Leaf S - replacing the radio?

[asm]

I just went through this process using pereze's awesome post and some pmsg help. I wanted to note all the pitfalls I encountered for those that follow along in the future

• I went with a Pioneer AVH-4200NEX - no nav since I plan on using Android Auto.
• You'll likely want a parking brake bypass for this unit. I used a PAC TR1. You won't be able to do a number of important things (firmware update/Android Auto/BT pairing/etc) unless you hook up the parking brake or use a bypass.
• When you remove the trim, there are a few cables to disconnect (from top to bottom): hazard lights, hvac control, airbag indicator. I noticed if you turn on the car or attempt to charge it without the hvac cable connected, a cooling fan will come on at full blast. It seems the car uses a thermometer in this assembly to gauge whether to cool the batteries.
• I managed to get all the steering wheel controls working except the two phone buttons. To do this, connect the white/green wire of the ASWC-1 to pin 16 of the vehicle (smaller white connector) and connect the gray/red wire to pin 6. See page AV-44 here and the ASWC-1 wiring instructions here. You'll also want to connect pin 15 to ground.
• I had to manually program my ASWC-1 using these instructions. See page 19. For some reason, it won't register the phone buttons. Has anyone else had luck with this?
• The built in USB cable system won't work with my Pixel phone and Android Auto. Pioneer has a note about this here.

Thanks again to pereze for all the help and inspiration!

[jeffster06]

Glad you got your install nearly done, now the fun part, as I found out, was getting through phone buttons to work...

... If you look at the vehicle specific instructions available from PAC (the other steering wheel control brand available), they give you detailed instructions on wires that have to spliced or jumpered on connector "Nissan32BT" (in the trunk: right rear trim panel). It's real convenient to get to the as the connector is buried behind a plastic trim panel that you have to remove about 4 other trim pieces to get to it. The reason you have to do this is because the Bluetooth module is located in the back of the car and the steering wheel buttons are connected directly to it, then the module sends a modified signal to the radio, but you have to bypass the BT module to make it work with the interface that connects to the pioneer. This modification is needed to make either the m
axxiss or the PAC interface to work. (you also have to connect a second remote wire to the interface if you haven't already)

Refer to the instructions here for working with that one connector: http://www.pac-audio.com/SWI/SWIAppGuid ... o%20+%20BT

The wiring is the same on my 2015 as the 2013 in the link.

Let me know if you have any questions... It's been about a year since I did mine... Might have to look back at my notes from it.

[pereze]

Thanks again to pereze for all the help and inspiration!

Glad I could help. You got farther than me as I never got the "Source" button to work. On a side note, when I first wired the steering wheel control up, I had switched the wires. When I pressed the Source button in, it would "Mute" and Unmute my headunit. One thing I don't like about the Pioneer (at least mine but assuming they are all the same) is that you can't easily mute or unmute. You have to click the volume, then press the mute button. Once muted, there isn't a good way to unmute it. You basically have to keep pushing volume up to get volume back. I hope I am not missing something that makes this easy to do. Anyway, I want that "feature" back.

... If you look at the vehicle specific instructions available from PAC (the other steering wheel control brand available), they give you detailed instructions on wires that have to spliced or jumpered on connector "Nissan32BT" (in the trunk: right rear trim panel). It's real convenient to get to the as the connector is buried behind a plastic trim panel that you have to remove about 4 other trim pieces to get to it. The reason you have to do this is because the Bluetooth module is located in the back of the car and the steering wheel buttons are connected directly to it, then the module sends a modified signal to the radio, but you have to bypass the BT module to make it work with the interface that connects to the pioneer. This modification is needed to make either the m
axxiss or the PAC interface to work. (you also have to connect a second remote wire to the interface if you haven't already)

Refer to the instructions here for working with that one connector: http://www.pac-audio.com/SWI/SWIAppGuid ... o%20+%20BT

Great info! I always have my phone nearby and it auto connects via BT so I am not sure if I would actually use the buttons, but this is good info to have. Thanks for sharing!! I think you all need to post some pics of your install. At least the finished pics! Otherwise, it didn't happen.

[asm]

At least the finished pics! Otherwise, it didn't happen.

Haha, but of course!

[Nagorak]

Glad you got your install nearly done, now the fun part, as I found out, was getting through phone buttons to work...

... If you look at the vehicle specific instructions available from PAC (the other steering wheel control brand available), they give you detailed instructions on wires that have to spliced or jumpered on connector "Nissan32BT" (in the trunk: right rear trim panel). It's real convenient to get to the as the connector is buried behind a plastic trim panel that you have to remove about 4 other trim pieces to get to it. The reason you have to do this is because the Bluetooth module is located in the back of the car and the steering wheel buttons are connected directly to it, then the module sends a modified signal to the radio, but you have to bypass the BT module to make it work with the interface that connects to the pioneer. This modification is needed to make either the m
axxiss or the PAC interface to work. (you also have to connect a second remote wire to the interface if you haven't already)

Refer to the instructions here for working with that one connector: http://www.pac-audio.com/SWI/SWIAppGuid ... o%20+%20BT

The wiring is the same on my 2015 as the 2013 in the link.

