hsetty

Hey all,
I was undergoing some major surgery (of the car) today to remove the stock LCD (2005 TL Navi) and replace it with a Xenarc 700TSV. I carefully separated the dash, removed the stereo, and removed the stock Navi LCD. I separated the LCD from the rest of the center piece and replaced it with the Xenarc. I had to use some foam to pad the xenarc and I also had to displace the metal backing approx 3/4" to allow the xenarc to fit. The unit fit just fine until...

I reconnected all my cables and turned the switch to ACC. When I had removed the stock LCD from the center housing the circuit board still worked and there was no issue with the HVAC blowing on high. However, after I replaced it with the xenarc and refit everything the HVAC started blowing on high and there was no time display on the center piece.

So without the stock LCD I was able to get the board fine but putting the xenarc case inside caused the board to malfunction. My next question is where do I go from here? This is quite an emergency. Can someone answer the following questions?

1) Which fuses should I pull to get the HVAC to stop blowing high (the car is more than driveable presently)?
2) What are my circuit board replacement options? I was SO CLOSE to getting the replacement completed!
3) Are there alternative circuit boards I can use instead of the OEM one (probably not likely but figured I would ask)?

Any responses would be appreciated, email me at hsetty2007@gmail.com. I need to figure this out soon (especially since vacation is coming up)...

HS

KN_TL

iTrader: (3)

Did you completely remove the stock lcd so you've got connections just hanging in the breeze?

That's what'll happen to the hvac in that scenario.

There's circuitry in there that also does the control. It not just a display.

VmtSquad

iTrader: (1)

You need to keep your NAVI screen...even if you intend to not use it anymore...

hsetty

Not necessarily. When I removed the LCD panel (and left all the accompanying circuitry), the HVAC issue did not arise. I will put the LCD panel back on and see what happens, but I am skeptical that will correct the issue...

I have no intention of continuing to use the crappy LCD. Once I figure out a way to get around it I will post it...

KN_TL

iTrader: (3)

Sounds like you are doing something different and neglecting to give all the details.

In order to swap the lcd and keep the stock navi/hvac functions, you need to remove just the lcd and convert the signal from RGBs to VGA or figure out how to feed RGBs directly if the monitor supports it.

I played around with it and ended up just going with factory navi instead of a carputer for now.

There are people who played around with going from vga (carputer) to RGBs to use the stock monitor as well.

If you aren't going carputer, there really isn't any reason to upgrade the LCD unless you are watching movies or something. What comes out of the navi/hvac info is going to be low res.

csmeance

my bet is carputer. Hsetty, the stock LCD controls the time and the HVAC circuitry, one member who did a carputer put the navi screen in the space behind the center compartments. You would need to extend the wires (about 24) of them down to wherever you place the stock screen. The benefit of this is that you can still retain the factory navi stuff. Just throwing it out loud, you could stick the screen in one of the seat backs so the people in the back could control audio though the navi screen on your 6 disk if you have a cd in there...

KevinDGP

I've had the 700TSV in my 2005 non-nav for about three years now without issue; but I had the screen installed by a professional shot so I don't know about the wiring details.

Have you posted your question on mp3car.com? A couple of people on there pioneered this mod. The screen name of one of them is ITL and he's a great, very knowledgeable guy who, I believe, lives in Atlanta. You may want to PM him.

hsetty

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/lcd-...-acura-tl.html

See the above link. I basically removed the LCD panel only and left all the circuitry intact. I reconnected the HVAC plugs to the remaining circuitry I had NO problem. It was only when I placed the Xenarc in place and reconnect the HVAC plugs did I see a problem. So this refutes that the LCD panel controls the HVAC because IT DID WORK with only the LCD panel missing. Does this make sense?

Regardless, I have found a replacement circuit board and will do the replacement by physically shifting the circuit board 1.75 inches behind its current position so that I can fit the xenarc in its original casing (to avoid circuit board contact). This might be better described with pictures, of which I will take after I finish next weekend (vacation this week woohoo!).

The purpose of doing this was to get a higher res xenarc in place. Since the audio display doubles off into the clock area (radio stations, etc), I will not miss seeing it on the navi screen. The only thing I had to remember was the menu for speaker alignment, but I do not do that too often.

Now I can sell that dreaded DVD navigation unit! (I heard Acura got its head out of its arse and put an HD in the 09 TL for navi purposes only to eliminate the touchscreen to compete with the iDrive. Did the ipod not teach the world anything?)

THe only advantage of leaving my car panels separated is that no mastermind criminal will bother to break into my car...

KN_TL

iTrader: (3)

I remember your project now, sorry about that.

We weren't saying the lcd itself is required, just the opposite. There is circuitry behind it that controls the hvac. It sounds like you shorted something and fried the board.

Good Luck

hsetty

So after discussing the issue with ITL, it looks like my problem was merely due to a blown 7.5 amp fuse connected to the backup circuit. After replacing the fuse I had no problems starting. All I can say is that having the Xenarc monitor makes a huge difference compared to the crappy LCD.

On another note, I still have successfully removed the LCD panel. You can remove the LCD panel and undo the connections for brightness and screen control, etc. I removed the LCD panel to free up more space so I can place the full Xenarc in front of the circuit board. Everything is running smoothly for almost a week now, and I still have the factory "look".

Finally, I must say I was disappointed with purchasing a replacement board. I purchased a replacement head unit on eBay from martin, the guy who does navigation install (hondatech). After the replacement part arrived I replaced the backup circuit fuse. When everything started working I plugged in his replacement part as a courtesy to make sure that it worked. I promptly e-mailed him and let him know that I no longer needed the part. He was not interested in doing a full refund but rather a partial refund if he could confirm that the part worked upon return. I told him that nothing had been changed on his replacement part and he was welcome to verify this, but he was not interested.

So even with verification that the part works I would only qualify for a partial refund? That is pretty deceptive. Plus the auction listing did not have anything indicating the part was sold as is. I have captures of the auction listing and e-mails if you want a good story. Regardless, I had no choice but to leave negative feedback regarding the return issue, and his feedback response was:

"Dishonest buyer, switched some parts and wants to send it back for a refund."

my moral of the story? I would not rely on him for doing navigation installs since I am told that is what he offers. Can you imagine what would happen if for some reason the system stopped working? Good luck getting customer support.

But for ITL, he is THE MAN!

csmeance

ITL is the man its good that you got it working as for the whole martin issue, here's my objective take on it:
the seller is protecting his ass, as honest you may be, you have to think twice when taking returns for chips like that. there are really no identifying markings distinguishing the two boards, and if there was I doubt the seller wrote it down.

SO basically the buyer can send him the part the seller sent you, but the seller won't know if it's the one he sent to the buyer. This means the old board that the buyer had could have been gettho rigged with some solder here and there and he would then be stuck with an altered board.

I do however agree that the negative feedback was useless. You wanted a refund on a working part, that's not being dishonest. I would talk to martin and ask him to remove it and explain him your project, maybe then he can see you are a good person and didn't want to scam him.

hsetty

hey all,
I listed the extra parts FOR SALE in the marketplace on this site. The album of the leftovers is under "TL parts" and includes:

1) Dom's unit (without serial port cable)
2) Navigation Bezel (with HVAC controls)
3) Bare LCD

Let me know if these items can help with your car projects...

hsetty