Voodoo101

A lot are missing. I was lucky and found mine when I got the car but never used it. Its still in the back of the seat. But I do keep finding little things about the car, like the stop/start button in the drivers footwell

So a few years ago I changed the Sony head unit for a cheap chinese Android unit. I never fully wired it in because the person who owned the car before me mashed up the cables. I think they thought the overhead screen cable was for the reversing camera and chopped it to pieces trying to work it. The screen lasted a few weeks before giving up and it was returned at my cost. Note - dont buy cheap chinese android head units. Anyway the old Sony unit went in with a new connection for the rear camera after I found the wire tucked away and got an adaptor, however it was just turned on with the head unit, never the reverse. I did find a 4 pin plug that was lose that had a 12v ign feed, an earth, a cable that was 12v when I use reverse and a 12v for the parking break signal. I now have a new quality android unit and got a new cable for it with a canbus, however there are 2 brown leads, one coming from the head unit loom saying reverse, one coming from the canbus saying back. I have read on the Teyes website (who supplied the canbus), not to connect the reverse lead if its controlled by the canbus because it can cause damage. Anyone fitted an android unit with a canbus? Is the 12v lead needed and if so, where do I connect it to. The canbus lead or the wiring loom? Or do I join "back" lead from the canbus to the "reverse" lead on the head unit loom? On a side note. Is there a way of tapping into the original microphone by the dome light?

I looked at one there when I was looking a few years back. When I took it for a test drive, one of the front wheels joints was broken and the wheel would not run straight. Was told it had been checked and ready to go. I decided then to give them a wide birth

Hi all Been doing some changes on my van and found some wires that im trying to identify. They are hidden behind blanking plates. I know the Toyota use the same wiring loom for all Alphards and Vellfires, but just curious what switches would be in these places. Also I have a small grill that is only on the drivers side. Anybody know what its for?

My insurance give me a discount for having one fitted, so if they think im gonna pay for somebody to fit it, they can take a long walk. I dont think there is an Alphard or Vellfire the same as original spec in the country, they all seem to be different. As to approved installer, anybody who knows a bit of common sense can be an auto electrician. I dont think there is a degree in it that you have to have, its like being a mechanic, if you can pick up a wrench, you qualify

If that is the case then every Alphard and Vellfire in the UK has invalid insurance, cause every one has been modified to get through an MOT by having a fog light fitted. I think you will find small electrical fittings do not count as modification, otherwise nobody could fit dashcams, usb chargers, tyre pressure monitors and the like

Im looking on rewiring my dashcam. I dont want piggy back fuses and at the moment the wiring goes to the back of the sound system Does anyone know of a 12v continuous live and a 12v ignition feed in the footwells. And while I was looking I found a very handy tool for anyone who is working on a ramp and needs to start the car.

I want to tidy up the cables in my car. I want to rewire my dash cam direct to power and also the rear USB charger. Has anybody removed the passenger fuse box. I thought this would be a great place to tap into 12v and ign cables

Old post I know, but did you ever fix this?

The original owner changed the head unit to a Sony one. They cut the roof monitor cable plug off for some reason, i guess they thought it was the reversing camera. There are wires tacked on everywhere and the AC unit has a wire that connects to the cig lighter. When I removed the unit and plugged the ISO cable into a new unit, the unit started smoking, so I pulled it out. Then I realised that the reversing beep was missing and the lights on the dash was not on. When I stopped and tried starting again I found the alternator was dead, so £130 for a new alternator, £40 for a new belt, £80 to fit and still have this problem to find. I dont really mind paying for a new alternator, it was the original one on from 2009 and 120k miles, so probs old anyway

Non at the moment, its just an empty hole with all the wires

The engine starts and it drives fine, car changes gear no problem. These are the faults No display of gear selection on dashboard No beep when in reverse No signal for reverse camera Doors dont unlock when in park Battery light on dash is lit but dull Update. Just tried putting car in manual gears and these show but then vanish. Taking it out and putting it back in does the same

So I installed a new head unit which turned out to have an internal fault. Smoke was coming from the dashboard so I stripped it out. Turns out it did more damage as it took out the alternator, the display for the gear change and the reversing beep. I had the alternator replaced but I still have missing gear display and missing beep, plus the battery light is on dim. I have run a scan and it says "B2281 Convienience system fault" Anyone have any idea where to start looking

I have the standard system. It sounds great in the front but the back sounds bad. If you get the standard then i suggest an upgrade in the back

You can disconnect it. Mine was tagged into the wiring behind the head unit

I tried Admiral for mine when I first got it after getting the cheapest price from them on comparison page. They said they would not insure mine as it was a 240z and the only insure 240s and 240x. I told them it was the same thing and just trim difference, infact the according to wiki, the 240s does not even exist. They said a manager would phone me, that was six months ago and still no call. After speaking with them I phoned Adrian Flux and they matched the price after speaking to insurer, they also added free cover for my excess and when my previous insurer made a mistake with my previous claims, Adrian Flux gave me £50 compensation

