Alan

I encourage you to listen to Dr Bob - it's certainly possible to do what you suggest in the ash tray frame - I have already done it... but its actually not a good location so I undid everything again...

This is about the last place you want a bunch of crap dangling about. It looks bad, and is just in the way (big time for a manual car). Lots of accessory plug-ins are very bulky.

Instead I relocated a power outlet plus a pair of USB power outlets to the passenger side of the console (in the carpeted panel) for occasional general use and also located the connections to the head unit into the armrest/casette box: a 3.5mm Aux-In and 2 USB sockets.

My iPhone or iPod can now live tidily in the cassette box while connected and I leave a giant USB drive plugged in as a music vault.

I think you too will find after a lot of work that you don't really like it...

Alan

PS as you can tell - I think the time has come where USB charger outlets are much more important than 12v power outlets - so one 12v outlet should be enough...

Rob M Budd

Single din is the way to go.
Clarion NZ503 in the GTS and the S4.
Will put one in the GT in the spring.

Screen opens and closes at the touch of a button.
Once the nav is set or music source selected, it can be closed.

pmb692

I will take some pictures this weekend as I work out the details and placement of things. I'm concentrating on the ash tray mounted receptacles this weekend as I have to do a bit of metal work to make it work. I'll also be relocating the flap actuator when I get the metal work done on the charging receptacles. I have to work today so I can't work on until later this evening, but I will post pictures of what I've done later this evening or tomorrow. BTW, Jerry... I went back and looked at all the threads I could find on your conversion. Very well thought out, and props to you for all the work you put in to get it right. Mine will certainly be a "one off" and fabricated as I go. but it's coming along.

jeff spahn

I have this system and i am taking it out and putting in a double din system. I have to move my rear air controls to another location. Problem with this unit is when you start it up after battery is disconnected screen opens and jams against dash. You have to then set angle. After many battery disconnects the screen doesn't tilt properly. Motor has been damaged by limiting out against dash. The default angle is wrong for our cars.

MjRocket

This and the fact that Very few if any companies even offer a flip out face unit anymore, and the ones that are out there are outdated feature wise.

That Clarion NZ unit Robb spoke of was a great unit in its day but is very limited on features that are offered standard on todays top end dual din units. I'm not 100% but I don't believe that unit is even still available new.

pmb692

I'm finally able to throw in an update in with a few pictures. Keep in mind that this is a mock up and in the early stages.

I took out the Rear a/c controls and modified the housing/ash tray surround they were in by shortening it, but keeping it all one piece. I didn't want to cut it since it's so visible, so I ended up doing it layer by layer and taking some length out of the steel frame under the foam and vinyl. Then once I got the frame how I wanted it, I put the layers back on.

pmb692

In this series of pictures, you'll see the test fit in the modified ash tray that now houses 2 accessory chargers and 2 USB connectors. I ground out the spot welds in the ash tray to get to the frame, and then fabricated an insert from sheet metal that holds the electrics. The 2 little holes above the chargers are for the white inserts for lighting. The chargers are US spec and hold appliances much better than the German ones. So no more glancing up to see a powerless radar detector.

Tomorrow I'll permanently attach the fabricated piece to the stock ash tray frame, and also attach the lighting supports. There will now be 2, run in series instead of just one. For the lighting, I'm using the same setup as stock, but with new components. The bulbs are 1.8 watt instead of 2 watt, and are housed in new bulb holders that accommodate bulbs that can be found at any parts store should one need to be replaced. The lighting will also run in series.
To make future access easy, I'm going to use a detachable 3 wire connector to attach the whole thing

to the wire harness for the old lighter setup. That way the whole thing will have a little slack wire, and can be removed from the car as a unit if need be. With the mock up installed in the ash tray holder, there is plenty of clearance on the underside between the elements and the tunnel. I also had to modify the lid with a second cutout so it would go to the full open position. So far, so good, and things seem to be doing what I want them to.

Last test fit in the car before welding.





What it looks like from the back.



Modified ash tray lid.


]


New lighting attachment

Rob M Budd

On both cars when the battery was disconnected, which has been done many times, the screen stayed closed when finally powered up. It has never opened when I didn't tell it to.
I had the NZ501 a few years ago and upgraded to the new NZ503 which is still available and has many of the latest features.
One of the features is 4 volt preamp output which is nice to have.
It also handles an 8GB USB drive without delay like most other units including the double din Kenwood I have in the Cayenne.
It doesn't have WIFI like the Kenwood, but for now I can live without it.

pmb692

Okay, So I haven't updated this in a couple of days because I've been working on finishing the modified ashtray with the 2 chargers and 2 USB ports. It's done, with the exception on final painting and one of the light inserts (which is on the way). I tested it today and it works great. I spent this evening working on exactly how I want to layout the Pioneer 7000 in the car. Earlier in this thread I mentioned that I wanted to keep sort of a stock look with the dash, so I didn't want to go totally flush. What I did do, was cut the distance from factory to flush about in half. It's leaves the look of stock by keeping the shift lever/ashtray surround, as well as modernizes the look

. Once I get the radio and heater control surrounds done and put in, it should look pretty cool. More pictures will follow, but here's what it looks like now.

Mocked up on my work bench.





Another picture on the work bench.

77tony

Your project is coming along nicely. Performed a similar mod a few years back on the 94. Trimmed the lower console with a leather wrapped cord and fed the iPod cable into the raised center armrest. Garage door remote is in the ashtray along with 12v outlet. T

pmb692

I thought i updated this thread earlier today, but it's not showing up. So here it is again.... I've been working diligently on my double din conversion, and have just about completed a system that should work in any 928 dash. (i bought 4 consoles from various parts yards to start this project, and it works in all of them.) However, I haven't tested it in a very early console, or one wrapped in leather as I don't have access to them at the moment. I think it will still work in them, but they may require a little tweaking of the inserts, but I'm not sure. The setup I'm working on keeps the cutting of the original console to what I think is the minimum necessary to get the job done. I've completed models of my parts and transferred the prototype models to a 3D program. They should be ready for either machining or 3D printing in plastic as early as next week. I also have a preliminary model of a one piece surround that covers all the screws similarly to how the original was done. Once I have that done, and my final pieces done in plastic, I'll post some pictures.

jeff spahn

Rob
What I was trying to relay was when you disconnect the power and then reconnect the flip screen, upon first opening, goes to the default angle. On my car this impacts the dash (I have it installed in the same location you do). The motor stalls out on the air vents. You then have to go into tilt angle and change it to the least shallow tilt so it doesn't hit the air vents. After this happening many times, my screen now has a dead spot in the tilt motor.

pmb692

Here are a few pictures of the final design, and how it should look in the car. These pictures are with my models for mounting brackets, components, and cover plate installed. I apologize for the lack of final finish on the cover plate. It'll look more like the factory piece once it's been properly formed in plastic.

The piece I actually use on the car will have better texture. Now I'm working on a new slider mechanism for the vent flap. I'll post more pictures as I progress.

Stromius

I have been wondering why not use a mini tablet (take your pick) for the console interface versus double DIN. Sorta in the flavor of Volla's update to the ECU's but the GUI for the 928 enthusiast onboard. Most OS's already have mapping and GPS API's, music services like Spotify and video, Bluetooth etc etc. Add diagnostics for us geeks and there ya go

....i should probably drink less coffee

Ninespub

I'm all good with this. It is exactly what I'm looking for. The question is how do you control the HVAC from the lower positioning?