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i,ve installed a 10.1 android head unit in my 2001 lexus ls430 everything works except the A/C control interface of the head unit. the unit is a plug and play and everything connected up except the connection to the stock navigation display wiring harness which controls the A/C interface of the stock navigation unit. The Android unit had a black and pink wiring harness with a 28 pin connector on the end which i assumes is suppose to connect to the stock navigation wiring harness that controls the A/C display of the stock unit. But this connection cannot mate with my wiring harness which has a 10 pin; 14 pin; and 8 pin male connectors and as a results, i can't get my A/C interface to work. Can you give me some advise on how to connect the android unit to my A/C?
Does anyone know what the OBD plug on the Android unit's harness is used for? Everything in my unit is fully functioning but i'm wondering if this even needs to be connected?
i,ve installed a 10.1 android head unit in my 2001 lexus ls430 everything works except the A/C control interface of the head unit. the unit is a plug and play and everything connected up except the connection to the stock navigation display wiring harness which controls the A/C interface of the stock navigation unit. The Android unit had a black and pink wiring harness with a 28 pin connector on the end which i assumes is suppose to connect to the stock navigation wiring harness that controls the A/C display of the stock unit. But this connection cannot mate with my wiring harness which has a 10 pin; 14 pin; and 8 pin male connectors and as a results, i can't get my A/C interface to work. Can you give me some advise on how to connect the android unit to my A/C?
Hi, have you made the air conditioning work already?
I have the same problem with Model Year 2000.
everything else works but not A / C. i don't know where i would connect the two connectors with a total of three wires. Can you advise?
3) How can I attach the current rear camera to this unit? I saw some other videos where you need to really run long wires along die edge of the car. That is so ugly
4) How long does it take to put the new one?
5) Should I buy Androild 10 or Android 11?
5) I saw a video where radio stations are misbehaving
6) Any other limitations that I need to be aware of
Regardless what is important is to get an 8 core unit with 4GB or greater RAM and wireless carplay, as you want it to be somewhat future-proof.
1) Follow the video linked below for installation in 2004-2006 models (another video includes splicing instructions for 01-03 models)
2) It controls temperature, front/rear defrost, volume, EQ, basically everything except rear subwoofer levels - those will be at whatever level you set when disconnecting the OE unit.
3) There is definitely a way to retain the OE camera, but I believe that would still require you to run an RCA cable to the trunk. You can hide the wires by running them underneath the side floor panels and behind the rear seat. As shown in the video, there's a way to ensure they are not visible.
4) Installation took me about 3-4 hours or so as it was my first time doing anything similar.
5) Not sure of the differences between Android 10 vs 11. Also, not sure if any units have wireless android auto or if that's even a thing.
6) Radio settings need to be changed, as I believe they are set to Chinese ranges? I personally haven't touched them since I never listen to the radio.
Here's a review I posted on one of the Facebook groups
Spoiler
Just wanted to post a review of the Android head unit I recently picked up. There are so many different options and conflicting opinions about these units so I wanted to share the positive experience I had. Not affiliated with the seller at all, just experienced great customer service. I’m not sure this information fully applies to non-nav units or 01-03 models (update: See splicing instructions for 01-03 nav models here:
), but I get the feeling this seller is knowledgeable and would be able to answer any questions you may have. I had several questions about the product beforehand and the seller responded to all inquiries within 12 hrs (they are located in China).
). This was my first time doing it and the whole thing took about 3-4 hours. Could most likely be done in 1 hour or less if you know what you’re doing.
For the cables, I would suggest referring to the caronics video linked above. You unplug every plug from your screen and only the larger plug from your CD changer. That larger plug will plug into one of the female plugs in the cable provided and a new male plug will replace it. The original blue cable should be reconnected to the vents (responsible for swinging mode). The remainder of the cables each only has one place they can be plugged in so it’s fairly straightforward. There will be two RCA cables that go from your CD changer to the head unit. Three female plugs are left unplugged and those are identified in the instructions. You will need to route the wires going to the CD changer to the side of the vents. I taped a USB cable (not provided) and the accessory microphone cable to a long socket extension in order to run it to the glovebox. The built-in mic on the unit works fine, so I think the accessory mic actually isn’t necessary. USB is necessary for charging and/or Android Auto. I left the 4G/GPS antennas behind the head unit and didn’t run them out. No issues with signal and connectivity so far. There is a built-in 5G antennae on the unit.
