2005 Volkswagen GTI - Page 4

kbyrd · 09-19-2005, 12:07 PM

Here's a description of my VGA and USB wire run, maybe it'll help others. My case is going in the spare tire well. I removed the tools, but not the tire. I really should take pictures when I do this, but oh well.

- I bought 10 foot extension cables. Previously, I installed some other wire along my planned route and discovered I needed a bit less than 15' from dash to spare tire. The lillput 10pin to VGA/USB cable is 5 feet. So I bought a 10ft USB and a 10ft VGA extension.

- Pull up the spare tire cover. Pull up the rear driver's seat bottom, pull the rear's drivers seat back forward. Just make it unlatched, don't fold it down.

- Make sure you feed the female end of these cables toward the dash (the male end plugs into the PC in the hatch.

- My run goes from the hatch, under the carpet that runs under the rear seat backs, down the driver's side door sill, up into the dash to the left of the steering wheel, then across to the radio cage below the steering wheel but inside the metal frame. Actually, the 10 foot extension cables run from hatch to the hood release/fuse door area. There's plenty of room there to mate them with the male ends of the USB/VGA->10pin cable from the Lilliput. The Lillput cable then runs to the radio cage.

- The door sill comes loose (I never took it off entirely) pretty easily, while standing outside the car facing the drivers seat, pull up with your fingers on the inside (towards the seat) of the sill. There are about 4 clips along the length. Once the sill is up, you can play with the padding and sound insulation and you'll see a gap near the outer edge (towards the outside of the car). It looks huge to me, I was able to fit a 10ga wire there. Or, a VGA and a USB extension cable side-by-side.

- Once the door sill is up, look at the piece that overlays it to the rear of the car. This piece runs next to the rear driver's seat and houses a speaker. There is a plastic knob (about 1.5" diameter), you can unscrew this and pry up this piece a bit (I didn't actually take it off or get it loose, the wiggle room just made moving carpet and wedging cables a bit easier. There's another knob just like it on this same piece. Kneeling on the rear passenger seat, if you pull the rear driver's seat back foward a bit you should see the top part of that same piece, with another 1.5" knob. Unscrew it. Now, look down at the carpet edge the runs under the rear driver's seat back and ends a few inches into the hatch. With these two screws loose, you should be able to wiggle a cable under that piece towards the door sill. For me, it came out right near bottom sholder belt anchor for the rear driver's seat. At this point the cable end is right at the rear end of the driver's door sill. I pulled thru all the cable I needed (leaving only enough to reach the PC's location) and buttoned everything up (reposistion carpet, screw buttons back on, leave the door sill loose).

- Now, using instructions from vwvortex I took off the fuse door trim, and the trim to the left and right of the steering wheel. I didn't touch the radio cage.

- Stash the cables on the outside edge of the door sill, tons of room! As the cable approached the dash, I ran it directly from the sill up under the trim for the hood release. I didn't need to loosen this trim at all. My 10' cables end here. The 10-pin to VGA/USB that came with the lilliput is more than long enough to reach here from the radio cage in the dash.

- Later, I'll run the stock lilliput VGA/USB cable from the radio cage over to the hood release area. I've tested a run with 10ga cable, and it's sort of feel-as-you go, but I was able to push aside some foam near the bottom left edge (closer to the driver, not the engine) and get into the cavity that runs below the steering wheel. There's an easy gap there to grab cable, then feed it to the left towards the fuse door/hood release.

kbyrd · 09-21-2005, 05:35 PM

It's not like I was making amazing-fast progess on the carputer or anything, but I've run into a small snag.

It rained in the San Jose/San Francisco Bay Area yesterday. First rain (thunderstorm!) of the season. Ok, Ok, everyone be careful driving now, don't do anything dumb, watch out for others being dumb. BLAM!

I took my GTI in for scheduled service, and got hit coming home from the mechanic. The other driver ran a red light. I don't mean, "hey it's raining, I couldn't stop in time for the yellow light". I mean "there's a traffic light here?!?!"

