Basic Information on In-Car Entertainment (ICE)

[Arijitb]

Arijitb hello and thanks for making this thread alive once again.
Do let me know some foreground like why do you want this harness and what you want to do with it?
Is your stock harness damaged?

Color codes are usually standard but manufacturers many times do not shy away from using proprietary codes to prevent users from fiddling around or having an non-oem Accessory. Usually, a quality harness would come with a wiring diagram. The diagram should also be found on the back of your HU showing all connections.

Also inviting our fellow member ICE_WISE to shed more light on subject.

Thank you for your post, and it helps me to do more and more research and found so far you are absolutely right, Yes manufacture MS is provided not only different color code but they also place the four important cable in very different positions - That is so far I found

BTW, this July my car out of warranty and I want to change my HU to a modern one and I want to use the Harness way.

So the universal color coding must be like

Ground - Black is universal - Yes MS kept it that way
12+ battery constant - Yellow is universal - MS provide Red/White
Accessories - Red is universal - MS provide Blue/White
Illumination - Orange - MS provide Red/Yellow

Thank god this is all I have in my car, rest is speaker wire, to prevent that MS also use the unbelievable color combination but hope they don't misplace the speaker cable, all upper row are positive and all bottom row are negative it seems, they introduce PINK,BLUE,Yellow Red as the speaker wire.





to deal with this I order this harness (250/-), now the hard part is I may need to repin the aftermarket harness to match with car's harness.

 

[bhvm]

Good Going.
Which method you used to figure out stock connections?
Also do let us know your Current HU and your new one. Are you looking forward to an AMP as well?

Edit-
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesal...B_20180804012236&SearchText=CD+harness+suzuki

Is any of above useful?

This one mentions Suzuki 2003-2005 Grand Vitara in description-
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Car...7dac-49e6-8d94-ecf7b93949f8&priceBeautifyAB=0

 

[Arijitb]

Good Going.
Which method you used to figure out stock connections?
Also do let us know your Current HU and your new one. Are you looking forward to an AMP as well?

Edit-
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesal...B_20180804012236&SearchText=CD+harness+suzuki

Is any of above useful?

This one mentions Suzuki 2003-2005 Grand Vitara in the description-
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Car...7dac-49e6-8d94-ecf7b93949f8&priceBeautifyAB=0

I determine car stock harness configuration via this method, Solid technique, he used a Circuit Line Tester, I used a Multimeter - If the line is active in certain scenarios the multimeter shows the voltage readings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OThxY0oRjp0&feature=youtu.be

My current HU is Alpine-branded MS certified unit which offers USB (mp3 / WMA file size below 50 MB), FM Radio, Aux and BT for phone call only no A2DP profile so no streaming. And the AUX line is dud - no matter what I connect it loose 50% of its quality. Tried hi-res audio player with lossless files with good cables, Apt-X BT dongle via aux and sounds just not good. USB is good but very limited format support, FM is also good, so using FM transmitter.

------------
I want to get the cheapest Andriod based HU from China to try out.... why?
(1) this is DIY project - I want to learn <--This the main criteria
(2) back hatch door is not a power locked one, so there is the vulnerability.

Looking for Andriod 6.0 based 1GB/16GB models Chinese HU which are flooded at Gearbest right now and I want to pick up one.
I have only 4 door speaker (JBL) so I don't need an amp I think.

Yes, I order the exact same one which you linked here from Banggood and it will come quicker than the Aliexpress....and once it arrives I need to repin it to match with Factory Harness.

If I can do this I will go ahead for HU purchase.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFM-6ovP_-k&feature=youtu.be

I need to accommodate this one at the opposite side of the aftermarket harness which I bought.



The correct repin / config must be like below if MS kept the speaker wire intact (as I like to think for now) - rest of the wire not required for MS car.

 

[Arijitb]

OHH Wait - Just come up the idea by staring this two pictures of my post - Why I need to go for repinning (pulling each pin) when I exactly know which pin I require and doing what. I just need to match the cable of HU's harness and the aftermarket harness - On the car side, MS harness is blank pin port so there is no harm if the aftermarket harness has cable it will not touch anything.

But still, I need to wait to see if this harness can go inside the MS's car harness.

I need Crimp Cap and Butt Connector from Ali E.

At this point, I pray to god Please MS don't mess up with speaker cable position.

-----

BTW I want to go with crimp cap/butt connector way - below is the two video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQgxJUN3Pi8&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kUOZVb8XKU&feature=youtu.be

 

[bhvm]

Very nice going. I am excited for the project.

