I do specifically remember that Leonard and I took good notes with your advice. My question to lfabio and our conversation are right in line with a wiring project I am looking for finalize at the same time as the Android head unit is installed.

No worries Y2KW57. If my posts are moved or my threads go off topic, I do not mind and will not protest. I feel that the free flow of information is a good thing, especially in a social setting such as this one. I appreciate the broad knowledge base that this community brings to my living room on a daily basis.

 

Change of plans... SIL went into labor just past midnight this morning and a healthy baby boy was born at 12:14 PM today. Both mom and baby are healthy and we are grateful!

So, we are no longer traveling to TN for logistical support and babysitter duty for our niece.

That said, we started celebrating by cracking beers open a couple hours ago. Now, we are getting ready for the projects that we had planned for when we return from TN. I have some things to send off to another FTE'r and his boys, insulation to install in the basement, Triax oil to buy from Bitterroot (thanks again jstihl/Jason) and get started on some wiring projects for the truck and lastly the Android head unit install.

More to follow in the coming days and I am looking forward to having the truck in the garage and the winter of 2021 projects completed.

 

Truck was put into the maintenance bay (garage) this morning just after sunrise.



Cleaned the workbench in the garage after several months of piling up projects and "round-to-its".



Starting to gather my parts and pieces to perform winter maintenance tasks, some wiring upgrades and the Android Head unit install.

I plan to take my time with this, but will update my progress for those interested on a regular basis and as the work is being completed.

I am very much looking forward to wireless charging of my phone and having Google Maps and FORScan in the dashboard.

 

Don't try and call that garage messy by any stretch....if you want nightmares, someday I'll post up photo's of MY "Maintenance Bay". It's a Horror Show!

 

Sous- I tend to agree with coax9952, that garage is clean. I think you would cringe if I posted photos of my shop. Looking forward to see pics/progress of the Android head install as I would like to do a similar install in my Excursion.

Rob

 

Well fellas, how does the saying go...

A clean workspace is a sure sign of a demented mind...

I have been out all morning bush hogging and clearing brush before the spring sun starts to rise on our property. So much easier to remove it when it is dead and dry. As for the truck today, I think I will get to check the starter bolts, redo the screens for the axle vents and then maybe start to make a guard for the Racor. I need the truck on the 26th to pick up some insulation, so I don't want to make it undriveable before then.

I did get the Android unit out yesterday and hooked it up to my test 12v battery station. It still kept the background and settings even though it had been without power for about a month.

I have been messing around with "My Google Maps" a bit. The link is here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/

You can save waypoints, destinations or even routes of preference and call upon them from the Android head unit. Simply go to Google Maps on the head unit, then the menu and they are there under saved maps or something like that. I will document this process in the future for others to see and perhaps adopt if they so choose. This feature makes things very easy for me since I have two main maps with "way out camping" which is from WA state to just west of the Mississippi river and then "local camping" which is everything east of the Mississippi river.

I can use my laptop and plot a course based on what we want to do, then simply click and load the map on the head unit with a few button pushes.

Back to work now...

EDIT: Just received a call that the insulation is ready for pickup, going to get it now and the work on the truck can progress without further delay.

 

Not much progress today toward the Android head unit. I set the Jensen VX7020 back to factory settings and cleared the GPS/navigation memory. This way I can remove and list it in the marketplace quickly instead of having to hook it up to 12v power again.

I disconnected the batteries and wrapped them as I like to do with any other electrical project.

 

Sous... I've seen engine bays on new vehicle production assembly lines that were dirtier than your 21 year old engine bay. Look at the backlit shine on that thing! Are you expecting the county health inspector today? Do you cook with your PSD during the winter months?

--------------------

Disconnecting just the negative battery leads only, to both (or all) batteries is sufficient, and will reduce the number of stretch cycles on the battery clamps by 50%. To reduce battery clamp terminal stretch / fatigue cycling by 100%, consider battery quick disconnects on the negative terminals.

Once you install them, you'll wonder how you got along all these years without them, especially on a vehicle that is continuously tinkered with.

 

No sir, no health inspectors out in our neck of the woods...

If you like that picture, you will love this one... This is the engine bay of our 2008 Subaru Tribeca with 130,000 miles on it. I took this picture during the summer of 2020 I believe. Attention to detail is something that enables me and haunts me at the same time.



Coincidentally, this 2008 Subaru is EXACTLY the same exterior color as my 2000 F-250...

As for the battery disconnects, I know that removing the negative terminal from the circuit is enough, but I like to be extra sure. Once I install some new terminals on the battery cables (round-to-it task) I will consider the Y2KW57 breaker bar/disconnect method. Until then, I am saving my pennies for new Alliant injectors and a mini-LED 4K TV...

 

Look at the dust and dirt around the fasteners and vents on that front cover. You have a lot of work to do mister

You could literally eat off that thing

 

Eating off of it would dirty it up

Looking good look forward to the progress.


y2k, any specific brand you recommend for the battery disconnects? This would come in great handy on several vehicles of mine as well as my fathers equipment which all see intermittent use.

