arthurj

Thanks all, that’s what I thought. Now I need to find someone in the North East who will do it. Not sure I’m up to doing it myself, that kind of messy job is guaranteed to drive me up the wall.

When I imported my car I asked to have it undersealed by the guy doing the IVA, fog and speedo conversion. He didn’t do it, claiming that cars younger than 10 years don’t need it. I wasn’t convinced by this at the time, but I’ve just asked someone else if they would do it and they said that Japan imports are usually in good condition when they get here so they don’t need it.

I thought undersealing was a standard practice for imports. Has something changed in the last 10 years that makes it not worth it?

it’s not the condition of the car now I’m worried about, it’s the condition it’ll be in after a few months of living near the coast and a winter’s worth of salty roads.

Interesting. I guess mine doesn’t then. 

Stoneacre Toyota at the Silverlink near North Shields will service the 20-series. Was quoted just over £400 for a full service.

It has an alarm according to the manual, but it only sounds if the doors are forced.

I realise this is starting to get a bit weird and stalkerish, but this is the man himself selling a CarPlay unit on eBay. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284258580156

Another data point, this time urban driving in the series 20 hybrid.

Hello. This thread might help. 

I got a Viofo A129 Plus Duo front and rear. I mounted the front behind the mirror. Pushed the cable under the trim above the windscreen, then ran it along the driver’s side (being careful not to block the airbag) and along to the back. The Viofo cable is pretty thick but it just fits. My cam came with a trim tool which was definitely needed, since some of the trim is fitted flush and needs prying apart so you can push the cable in.

I had trouble finding a good position for the rear camera. In the end I mounted it near the bottom of the glass close to the driver’s side. Due to the curve of the glass there’s a small blind spot towards the passenger side, but not bad. My camera came with sticky cable clips and I used them to run the cable vertically down the boot next to the window to the camera. There’s a service panel on the driver’s rear pillar with enough space inside to stow excess cable so that you have just the right amount leading to the boot.

Harder is finding a power supply. I used a hardwire kit to permanently connect the front cam to a fuse box. Mine doesn’t have a 12V socket in the boot.

Nice, thanks for the info. Really just trying to work out what that system does, but I think I might prefer a new head unit. If I lived closer to Birmingham I’d probably get Ben to fit that anyway, given his reputation!

5 hours ago, threepot said:

 

But keep in mind this is just the LCD controller. There is a another microprocessor that actually runs the cluster.

 

The LCD driver just does as its told by the main micro, which takes all the button presses, CAN/MPX network data, makes the dial needles move etc.

According to a spec sheet I found, that model of chip can read the CAN directly.

Seems that to disassemble it you need Softune Workbench, which is a proprietory Fujitsu/Infineon debugging environment. I can't find it for download anywhere.

Do you know exactly what the model number is? There's a Fujitsu MB90 series of microcontrollers. If that particular chip is based on a common standard, you could disassemble the code and find out what might cause the english text to be used instead of the japanese.

On 7/10/2022 at 12:46 PM, Chris.ac said:

Arthur, I could guide through the install, it is a bit fiddly.

You need to open up the screen, and connect a flexi wire to the existing touchscreen connector, this gets routed out the case and connects to the android box and the select switch (you often see this on bens installs to the right of the headunit)

the box itself has a single plug into the back of the headunit (replacing the original AUX video and stereo inputs) _ this is the primary reason for the low resolution, because  you are  using a phono video input, higher end more expensive solutions would use the digital video input (GVIF) (used by the auto parking, 270degree cameras, satnav)

 

The resolution is useable, a bit like the older satnav systems, I would say its equivalent to something like 600x480.

 

On the wiring loom that provides lighting to the gear selector, I found an extra plug - i used this for the 'illumnination' signal.

I added a connection to the cigarette lighter, for switched power, I also connected the '+battery' to this, as i did not want the box draining current from the battery - it means it takes about 20 seconds to power on, but then so does the original headunit.

 

The next problem, was that the AUX input will 'bluescreen/blank', when you go over 5mph.

I got around this by cutting the Speed input and the Handbrake signal wires that are present at back of headunit and grounding them (Headunit side, not the loom side)

 

if the touchscrren does not seem to calibrate, I had to swap over 2 of the wires in the flexi switch pba, not too much of a problem.

 

I tried to find out Bens firmware, but as usual cagey, as if its some top level secret, he thinks my unit is a clone, but for £160 plus a couple hours of time, I have change to fill up the tank 2 times, lol. Everything works the same as the unit he sells.

Could you send me a link to the box you used? £180 + some swearing sounds like a good deal. According to the manual, my current head unit's resolution is 800x480 so it's chunky, but OK.