1. Speaker polarity and output can be tested with a small 9v transistor battery or 2x AA cells. Speaker should bump outward if polarity is correct

2. Try adding an Android Tablet+ Amp if you can forgo some functionality. But Audio quality, Display quality and GPS are far better than usual Android HUs (Which are horribly overpriced for being 5 year old hardware)

 

[Arijitb]

Very nice going. I am excited for the project.

1. Speaker polarity and output can be tested with a small 9v transistor battery or 2x AA cells. Speaker should bump outward if polarity is correct

2. Try adding an Android Tablet+ Amp if you can forgo some functionality. But Audio quality, Display quality and GPS are far better than usual Android HUs (Which are horribly overpriced for being 5 year old hardware)

Thanks, bhvm for your valuable input - I made up my mind for this unit which is priced at Gearbest 89$ total. I post the Aliexpress link because the product description covers the detail at Aliexpress (also a demo video). I can afford a more expensive and better model than this but I want pure DIY. If I succeed I will make sure that it will be plug and play, swapping between the older unit and this one can be done (Once in a year) - which will help during long journey where I may need to leave the car in obscure parking for a night halt. In this price range experiment is possible to me.

About Tablet + Amp - No doubt it will be superior in terms of screen and hardware quality, but I'm a newbie here. Also below points are worth to mention

(1) I can't let go of the plug & play USB drive playback option.
(2) Bluetooth A2DP option - Music streaming.
(3) Does any car amp support or take USB DAC signal from the Tablet and decode internally and output at the speaker? I believe all Car Amp only be connected via RCA input. In this case, the tablet's audio jack / internal DAC is critical & must be high-end.
(4) Tab and Amp need specialize separate power <- this is beyond my capability.

 

[bhvm]

Choosing between tablet and Android HU totally depends on what one wants.
The device you choosen is decent and reasonably priced. If it does deliver what all it claims, It will be an easier path than tablet integration.

However, if you do plan on using an existing android phone/ tablet (As many of us has slightly older devices lying around), here are the answers-

1. Easily solved using OTG cable. I believe even 5 year old androids support OTG. A card reader can be added on other end of OTG to enable card playback. Or you can plug in good ol' USB drive. However this could cause quick battery drain as charger and OTG dont work together

2. This is an important function. But is doable using some hacks. Below few links are a good start-
https://forums.androidcentral.com/general-help-how/353121-bluetooth-a2dp-phone-android-tablet.html

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/27763756/android-device-as-a-receiver-for-a2dp-profile

https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=780500da-developers.com/showthread.php?t=780500

https://play.google.com/store/apps/...e&rdid=com.georgie.SoundWireFree&rdot=1&pli=1

3. If you throw enough money, I believe buying such Amps is possible. You can add an DSP to amp (Upstream) which will do the USB DAC thing for you. However, law of diminishing returns applies. You will get smaller and smaller returns as you spend more and more money. Basically, you could get better effective sound quality by upgrading your Sound speakers to Components and adding a small woofer than falling into DSP/ Internal DAC at this price point. As long as your audio source is not completely crappy (Like your previous HU) It should suffice.

4. This is very easy. Amps take power using car battery and a remote signal wire. This is not too hard. Tablet can be powered using a simple USB charger. However, one with fine soldering skills should be able to solder small power wires directly to points of contact of battery. This will eliminate the battery as well as solves Point 1 Above. Those wires can be hooked to a small DC_DC step down converter to give precise battery voltage to the tablet. Usually 3.7V.

 

[Arijitb]

Product arrived - yet to receive harness and crimp cap for the final installation. I just install to see if it fits, there is no connection made behind the HU to the Factory Harness.

Hit the first roadblock with my DIY project - The double din facia won't allow or pass the HU through it and the double din cage is the ridiculous shape which is provided by the showroom.

here is the looks right now



Earlier it was (Day 1 pic)

 

[Arijitb]

Found some faceplate at Ali E here

I message this seller of this listing

But he is not sure

 

[abhijit_net]

If you are not able to find the bracket, just get some aluminium sheet, cut it and mold it as required and paint it with oil paint. Aluminium sheet is pretty easy to work on, and is cheaply available in hardware stores. First try with a Cardboard, if you can do it with cardboard, you surely can do it with aluminium.

 

[Arijitb]

If you are not able to find the bracket, just get some aluminium sheet, cut it and mold it as required and paint it with oil paint. Aluminium sheet is pretty easy to work on, and is cheaply available in hardware stores. First try with a Cardboard, if you can do it with cardboard, you surely can do it with aluminium.

