aftermarket overhead dvd

[3rdrow]

hi all-new member, 1st time poster on this site. just picked up an 06 pilot ex. i am going to install the overhead alpine dvd player that i had in my pathfinder. anything special i should know? i used the drivers a-pillar to run the wiring down in the pathfinder but it didnt have the airbag there that the pilot has. any known issues with running the wiring down the pilot a-pillar? i do plan on unhooking the battery cable obviously, and tucking everything back as far as i can. just didnt know if anyone had run into any snags in doing this. also i am going to be putting in the pioneer avh series dvd player from the pathfinder in the dash. any known trouble with installing aftermarket stereos? i have quite a bit of experience in this field and have done a thread search here but just trying to avoid snags if at all possible. thanks in advance for your assistance.

[3rdrow]

i actually got this done yesterday. although i didnt have time to take pics (super bowl was about to come on & kids were at the inlaws), i can answer questions if you guys have any. i didnt run into any big issues. just know there is a pretty fair amount of sound deadener/insulation above the headliner, which gave me a bit of a fit trying to fish the wires from the corner above the a-pillar to the dome light hole. also learned that the pilot has 4 fuse blocks (most of you guys probably know this). lots of room behind the a-pillar for running the wires down. i read a post from years ago on here where edog was putting in headrest monitors which tied in with the navi system. he mentioned using a power dist. block-good idea for things like this and future addons. Vizualogic / NAV A/V Switch / DVD Changer Installation Instructions

ill post up pics of the finished product when i get a chance, later this week or this weekend.

[onu2002]

Originally Posted by 3rdrow

lots of room behind the a-pillar for running the wires down

Do you mean B-pillar? I guess you could use the A-pillar, but I think conventional wisdom is to go down the B-pillar and under the door sill trim.

How did you secure the screen? I really want to put an overhead screen in my '03, but (1) I don't know if I'll own it long enough to warrant spending any additional time/effort on it, (2) I'm not real thrilled about removing and/or cutting the headliner, and (3) I'm afraid of not securing the screen well enough.

[dustino8]

This thread should be of some help:

Sony MVS-900SDS DVD Install

[3rdrow]

i could have gone down the b-pillar but chose to stick with the A for 2 reasons-when i did the install in my pathfinder it was a pain to work around the seat belt, plus i didnt want any chance of a wire getting rubbed by, or tangled with, the seat belt. also there wasnt alot of room under the door sill, i found this out when i ran the satellite antenna wire under the sill last week. 6 rca wires and 3 power wires would have most likely caused the sill to not reseat properly IMO. i never tried it so i cant say for sure. the a-pillar in the pilot worked well so thats what i recommend. it was easy to get all the wired down the pillar behind the trim, plus there is a decent gap when you remove the kick panel. as far as the screen, i didnt cut the headliner. i just took down the dome light via the 2 screws and drilled 2 small holes on the outside of where those screws tap into the roof. my bracket attached with 2 screws into the drilled holes. did this the same way in the pathfinder and never had an issue. the screen unit then mounts to the bracket once you plug in the wiring harnesses. im picky on my installs, and i am very careful about doing these in a manner which allows me to take it all out and out it back to stock without any evidence of it being there when i go to sell the car. the unit i have (link is below) is an all in one unit, meaning there is nothing to install under the seats. to me that is the way to go (for my personal liking) because its less wiring to do. you really dont even need the rca's, i have them because i have it wired into my in dash DVD reciever, and also wired for my sons Playstation.


Alpine Electronics of America, Inc.

[heynumber99]

I'm thinking about adding an overhead DVD to my 06 Pilot as well.

Looking forward to your pictures!

[3rdrow]

here is a link to the pics on photobucket.

Pictures by timmack1 - Photobucket

also a pic.....

[3rdrow]

you might notice in one of the photobucket pics that the movie on the overhead is also on the in dash pioneer-i wired it so on trips we had choices, we can all watch one movie and have it play on the overhead and the in dash, with the sound playing over the speakers, or the kids can watch a movie in the back and have it play through the wireless headphones, and my wife and i can watch a seperate movie in the dash, or listen to the radio or whatever. MP3 is connected to the back of the in dash unit via USB cable, and rests in the glove box for easy access. in dash unit also has sirius satellite radio. the tan trim ring above the overhead unit does make it stick down a bit further but it helps tremendously in the fact that it conceals all the wires that plug into the top. the fact i used that trim ring lets me install it cleanly without having to cut into the headliner. hope you enjoy! please feel free to offer your feedback and suggestions, wether it be positive or negative.

[oejeffrey]

Looks like a GREAT install !!!! Welcome to the Forum by the way !!!!!!!

[3rdrow]

so i have been wanting to have a game console in the pilot for some time, and was trying to plan it out well and do it right the first time so it has taken some time to come up with a plan and get it installed but i got it finished last night. i wanted to build a panel that mounted in the back of the center console, similar to ones that come factory installed if you have stock RES. i took a flat black plastic panel, a 110v snap in receptacle, 3 panel mount rca female couplings, a 500w power inverter, and a set of rca cables connecting the panel to the auxiliary input on the overhead dvd player. drilled holes in the panel for the rca's, cut a hole for the snap in receptacle, and cut a hole in the back of the center console below the power outlet. the panel is held in by a metal strap which i drilled a hole in and ran one of the rca's through. i cut a piece of sheet metal the size of the panel and super glued it to the back of the plastic panel for strength. i installed the power inverter in the center console (hopefully it doesnt get too hot in there), wired it up to the 110v receptacle, and now i have a port to plug a game console into. power, 2 audio rca's & 1 video rca. everything went well with the exception of when i was cutting the back of the console, the wheel on the dremel snapped and now i have a lovely scratch in the plastic. i removed the passengers seat, seat belt, and trim to run the rca's from the back of the console up to the dvd player. ill post pics, hopefully today or tomorrow.

[3rdrow]

pics of the panel and the inverter in the center console.