My HU is a Kenwood GX206JE. Which - it appears is similar to the GX204 model from previous years. It is obviously has the narrow Jap FM band tuner.
- GX206JE.jpg (40.68 KiB) Viewed 2152 times
I do not want to use an FM band expander so my first option is to see if my electronics technician can hack the tuner to expand it internally using this thread I found: Hack Jap FM Tuner . The car has dual HVAC, which based on the wiring I've seen behind the stereo - it does not seem to be connected to the HU wiring.
- IMG_7493 - Copy.JPG (212.1 KiB) Viewed 2152 times
However, there is the infamous ribbon cable that attaches the PCB's on the back of the facia between the HU and HVAC controls. It can be seen on the left of the PCB's in the pic below.
- IMG_7496 - Copy.JPG (194.42 KiB) Viewed 2152 times
I saw a previous post on the US Legacy forum by SVXDC HERE where it was thought that this cable was primarily for light dimming on the HVAC. However, no one appeared to know what the other "UART" lines were for. Thus, my questions regarding this are:
1. Will my electronics guy be able to attempt the FM hack if he had the entire assy (HU & HVAC) with just the main white harness jumper? i.e. Without any other connections to the car and therefore not needing the car...? (I know he will need the wire colour codes and antenna jack)
2. In the event that my Tech cannot do the FM hack, my Option #2 would be to go down the route of where ScoobyDoo did a custom fab'd facia for a new double DIN HU, retaining the factory HVAC. So - Is that ribbon cable necessary for proper operation of the HVAC, minus the dimming??? Essentially, I would be looking into a fibreglass / plastic solution to filler all the holes that are on the factory facia for the stereo, cut out an opening to accommodate a DD and re-install the factory HVAC - of course the facia would have a gloss black repaint. Then interface back to the steering wheel controls with the appropriate harness. This is a MUCH cheaper option for me than the AVOJDM US$300+ new facia with dual HVAC.
On a somewhat related note, the car also has a Japanese Panasonic multimedia system installed, complete with an LCD controller in the cubbyhole, Navigation, TV tuner (I was able to pick up a couple local TV stations), HDD, SD card, (DVD - I think - but I haven't found the DVD slot yet!) & radio Tuner. The audio output of this goes through a 4cm speaker in the left (passenger) footwell kick panel as well as through the AUX on the HU. However, from looking at the connections on the back of the Kenwood - I cannot tell which one is for the AUX input. Can anyone decipher this from the attached pic above? Also - would anyone happen to know if there might be a Language Selector on that Panasonic unit?? (A guy can dream, right??! LOL)
Any input would be greatly appreciated. In Trinidad we get ALOT of used Japanese cars with similar setups and most people just end up being stuck with an FM expander which is sh!t. So any findings and revelations from myself would be useful to alot of guys.
