Thread: My 2002 Nissan SE-R Spec V Carputer

Hey daspiderboris!

I've got a Spec V too, and I've got a couple questions for you.

1. Where did you find the aux in adapter, how much you paid it, and how did you install it?? I'm asking that because I searched a lot about it, and my results were that you can only find an adapter like that for the 2004-6 head unit models...!

2. The dvd drive you installed on your din panel, is it a usb extenal drive?

3. Is your carputer still in the trunk? How did you installed it?

4. Can you post pictures of it?


Thank you!!

Phil

i was curious if you had to do any major modification to get your monitor in the top bin. one of the ideas i've been entertaining involves using rails to guide the opening and closing movement and a hinge at the top of the moniter. (borrowed the idea from another sentra install here; i lurked here for nearly six months religiously before signing up for an account)

by the way, i know what you mean by road rash. everytime i detail Serena i think that i find a new knick in the paint. [rolls eyes] Nissan should have considered adding another layer of clear coat on our cars, seems like the paint might scratch if someone looks at the car too hard!

Aldaris, I checked out the thread on your car, I like where you're going with screen. I'll post some questions for you over there.

So you're right in the sense that the 04 and up models have an aux. input (1/8" stereo jack) right on the front of the HU. But the stock HU has always had a port on the back for the CD changer. I found a cable (8pin Din) that plugs into that port (I think it was the same as an Alpine M-bus cable, let me know if you're having trouble finding it, I'll try to get the details on it) about $30 at a car stereo install shop. I used the diagram from djr1specv's thread on b15sentra.net (I'm sure I've seen it here on this site too, but the b15 link is above) to get the right pinout.

Now the only problem, and I mention it in the link above, is that the 03 HU is slightly different from the 02. I think you acutally have an aux. button on the front or the CD toggles between aux and cd. Is the right? I think that's because in the 03 they made it so the HU controlls the CD changer, while in the 02 the changer had it's own controls on the faceplate. If the back of your HU doesn't have the round 8pin din, you'll have to do some more digging. I also found that you can see part of the circuit board on your HU and it has the pinout (which is easier to read once you already know what they are ).

The DVD drive is an external Targus drive. I picked it because it uses 2 usb ports, one for data and one for power. Made it cleaner to install since I didn't need an additional power tap to the battery. But it cost $127 which is a bit pricey for a DVD drive. But since the one on the computer died anyways, it's the easiest way to install software from disc.

I'm using an old laptop for the actual computer (I already had it, and wasn't using it much and it was free rather than buying compenents to put a pc together. Only thing I bought was a port replicator for it).

I still haven't gotten around to taking pictures of it in the trunk, but I will. I found a case that it "fit" into and that case is velcro-ed to the trunk floor. Keeps it from sliding around and stays with one of my main goals, easily returning it to stock.

One thing I should have done, that you did, is hit up a junk yard. If I had a spare bin where the screen is I would have been open to other ideas for mounting it, since I could cut and drill into the spare bin.

I've seen Tony's thread and the way he's doing his install. That is originally what I wanted to do with mine, because it seemed as though it would fit better this way. It also creates an oppertunity for motorizing the display. But again, going back to being able to return the car to stock, since I think I'll have less trouble selling it without the car-puter and other mods (I think people are skeptical when buying used cars, and seeing that someone has already pulled the dash apart, run cables, installed monitors, etc. doesn't help. Plus a dealer wouldn't give me more money for it having a computer in it).

My install is very simple...All you need to do is take out the top bing, remove the bottom potion of it (just 4 screws) and then seperate the inside of the lid from the outside (again, just 4 screws). Then I got a piece of alumnium from Home Depot (very similar to the piece that Aldaris has a picture of on his thread. It was thin, light and durable. Very easy to work with for cutting and drilling.

One piece you can see in the monitor side view pic above. It stretched across the top bin and mounts into the two holes that held the bottom lid insert. Into this piece I added a simple gate hing that allows the screen to swing in and out.

