Nissan Navara Blog Spot

Hello people

I have a 56 plate Aventura with Navi and over the last few weeks I have been working out all the wiring with regards to the sound system and the screen display.

I was wondering if anyone has tried to retro-fit a reversing camera to the standard Nav screen.
From my poking about today, it looks like the loom connecting the factory camera control unit (which controls the reversing camera on the new model Aventura’s) to the display is missing, as well as the control box.
The reversing camera control unit only actually sends a signal to the display unit to let it know its there, a 6v feed to the camera, and the camera image itself.
In theory, we could interface to the back of the display directly very easily with a camera.
I am trying to source the connectors so we can make a piggy-back connection.

I have sussed out the RGB and sync feed to the display from the actual Nav unit and found the required electronics to access it.
I am working on a smart switching unit to allow us to use the built in display for our own purposes.
It will add extra inputs to the steering wheel mode button to allow DVD and Ipod connection.
Using a serial communication circuit I have, we should be able to control all the Ipods functions from the steering wheel, and have all the track information on the Nav screen as well.

If the factory reversing camera input is internally disconnected in the display unit, then I can add a reversing camera input on my switch box instead.

As for the sound system, the only way of uprating it would be to make a piggy-back connector for the 6 cd changer system.
That allows us to take the 4x speaker outputs from the cd changer and run them through line level converters.
That gives you 4x line level feeds to connect to an amplifier of your choice.
The loom converter would them pipe the now amplified signal back around the original speaker wires (as long as you don’t go mad on the amplifier size!).
If you really wanted to boost the system, then you would just need a 12v feed from the battery to the amplifier, as the standard loom feed would not take the amps.

We could then uprate the door speakers and have a much uprated system, but still using the factory equipment - and no cut wires anywhere.
The whole system will be plug and play - no cutting wires anywhere.

The only stumbling block I have at the moment is I need a way to mute the cd changer, while it is in Ipod mode or DVD mode.
The truck with Navi does not have an externally wired mute for a car phone, as it doesn’t need it.
I am hoping the cd changer unit has a mute available on its rear connector block, even though its not used.

People without the Navi system beware…. unplugging your 6 disc cd changer will lock it and you will need a Clarion guy to reset the unit.

If anyone had played about in their truck with the sound system?

Any help would be great.
Mmmm…. long post…. sorry

Hi

My experience with reversing cam on my 2007 Aventura so far:

I have feed the Display Unit pin 11 and 12 vid a signal from a camera, nothing happens.

Ping 67 on Navi Control Unit seems to be the one who disables the “normal” input to the display unit but nothing happens with that one either. Regarding to schematics it should be a low (0 volt) on this pin.

The Camera Control Unit is not needed for testing and i’s an easy task to make one as far as I find out what it actually does.

So, this is where I stand now. Next step is to find out if the Display Unit and the Navi Control Unit has the same partnumber in my Navara and in the Pathfinder which has the reversing camera.

There is third party interfaces available but they are far to expensive, over £300!

Any ideas is appreciated!

Yes. Pin 69 on the Nav box needs pulling low to tell the Nav module that the camera control box is attached.
You also need the gearbox in reverse to obtain the 12v signal on pin 65, and then the camera input on pins 11 and 12 on the display unit.
If this doesn’t appear to work, then I would say the display unit doesn’t have it enabled to show an external camera input.

Therefore, the only other way I can see to add a camera without lining the pockets of the Nissan dealers, is to make a small RGB+sync switching box to cut into the image signal to the screen from the nav module.

Read the rest of this thread on our Nissan Navara Forum