The Max

Very good question and something I never really sat down to add it up. Now you're going to make me slap myself. Components: Gigabyte GB-BSi7HAL-6500 Brix Mini PC $560 Kingston KVR21S15S8/8 8GB DDR4 2133MHz RAM $132 Samsung MZ-V7P512BW SSD M.2: 1TB 970 PRO $432 Digital Forecast Bridge X MC video multiconverter $800 JDS Labs EL DAC I (B-stock/factory seconds) US$200 Adafruit AR1100 touchscreen interface $10 eBay DC-DC converter for Gigabyte PC $35 Custom built hardware: Power Supplies: XP Power DC-DC modules $150 Passive components $60 PCB fabrication $40 Housing (and perspex glue) $30 Connectors (8-pin locking, 4-pin locking for DAC, 2.1mm DC for video converter) $40 Total cost: $320 PC delayed power controller Circuit $20 Automotive 5-pin mating connectors $30 Total cost: $50 Miscellaneous: Cable and connectors (estimate) $100 Total cost comes to $2,439 + US$200. So yeah, I guess if labour were to be charged for this (R&D, installation, software tweaking, etc), this would end up costing closer to $5,000 total. I'm glad I don't offer this solution commercially though, as there will be a lot of imperfections that would take a lot of time to tweak and even then, it won't be totally ideal for every user. Those shitty Tesla-style touchscreens are a classic example of that. For example, if I wanted to play a podcast off my phone over Bluetooth but still use my GPS at the same time, I wouldn't be able to because I'm using the Aux source for the video input whereas my audio source is Bluetooth, so that means another interface to add in for switching out the audio. Another example, this solution cannot be driven from the steering wheel. We're limited to whatever we have when using any Aux source. The key here was to retain Bluetooth phone connectivity for handsfree (media being a bonus) and at least maintain volume control on the steering wheel (and centre console). I'm sure some folks out there would've loved OEM integration with the steering wheel controls and honestly, I can't be bothered designing a circuit to interface with the PC via USB nor writing the software for keyboard emulation, which is all I would really need for controlling Foobar2000. Also, given the very limited choice of good GPS software out there - as far as I have seen at least - it won't be everyone's cup of tea. I have my day job and it pays me well. I'm just happy to impart a whatever knowledge I can instead. If anyone can take that as a baseline and improve on it with their greater capabilities, that would be a very cool community effort.

Installation-wise, it's not finished yet, so there is a bit of a mess to clean up. Tucked away between the left rear quarter and the interior paneling is the JDS Labs EL DAC, held on with a bracket I bent into shape to encompass the DAC and then bolt to an existing hole in the paneling, thereby sticking to my rule of no drilling in this car whatsoever. The DAC is then padded with 12mm medium density adhesive-backed foam, front and rear. Because there is no hole below for a second point to anchor this device firmly, the bottom swings out toward the exterior panel. This is why I have padded it both front and rear, so that there are no undesirable knocks and bumps on other side to ensure a rattle-free experience as well as protecting the rear quarter panel. Next up are the power supplies I built. I haven't yet done a trial fit with the plastic flooring to make sure this tight fit will definitely make it or not but I'm slightly optimistic about it. To make sure I could condense the size as small as possible, the enclosure had to be custom made - I bought the perspex from a mob in Melbourne who also cut it up into the required pieces for me. It also has the same adhesive-backed foam stuck to the bottom of it for eliminating rattles and to also raise it off the amp plate to keep the amp's ventilation holes on the side unobstructed. The power supply unit has an 8-way socket/plug arrangement for easy removal, taking in battery, ground, remote on signal that powers up the amp as well, and then outputting the 12V, +/-15V and ground rails for the video converter and audio DAC. USB cable follows the speaker cabling though it needs to come out now due to the short length. The composite video converter sits on top of what is the Panasonic navigation and Bluetooth unit in this vehicle. I fashioned a little bracket which utilises the screw holes of that Panasonic unit itself. Underneath that, you can see the 19V power supply for the NUC, which is bolted with a single bracket I fabricated to hover it off the wheel arch so that there would be no vibrations, since there was only the one anchor point for it. This corner is quite busy, as you can tell. The NUC sits between two sets of speaker crossovers, bolted to a factory M6 stud on the boot floor with a bracket fashioned with an offset to bring it in as close to the Morel crossovers on the right so that there is still enough room for the scissor jack to sit in without hitting it. You can see the additional power and control cabling poking through a hole I cut out of the NUC to interface with the power delay control board that lives inside. That USB cable you see tied to the bracket in the bottom corner is the one from the DAC which was plugged into the USB hub at the time but has to move to the NUC itself for glitch-free audio. A bit difficult to grab a good wide shot but this is an idea of how it all sits together. Ignore the cable in front of the bonnet pop-up controller, as that's the USB extension lead temporarily bringing that Logitech mouse micro-receiver closer to the back seat so that I can use the mouse from the driver's seat. Pretty much all the wiring closest to the back seat needs shortening and neatening up overall, particularly the extra-long eight-wire controller cable in the left corner which is from the Arc Audio PS8's remote control unit.

