3rd Gen Japanese Navigation system experiments

[rkrenicki]

This is just a place for my observations and musings about my latest tinker toy.. a Subaru FM Multiplex Navigation System from a JDM BH5. I really have no long term plan for this other than to tinker with it, and perhaps it will end up in one of my cars at some point.

Here it is fresh out of the box from the slow boat from Japan.


After poking around the JDM wiring diagrams for a bit, I figured out how to power it up. I am greeted with its "System Checking" screen.


I have not translated this yet, but I assume is the whole "dont use this while driving" warning.


There is a DVD already in it. Subaru Navigation System DVD ROM Ver 9.0.


Unfortunately, there are a number of scratches on the disc. I am not sure if this is the cause, or if the DVD drive itself is toast.. but after a few minutes of it trying to read the disc, I am presented with this error. Loosely says "Please check the disc":



That is all I have so far, I figured it was a feat in and of itself that I managed to get it to power on. I did get my hands on an older Navigation DVD ROM (Version 1.0) which came in my last package, but I had put it in my storage unit so it will need to wait until tomorrow for me to try the system with that disc.

[Odycee]

1. You must learn Japanese quickly!
2. CD ROM GPS map is for Japan.
3. Having fun dicking with it.

[Dead91silvia]

Good work Gandalf! Now make it English and mapped in the USA... haha

[Yamazaki]

I removed the GPS/Nav system out of the S401 because it was useless. The DVD player only recognized region 2 disks (Japan), and the TV receiver was analog, so I couldn't watch any TV either. Since that system was newer than what you are tinkering with, I have a feeling you have your work cut out for you.

[rkrenicki]

I doubt I could ever get the navigation system itself to function, as it does not use GPS for location...

It uses a system called VICS, which uses FM Beacons that are embedded in the NHK Broadcast stations. Since the closest NHK FM station is about 6,750 miles (or nearly 11,000km) away.. I do not think I will be able to pick any up. heh.

What I am more interested in is the environment controls portion of this system. They look like this: (not my picture)

[Yamazaki]

That's all covered in the owners manual. That is the one that has the heated side mirrors with it.

[rkrenicki]

I have the pieces needed for it, the HVAC control panel, the HVAC computer, the Navi itself, and the clarion CD/MD player that the navi is dependent on.

Unfortunately, I have none of the required connectors for any of it. I just found out that the HVAC computer has the same connectors as a 1999 Toyota Corolla's ECU, and the switch panel uses the same connector as the Toyota Land Cruiser navigation system.. so I just need to find them at the pick and pull and snag some of the wiring from these cars.

[Grimmrican]

Good ol junkyards lol. This is gonna be a project. U know ill be around checking out the exclusives lol

[rkrenicki]

I managed to get my hands on the connectors for the HVAC computer. I pulled them out of a Prius, heh.

I thought I had found the right connectors for the Navi and the HVAC Control Panel, but the 20 pin connector I picked up was the incorrect one (too short in one direction), and the one for the Navi was 14 pin instead of 12 pin.. so it was too wide, heh.

EDIT: Ah, I found them. They are TE 040 Series Multi-lock connectors, part numbers 174047-2 (20 pin) and 174045-2 (12 pin)

In other news, I think that the DVD drive portion may be bad. I am not sure if I can get to the HVAC graphics without the Navi fully loaded.. but once the connectors get here and I get the panels wired together.. I will give it a try.

[Grimmrican]

This guy..... Smh. Ur scary lol

[hansvonaxion]

I doubt I could ever get the navigation system itself to function, as it does not use GPS for location...

It uses a system called VICS, which uses FM Beacons that are embedded in the NHK Broadcast stations. Since the closest NHK FM station is about 6,750 miles (or nearly 11,000km) away.. I do not think I will be able to pick any up. heh.

Actually VICS is only road and traffic information, not for location.

[rkrenicki]

Huh, everything I have found says it uses VICS, but it is just the internets.. Either way, it does not really matter since it is not actually GPS, and therefore unusable for navigation for me.