Update regarding reassembly: take 5 minutes to plan out the placement/management of wiring before reinstalling, the unit will not go in easily if you just connect everything and try to push it back in, as there is not much room behind the screen. The cables going to/from the CD changer (2 RCA cables, and 1 large cable with 2 plugs, need to be routed through the side of the vents [behind the small metal support bar]). Then, I used regular heavy-duty tape to secure the excess wiring to the back of the head unit (don't block the fans). Secondly, you will probably need to pry up the head unit a little to slide in the CD changer or have someone support it. The rest of the reassembly is just the reverse of removal.
I haven’t installed the backup camera yet. The only part that seems like a pain in the *** is running the wire to the trunk, but it seems many have done it without too much trouble. I’m not in a hurry as I’ve been able to live comfortably without the backup camera the last week.
The unit will load up immediately after turning on the car. The only things I had to do were select my vehicle in the CANBUS settings, change the startup logo to Lexus, and set up automatic connection to CarPlay. There’s a lot of customizability with apps that I haven’t researched yet. Sound quality seems on par with the OE Mark Levinson unit and I haven’t played around with EQ settings yet. As the video below shows the unit loads instantly and connects to wireless CarPlay fairly quickly. Overall, I’m pretty impressed.
EDIT: Some things people have brought up as potential issues:
1) AC filter reset - The manufacturer provided me with a CANBUS update that is supposed to address it, but I cannot check if it works until about 10k miles from now when mine is due for a reset. If that does not work, the easiest solution would be to just reconnect the old head unit to reset it. Once you're familiar with the process removal and reinstallation should only take you maybe 20-30 mins.
2) Rear seat AC controls for UL models - No word on this, my video shows the screen for rear AC control but I cannot check if it works.
3) Subwoofer control - The OE subwoofer is powered, but volume cannot be controlled without wiring an RCA into the new head unit
Regardless what is important is to get an 8 core unit with 4GB or greater RAM and wireless carplay, as you want it to be somewhat future-proof.
1) Follow the video linked below for installation in 2004-2006 models (another video includes splicing instructions for 01-03 models)
2) It controls temperature, front/rear defrost, volume, EQ, basically everything except rear subwoofer levels - those will be at whatever level you set when disconnecting the OE unit.
3) There is definitely a way to retain the OE camera, but I believe that would still require you to run an RCA cable to the trunk. You can hide the wires by running them underneath the side floor panels and behind the rear seat. As shown in the video, there's a way to ensure they are not visible.
4) Installation took me about 3-4 hours or so as it was my first time doing anything similar.
5) Not sure of the differences between Android 10 vs 11. Also, not sure if any units have wireless android auto or if that's even a thing.
6) Radio settings need to be changed, as I believe they are set to Chinese ranges? I personally haven't touched them since I never listen to the radio.
Here's a review I posted on one of the Facebook groups
Spoiler
Just wanted to post a review of the Android head unit I recently picked up. There are so many different options and conflicting opinions about these units so I wanted to share the positive experience I had. Not affiliated with the seller at all, just experienced great customer service. I’m not sure this information fully applies to non-nav units or 01-03 models (update: See splicing instructions for 01-03 nav models here: https://youtu.be/Id_BvcK3LVM), but I get the feeling this seller is knowledgeable and would be able to answer any questions you may have. I had several questions about the product beforehand and the seller responded to all inquiries within 12 hrs (they are located in China).
