2004 Maxima SE install

nst6563 · 09-03-2007, 10:26 AM

So I got this car see...and it didn't have the navigation built in like I wanted (many reasons which all boil down to - I couldn't afford the model that came with navigation). So anyway, traded a friend an HTPC setup for his old carputer setup. And it's going in the Maxima.

Here's the dash to start. The screen is going where the tape player is. Don't use it. Don't even own a tape. Don't know anyone who does actually.

First thing's first. dash comes off. measure for clearance, do some test fits, cut some holes, make a big mess in the process.
Had to cut off the tape deck bezel in order to allow room for the LCD. Won't use the tape anyway, plus I have a spare.

had to shave the back of the bezel to alow for more clearance

cut the buttons holes, removed the lcd from the case, fixed it in with 3m double sided tape and gave it a test.

really tight fit, didn't look that great up close, and I couldn't cut the buttons out right...so off to find another method

posted in the fabrication section on some ideas, and got some excellent help there (thanks

) so, with their suggestions, I grafted in the lilliput front bezel as well as the original lilliput button panel.

and a coat of primer later...

Since I couldn't find a matching color for the original dash, I decided Silver would look very nice inside. Personally...I think silver looks better than the original color Nissan had in the car.

And the rest of the dash pieces followed shortly. After all,...can't have one misfit colored silver while the rest are the original can we?

More pics to come soon...

nst6563 · 09-04-2007, 12:36 PM

and here's the rest...

the pc in the back...

one thing to mention... I currently have to leave the top off the pc otherwise it will overheat. I also had to replace the low profile heatsink with an XP-90. Currently looking into a way to get ventilation into the trunk area as right now there isn't any and it's basically sealed off from the cabin.

and now the outcome of the screen install... sorry, got caught up in getting it finished and neglected to take in-between pics of all the wires and other crap I've got behind the dash.

now, you'll notice that on the left of the screen I have a knob. This is for volume. What I did was take some Altec Lansing speakers, and put them behind all that crap on the dash. ran the volume knob up to the front bezel. There is a splitter on the back of the PC to send the audio to both the PAC-AAINIS2 and the altec lansings. I did this because if I was wanting to listen to the radio or a cd instead of the mp3s on the carpc, I could still get the GPS instructions.
There's also a small hole to the left below the volume which I used to put a stylus in.
I also ran power lines to the front to power the lilliput screen off the opus 150.
The next thing I did was install a remote-shutdown switch up front to the right of the rear view mirror controlls. Used cat5 for these wires as I will also mount a reset switch below the remote power button, and cat5 has plenty of wires in it to allow for the switches if I chose to put more up there.

A couple things I need to figure out though is I have an LT-20 GPS reciever...need to find a solution to the fact that sometimes it just doesn't get recognized by the system. I don't have the system setup to hibernate, it shuts off and powers up every time. It does seem to get a good signal lock though and works well when it's detected

anyway...it's like 98% done at this point. just need to get ventilation to the trunk and I think it'll be complete. I MAY add a radio card or something too it, but it would have to be usb as I have an MSI dualNet WiFi/Bluetooth card in the pci slot.

Comments? Suggestions? anyone know where I can get some flat duct that I can run to the back maybe under the seat or something?

EagleTG · 09-04-2007, 02:16 PM

Looks great. The silver REALLY goes well with everything.

nst6563 · 09-04-2007, 02:32 PM

Thanks

- I like that silver a LOT better than the factory color that was there to begin with.

The only problem I have now with it is the same problem a lot of people have...and that's glare.

I've seen a thread on people getting these 3M films, and installing them into the LCD and it greatly improves the readability in high light conditions. That may be the next step I take. My wife was also just kicking around the idea of getting one of those sunlight readable screens...but at the price...I'd rather try the films first.

EagleTG · 09-04-2007, 11:08 PM

Yep, I'm keeping a close eye on the film developments too. I did the tinted window thing on my car, and it did truly help, but nowhere near what the films or transreflective treatment would.

nst6563 · 09-17-2007, 07:53 PM

update:

Added a remote power button up near the drivers seat next to the rear view mirror controls.

improved the grounding in the trunk. Besides grounding the Opus, I also grounded the case and the motherboard/vga cable. This improved some of the noise I was getting through the sound and on the LCD screen. I also added another ground point under the hood and that further helped matters.

Next set of added grounds will be behind the dash. Will ground the LCD better (right now the ground runs all the way back to the trunk) and also ground the circuit board for the Altec Lansing's that are behind the dash.

The biggest thing I did was add 3M films to the LCD (see this thread for more info: http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/lcd-...-upgrades.html )

I ordered the following films:
ESR
BEFII 90/50
DBEF-E

The ESR is for the backlight, it has >98% reflectivity across the light spectrum...surely this HAS to be better than the glossy white piece that was back there to begin with!

The BEFII is a prism film which focuses and increases efficiency of the backlight. Apply 2 of these sheets at 90degrees of each other and according to 3M, this increases the light output by around 125%.

The DBEF-E is a polarizing reflector which reflects all P2 light coming from the backlight back to the reflector in the form of P1 and P2 light. When used in combination with 2xBEFII sheets, the total light output is (according to 3M) increased by around 165%.

The thread above has all the pictures so I won't repost them, but here are the shots of the before/after.

Before: - this isn't the best before shot as it's in the garage at night while the after shot is outside in full sunlight...but ohwell

After: - Note- this is in full sunlight and if not for the glare off the shifter and seats, the screen would be completely readable. Going to try to find something for the touchscreen to improve this since all that reflection is coming off the touchscreen.

Before:

After:

anyway, it looks much better in person than it does in the pictures. I used to run the brightness at 75%, but now even during the day in full sunlight the most I need to crank the brightness is around 30%.

*ALMOST DONE!!!!*

Super_dave · 09-17-2007, 10:38 PM

Is that Ig you are running , if so how did you increase the size of your text , the street names are pretty big on the Nav

ThurzNite · 09-18-2007, 04:52 PM

i have ig4, and you can select between Laptop, UMPC, or PocketPC programs, which change the icons and font sizes.

Jae

nst6563 · 09-18-2007, 07:51 PM

yep, that's Ig3. When you install, it gives you an option for pocketpc, laptop, or desktop. I installed all but the pocketpc and you end up with an Iguidance.exe and an IguidanceUMPC.exe. If you use the IguidangeUMPC.exe, you'll get the larger text and buttons

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