 

Dangit! I missed the dust in the fasteners... I'll be right back...

My attention to detail is a benefit at times and other times it is an obsession.

I too am pretty excited to get this head unit installed. We have enjoyed having Google Maps in our other vehicles, especially when traveling out west during inclement weather and there are road closures due to ice/snow or whatever. That will not likely be the case for the truck, but we never can tell.

As for the battery disconnects, I found these on Amazon after a quick search, but the ones @Y2KW57 has look more robust. Perhaps when he gets back to us, if they are still available I will buy a pair and have them ready to go for the next round of projects, next winter.

 

It is amazing to see all the "brands" that have proliferated in the past 10 years. And the names! "A Abigail" ? First letter to first word = A. First letter to second word = A. Second letter to second word = b.

This is like AAAAAA A 1 Service. Or to beat that in the alphabetic sorting hierarchy.... 1A Auto. Numbers come before letters.

In the old days, brand names were the namesake of the founders of the company... who ran their businesses to keep their good name. Or their name good.

Nowadays... it's all about the alphabet. It is no surprise that even Google renamed itself Alphabet, when creating it's parent company.

Anyways, sorry for the distraction, but what else can I say about a brand I've never heard of until today? Never seen A Abigail nor Amper, nor CZC Auto, nor LotFancy... never heard of any of 'em... but they all look like they knock off or resell a similar type of knife style disconnect. I can't say one way or the other whether they are better than or worse than or different than what I bought at a bricks and mortar autoparts store hanging on a peg in the wall about a dozen years ago. While I don't remember today what brand it was, unlike the brands above, the brand I bought was one that I readily recognized as a preeminent supplier of battery accessories, cables, and connector lugs.

I did have to disassemble it entirely and reconfigure it so that the hood would close without interference. I also chose a side terminal style instead of a post style, knowing that I would have several negative leads to the battery, not just one.

Keep in mind, I'm not recommending mine, or the ones shown on Amazon.

The battery disconnect that I recommend costs $300. Each. One day when my ship comes in...

 

 

Leonard, I searched for that cutoff switch and could not find one... Do you have a source?

Due to mini-LED TV's coming out this year and the possibility of buying 160/0 new Alliant injectors this year, my battery terminals will have to due as I cannot put my piggybank toward $600 in cut off switches. I looked close at the terminals and connectors this morning and they are showing very little to no signs of stretching or stress. So, I suspect that they will last another 20 years at this pace.

As for the head unit project, some headway was made this morning. We had thunderstorms last night starting at about 0300, so I was very unmotivated to get into the garage. I managed to find the motivation and get my lazy *** out there.

Pictures and descriptions below...




^^^ The is the dash camera I am removing/removed that has been in the truck for a good 4 or 5 years now. It is a 1080p camera with a 128GB microSD card in it. I am thinking of installing it in the Subaru, but have not decided yet.



^^^This is a side shot and somewhat a profile image of the dash kit that I bought years ago to go with the VX7020. You can see how far back in the dash bezel it sits. The forward most part of the curved bezel just meets the end of the dash bezel when installed properly. I am going to use the BWST and SSJ method of installing the Android head unit and bring the stereo further forward a bit.



^^^There was a question earlier in the thread about 500 posts back about the mounting location of the GPS antenna. This is the duct that runs parallel to the dashboard surface and perpendicular to the head unit as you face it. The GPS antenna was affixed to the top of the vent with double sided foam tape. I plan to install the Android head unit GPS antenna and WiFi antenna in the same place. This spot worked well during cross country travel while using the navigation.



^^^This is all of the equipment I removed. From left to right there is the Jensen VX7020, GPS antenna, dash camera, dash cam hardwire kit, variable time delay relay for the dash camera. The dash camera would sometimes throw a fit if I waited too long for the glow plugs. I suspect on a gasoline engine/ignition there would be no need for the delay relay. Out of the image is the microphone for the VX7020.



^^^Solder sleeves can very useful and helpful, but they can also be a pain in the ***. I FINALLY found a good setting on my heat gun that allows for the solder to melt and not burn the heat shrink sleeve. I marked it with a silver Sharpie and will probably etch a line in there tomorrow. Using the heat deflector discussed earlier made the job much easier, thank you for the idea Leonard.



^^^This is the removed OEM harness adapter now mated to the ATOTO A6 harness. The fuse holder sticking out the side of the wire loom is accessory 12v to the rear view camera. This allows me to run the video cable and the power wire all the way from the front the dashboard to the camera mounted to the rear bumper. This method allows me to switch to the rear camera view at any speed, in any direction and at any time as long as the ignition is on. I prefer it this way, especially with my ZF6 manual transmission. Also, to the right of the wire harness is the solder sleeves I used in order to attach the wires together. The accessory 12v wire got an extra dose of adhesive lined heat shrink just because.

More to come tomorrow after a (hopefully) successful launch of SN9 today.