I should have the last two connectors I need to actually hook these 4 boxes together by the end of the week, so I hope to have some more progress at that time.

[hansvonaxion]

Mine has VICS and GPS, are you sure it doesn't use GPS? VICS uses 3 types of transmission, one having only 70m range and the FM broadcast sending information only every 2.5min which doesn't seem very suited to positioning.

http://www.vics.or.jp/english/vics/index.html

There was a guy in NZ fiddling with a Japanese nav (can't remember the version), he used a local DVD and had maps etc, just wasn't able to search routes.

[rkrenicki]

There is no connector on the Navi unit that would be suitable for a GPS antenna.. however there are a few unaccounted for data connectors. Which I had assumed were external A/V inputs for the TV Tuner module (which I do not have)

It is very possible that there would be an external module that is a GPS receiver that passes location data over NEMA or some other generic protocol to the Navi display. If that is the case, then I do not have that particular module...

[hansvonaxion]

I see, makes sense.

Pretty sure it isn't VICS though, yesterday I took note of the update time on the VICS display and it dropped at least 10min behind actual time, you can travel a lot in 10min!

[Shiv]

Interesting project. That is one fancy Climate Control display!

Are there any inputs for a reverse camera?

I have a JDM brochure which details the features of this unit but its all in Japanese so I can't read it, haha....

[rkrenicki]

There is one yellow RCA on the back, and two data conectors. One is a DIN style connector, and the other looks just like the connector used by Alpine for its Ai-Net.

I know that it is not Ai-Net, because these are made by Clarion and have CeNET connectors on them.

[drwhovickery]

I just picked up a 2000 Legacy Gt wagon here in Japan that has this unit.




I am on a quest to find Japanese maps in English (or at least have it in Romani)

You find anything about that? Or is there an option?

[rkrenicki]

Some slight progress. The replacement DVD Navi unit does work properly and already has a map DVD in it, but I do not have the HVAC unit responding properly yet.

Fun fact: The last location on the "new" unit was near Kochi City.


I figured out how to get the HVAC display to show up, but the HVAC unit is still not up and responding. That is my next tinkering step..

[Dead91silvia]

This is cool stuff! Makes me want to get a JDM 3rd gen just so I can have cool stuff like this to make people go "?!"... haha

[benlevy]

Hi guys,

I'm new here and I am also new to subaru, but guess what, I just bought a legacy 2002 and it came with this really cool, yet annoying, nav system.. and if you wounder, there are still being sold from user to user with the "feed me a disc" warning message. And after a long search on the internet, i found many people asking the same question "how do i get read of it" and not many interesting solutions... until i found you. So what have you been able to achieve? Has any one found a place where it was possible to get the DVD for at least getting read of the warning message? and have one of you guys actually been able to have it read a dvd?!?

[Muse]

The DVD player only recognized region 2 disks (Japan)

If you think that'll stop Mr. Yahoo auctions japan, over here, you're sorely mistaken, ha ha.

[rkrenicki]

Unfortunately, the Navigation system (made by Clarion) that I have here does not play movies at all. The one that was in the S401 was a very different (made by Kenwood) and much more advanced unit (DVD playback, TV tuner, etc).

As for how I got it to work.. I didn't make it work. I actually bought another unit with a functioning DVD-ROM drive. It seems that the DVD-ROM drives are prone to failure in these units. The second unit I have read both Navi ROM discs on the first try.

[Fuga350GT]

Wow - such an old post - I just bought a 2000 BH5 GTB etune from japan auction to import to the states. The photos from the USS auction had me like WTF is that large screen with the miniature AC control unit buttons - but this is definitely whats in there, along with the McIntosh headunit. Seems like this this is a climate control + GPS option that will not work outside of Japan, at least the GPS part of it.

are there any other resources/info I can learn about this unit? Was this an optional feature/upgrade when bought new?