Thank you for the suggestion, Wish I can do that.

This is professional level work and I'm just newbie here doing this for the first time in my life from the knowledge gathering from youtube and this forum.

Harness Update:- [Now I'm waiting for crimp caps]

Harness No: 1 (from here)

This harness is Dead tight and almost impossible to remove from the factory harness unless the user doesn't want to remove it at all...painful fingers continued for 3 days. This is poorly made Suzuki Harness.
Below it what it looks like





Harness No: 2 - So I order another one ( from here )

And it is an exact match of Suzuki Harness - Installing and removing are a breeze, This is the exact match.

Beautifully made for each other



Comparision picture

 

[Arijitb]

I forget to mention anything about the head unit, here is the update and my findings.

I bought this from here

The touch responsiveness is absolutely fluidic and the sound output from the back of the line out is excellent, which is also preamp out as all head units do. Still, I'm not able to test out the internal amplifier yet as I waiting for the crimp caps to arrive. The internal Amplifier section is the part which will power all the four coaxial 6.5-inch JBL speaker.

Bluetooth Music streaming capability thoroughly tested - No complaint there. Phone Call dialing and receiving are also excellent, need to test in real life when I'm able to install it in the car. Inbuilt music player didn't have the ability to play as folder wise.
Can take NTFS formatted 2 TB Portable HDD filled with movies and TV Series and play flawlessly via internal video player or VLC player.

now here some pics





Not a perfect fit with Double DIN chassis comes with the car - so much space left at the bottom...This is the reason Face Plate not going along with.




Home Screen



Bluetooth Music Streaming (Amazon Prime Music)



Equalizer section which works with Preamp Line Out too



Fader Section

 

[Arijitb]

Again missed some key points in the above post

Connectivity and Inputs / Outputs; All connection are in the back there is nothing in the front.

Via RCA Jacks
1. Left & Right Audio Out Port (Pre Amped) for Car amplifier
2. Left & Right Audio In Port - This is for Aux In Function (required an RCA to Mini cable for 3.5 mm input)
3. Two Video Input for external video source
4. One Video Output for external screen such as headrest display

Via USB
Two Full-Size USB Female port at the back (this is not actually in the back, this are available at the glove box) - USB Hub can be connected to increase the number of port - Compatible with Mouse / Keyboard, Micro SD card reader / NTFS formatted Portable HDD and of course Pendrive - All are tested and worked well so far.

Android Phone screen mirroring can be done via connecting the cable with the help of pre-loaded software at HU - it will install at the host phone and start capture screen and output in the HU's Display, only after enabling the USB Debugging Mode under Developer option. That's it, I don't find any real usage of this feature other than charging the phone. Same thing with Apple Device but with Wi-Fi route.

This HU also have the option to connect any USB web camera and record DVR video at predefined external storage such as pen drive or sd card. Serve as Dash Cam - I don't have one so can't able to test.

There is a dedicated port / Cable supplied for Back / Reverse Camera Input

Yet to be tested
1. Radio Reception
2. GPS Reception
3. Internal Amp Section

Will post the Negative points soon - Yes there is couple of them.

 

[Arijitb]

Negative Points about the HU are below :-

There is NO Power OFF button or Shut Down option in this model, so whenever it detects power it will start up and boot - The provided power button got two function - Short press mute the system and Long press bring the Black Screen with Date and Time display and at the same time mute the stereo. Also, these buttons are not programmable even via Factory Parameter settings which can be accessed via entering the password 8888.



Screen OFF function provided under Notification Drop Down panel which is a little bit hard to access when needed. This function must be integrated or user configurable at Power OFF button.



Now the biggest Negative is - Despite it says 16GB ROM there is a partition of 2GB where all installed software goes, So all the essential core software like 'Local Music, Local Radio, Car Settings' etc which are very easy to operate during driving are installed there, so there is very little space left to install anything from the Google Play Store.



There is nearly 12 GB Free of space which is filled with Entire Europe Region Sygic Maps out-of-the-Box as this product is targeted for that market. I immediately uninstall it but that space is reserved for that purpose only, So it is not possible to install anything there or use the space any other way. Also, it is not possible to earse or reset even via Factory Restore, because it is hard coded at the ROM cooked by EZONETRONICS. When I made a comment on their Youtube Demo Video they remove the whole video.

Space is allocated as Others

 

[Arijitb]

My User Review Made for Gearbest & They Published It.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMEM0RMtWZI&feature=youtu.be