Well when I bought my Vellfire, it had a Sony double din unit installed that that was able to use Android Auto and Apple Carplay. The steering controls worked, but the DAB Radio was bad and the reversing camera did not work. I only have the six speakers which all worked from the head unit. I decided to upgrade and bought an Android head unit from Aliexpress, that came with the dash surround to fit, replacing the one installed. They do not come with the gear chrome surround or the little storage unit, so this had to be changed, the trouble was that it was a slightly different colour and looked stupid. Also the top was not the matt black of the original and with the sun tended not to work well with the heat, add to this that it did not fit right. Then after a few months the touch screen stopped working, so I had to send it back to China to get a refund, losing out on postage cost. When I took the Sony unit out I had found out why the DAB radio was bad, the person had not earthed the antenna, Unfortionaly when I came to reinstall it again I found I had binned the old one and the new one for the Android did not fit. I also found out why the reversing camera did not work as who ever had fitted it in the first place had tried to hook the rear screen as the reverser, so a simple adaptor off ebay fixed that. As I said, I dsn't have the 18 speakers so don't know about that, maybe somebody else on here will know, but for everything else, you could just get one off the shelf from Halfords or the like and it will do the rest. I am now looking for a replacement Android unit and have found three that I may be interested in from named companies. First one is more powerful. Second one is not as powerful but gives me the option to play CD's. Third one looks good but is from AliExpress which worries me. universal Double Din Head Unit (joyingauto.eu) Universal 10.1" Double Din Android 11 Car DVD Player GPS Navigation System (TQS113） | Xtrons Idoing13.3"car Radio Android Stereo Player For Special Car And Universal Car Gps Navigation Intelligent Head Unit Plug And Play - Car Multimedia Player - AliExpress Hope this helps

If you want the best system for options then go for an Android Head unit (try to avoid units from AliExpress this includes places that fit them and may get them from AliExpress). These give you all the options of a tablet such as Google Maps, Dab Radio (you have to buy extra decoder), Reversing camera, 18 speakers (with extra adaptor), Spotify, Netflix, Disney +, Google and much more. These also work with the steering wheel controls. If you are looking more to have something a but more basic and are willing to connect your phone for maps and other music features, then there are a lot of makes on the market, but you would have to check that it would work with the standard amplifier

Normally the rear dashcam takes power from the front camera which also does all the recording. By your description, you have two separate dashcams. If that is the case then I would probably just take a power and earth from something in the tailgate. You will have to make sure that the power comes from something that only comes on with the ignition, otherwise it will just drain you battery. Just make sure you run an inline fuse.

Extension lead for 12v chargers. NDDI 120W Car Charger, Cigarette Lighter Splitter USB Car Adapter with QC 3.0 Quick Charge and Three 5V/MAX 5.5A USB Ports, 3 Cigarette Sockets with 4 On Off Switch, Car Voltage Display: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

I got my 2009 Vellfire earlier this year and had a nightmare. Some places would not quote because it was an import. Tried comparison sites but they only had they only listed 240X and 240S, but mine is a 240Z, so a few would not insure (if they put it down wrong, your insurance is invalid and the will not pay out). Phone Admiral who said they could sort out a price and would phone me back. That was 4 months ago and still no phone call. Ended up with Adrian Flux. My last insurance was a group policy with a company car, so they arranged for the claims free years to count as no claims bonus, then negotiated with the brokers to get a price cheaper then Admiral. They then covered my excess free of charge, so in the event of an accident, my excess is covered. Then there was a problem on the paperwork from my old insurance company that said that I had a claim but was not a claim. This cause confusion with Adrian Flux when they received it think I had not told them of a claim. When it was sorted they gave me compensation for the error and it was not even their fault.

The fuse box is accessable without removing the glove box, infact the glove box will not make any difference unless you need access to thread cables from the door. To remove it, open it up, on the left side you will see a plastic rod from the dash to the glove box, just pull it free as it comes off easy, then squeeze the sides of the glove box as you pull it open (make sure it is empty as it will just hinge on the bottom) then pop it off the hinges. Be careful when you put it back to make sure the hinges are correctly lined up when you put it back, otherwise it gets jammed and is a pain to get back out to align. Then push it back in place, hooking up the pole. The easy way to wire up a dashcam is to use a piggy back fuse. Saves any major wiring, the only problem is the fuse box lid does not fit after. If you remove the kick panel on the left of the footwell (there is a little plastic nut at the back and it just pops off), there is a bolt that is a good earth.

Yes, but you have to get a powered adaptor for the arial.

Wasn't arguing, just pointing out the otherside of the discussion so people can make a choice instead of just hearing scaremonger tactics of how bad it is. There are also people saying that it is not bad. People can decide on what they want to do once they get the full information. Without proper evidence, it is all just hearsay either way.

Well like everything. For every person who thinks you get more mpg, you will find somebody who thinks you don't. Maybe you did not give your ECU chance to make adjustments. Maybe you had a bad tank of fuel. Maybe it's was the placebo effect. I found this though from Australia. E10 vs 98 Ultra-Premium There is a popular myth that higher octane fuel like 98 UPULP will give ordinary cars more performance and better economy. Unless your car has been specifically tuned to run solely on 98RON UPULP this is simply not true, and any gains in efficiency would come from the improved cleaning ability of 98 removing built-up gunk inside your engine that was already hurting your fuel economy. Or this from the UK It should be perfectly fine to use a higher-octane fuel than the manufacturer recommends for your car – though it’s unlikely to offer any discernible benefit. Or this 6. Using premium unnecessarily If you use high octane fuel in an engine designed for low octane fuel, the engine will adapt up, slightly. The knock sensor will allow a small increase in ignition advance and there will be a slight increase in power. Slight. Certainly this adaptation will not produce as much additional economy/power as there would be if they increased the compression ratio and optimised for premium.