At this point, I have got it all installed but the wiring needs a little neatening up, once I get some appropriate length USB cables. Two issues I came upon with the install were that the USB lead from the audio DAC was about 10cm too short to plug into the NUC's USB port without straining the socket. I can't use the DAC with the USB hub that I've got for the touchscreen and GPS antenna because the hub introduces minor glitches in the audio, no doubt due to a slightly unstable clock that doesn't noticeably affect HID interfaces. The other issue is that my backup plan of having a Logitech wireless mouse to control the system doesn't work with the PC's built-in bluetooth nor the Logitech RF micro-receiver because it's too deep in the corner surrounded by grounded metal, acting as a large RF shield and diminishing the performance to the back seat. So for that, I need a 1m USB extension lead to bring the Logitech micro-receiver closer to behind the backseat. The results are not stellar but they're certainly usable, though they have their own minor issues that I need to work through. Part of the challenge is working out the right colour scheme to give the best contrast in all conditions. The GPS one above has been changed to a perpetual night mode, which pops out of the screen better. The Foobar2000 player below still needs serious tweaking to make it even half reasonably user friendly. One challenge with that is to have it fire up back where it last left off when the car is powered down, and maintain the playlist, like any other car audio product would. The other challenge is to have the controls laid out to be a little more friendly to fingers rather than a more accurate wireless mouse. Additionally, the one major challenge with this configuration is the fact that the PC's output resolution seems to be ideal at 800x600 with text zoomed in to 125% (medium zoom). If I could be bothered going as far as hacking away at a bok choi device that has a Sony serialiser IC in it (they can't be purchased off the shelf as there are licensing fees involved), then it would be considerably sharper but I'm cheating here by using the composite video input instead. Another minor challenge I have come across is figuring out how to get the GPS software to dim the music volume to hear the instructions, as right now, they're just mixing together to the point that the navigation software is only somewhat noticeable through the music (not really over the music, as such). Otherwise, it all powers up and down smoothly. One thing I have found is that if I've got it just on Accessories, mucking about with it and then I fire up the car, there's not enough juice during the cranking to keep the power supply for the PC happy, so it is clearly suffering from that process. If it proves to be painful enough, I may end up designing my own power supply for it after all with a better buck-boost converter for lower voltage tolerances. Once I have managed to fine tune the software itself, then I can begin with adding automatic synchronisation processes so that while the car is warming up in the garage, it can perform a check for any new audio files I've introduced to my central networked storage server and automatically copy them to the internal SSD. Audio-wise, I have to say, I'm really glad I chose the EL DAC over other smaller USB-powered makes. The audio quality is stunning in either a home or car environment. I was listening to the track in the photo above and heard some noise in the opening bars, thinking I had cracked tweeters but then realised after listening to the same tune with my audio workstation in the house that the recording itself actually had a bit of buzz from the piano wires! My only regret, if any at all, is that I bought the EL DAC I instead of the EL DAC II, as I'm noticing a slight pop upon power up of the NUC after 10 seconds. If I had the EL DAC II, it has relays to cut the audio until the USB connectivity with the PC is complete and ready to go. Still, with the way it has been designed and installed, I could always fork out the R&D cash and buy the EL DAC II if I'm pissed off enough with it.

