Help me install aftermarket overhead DVD

[herndon44]

I have a 2003 Pilot with Nav. I bought the car used in 2006 and it came with Sony overhead dvd Model # XVM-R90D. Not sure if its factory or aftermarket. The monitor broke a while back so I am attempting to replace it with this noname-brand overhead dvd.--->
It has a simple and standard red/black/Yellow 3 wire connection. My car is already wired for overhead DVD so
I thought this was going to be fairly easy. However, I can get the dome lights to come on and thats it. Can anyone offer any suggestions? A wiring diagram? Anything would help...thanks.

[philip]

The old sony was definitely aftermarket so a wiring diagram for the pilot won't be of much help with the existing wiring to the sony unit. Did your new no name brand unit come with instructions? How was existing Sony unit wired? Red/Black/Yellow I assume is Constant/Ground/Switched, it seems like it should be fairly straight forward to identify which wires were used for Constant/Ground/Switched for the Sony unit. Can you post any pics of the Sony wiring and also of the no name wiring? I assume sound is transmitted through FM and not hardwired...

[herndon44]

thanks for your response. I will take and post pics tomorrow.

[noanswer]

Well, if the dome light on the DVD unit comes on, and all you have are the yellow, red, and black, then you've got something right.

If you have a voltage meter, you need to see if you have 12v coming to the yellow at all times, and see if the red only has voltage when the ignition is on.

Does the dome light work only when ignition is on (find out from the owner's manual if it should work all of the time or only when ignition is on)? Or all the time? If it works all the time (and it's supposed to be that way), then you've got constant 12V on the yellow (good), and your problem is with the red (switched) lead.

I have a sneaking suspicion that you don't have 12V on the red lead.

[herndon44]

The yellow is the only wire that has 12v when the car is off when it is on the red and the yellow have 14v. As soon as I hook up the dvd player the reading goes to 2v on the red and yellow. The circut board (where the red and yellow) connect are both reading 2v. As soon as I unhook them, they read the same as before. However, today I went to check it again and it was reading 6v on yellow when off and 7v on the red and yellow when off. The voltage was very in consistant ranging between 4.75v to 7.5v. I checked my fuses they were all fine. Then I noticed when I pressed the brake a clicking noise in the dash above the sterring wheel so i unplugged the fuse for the break and after pluging it back in the wires are again reading 12v on yellow when off and 14v on yellow and red when on. But the break is still making the clicking noise now.
I have been trying to post pics for the past hour and I can't...did it fine last night. I tried resizing them and everything else besides loading them into photobucket. I will try again later if anyone thinks it would be helpful...Thanks for any help you can give on this. I would like to save the money for professional installation but it may be best to go that route before I mess up anything else....

[noanswer]

Originally Posted by herndon44

The yellow is the only wire that has 12v when the car is off when it is on the red and the yellow have 14v. As soon as I hook up the dvd player the reading goes to 2v on the red and yellow. The circut board (where the red and yellow) connect are both reading 2v. As soon as I unhook them, they read the same as before. However, today I went to check it again and it was reading 6v on yellow when off and 7v on the red and yellow when off. The voltage was very in consistant ranging between 4.75v to 7.5v. I checked my fuses they were all fine. Then I noticed when I pressed the brake a clicking noise in the dash above the sterring wheel so i unplugged the fuse for the break and after pluging it back in the wires are again reading 12v on yellow when off and 14v on yellow and red when on. But the break is still making the clicking noise now.
I have been trying to post pics for the past hour and I can't...did it fine last night. I tried resizing them and everything else besides loading them into photobucket. I will try again later if anyone thinks it would be helpful...Thanks for any help you can give on this. I would like to save the money for professional installation but it may be best to go that route before I mess up anything else....

The brake pedal clicking noise is normal. That is the shift lever lock disengaging when you press the brake pedal, which lets you shift out of park.

You need to find out where the Red/Yellow/Black are tied in. It sounds like a loose connection, as the video system is pulling a decent amount of current when plugged in and trying to come on. It could be a bad ground, or bad connections where the Red/Yellow connect (which could result in the voltage dropping when you plug in the video system).

I suspect this is why the older Sony unit wasn't working, and there was probably nothing wrong with it.

The Sony unit definitely wasn't from Honda, so who knows how well it was installed. You need to make sure that the yellow lead isn't tied into another system at the fuse box (which is a common tactic for less experienced installers). Sometimes you can find an unused fuse location that gives off 12V at all times. Use a crimp on spade connector and add an appropriate fuse and holder.

The red usually doesn't pull very much current and can be tied into another system that is switched with the ignition.

I used an Alpine split overhead system and tied my connections to the factory radio's harness behind it with a running splice. The Alpine is different because the power connects to an I/O box that can be placed anywhere, and a dedicated cable carries power and A/V from the detached DVD player to the screen. The I/O box is behind the glove box, and the DVD player is mounted in the dash where the Honda DVD player would normally go. Yours sounds like a self contained unit which is a little less tricky to install.


No offense, but if any of this is confusing, I would consider taking it to a professional installer.

[herndon44]

thanks for the advice. im going to a professional installer.:-)