Here's the story:
I'm at a red light behind another car. I'm on a small street crossing a big street with a four way stop. My light turned green. The car in front of me entered the intersection and turned left (no oncoming traffic). I then started to cross. I get almost all the way across when my rear end was hit by someone in the farthest possible lane across the intersection (the rightmost lane from her point of view). It's wet, she tagged me at the way rear, so I spin completely around....wheee! Given how much time passed between my green light and me actually getting in front of her (almost made it by about 2 feet) I can only imagine that she didn't see the light at all.

No injuries, both cars driveable. She gets out and says something like: "oh man, oh man, I'm so sorry, you're not going to believe this but my insurance just expired." [looking at my car] "Oh, that's not so bad, it's ok, my boyfriend does bodywork." Grrrr....[that's me]

I explain that I'm going to go thru my insurance and get the work done at the dealer. She's really upset and keeps saying she's sorry, and wondering what'll happen to her. My answer: "I really don't know, it's not my problem. At least you didn't hurt anyone. Do you have a driver's license?" [her, kinda disgusted] "Well of course!"

We'll see. My insurance company is all informed. Waiting to hear from the claims guy today before I take it to the dealer. It's not a ton of damage, but at least the whole rear wraparound bumper piece needs to be replaced, and the rear wheel well.

Bugbyte · 09-21-2005, 05:51 PM

That sucks! Hope you get it all worked out. You're all lined up to get your install going!

kbyrd · 09-21-2005, 06:17 PM

I'm clearly thinking carPC first. I keep wondering if I can turn the body work into an opportunity to make the install somehow easier (can I run a wire easier if the rear is taken apart?). So far, I don't think so.

BoyNextDoor · 09-21-2005, 06:19 PM

i understand that you make good progress with your crpc, and have an extensive thread on it, but WHERE ARE THE PICTURES???

Viscouse · 09-23-2005, 09:01 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by kbyrd

Electrical Wiring
For wiring the screen, I can do:
- Directly from the car. See this about why that might be bad.
- From the PSU in the hatch (maybe just more 4 or 8 even though it'd be overkill for 1a at 12V).
- A point of load regulator in the dash. (more cost).

I saw your post about running VGA/USB cables, but was wondering what you had decided on for this? I'm thinking about running off my Opus 120W. It would be so much easier to run it off the car, but I don't think it's worth the risk.

Sorry about your car dude. I wish for you a hassle-free, good-looking repair! (I got rearended a couple years ago...I kinda feel your pain.)

kbyrd · 09-23-2005, 09:41 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Viscouse

I saw your post about running VGA/USB cables, but was wondering what you had decided on for this? I'm thinking about running off my Opus 120W. It would be so much easier to run it off the car, but I don't think it's worth the risk.

I didn't mention power because I haven't done it yet. I'm going to power it from the M1-ATX. I plan to buy some Molex ATX power connectors to mate to the power supply, run the power (+ and -) up the passenger side using a similar path as I did for the VGA and USB cables (EDIT: which I ran up the driver's side). When I bought the Lilliput, I ordered an extra DC power pigtail, and I did my first solder ever connecting some 12ga wire to this pigtail. Man, it's ugly.

Quote: Originally Posted by Viscouse

Sorry about your car dude. I wish for you a hassle-free, good-looking repair! (I got rearended a couple years ago...I kinda feel your pain.)

Thanks. I got the estimate, they'll call me when parts are in. The car is driveable and I have it, so maybe I'll do some the wiring run above this weekend.

Viscouse · 09-23-2005, 10:05 AM

Just a quick note on something I found out...probably a good idea not to run power and signal cables next to each other. I know, it's not terribly high amperage, and you said "similar" not "same" path, but just thought I'd mention it. Otherwise you open yourself up to noise in the monitor, and dirty signals.

kbyrd · 09-23-2005, 11:31 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Viscouse

Just a quick note on something I found out...probably a good idea not to run power and signal cables next to each other. I know, it's not terribly high amperage, and you said "similar" not "same" path, but just thought I'd mention it. Otherwise you open yourself up to noise in the monitor, and dirty signals.