UPGRADE UPDATE: So after a while of battling with bok choi mirrorlink devices with mobile phones that would overheat, get a crap GPS signal and often process way too slowly, I decided it was time to put in a much more powerful solution. Problem: Sick of the lack of Australian GPS to take advantage of! Also weary of the Sony NW-ZX1 walkman solution as my audio player. Need something more easily accessible while on the road. Requirements: GPS system that can calculate faster than ARM-based units out there, audio system that can provide a nice clear sound (must be compatible with FLAC codec) and somehow integrate with the GPS so that audible directions can be heard alongside the music, preferably dimming the music volume during those instructions. Additional (bonus) requirements: Interface with vehicle's built-in touchscreen panel. The system design itself ended up being quite straightforward. At the heart of the system is a Gigabyte Brix i7-6500 NUC, fitted with a 1TB Samsung 970 Pro SSD for plenty of audio storage and 8GB RAM. It was chosen primarily for its size and USB-C port on the front panel, allowing me to move my USB ports externally to the side in what is already a cramped space using a USB hub. The computer was modified with a small controller board I designed to: Wait for the vehicle to be on for ten seconds before switching power to the PC for automatic power-up. This safeguard was put in place for those moments where you might put the car in Accessories/ON momentarily before switching off again. Upon switching the car off, emulate a press of the computer's power button to initiate an elegant shutdown of the PC and then cut the power after 30 seconds. Windows is presently shutting down after approximately eight seconds upon initiating the shutdown sequence. The power supply for the computer needed to provide 19V @ 4A, of which I decided to buy one off eBay as they are readily available for such applications. The computer peripherals are: Digital Forecast Bridge X for HDMI to composite video conversion Garmin GPS-18x 5Hz receiver USB to Serial adapter for the GPS (modified to supply the required 5V from the USB port directly to the receiver) JDS Labs EL DAC II - USB to analogue audio converter, running modified firmware to power up automatically and physically modified to accept an external dual-rail power supply (factory design requires a minimum 16VAC power supply) Adafruit AR1100 resistive touchscreen controller interface, which incorporates the now obsolete but still well supported Microchip AR1100 controller IC that I was planning to design with until I found that someone already went to the trouble of creating a complete PCB with the necessary edge connector and USB connector! Lastly to power the video converter and the audio DAC, I designed two power supply boards, one providing 12VDC @ 1.2A and the other providing +/-15VDC @ 1.25A. At the heart of both power supplies are XP Power's monolithic block DC-DC converters, which are capable of rock solid and clean power at voltages as low as around 10VDC, not that I would ever drive my battery that low in any situation. On the software side of things, I am currently using Foobar2000 for my audio, with a skin that was designed around touchscreen use. It looked good on the desktop but how it would look on a 7" screen being pushed through crappy composite video remained to be seen. For GPS, Mapfactor are the only guys who have something decent on the market, based on open source maps (their TomTom offerings are limited to Europe, North America and Africa at the moment) and it's free!! I'd happily pay for their commercial version but it is strictly paid through the maps purchased and there is no Australian map to buy. The one downside to Mapfactor's software is that it's a choice between Windows and Android. There is no Linux option and I was not prepared to run it in a VM environment. The key here is to have a computer running everything natively to facilitate fast boot and shutdown times. I'll keep the updates coming as I find time to progress with the project, as it's something I started a long time ago but hardly have had the time until these Christmas holidays to keep any kind of momentum going. I'll put in the first progress report into the next post of this thread.

Then you definitely shouldn't be experiencing any issues in getting it to connect, despite its lack of friendliness. Phone isn't too painful but audio can be a little tricky. I've got a Samsung Note9 which is still happy to work with mine for both calls and audio. It's pretty well documented in this thread... ...but once paired, I don't recall anything documented in there about how to then access the Bluetooth audio source, which involves pressing the "DISC" button for however many times it takes to cycle through DVD, Music Box (in-built MP3 player) and Bluetooth. Seriously, don't give up because once you sort it out, you will realise just how shit your workaround is. And really, I'm honestly telling you that your workaround is horrible and your callers will also appreciate the difference once you sort it out.

Legend. Thanks dude. For anyone else who may be curious, Amayama seem to be the only guys carrying that particular part number. That being said, when I search based on my VIN, it claims to be a 48463-JK01A instead of 48463-JK00A. Luckily Amayama carries that one too. I already checked with Partsouq and they carry neither.

That's what I was hoping he meant, despite the fact I explicitly asked about the cutouts and not the actual (not literal) buttons themselves. Yes, I know I'm a grammar nazi but I just hate the overly misused word, "literal". Anyway, the reason why I'm a little concerned is that when I looked up the data for that part number in two different drawings from Nissan's EPC sheets, the same part number appeared with the cutouts in one drawing (possibly hinting at cruise control on the right side) and no cutouts at all in another drawing (as well as no button cluster). Given all that, you can see why with so much ambiguity from user and manufacturer alike, I'm a little dubious.

If 48463JK00A is without the buttons, that will not be suitable for me, as I have buttons on the left side of the wheel and so the bezel needs to have the cutouts to accommodate them. I think I'll just remove my wheel one day, disassemble it and look for the part number imprinted on it.