I picked up this 6GB/128GB Android 10 head unit from AliExpress (=AT2XwttlNaIbK0RE5dSl4R9D6ApySEn10NYVbF0qgr4dtl30CZIymFrcmLiudCu0x1l8NqpE7lHJtkyQ-R5Ae6q2KPSdkb0fpGXjc88mbuOap7U8UTx-HnxaNvEmhEH53WNLmZkP0cS0H_aSzH0FslRN6y2xuOwOLNM]https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002744790134.html). There are about 4-5 major sellers on there. This seller had the second-best overall seller rating and best price-point. Shipping time was about 2 weeks, it came well packaged, and there were no issues with scratches or manufacturing defects. The only issue I had was, although the unit is plug-and-play for my 2004 CL (with Mark Levinson), there weren’t great instructions from the manufacturer. Fortunately, a seller in Dubai uploaded a fairly good instructional video on YouTube about which plugs go where and back up camera installation (https://youtu.be/1-Qhyb55x8Q). This was my first time doing it and the whole thing took about 3-4 hours. Could most likely be done in 1 hour or less if you know what you’re doing.
As far as disassembly, many videos on YouTube show you how to remove the panels below the screen (=AT2XwttlNaIbK0RE5dSl4R9D6ApySEn10NYVbF0qgr4dtl30CZIymFrcmLiudCu0x1l8NqpE7lHJtkyQ-R5Ae6q2KPSdkb0fpGXjc88mbuOap7U8UTx-HnxaNvEmhEH53WNLmZkP0cS0H_aSzH0FslRN6y2xuOwOLNM]https://youtu.be/EM2tmMhDRFA). The tools necessary are 1) Phillips head screwdriver, 2) 10mm socket/ratchet, 3) plastic trim removal set (=AT2XwttlNaIbK0RE5dSl4R9D6ApySEn10NYVbF0qgr4dtl30CZIymFrcmLiudCu0x1l8NqpE7lHJtkyQ-R5Ae6q2KPSdkb0fpGXjc88mbuOap7U8UTx-HnxaNvEmhEH53WNLmZkP0cS0H_aSzH0FslRN6y2xuOwOLNM]https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PRWXTXV). The only annoying part is removing the temperature selection buttons on either side of the screen (behind which are the screws securing the screen). The easiest way I found to remove them was to wedge two thin plastic trim removers on the left and right sides, pry forward a little, then use a third trim remover on the top or bottom to wiggle it out. Then you simply transfer the AC vents from the old bezel to the new one and the new screen and bezel will slide right in. There are four metal tension clips on the corners of the old bezel that need to be transferred over to the new one. Those may fall off when removing the old bezel, so keep an eye out for them. Otherwise, the new screen will not be held in place as securely.
For the cables, I would suggest referring to the caronics video linked above. You unplug every plug from your screen and only the larger plug from your CD changer. That larger plug will plug into one of the female plugs in the cable provided and a new male plug will replace it. The original blue cable should be reconnected to the vents (responsible for swinging mode). The remainder of the cables each only has one place they can be plugged in so it’s fairly straightforward. There will be two RCA cables that go from your CD changer to the head unit. Three female plugs are left unplugged and those are identified in the instructions. You will need to route the wires going to the CD changer to the side of the vents. I taped a USB cable (not provided) and the accessory microphone cable to a long socket extension in order to run it to the glovebox. The built-in mic on the unit works fine, so I think the accessory mic actually isn’t necessary. USB is necessary for charging and/or Android Auto. I left the 4G/GPS antennas behind the head unit and didn’t run them out. No issues with signal and connectivity so far. There is a built-in 5G antennae on the unit.
Update regarding reassembly: take 5 minutes to plan out the placement/management of wiring before reinstalling, the unit will not go in easily if you just connect everything and try to push it back in, as there is not much room behind the screen. The cables going to/from the CD changer (2 RCA cables, and 1 large cable with 2 plugs, need to be routed through the side of the vents [behind the small metal support bar]). Then, I used regular heavy-duty tape to secure the excess wiring to the back of the head unit (don't block the fans). Secondly, you will probably need to pry up the head unit a little to slide in the CD changer or have someone support it. The rest of the reassembly is just the reverse of removal.
I haven’t installed the backup camera yet. The only part that seems like a pain in the *** is running the wire to the trunk, but it seems many have done it without too much trouble. I’m not in a hurry as I’ve been able to live comfortably without the backup camera the last week.
The unit will load up immediately after turning on the car. The only things I had to do were select my vehicle in the CANBUS settings, change the startup logo to Lexus, and set up automatic connection to CarPlay. There’s a lot of customizability with apps that I haven’t researched yet. Sound quality seems on par with the OE Mark Levinson unit and I haven’t played around with EQ settings yet. As the video below shows the unit loads instantly and connects to wireless CarPlay fairly quickly. Overall, I’m pretty impressed.
