DARKNIGHT83

Hi Guys,

New to the forum, but i must admit that i have been doing my research on here for quite some time, but never took the time to sign up until now. Although i did not have full acess to the site and resources it provides, it has been incredibly helpful in alot of the projects and fixes i have undertaken.

Forgive me if this post is long, but being my first official post i wanted to share some of my story and experience for others.

I bought my TL in july of 2008, and although it was a non-navi, the navigation was something i always wanted to have. So i started doing my research on it, to see if a swap was possible. That is what eventually led me to this site. Obviously i found that it was possible, so i kept a watchful eye out for good deals.

Last year i was able to come across an undriveable TL with a full factory navigation system. Since i knew the person who owned the car, i was able to get all of the components at an incredible price. I was able to pull the touch screen display, navigation DVD-ROM, the steering wheel buttons, sub-display, radio, and all codes along with the manual. The only item i did not get was the GPS attenna.

Now im sure we all know that this can be one of the costliest mods for the TL's, so the components ended up sitting in my house for just about 1 year until finally i could come up with the funds to finish the project.

In my research i found that alot of people purchase their equipment and wire harness through Martin on Ebay, some have even used him for the installation, and there are those talented individuals who are able to make their own harnesses ( i am not one of them ). I chose to purchase the harness through Martin, and called him and discussed the project several times. Given his great reputation, fair pricing, and amount of knowledge and experience he has with the TL conversion i ultimately decided to have him install the system as well. It just seemed to make sense from a timing perspective, as well as trouble shooting. Dont get me wrong, i love DIY projects but this is something i just didnt want to wait for any longer and wage the aggrevation if something went wrong.

So i drove down to Jersey to see Martin for the install. let me just tell you, he knows his stuff. he had the car apart in no time, and the quality of the harness itself was amazing. All OEM connectors, pins and wiring. VERY CLEAN.

He did a great job with the install as well. he had it wired up and rolling in the time it would have taken me just to get all the panels off.He did a quality job soldering the connections that needed to be made, and testing everything. We ran into a couple scenarios where we had to troubleshoot, but he was able to get it resolved (worth the drive itself). Start to finish the install took about 4.5 hrs, and now i have a fully functional navigation system which was definetely worth the wait.

So overall the project was a success. For anyone who is still considering doing this mod, as others will agree: Do your research, get the parts, and pull the trigger. Its absolutely worth it. I would also recommend Martin to anyone who would like to do this conversion. He is an honest person and does business the right way. He will fix his mistakes or replace equipment if it is not good, and really does a clean installation.

To those who plan to do the install themselves, its relatively simple, just take your time and follow the directions. For someone without experience removing all those panels, it can be time consuming.

That's it for now, hopefully soon ill be able to get some pictures up for you guys.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Great 1st post, and enjoy that navi!

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

Welcome!

vuuha05

iTrader: (5)

I wish there was an installer in socal for this..I wouldn't mind paying for a non-navi to navi conversion

DARKNIGHT83

Thanks, i certainly will!

Thank you!

Vuuha05, I think there are a number of forum members who have done the install, and im sure they would be willing to help if you arent too far.

Theres alwasy the option of buying the kit from martin on ebay, and flying him out to do the install. He told me a few people have gone that route

jptl04

iTrader: (1)

Im in SoCal and can do the non navi to navi install with my eyes closed, lol!

OP, nice first post. You sure did your homework! Enjoy the navigation system it's awesome.

mrlal8

iTrader: (2)

I am going to martin as well for the install i contacted him 2 months ago and he knows his shit

Feb 1st ill post pics

SteveTech

Congrats on the install. I have a 04 and still collecting parts I need. I have the radio and lcd and subscreen. I know I need thedvd drive that sits in the trunk. Besides the the obvious which is the harnes from martin is there anything else I would need? Thanks

n3rd

I did mine two weeks ago, and it was a breeze. Installed in just under 4 hours taking my time. Use Martins hints to avoid removing the rear deck, rear seat, steering wheel, and a few others and the swap is a piece of cake. I can make a DIY if anyone wants...

SteveTech

I would really appreciate it if you had some of the schematics and could forward them my way. Ive been searching for them but finding them has been difficult. I do alot of technical work on race cars so I think with little direction ill be fine.

KN_TL

iTrader: (3)

You need the Electrical Troubleshooting Manual.

It has everything you need including images of connector locations.

You can get it at www.helminc.com in either hardcopy or temporary subscription. I suggest the hardcopy, I used the subscription but ended up buying the hardcopy.

1islandparadise

There is a DIY here from a member named Bzyrice.

n3rd

Bzyrice's DIY is way over kill. He took everything out. I didn't have to do 1/3 of what BZ did.

However, Bzyrices DIY is really detailed and I appreciate someone who can do all that and document all his work to share with others.


As for the Stevetech looking for the schematics, if you're referring to electrical schematics to build your own harness good luck because I think its easier to pay Martin 400 bucks for the harness. But if you're looking for a layout of where things are (the easier way) for an install shoot me a PM and I'll put together a quick install PDF.