It's funny. I wrote that last post and I thought: "someone is going to tell me not to run the signal cables along the power cables". Hidden somewhere in the several posts, I say that I ran my signal on the driver's side and I'm going to run the power on the passenger side. Thanks for the advice, though. I'd rather have more people trying to help and not need it (this time) then to be stuck with no one to ask.

I'll edit the post.

Meelobee · 09-27-2005, 05:14 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by BoyNextDoor

i understand that you make good progress with your crpc, and have an extensive thread on it, but WHERE ARE THE PICTURES???

stutter · 10-02-2005, 03:42 PM

I realize you've chosen your position for your carpc - just thought i'd offer another solution - at least in my case. I have an 01 GTI w/the monsoon system - in the boot where the amp is, there is a CDChanger bracket just above it - when I do my install, i plan on installing my carpc here (where the intended cdchanger should go) - as my car was sold with the tape deck and no cd changer.

kbyrd · 10-02-2005, 05:04 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by stutter

in the boot where the amp is, there is a CDChanger bracket just above it - when I do my install, i plan on installing my carpc here (where the intended cdchanger should go)

Mine too (no cd-changer). This was my first choice. But I had already bought the M10000 mobo and I couldn't see a way to make it fit easily. It fits perfectly inside the rim of the spare tire.

For all of you who want pictures, they are coming. I took a bunch to match my descriptions, I'll edit those posts about my wire runs to add the pics.

I made good progress this weekend. I've got everything for a v1.0 install except the audio to the monson amp and nice looking mounting for the LCD. I'll post pics later.

kbyrd · 10-03-2005, 10:51 AM

Here's a description with pics of my LCD power and remote-turn on wire run. I ran two 12ga (powering the LCD) and a single 14ga (remote turn-on to M1-ATX) from hatch to dash, along the passenger side. The LCD power wires stay at the radio cage, while the remote turn-on wire continues over to the fuse panel. When I say "rear seat bottom" or "door sill", I mean the passenger side. However, I've done a run up each side now and they are identical until you get to the dash. Also see the [link]http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=967146]vwvortex.com forums post[/link] for proper information on tearing apart your car, this is an approximation, I take no responsiibility if you break something.

The order presented is not the order I did everything, it just makes for a bit easier to understand in a post. Also, I took pictures after the fact. So, it'll look different than when you're actually pulling the wire.

- Take a minute and disconnect your battery. You don't HAVE to, but I felt safer knowing it was dead. (Yes, I actually disconnected it and didn't leave it where it is in the pic)

- Starting in the hatch, remove the spare tire cover. Pull the styrfoam tools insert. I put all the tools in a gallon ziplock bag and stuck them in the bottom-left crevice of the spare tire well. I wrapped the jack in the towel and stuck in the glove box.

- The wire runs go underneath the carpet near the rear seats. This takes a bit of doing. move the rear seat bottom up. You'll see a black button about 1.5" diameter. Unscrew it.

- Unlatch and pull the rear seatback forward. You will see another button next to the seatbelt. Unscrew it.

- I don't have a good description for this, but if you move the rear seat back up a bit and push the wire under the carpet from the hatch, you can feed it under the rear seatback and towards the bottom seatbelt anchor. It takes lots of wiggling. Having unscrewed those "buttons", you can wiggle the trim piece that runs up the side of the rear seat back, which helps. When done it looked like this:

- From here, you're going towards the door sill, running behind the trim piece that holds the rear woofer. Again, it's a bunch of wiggling, but eventually you can tuck it under.

- Screw on the "buttons", put your rear seat back and bottom into place.

- Pry up the door sill by using gentle pressure on the outside of the sill. There are several clips along it's length. The wire fits towards the outside of the sill, underneath the padding and insulation.