I'm all ears, as I've been dubious about replacing it with another OEM one in case if it's the same materials/coatings. I was going to get mine wrapped. Just checking, this is the bezel with cutouts for just the buttons on the left side for the stereo control, phone, back button and voice control, yeah?

So I'll have to get mine wrapped then. I haven't scratched mine but it did have a couple of scratches on it already. Maybe the previous owner didn't clip their fingernails regularly? Care to message me the link to the supplier? I'm keen to know how much it'll cost me. Would be nice to have a fatter wheel.

Bugger. You've got it pretty tough over there, eh? Good idea to stay off the road until you can get it looked at properly though. You don't want to strip more life off the transmission than it may already have. Good luck mate.

Do they have a better button bezel such that the paint doesn't scratch off the plastic so damn easily? Also, does it feel weird at all with the flat bottom when doing full turns? I just can't help but think the discontinuity in the shape would feel a bit odd.

The code is definitely transmission related but if it seems OK now, perhaps it was a sticky solenoid. Either way, as GTSBoy suggested, take it in to an auto transmission specialist, preferably one who knows these Nissans reasonably well. I don't know how easy or difficult it is to take out the valve body and check the components within, including solenoids but in light of what you experienced and the nature of the error code, it's definitely worth doing in case the fix is cheaper than a rebuild. Don't let it linger for too long, even if it is seemingly OK again now.

My apologies guys. I should've paid further attention to the thread about the part number of that sensor. It's for sniffing out exhaust gas from vehicles in front of you and if it does detect it, then it will revert your intake from fresh air to recirculate so that you don't get stunk out by a bogan's disgusting belching diesel ute. I'll report my last post in order to remove the misinformation.

Despite not having the dash working, how about the rest of the car's electrics? Doors unlock from the keyfob and whatnot? If so, then if there is a device failure, it could be the A/C+instrument module which is the white plastic module that sits above the headunit. That takes a number of sensor inputs and it drives the A/C controls, instrument cluster and the shift lock solenoid. I have experimented on my V36 with this unit in the past when I was sniffing around for a parking brake switch wire, and it yielded the same results. So I would be checking to make sure it has power going to it, as well as all the right signals going in and out of it. Get your hands on the workshop manual and go through the list of signals to trace. Good luck.

The BCM in our JDM vehicles is not to be mistaken as being the same as the USDM or even European market verhicles. They're not. Therefore, you won't find the remote start capability built into the BCM and it's not disabled by anyone when your car reaches the shores of Australia. I don't know where you heard that from but it is simply not true. If you want remote start, you will need to go aftermarket like I did.

Protik, whatever I can't handle in my own driveway, I get my longtime mechanic Adrian at Adrian's Auto Centre at 100 Parramatta Rd Croydon to handle it for me instead. Knows his stuff.

...and the alternative flash tuner is ECUtek. Take your pick.

Rip the boot. You don't have a choice.

Look for a fuse or relay related to the blower/fan. That'll be sufficient.

Yep, the sound is truly obnoxious. I kept it simple and replaced my muffler with a Megan Racing unit. Nice tone without being rude.

Screwdriver, hammer and some rough love.

Exactly what Colin said. The headunit is far too deeply integrated into the car's electronics, rendering some elements of the vehicle useless (albeit still driveable). The method that Colin and I have opted for is to augment the headunit with a quality DSP, amp and speaker setup. I wrote a thread several years ago which vaguely documents the things I did to make that happen. Bear in mind that since the last post, I changed the front speakers from the Boston Acoustics SPZ60 to Morel Hybrid series because in the end, I discovered that in the final days of their existence, the SPZ series proved to be shit quality compared to their previous ProSeries models. That, and support for them was suffering. Once this friggin' work project is done, perhaps I'll then have time to complete the next phase in the project, involving a mini computer to interface to the touchscreen (video and control) and provide GPS functionality, as well as the music. Only problem is that it'll still be composite video feeding to it, since I can't be bothered taking the next step of hacking a Sony serialiser IC out of some bok-choi device to get what I want.

Ah, for disabling the output to the rams. Gotcha. Have not had much time to myself to work on it. Haven't even touched the infotainment system I've been working on since last year. Been too busy building much more complex systems for broadcasters. It'll just have to be a reset for now.

A smooth shifting auto means that there's a little more slippage going from one gear to the next. That would concern me a little if it shifted more firmly beforehand.