4g63gsx

I wanna see pics of this, that is awesome!

pohljm

Congratulations on your use of this awesome Azine site that we all love. It sure is nice to have the car just the way you want it. What was your total cost for your conversion? This should be mandatory reading for all of those.............should I buy a non navi TL questioners.

BukvaMan

how much money are we talking about approximately ?? Im interested also! always wished i had opted for it, obviously for its functions and also very much for the looks.

DARKNIGHT83

he is right. Although Bzyrice had a great DIY write up, there are a number of things that arent required. You dont need to pull the seats, or the air bag. Martin is coming up with a new instruction packet to help people save time. Martin's harness is a sure bet, will save you a lot of time

I was able to get a great deal on the parts from a friend. I spent $500 on the sub display, radio, touch screen, dvd rom, steering wheel buttons and new silver trim. Martin Charges about $450 for the harness, plus extra for the install and any other items you may need. He is pretty good about making things work for you, so what he charges could alwasy change. Overall im in for about $1000.00 flat for the full conversion.

Entire kits are available for about $1800 including everything.

To answer your question in your earlier post, in addition to what you have you will need the steering wheel buttons, and the gps antenna.

mrlal8

iTrader: (2)

darknight you got lucky you got everything for only a grand

n3rd

Honestly, that's about average
I paid
250 for my screen and sub display
250 for my Navi drive
9 dollars for the antenna (any ebay alpine antenna works FYI)
50 for the buttons yeah i know its 30 bucks but martin had to make his money.
450 for the harness.

Which is why I get so sick of stupid double DIN unit install threads which are ugly and likely kill the HFL of the car. Oh, and they're MORE expensive than a factory navigation retrofit.

TLModifier

i am having some significant navi problems that i would love a trustworthy expert to check out. can you post some info for Martin so i can give him a shout.
best.

mrlal8

iTrader: (2)

where did you find all these parts and how long did it take you?
i didnt want to spend months searching for these parts so i opted for the kit as a whole

DARKNIGHT83

Honestly you just have to be patient and search around to find good deals like that. Ebay, car-part.com, etc. I think i was pretty lucky to get it all for about $1k. On average people are selling the screens and DVD-ROMs for a few houndred dollars, but there are great deals out there if you can wait.

In my opinion, i think Martin's package isnt a bad deal. He guarantees the parts and work for 6 months, and he does all the work located the parts - very convenient. I was going to go that route, but i found a better deal by accident.

mrlal8

iTrader: (2)

yeah definitely....i know if i look for awhile I may come up with these parts for cheaper but you never know how good of a condition the part is in....i dont want to spend a grand and then have something fail on me. IMO it is better to go with the kit because the parts and work are guaranteed and you know you are paying for what you want without any worries...

JPCOLTS

Great post on the TI navi install...I have a 2004 TSX (i'm totally in love with this car) and have been thinking about the navi install via DYI for the past 2 yrs. My only hold-up is collecting all the parts. I think I would able to handle the full converstion, but would have to buy the wireharness. Where in NJ is this Martin guy? Thanks. BTW...this was my first post.

n3rd

Jersey City, I won't post his phone number. If you look at his eBay auctions its written there. Click here

CdTriX

DIY is not a fun install at all Seeing your baby gutted on the right side is a horrible thing to see.

I haven't regretted my decision on doing the oem navi one bit. It adds a lot of flavor back into the center dash.

I just wish i opt'd for the 07-08 navi, but those were harder to find.

I paid around 1800 for all the parts. spent 8 hours and a few drops of blood, but i got it done.

n3rd

Yikes, you gutted your car? I didn't do that. I followed martins orders and it was cake... Didn't have to remove anything except glove box, kick panels, and the driver side pillar.

jptl04

iTrader: (1)

I agree you don't have to gut the whole car but,.....how did you wire and install the new HFL steering wheel button?

DARKNIGHT83

When martin wired up the HFL he just pulled the panel off the steering column, and was able to snake the pin into the connector. Once you pop off the cover, the button itself is held on by 2 screws.

myron

iTrader: (4)

by the title I thought you did it yourself and got some pics. So you just went to the guy and he did it for you? That's cool too

DARKNIGHT83

I was going to purchase the harness and do the install myself, but Martin's prices were very good and instead of spending 2 days on it, and not having adequate space to do it in i just decided to have someone experienced do it for me in 4 hrs. No headaches or worries, and save me a lot of time. Plus, he warranties the work and trouble shoots on the spot.

I wish i would have got pictures, but it was so cold that day we were just focused on getting the job done and getting out of there.

SSMTL04

^ did you get the 07-08 navi?

Suprstar

Martin is gonna install mine this weekend. Can't wait.

Suprstar

So I had Martin install my navi for me this weekend and I must say he did a great job. OP was on point with his description.

Here are a few pics:

Love this pic
So CLEAN


Martin installed a back-up camera for me too. Camera has night vision too.


Some people may not like that the fact the camera can be seen from the rear but I really don't care.


NYC at night

mrlal8

iTrader: (2)

martin did my install a week ago. did it in 3 hours and a real clean install

Suprstar

Awesome!!!

n0n0_no

how can i get in contact with martin?