2nd week ownership of my sprinter, finally got time to finish installing a JVC KWNT3HDT nav unit, and a 1000W pure sine wave inverter. Just wanted to share my experience. Owning small personal vehicles in the past wiring is always a pain in terms of install aftermarket units. The Sprinter have a ton of space in the dash board it was very easy to work on. The toughest part for the whole job was the b-pillar trim and the seat belt height adjuster.
I used the Axxess XSVI-1784-NAV adapter which provided all the leads needed for the nav unit. Here's what I see from this adapter:
- 12v constant, switched and ground leads - works
- Illumination lead - works but does not respond to dimmer changes. There is a seperate dimmer lead but I'm not sure how to hook it up.
- Vehicle speed lead - works
- Reverse gear lead - works
- Handbrake lead - did not use so I don't know.
- power antenna lead - works I guess. I hooked it up just in case.
- Speaker leads - works
- Amplifier turn on lead - did not use
Very easy to use without much issues, even it was for 07-08 Sprinters. I wanted to get the steering wheel adapter too but both Axxess and PAC don't have one for the 2011 Sprinters yet. Now I think about it, should I try the steering wheel interface even the Axxess rep said it won't work?? I installed the rear view camera on the top of the driver side rear door to get a higher view in the back, ended up getting a Pioneer camera instead. I put a Y-adapter for the camera feed so it will supply to both the reverse gear as well as AV-IN so I can use it as a rear view monitor when I drive (grounded the handbrake cable so I can use the nav in motion). Worked like a charm.
The JVC unit is awesome. Fastest starting time (like 16 secs) and the nav response is fast. I looked at Pioneer and Kenwood and they aren't even close (Kenwood's Garmin interface was disappointing). Comes with HD radio and plugs ipod/phone right in with a standard USB cable, no need to pay for another special cable. The only thing was the screen resolution, weren't the best, but does the job. Sound wise it's a bit better than the Sound 5. I want to improve it but it's just too much work to sound proof the van. I put a personal message on the unit to remind me to turn off the inverter, so every time I pull the key out it will say the message. No accidental battery drain now.
While working on the wiring, I hard wire the power supply for the radar detector. I put the GPS sensor on the passenger dashboard, but I wasn't sure if my heated windshield will interfere. Glad to say both navigation GPS and radar GPS works just fine. Also added a clip on wide angle rear view mirror to get a better rear view.
Overall happy with the progress so far. Now I'm waiting for my mobility vendor to put a under vehicle lift and harness anchors in. Then I can take my daughter to places.
I used the Axxess XSVI-1784-NAV adapter which provided all the leads needed for the nav unit. Here's what I see from this adapter:
- 12v constant, switched and ground leads - works
- Illumination lead - works but does not respond to dimmer changes. There is a seperate dimmer lead but I'm not sure how to hook it up.
- Vehicle speed lead - works
- Reverse gear lead - works
- Handbrake lead - did not use so I don't know.
- power antenna lead - works I guess. I hooked it up just in case.
- Speaker leads - works
- Amplifier turn on lead - did not use
Very easy to use without much issues, even it was for 07-08 Sprinters. I wanted to get the steering wheel adapter too but both Axxess and PAC don't have one for the 2011 Sprinters yet. Now I think about it, should I try the steering wheel interface even the Axxess rep said it won't work?? I installed the rear view camera on the top of the driver side rear door to get a higher view in the back, ended up getting a Pioneer camera instead. I put a Y-adapter for the camera feed so it will supply to both the reverse gear as well as AV-IN so I can use it as a rear view monitor when I drive (grounded the handbrake cable so I can use the nav in motion). Worked like a charm.
The JVC unit is awesome. Fastest starting time (like 16 secs) and the nav response is fast. I looked at Pioneer and Kenwood and they aren't even close (Kenwood's Garmin interface was disappointing). Comes with HD radio and plugs ipod/phone right in with a standard USB cable, no need to pay for another special cable. The only thing was the screen resolution, weren't the best, but does the job. Sound wise it's a bit better than the Sound 5. I want to improve it but it's just too much work to sound proof the van. I put a personal message on the unit to remind me to turn off the inverter, so every time I pull the key out it will say the message. No accidental battery drain now.
While working on the wiring, I hard wire the power supply for the radar detector. I put the GPS sensor on the passenger dashboard, but I wasn't sure if my heated windshield will interfere. Glad to say both navigation GPS and radar GPS works just fine. Also added a clip on wide angle rear view mirror to get a better rear view.
Overall happy with the progress so far. Now I'm waiting for my mobility vendor to put a under vehicle lift and harness anchors in. Then I can take my daughter to places.