- Gently pry up the corner piece where the sill meets the glovebox trim. This never came very loose for me, but it was enough.

- Remove the glovebox side trim (sorry no picture), you can pry it loose with a screwdriver. There are 3 or 4 clips and a slot. BE CAREFUL. I broke one clip because I pulled too hard. It seems to go back on alright though.

- Pull your radio. See vwvortex.com for instruction. There is a hollow area above the glovebox from the from the right side (where you pulled that trim piece) to the radio cage. Use whatever trickery you want to get the wire through. My wire was stiff enough that I was able to directly feed it from one side and grab it from the radio cage side.

- Re-fasten the door sill and sill-to-glovebox trim piece. Make sure you get the clips in the holes. Re-attach the glovebox side trim pice. BE CAREFUL! It's easy to bend/break a clip.

You now have wire to power your LCD at your dash cage. I'll come back to getting actual power on these wires later.

Next post, remote wire from dash to fuse panel...

kbyrd · 10-03-2005, 10:57 AM

...continuing the previous post

Now, I'm running the single remote turn-on wire to the fuse panel.

- Take off the fuse panel trim and the two driver's side trim pieces that go under the steering wheel. See the vwvortex.com forums post on tearing apart your interior. Feed the remote wire across the top of the radio cage from right to left.

- I used the steering wheel as a midway point, pulling the wire out under the steering wheel, taking up all the slack then feeding it left to the fuse panel. In the picture, you can see the yellow wire in the radio cage (far right), under the steering wheel, then out near the fuse panel.

- I connected the remote turn-on using a fuse tap from radioshack. It's a simple little piece that wraps around the fuse and provides a male quick-connect on top.

- Identify the fuse you want to use. You're looking for something that is off when the key is out and on when the key is switched on. I searched vwvortex for help and confirmed with a multimeter that 31 was it. I'm sure There are others. Keep in mind the remote turn-on for the M1-ATX draws almost no power.

- Pull the fuse, fit the fuse tap, replace the fuse. Mine was a really tight fit and the fuse tap kept wanting to come off.

- Attach remote turn-on lead (oh yea, I crimped on a female quick-connect):

- Replace fuse panel trim. As you attach it, you'll see some felt pieces. I made sure the remote lead was seated next to one of them. It had more give.

- Finish this off by crimping on a female quick connect to this lead in the hatch. When you're ready to connect to the M1-ATX, this lead goes on the "sw" male quick-connect location. There are a bunch of warnings and such in the FAQ about the M1-ATX, read them.

Next post, power connections in the hatch...

kbyrd · 10-03-2005, 11:03 AM

Now, back to the LCD power leads.

- I bought an extra DC plug with raw leads from the mp3car.com store. I soldered (it was an awful job) to the 12ga wire and ran this end to the dash. That's my connection at the LCD end (no pictures). For the hatch end I took a PC power extension (with molex connectors) cut off one end and crimped on male quick-connects. The yellow wire is 12V, the red is 5V. I crimped some female quick-connects to the LCD wire that runs to the dash.

Here's a closeup of the quick-connects. The LCD power is on the right, the M1-ATX power and remote leads on the left.

Finally, the power for the M1-ATX (and for the whole car PC)
- Against advice given here, I used the cigarette lighter port in the hatch for my 12V constant source. VW says it's rated for 120W, I figure the M1-ATX at full load won't draw that much. Before trying this, I tested the voltage with a multimeter to make sure the drop wasn't too bad. I may still burn my car to the ground. To cover my ***: DON'T DO THIS, IT WILL KILL YOU AND ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS.
The cigarette lighter port gets it's power from a plug, this plug has female quick-connects. I crimped on some male quick-connects to some wire and ran it under the carpet and up to the power port:

- I plugged the two wires into the car's harness for the power port and taped the whole thing up, just to be sure:

I'm almost done! I have to whip up the monsoon audio hack (that's why I need 5V from the M1-ATX), and mount my LCD. I tested all the wiring though and it works!

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