Caputer on a Cadillac CTS-V??

ichpen · 06-20-2008, 09:19 AM

Guys,

Hoping you can help out a relative newbie. Just got delivery of a new 'used' 2006 Cadillac CTS-V with Bose/Navigation and aftermarket XM sat. It's a Canadian vehicle.

So the Navi unit is ridiculously crap to put in mildly and needs replacing/complimenting.

I'm looking at some options here. One is to replace the navi (double din) completely. I'm ok with this idea, the only problem is that there are some features that show on the factory navi screen that I wish to retain for example driver memory/preferences are configured via the navi and I'm fairly sure stored on the Navi itself. Other features like Onstar, park assist, fuel consumption etc need to work also.

So question is can these somehow be retained? I realise it's custom software running on the factory Navi but wondering if any efforts have been made to read this.

Second option is to relocate stock navi (still haven't figured out a spot) and add carputer as main navi unit.

Anyone ever attempted this?

Help is appreciated.

honda4x4nut · 06-29-2008, 12:28 PM

Well may i suggest...

When i had my old Escalade in service i got a cts loaner... Well the non nav equipped vehicles have a small screen that displays the information you are speaking of. If you could find that setup and just install it along with the screen for the pc then that should achieve your goals. Hope I was at least a little help for you... Good Luck

colin · 06-29-2008, 10:17 PM

Well, if youre into hardware hacking, find out how the original navigation system gets all this info that you need, then rig something up to capture it for your new system.

Your Caddy probably has some sort of CAN bus going on in there, there are probably premade products that will get certain information out of it... if not, monitor the wires that the stock system uses..

Habious · 07-02-2008, 08:50 AM

I rigged up a snazzy switch for my factory navigation screen. My car's screen is behind a motorized cover, with dedicated "open" and "close" buttons. You press the "open" button and it opens the cover and the screen emerges. When you press the "open" button with the screen already open, it toggles the video to the secondary input.

I have the car startup default to the CarPC but, when I need to use the factory NAV, I just press the "open" button and the car is right back to factory. I do what I need to do on the screen, press "open" again, and voila, I'm back to Centrafuse.

The main reason I did this is that the factory NAV system is adequate for as much as I use it. Plus, I haven't seen aftermarket NAV systems that are really leaps and bounds better than the Lexus system. When I can get a plug-in for CF that has the smooth-scrolling and looks as slick as the BMW factory system, I'll consider moving over to a CarPC-based NAV system. Until then, my trick switch gives me both options.

Here's a quick demo video showing what I did.

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sxott · 07-02-2008, 12:10 PM

That is cool. Do you have an install thread somewhere?

2poor4mods · 07-02-2008, 12:14 PM

that's pretty sweet! You should come to the next DC mp3car meet

Habious · 07-02-2008, 01:11 PM

Thank you both for your kind words.

Quote: Originally Posted by sxott

That is cool. Do you have an install thread somewhere?

I posted about the custom switch here...

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=331293

And my CarPC installation is (somewhat) documented here...

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=333024

I posted a poll (cool vs. geeky) regarding my digital OBD gauge cluster here...

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=347714

Quote: Originally Posted by 2poor4mods

that's pretty sweet! You should come to the next DC mp3car meet

There's a regular DC mp3car meet?!?!?! Details please! I hang out with a Lexus group but, they're all the cool guys...not too many CarPC geeks in the group!

2poor4mods · 07-02-2008, 03:28 PM

check here

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/mp3c...-nj-de-pa.html

Habious · 07-02-2008, 04:03 PM

Dang...never knew about this. That's like 15 minutes from my house! I'm in for the next one. I'll keep an eye on the thread. Thanks for the head's-up!

Habious · 07-03-2008, 07:50 AM

Ichpen,

I apologize for hijacking your thread!

As I originally stated (in a long-winded way), I just wanted to suggest that you maybe look into an option that lets you both use the screen for your CarPC but not lose the OEM functionality.

ichpen · 07-17-2008, 09:51 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Habious

Ichpen,

I apologize for hijacking your thread!

As I originally stated (in a long-winded way), I just wanted to suggest that you maybe look into an option that lets you both use the screen for your CarPC but not lose the OEM functionality.

Not a problem and thanks for the suggestions. Been away hence late response. Well, I have no issues keeping the stock Nav but finding a new locale to either relocate the stock nav or put a carputer in is going to be a bit of a challenge without some very severe hacking... Will check into it.

Habious · 07-18-2008, 01:44 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by ichpen

Not a problem and thanks for the suggestions. Been away hence late response. Well, I have no issues keeping the stock Nav but finding a new locale to either relocate the stock nav or put a carputer in is going to be a bit of a challenge without some very severe hacking... Will check into it.

I was suggesting that you use your existing NAV screen. I don't know about your paticular vehicle but, I just bought an aftermarket video adapter that gives me a composite aux video in for the NAV screen. The CarPC's output feeds into that so the CarPC displays right on the factory screen.

I really nice touchscreen is going to have higher resolution and more functionality/flexibility than using the factory screen but, using the factory screen keeps the OEM look (which is a big deal to me; my car gets enough attention without visible mods) and keeps the OEM functionality there.

ichpen · 07-18-2008, 04:07 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Habious

I was suggesting that you use your existing NAV screen. I don't know about your paticular vehicle but, I just bought an aftermarket video adapter that gives me a composite aux video in for the NAV screen. The CarPC's output feeds into that so the CarPC displays right on the factory screen.

I really nice touchscreen is going to have higher resolution and more functionality/flexibility than using the factory screen but, using the factory screen keeps the OEM look (which is a big deal to me; my car gets enough attention without visible mods) and keeps the OEM functionality there.

That is an interesting idea. I wouldn't know where to begin though with this. I assume you mean hacking a video input for the screen and have a switch to go between nav and carputer. Carputer would be tucked away somewhere. Question is how would I control the carputer without a touch screen interface, would it be a trackball that could be located somewhere visibly? Resolution on my navi is also pretty 80s looking.

Habious · 07-23-2008, 08:57 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by ichpen

That is an interesting idea. I wouldn't know where to begin though with this. I assume you mean hacking a video input for the screen and have a switch to go between nav and carputer. Carputer would be tucked away somewhere. Question is how would I control the carputer without a touch screen interface, would it be a trackball that could be located somewhere visibly? Resolution on my navi is also pretty 80s looking.

Exactly. My CarPC is tucked away in a corner in the trunk. My navigation system 'brain" is in the trunk so, it's actually more convenient for me to tap into the video back there (I bought a plug-and-play module for my specific car). I'm running 800x600 on my factory Nav screen and yeah, it's not super-crisp like a dedicated TFT display but, I'm not running MS Word and trying to type a document on it. The front end has nice, big buttons, big fonts. It's designed to be easy to read at a glance on a small screen.

Here's a picture of my screen (not a screen cap)...

I use an Ergonomic touchpad to control mine. I mounted it on the center console. blends in very nicely. Looks like this... (You can ignore the Motorola Hands-free control module...it's no longer there. Bluetooth phone is handled via CentraFuse now)

I'm in the process of changing my controller to a Space Navigator. Should be fun!

I'm not saying you have to do what I did...or even that you should. Just letting you know that options are out there that would give you both...factory control AND a full-blown CarPC.

.