspensions; so the "bolt-on" approach that seems to be more the norm around here was a bit disappointing. Its no double-triangulated 4-link coilover set-up... but at least you're not afraid to do something that didn't come with its own instruction manual.

gtcompscientist · #10 (**permalink**) 02-08-2007, 11:45 PM

Forget not having instructions. I wasn't even sure this would work! It was damn nerve racking! My heart was about to jump out of my chest when I cut the wire!

25SL06 · #11 (**permalink**) 02-09-2007, 04:36 AM

Very interesting. Any chance it'll work on 2006 Altima Navigation...?

gtcompscientist · #12 (**permalink**) 02-09-2007, 04:53 AM

This particular set of instructions won't work on the 06, but I'll look at the manual, and see how to do it. I'll post those instructions here, or PM them to you...

Voripteth · #13 (**permalink**) 02-09-2007, 02:16 PM

Have you tested to see what the navigation system does if you leave the switch off for a while? How long does it take to recover once you turn it back on?

gtcompscientist · #14 (**permalink**) 02-09-2007, 02:19 PM

I have tested leaving it on for 5 minutes and it definitely lost track of where I was. When I turned it back on it took it about a minute to get it's brains back in order. The big thing was turning on to another road. That apparently helped it right itself. I have my conjectures as to why, but they are long and VERY technical.

iscripter · #15 (**permalink**) 02-09-2007, 02:34 PM

Question?
What exactly is disabled by Nissan without this speed switch installed for the Nissan Navaigation system. It is hard to tell from the video, but it looks like Nissan disabled the ability to use the change track/folder button on the screen.