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Yes, I think there are regional differences. I don't think in USA, at least that is what my carrier told me.
I have a data SIM working in my CHSTEK unit in the UK.
Check the details in the CHSTEK listing on AliExpress - there’s mention of the seller being able to regionalise (regionalize!) the 4G for USA before shipping. Perhaps this can be done after shipping also? Worth checking with the seller
Please be careful when you fit in this CHSTEK on the top right, top left corner and bottom , it’s very tight (I crashed my leather on the top right a bit and have to use leather conditioner to make it look like cognac again).
Indeed. Happened to me also. I found there was a particular technique to inserting into cavity. Please see guide.
Success! I tapped the blue wire into the red wire and now I have sound! (see below) Actually now, I'm on to the next problem that the volume is insanely loud - on a scale from 1-30, I can't get past 5 without it being too loud... I did not see any obvious setting to control this. Only thing that works is to use the equalizer to lower the frequency bands across the board, but that seems like a hack. One thing is that when I took out the PCM, right before I disconnected, by mistake I cranked up the volume and then disconnect. I've read that Bose seems to remember the last PCM setting, but I don't have Bose. I guess I can try putting the PCM back in and turn the volume down before disconnecting. Any other ideas?
Good job!
Re the insane loudness - I had the same thing with the Erisin. Go into Settings and find ALL the different places where you can adjust gain/volume. Somewhere there is a master setting - turn it way down and you will have regular volume control again. Don't waste time putting the PCM back in and fiddling with the volume control - it won't make any difference on your car.
@potxoli 's experience above shows the value of having some basic tools to help with installing these units, and many other jobs on the car. The issue in this case was that the power amp was not getting power. A quick and easy way to test for that is to use a Digital MultiMeter (DMM) or a basic 12v probe which will instantly show power or lack of power on any connection.
DMMs can be expensive Fluke models or much cheaper models from Amazon, such as this:
I would always recommend an 'auto-ranging' one - they are a bit more expensive but much easier to use.
12V probes are even cheaper, but much less versatile than a DMM. Sometimes, for a quick and dirty check on a circuit I find it's easier to grab the probe.
Success! I tapped the blue wire into the red wire and now I have sound! (see below) Actually now, I'm on to the next problem that the volume is insanely loud - on a scale from 1-30, I can't get past 5 without it being too loud... I did not see any obvious setting to control this. Only thing that works is to use the equalizer to lower the frequency bands across the board, but that seems like a hack. One thing is that when I took out the PCM, right before I disconnected, by mistake I cranked up the volume and then disconnect. I've read that Bose seems to remember the last PCM setting, but I don't have Bose. I guess I can try putting the PCM back in and turn the volume down before disconnecting. Any other ideas?
Congrats and I'm really pleased you're making progress, I know how frustrating it can be figuring this stuff out!
That said, I am struggling to see that this situation is "by design". The Erisin HU just works out of the box in a non-Bose car and I can't think why CHSTEK would require a user to splice together 2 wires that are next to each other on the same loom, when they could simply make the connection for us and ship the "non-Bose loom" in a state that works out of the box.
I'm not doubting that you needed to do this, it just seems a bit nuts!
As soon as I get a chance I'll test mine out and if I get no sound I might try touching the end of the AMP CON wire to the end of the KEY 2 wire to see if that does anything
Keep on sharing what you learn - everthing we figure out together will go in the guide to help others!
The Key 1 and Key 2 wires are for non-canbus cars and are meant to provide SWC for the left side and right side of the steering wheel. They are pretty much obsolete these days since almost all modern vehicles have SWC via canbus. That said, these wires might potentially be repurposable. All that was needed in potxoli's case was to get power to the amplifier via a switched (ACC) 12V+ source, so it doesn't really matter where that source comes from. It does seem strange that CHSTEK wouldn't make this connection at the factory, but I guess they make these units for dozens of different makes of car so that might explain a 'generic' approach. The good news is that this piece of info is now added to the knowledge base to help future buyers.
Congrats and I'm really pleased you're making progress, I know how frustrating it can be figuring this stuff out!
That said, I am struggling to see that this situation is "by design". The Erisin HU just works out of the box in a non-Bose car and I can't think why CHSTEK would require a user to splice together 2 wires that are next to each other on the same loom, when they could simply make the connection for us and ship the "non-Bose loom" in a state that works out of the box.
I'm not doubting that you needed to do this, it just seems a bit nuts!
As soon as I get a chance I'll test mine out and if I get no sound I might try touching the end of the AMP CON wire to the end of the KEY 2 wire to see if that does anything
Keep on sharing what you learn - everthing we figure out together will go in the guide to help others!
I couldn’t agree more. How hard was it for them to send a wiring loom that works?? And why do I need a secret PIN to make sure the volume is set to something normal?
I would hazard to guess that most of their sales must go to installers who do this over and over again as opposed to the casual DIYer such as myself.
Well good news my Chstek unit arrived today, bad news it will be 3 days before I get to switch out my Ersin HU.
After opening up the box and staring at all of the labeled wires and then reading and rereading the posts and I never saw a definitive answer about powering the backup camera. Did anyone fine out which wire from the Chstek HU supplies power when you put the car in reverse?
Also confused about the AMP CON blue wire, is that needed to get switched power if you have the BOSE Amp configuration.
I wish it was Thursday so I could start ripping into this.
Well good news my Chstek unit arrived today, bad news it will be 3 days before I get to switch out my Ersin HU.
After opening up the box and staring at all of the labeled wires and then reading and rereading the posts and I never saw a definitive answer about powering the backup camera. Did anyone fine out which wire from the Chstek HU supplies power when you put the car in reverse?
Also confused about the AMP CON blue wire, is that needed to get switched power if you have the BOSE Amp configuration.
I wish it was Thursday so I could start ripping into this.
I haven't jumped into the backup camera yet on my car, but it appears we may need to tap a switch 12v, and for Bose you shouldn't need to use the blue Amp Con wire, it's only for cars with standard audio.
I am also unclear about adding an existing backup camera. With my Erisin all I needed to do was plug in the RCA and connect the red +12v cable that comes from the camera to the marked wire in the Erisin HU.
With the Chstek I also got a camera in the box (which I don't need and won't use) and there is this unlabelled yellow RCA with 2 white wires with a white plastic connector that goes in the #8 pin connector on the diagram labelled backup camera - I assume the 2 white wires need +12V and GND (in any order?) but there are no labelled wires on the loom to provide this, so I guess it's wire taps again.
The above might be fine for installing the supplied camera, but ideally I just need a video input and +12V for my existing setup. And I dont have the GND wire from my existing camera to connect to one of the two white wires in the pic above, so that's a bit confusing.
Then there is this yellow RCA called CAM VIN (Video in?) not sure if this is for front or rear camera - but it could be tested by plugging the camera into the RCA and then connecting the existing camera power wire to the KEY1 wire on the loom (an easy test that avoids wire taps)
I'm sure we'll figure it out between us in the coming days!
The above might be fine for installing the supplied camera, but ideally I just need a video input and +12V for my existing setup. And I dont have the GND wire from my existing camera to connect to one of the two white wires in the pic above, so that's a bit confusing.
Cameras don't usually have a ground wire as they are grounded through the RCA connector.