EDIT: Some things people have brought up as potential issues:
1) AC filter reset - The manufacturer provided me with a CANBUS update that is supposed to address it, but I cannot check if it works until about 10k miles from now when mine is due for a reset. If that does not work, the easiest solution would be to just reconnect the old head unit to reset it. Once you're familiar with the process removal and reinstallation should only take you maybe 20-30 mins.
2) Rear seat AC controls for UL models - No word on this, my video shows the screen for rear AC control but I cannot check if it works.
3) Subwoofer control - The OE subwoofer is powered, but volume cannot be controlled without a subwoofer
Awesome response. Does this come with carplay? How big is the screen? Looking for 10"
If you check out the AliExpress item description you will see there are different models available. Only certain ones include wireless carplay, they all include wired. All the screens are 10" as that is the maximum size the OE bezel will allow for (sitting flush).
I'm honestly not sure if there is a difference between them, but the KK5 is the model I purchased from "EKIY Global Store," which has a higher store rating.
Regardless what is important is to get an 8 core unit with 4GB or greater RAM and wireless carplay, as you want it to be somewhat future-proof.
1) Follow the video linked below for installation in 2004-2006 models (another video includes splicing instructions for 01-03 models)
2) It controls temperature, front/rear defrost, volume, EQ, basically everything except rear subwoofer levels - those will be at whatever level you set when disconnecting the OE unit.
3) There is definitely a way to retain the OE camera, but I believe that would still require you to run an RCA cable to the trunk. You can hide the wires by running them underneath the side floor panels and behind the rear seat. As shown in the video, there's a way to ensure they are not visible.
4) Installation took me about 3-4 hours or so as it was my first time doing anything similar.
5) Not sure of the differences between Android 10 vs 11. Also, not sure if any units have wireless android auto or if that's even a thing.
6) Radio settings need to be changed, as I believe they are set to Chinese ranges? I personally haven't touched them since I never listen to the radio.
Here's a review I posted on one of the Facebook groups
Spoiler
Just wanted to post a review of the Android head unit I recently picked up. There are so many different options and conflicting opinions about these units so I wanted to share the positive experience I had. Not affiliated with the seller at all, just experienced great customer service. I’m not sure this information fully applies to non-nav units or 01-03 models (update: See splicing instructions for 01-03 nav models here: https://youtu.be/Id_BvcK3LVM), but I get the feeling this seller is knowledgeable and would be able to answer any questions you may have. I had several questions about the product beforehand and the seller responded to all inquiries within 12 hrs (they are located in China).
I picked up this 6GB/128GB Android 10 head unit from AliExpress (=AT2XwttlNaIbK0RE5dSl4R9D6ApySEn10NYVbF0qgr4dtl30CZIymFrcmLiudCu0x1l8NqpE7lHJtkyQ-R5Ae6q2KPSdkb0fpGXjc88mbuOap7U8UTx-HnxaNvEmhEH53WNLmZkP0cS0H_aSzH0FslRN6y2xuOwOLNM]https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002744790134.html). There are about 4-5 major sellers on there. This seller had the second-best overall seller rating and best price-point. Shipping time was about 2 weeks, it came well packaged, and there were no issues with scratches or manufacturing defects. The only issue I had was, although the unit is plug-and-play for my 2004 CL (with Mark Levinson), there weren’t great instructions from the manufacturer. Fortunately, a seller in Dubai uploaded a fairly good instructional video on YouTube about which plugs go where and back up camera installation (https://youtu.be/1-Qhyb55x8Q). This was my first time doing it and the whole thing took about 3-4 hours. Could most likely be done in 1 hour or less if you know what you’re doing.