I'm fairly savvy with electronics and wiring in general but not much experience with car electrics apart from wiring my dashcam to the fuse box. Interestingly, if I'm watching a video using the VTR function, my head unit doesn't automatically switch it off above 5mph, so maybe there isn't a handbrake wire to disable?

Otherwise I think I might prefer a whole new head unit, but picking one seems like a minefield. Mine's an 8" unit, so  7" seems like a downgrade and the 9" ones won't fit without a new bezel. Plus I have a HDMI-in located in the centre console that can send a signal to the front or back screens or both, and it's not clear if any 3rd party head units support that.

On 6/30/2022 at 12:30 PM, Chris.ac said:

If anyone can provide an image of the Ben version firmware screen, or an image of the actual box that is fitted, I could probably pin down the exact model, I do not think the price he charges is unreasonable, given the time to install, and the risk of damage if you are not competent of your abilities, but also, this is not outside the realm of a user install, of you have some good dexterity, and a willingness to cut a few wires on the loom.

Would you say that it is easier to install this CarPlay unit or to install a new head unit and reversing cam, Chris? Birmingham’s a long way away so am considering doing it myself.

From what I can gather, the android box just uses the regular video input (just as if I’d plugged it into the HDMI input in my centre console) except that you also add a bypass switch to the touchscreen, so you can choose whether the touchscreen is talking to the head unit or the android box. Does that sound right?

Do you know why the resolution seems low? Is it because of the resolution of the original head unit or the android box?

 Cheers.

21 minutes ago, Voodoo101 said:

 Hi James

 

How do you get on with the Veepeak OBD, does it allow you to change the settings. The OBDLink MX+ is about three times the price and in these days fuel being silly prices, every thing I can save on helps.

 

Thanks

It seems to work ok. I can see the same settings as shown above and I’ve successfully changed some of them, but only in CarScanner. I tried MotorData OBD on iOS and it won’t connect to the Veepeak at all. MotorData allegedly has better Hybrid info but if CarScanner works for you then the Veepeak may be a good option.

I’m trying to find a place for a dashcam but there’s sensors and wires (heating elements?) all along to top edge. Can anyone identify them?

Also - where do you put your dashcams?

Found a similar thread on this forum and got our man Suresh to unlock it. He’s raised his prices a bit but it did the job.

I have a Veepeak OBDCheck BLE+ dongle which I got for cheap off AliExpress, but never used it because CarScanner refused to connect to it properly. However they must have issued an update because it now seems to work! I can see more-or-less the same options that Steve showed.

What I really want to do is turn off the reversing beep. I guess I need Techstream for that.

1 hour ago, Teekay said:

Nice one 

If you can please re post this on Mega thread Alphard MPG. Thanks 

No problem, done.

1. Year 2012

2. Model Vellfire Hybrid

3. Driving 540km, mostly motorways at 70mph, ECO mode

4. MPG 36-37mpg

From my post in another thread:
 

Quote

 

I just did a long drive right the way up the country. Mostly 70mph motorway driving, not much traffic, cruise control most of the way. I was in eco mode mostly and did about 540km. Just me, not a heavy load and my car’s not converted.

 

I got about 36-37mpg on that run. I might be able to improve it slightly if I were at 65mph most of the way.

 

I need to test properly, but I think I get similar in town.

 

Bear in mind that my head unit is currently offline so I don't have exact MPG stats, I'm basing this off milage and the position of the fuel dial, which may not be accurate.

I just did a long drive right the way up the country. Mostly 70mph motorway driving, not much traffic, cruise control most of the way. I was in eco mode mostly and did about 540km. Just me, not a heavy load and my car’s not converted.

I got about 36-37mpg on that run. I might be able to improve it slightly if I were at 65mph most of the way.

I need to test properly, but I think I get similar in town.

Just realised I’ve posted in the wrong section. This is a 2012 model.

Hello. I’ve just had a new battery connected. The head unit is now in this state - I assume it’s asking for a code of some sort. Does anyone know how I can reset the code?

I just signed in and the forum asked me to complete my profile with my car details… but it wasn’t possible to choose a 20 series Hybrid (mine’s a 2012 Vellfire Hybrid).

Mind you, most insurance companies don’t believe it exists either

My Skoda does this, and it always seems to happen overnight when it rains. I’ve still not worked out which button or combination of buttons makes the windows roll down, but they’re probably being pressed by keys while in my pocket. It’s not mentioned in the Skoda manual either.

Is a shame to hear it also happens with the Alphard. I’d previously put it down to yet another example of VAG low-quality electrics.