The other piece stretched across the top of the air vents and uses the mounting holes that hold the vents to the console. In the middle of that piece is a screw with a round head, the monitor has a 90 degree angle that slides over the round head to hold in place while the screen is open.

I'm sure some of that doesn't make sense, I'll take some pics to show you. Things are busy at work, but should slow down in a week and I'll have some more time to mess with the car.

Man, I gotta stop typing so much makes these things painful to read.

I think I mention this originally, I did have the screen installed differently at first. It was sort of based on the rail idea. It only used one rail down the senter of the screen which made it very shacky while driving and it was a pain to open and close. The other major flaw was that it was too far for comfortable touchscreen use. I think the screen has to be close enough that your arm doesn't need to fully extend to use. The more you reach the less stable your hand is the harder it is to hit the screen accuratly. Even with the way my monitor is now, I have to steady my hand by resting it on the top of the screen when using it.

Hey!!

I like your idea of the velcro for the computer in the trunk! Easy to install, easy to remove! I think I'll go with that!!

I inspected my HU yeaterday, and you were right when you said that there was a 8 pin din! (picture below) But there is no aux button on the front of the HU. So if I want to use it I will have to do like you.



If you could help me to find the cable for the 8pin din, it would be great!

And, before I do anything wrong, it the sound quality is good with this setup, or it would be better with an aftermarket HU??

I'm no expert, and I know there are hundreds of folks that'll say that the stock setup sucks and adding a computer audio signal wont cut it, but I think it's just fine.

I have the 300 watt rockford fosgate package and I get all the bass and bump I could ever want from the stock HU playing a CD.

I've talked about this earlier in the thread, I'm sure a preamp or something to help the levels coming out of the soundcard would be a good addition, but no one has given any ideas or advice and I don't know enough to go buying random audio equipment.

Besides that, my only complaint is that most of the low end bass is in my front speakers and not the sub. I don't know why exactly, a few guesses are that the CD changer input is only stereo and that is then divided into 4 channels by the HU and makes the signal weaker by the time it reaches the amp. Not to mention that our audio setup doesn't have a designated sub channel, it shares the rear channel signal. So you're taking a weak (I'm sure a better sound card would help) 2 channel computer audio signal, splitting that into 4 channels, amplifying it and then splitting the 2 rear channels among 3 units.

In the end, considering I'm listening to mp3, which are compressed at various data rate and qualities, I can't complain. I can turn up the HU loud enough to hear the computer going 75mph on the freeway with my sunroof and window open.

As for the cable, I googled it and it is the same as an Alpine M-bus cable. Call around to your local audio installers to see who has it, or if you want you can order it online. I wanted to see it before I bought it, in case it wasn't the right thing, so I went to a shop.

Here's a few links:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-5obJ9sf...0&I=469ALPMRCA
-this would be great, since you wouldn't have to do any splicing, just get a 1/8" to RCA from your laptop to plug right into this. but I don't know if this would match the pinout you need. If you decide to get this and it works, let me know. I'd swap mine out for a cleaner cable, it wasn't easy splicing all of those small wires together.

After I posted that link, I started thinking and realized that even if that cable has the right pins used for the left/right channel, it still wont work without modification. Besides the 4 conductors you need for audio, you also need a condcutor for the 12v power source to trick your HU into Aux mode. Unless the cable is designed to take the power from your audio source and feed it to the propper pin (not likely, but you can call the cable manufacturer and check).

Unless you want to try to mess with the pre-fab cable you'll need a regular cable so that you can splice all of the needed conductors together.
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-ALPINE-M-BUS...QQcmdZViewItem

are you thinking of changing your screen mount? so far you and aldaris are the only ones i've seen with stealth installs. imho, our vehicles are better suited for stealth mounting of the screens. i've also seen many instances of spec vandalism.
on a site note, i'm curious to know what nav software you're running and whether or not you like it. i don't know which one to choose...