Let me know if you have any questions... It's been about a year since I did mine... Might have to look back at my notes from it.

Do you have a link to instructions about how to remove the rear trim panels? I'm on the step where I need to bypass the BT unit. I have everything else up and running.

Also, has anyone managed to make use of the microphone built into the car? I hooked up the wires based off of this diagram: https://s10.postimg.org/kgpy07fsp/usb.png

I assumed that pin 43-45 were the microphone (labeled shield, sound signal+, sound signal-), but it seems to be a no-go. However, I suspect the microphone also goes to the bluetooth module, so maybe it needs to be bypassed there as well? Either that or those aren't even the mic wires at all.

Actually, I suppose the mic line may not even be routed back to the stereo at all, as all that is handled at the module itself.

[jeffster06]

OK so, you can see where the BT module is located if you look at page 15 of the AV section of the service manual:
http://www.nicoclub.com/service-manual?fsm=Leaf/2014%20Leaf/av

Referring to p15, there is an item B called out with a detail section showing item 12 which is the BT module with the connector you need to work with. Basically, you need to get to the top of passenger side rear wheel well to find the module. I'd recommend you print out that image, it's helpful when you are in the car trying to find it because it is buried deeper than you would think at first glance.

To get to the BT module you have to remove some trim panels. Referring to the interior section of the manual, page 43, bottom, where it says "LUGGAGE SIDE LOWER FINISHER":
http://www.nicoclub.com/service-manual?fsm=Leaf/2014%20Leaf/int

On p44 there are several links you can click that describe how to remove each trim piece, once you get to the module, you can work on the wires in the connector.

NOTES:
1. I worked on the connector with the back seat still installed in the car, it can be done. If I recall correctly, it helped to fold the seat back down.
2. Personally, I used some solid core wire to jumper between the pins that you need to connect together, however, sometimes I have issues with buttons not registering intermittently, so make sure you do a good job with these connections...soldering the wires would be best, or maybe crimp connectors to ensure a reliable connection.

Also, I just used the mic that came with my head unit. Wasn't sure of the impedance being compatible or how to connect it to the car one. If you look through the AV section of the manual, you could probably trace out the circuit though and try it. I bet it goes through the BT module as well, but I don't have time to look it up at the moment.

Hopefully that's enough to get you to success...please let me know if you have any more questions and update folks here with any more notes that might be helpful. Cheers!

[aarond12]

I just (mostly) finished the Sony XAV-AX100 radio in my 2015 LEAF "S". For the most part, it was simple. I got a kit from Crutchfield which included the bracket, wiring harness, antenna adapter, and hands-free adapter (same one that others talked about above).

Some notable things:
* Connect the hands-free adapter to the red power lead from the wiring harness. It doesn't need to be on all the time.
* Connect the blue wire from the antenna adapter to the receiver's aux power output (typically blue) rather than trying to use the blue/white wire from the harness. On most cars, the blue/white wire carries power; on ours it is not connected.
* If you don't connect the blue wire from the antenna adapter, your radio reception will suck.
* For this specific radio, just connect the parking brake wire to ground. This will enable watching videos anytime (which is likely illegal in your jurisdiction).
* The wiring information with my steering wheel adapter was completely wrong. Use the pin numbers rather than the colors when connecting wires. I didn't even bother modifying the second connector listed in the instructions.

I have the 12v to 6v adapter on order to wire up the backup camera. From what I've read, pins 1 and 2 are power, 3 and 4 are video. We'll have to see how this goes.

Earlier, I mentioned that I replaced the speakers in the car with Sony three-way 6.5" speakers, but hadn't updated the head unit in the hopes that the lightweight speakers the LEAF came with were holding back audio performance. It wasn't. This new head unit makes all the difference.

[dlupien]

Any update on the Sony install aarond12? I am actually looking to install that exact same unit into my leaf using the crutchfield kit. Where you able to get the rear view camera to work? How does the unit compare in battery drain to the stock radio?

Thanks! Excited to have found this post!

[kidjan]

I just (mostly) finished the Sony XAV-AX100 radio in my 2015 LEAF "S"

I'm also really interested in your results--did you get the backup camera working? And how's the picture quality compared with the normal Leaf S screen?

Few other questions: does the unit dim when you turn on headlights? Do all the controls on the steering wheel work, or just some of them?

[asm]

I just (mostly) finished the Sony XAV-AX100 radio in my 2015 LEAF "S"

I'm also really interested in your results--did you get the backup camera working? And how's the picture quality compared with the normal Leaf S screen?

Few other questions: does the unit dim when you turn on headlights? Do all the controls on the steering wheel work, or just some of them?

I didn't go with the Sony HU but I can tell you the Pioneer HU I put in works with the following things:

• The backup camera works but requires a 6V voltage regulator. It looks great too and you can actually see what's behind you compared to the tiny OEM screen. I should also note I have an S model and added the camera myself using the guide on this forum.
• The unit does dim when I turn on the lights. I use Android Auto and the maps switch to dark mode as well.
• If you scroll to earlier comments, you can see discussions about the steering wheel controls. I was able to get all of them working except the phone toggle. This button is wired to the bluetooth unit in the rear of the car. It is possible to wire it up, it's just a bit more work.

Good luck!