For the cables, I would suggest referring to the caronics video linked above. You unplug every plug from your screen and only the larger plug from your CD changer. That larger plug will plug into one of the female plugs in the cable provided and a new male plug will replace it. The original blue cable should be reconnected to the vents (responsible for swinging mode). The remainder of the cables each only has one place they can be plugged in so it’s fairly straightforward. There will be two RCA cables that go from your CD changer to the head unit. Three female plugs are left unplugged and those are identified in the instructions. You will need to route the wires going to the CD changer to the side of the vents. I taped a USB cable (not provided) and the accessory microphone cable to a long socket extension in order to run it to the glovebox. The built-in mic on the unit works fine, so I think the accessory mic actually isn’t necessary. USB is necessary for charging and/or Android Auto. I left the 4G/GPS antennas behind the head unit and didn’t run them out. No issues with signal and connectivity so far. There is a built-in 5G antennae on the unit.
Update regarding reassembly: take 5 minutes to plan out the placement/management of wiring before reinstalling, the unit will not go in easily if you just connect everything and try to push it back in, as there is not much room behind the screen. The cables going to/from the CD changer (2 RCA cables, and 1 large cable with 2 plugs, need to be routed through the side of the vents [behind the small metal support bar]). Then, I used regular heavy-duty tape to secure the excess wiring to the back of the head unit (don't block the fans). Secondly, you will probably need to pry up the head unit a little to slide in the CD changer or have someone support it. The rest of the reassembly is just the reverse of removal.
I haven’t installed the backup camera yet. The only part that seems like a pain in the *** is running the wire to the trunk, but it seems many have done it without too much trouble. I’m not in a hurry as I’ve been able to live comfortably without the backup camera the last week.
The unit will load up immediately after turning on the car. The only things I had to do were select my vehicle in the CANBUS settings, change the startup logo to Lexus, and set up automatic connection to CarPlay. There’s a lot of customizability with apps that I haven’t researched yet. Sound quality seems on par with the OE Mark Levinson unit and I haven’t played around with EQ settings yet. As the video below shows the unit loads instantly and connects to wireless CarPlay fairly quickly. Overall, I’m pretty impressed.
EDIT: Some things people have brought up as potential issues:
1) AC filter reset - The manufacturer provided me with a CANBUS update that is supposed to address it, but I cannot check if it works until about 10k miles from now when mine is due for a reset. If that does not work, the easiest solution would be to just reconnect the old head unit to reset it. Once you're familiar with the process removal and reinstallation should only take you maybe 20-30 mins.
2) Rear seat AC controls for UL models - No word on this, my video shows the screen for rear AC control but I cannot check if it works.
3) Subwoofer control - The OE subwoofer is powered, but volume cannot be controlled without a subwoofer
Yes, it does. But it doesn't control the sound levels. I have a blown sub so I had the sub levels set very low on my OE unit, and when I switched over I wasn't able to adjust it. I had to reconnect the OE unit and increase the sub volume and then switch back. One benefit of the new unit is that it is very easy to remove and reinstall, taking maybe 5-10 minutes because you no longer have to remove the temperature control bezels.
Yes, it does. But it doesn't control the sound levels. I have a blown sub so I had the sub levels set very low on my OE unit, and when I switched over I wasn't able to adjust it. I had to reconnect the OE unit and increase the sub volume and then switch back. One benefit of the new unit is that it is very easy to remove and reinstall, taking maybe 5-10 minutes because you no longer have to remove the temperature control bezels.
Awesome. My ML sub is freshly rebuilt. So, I’ll just leave my levels as they are.
Just put my order in.
thank you for your very detailed and informative post.
The install instructions are pretty much nonexistent, save for what the folks in this thread have posted.
On the plus side, it does control all the HVAC just like the original head unit does. It even works the rear AC in my UL.
The Mark Levinson audio sounds just as fantastic as it did before.
The wiring is meh, as is the fit and finish, but for the price, when compared to the Vline, it’s pretty damn good.
I really agonized about this vs the Vline, but am glad I went this route. Otherwise, I’d just have CarPlay that was on the original screen with really low resolution. Instead, I have a larger screen with good resolution a fully functional Android tablet with the ability to download all the apps from the play store and CarPlay. Plus I have retained all the functionality of the original screen.
I’ll give it a few weeks and report back, but at this point, I’d say it’s a win.
I went with nwlvs advice and got one with 8 core and 4GB RAM.
02-16-22 | 07:40 PM
