Gramps 05 GXL

[Gramps]

My terminals are on a 45 degree angle. That allows for the depth of the socket + terminals + cable.
Get the treminals in the right spot and you'll be ok.

Why is it I can't remember what I had for breakfast last Wednesday but I can remember what I did on the Prado a couple of months ago???

[D4D]

Thanks Gramps, I was hoping you weren't going to say that.

How much room is in the cavity? I might try a surface mount socket instead and run some wire up via coat hanger.

[craigm]

Not a bad recollection of steps to be taken there Gramps....
Cheers!


Sent from my iPhone thingy

[Gramps]

This is my next mod, how do you get that back piece off the centre console?

Right, going from memory it's not too hard.
You have to remove the center console first by taking off the 2 pieces of silver trim.
Take off both gear selector knobs and unzip handbrake boot.
Open console lid and lift center peice up, don't forget to unclip the white plug on the underside of the console.
Lift the rubber 'floor' from the bottom of the console to expose 2 screws. Undo these and lift console out. There may be a couple of screws (gold colour) to undo. These hold the sides of the console in place and are located beside the gear selector.
Turn console over and there are 4 screws holding the back plate. Once you undo these, the plate should prise off.
You will have to spread the terminals of the socket to allow for the plate to be re-installed.
Don't forget to redo the white clip when putting everything back together.

That's a rough guide, I think the Grande will be a little trickier but good luck with it.

[Gramps]

Nice work Dan
Should keep the critters out of her teeth.
Cheers
Troy

Thanks Troy.

[craigm]

Spent a couple of hours this afternoon finishing off my 12v sockets.

Up until now, I had just connected 2 sockets in the rear of the centre console but having 3 kids means that someone had to wait when they were both in use. Since I had previously run two power feeds to the centre console, I just had to hook into the unused one. I didn't pay attention to the new socket when I bought it so it wasn't until I was ready to fit it in place that I realised that the rubber cover was different. Really doesn't look out of place when you're in the back seat as the lighting and the angle of the socket pretty much hides the difference.

This is my next mod, how do you get that back piece off the centre console?

X2. Having a Grande with the Fridge Cooler in there will most likely make it tricky also...

[foxclan]

Nice work Dan
Should keep the critters out of her teeth.
Cheers
Troy

[D4D]

Spent a couple of hours this afternoon finishing off my 12v sockets.

Up until now, I had just connected 2 sockets in the rear of the centre console but having 3 kids means that someone had to wait when they were both in use. Since I had previously run two power feeds to the centre console, I just had to hook into the unused one. I didn't pay attention to the new socket when I bought it so it wasn't until I was ready to fit it in place that I realised that the rubber cover was different. Really doesn't look out of place when you're in the back seat as the lighting and the angle of the socket pretty much hides the difference.

This is my next mod, how do you get that back piece off the centre console?

[Gramps]

Insect Screen

Ticked off another mod this afternoon. All up it cost me $15 for an offcut of shade cloth, 1.5m of bungy cord and 4 guy rope hooks.

It took around 30min to cut and hem the shade cloth, I used some fishing line to hem it as it's strong and uv resistant. All that's left to do is cut out for the driving lights and hem those holes.

[Gramps]

Lastly, this shot shows once the awning is rolled up and how the socket sits nicely below everything. You can just make out the plug to the right of the black retaining strap.
I purposely bought 2 short lengths of LED's so that I could store and mount the connector between them without anything rubbing.

Now I just have to wait till dark and check the output of the LED's.

[Gramps]

Here you can see the finished product. Also, the curly cord then runs to the rear of the center console where it plugs into 1 of 3 power outlets.
I can unplug the curly cord when finished and store it until next time.

[Gramps]

Awning LED's

After seeing others complete this mod, I decided it was time I did the same thing.
Picked up 2 Narva 30cm super bright LED strips and waterproof connector from Jaycar and used a curly cord power socket I had sitting in the shed.

In the 1st shot you can see were I installed them, and the 2nd is the curly cord with the waterproof female connecter.

[Gramps]

Didn't realise that I had not updated the fact that I got the reverse camera working the next day. Turned out to be a setting in the menu that activated the camera when reverse is selected. Now, it works every time.
As you can see, I installed the flush mount camera in the rear bumper above the towball. Very easy to hitch up the trailer now.

[Gramps]

Pioneer DAB+ Stereo

Installation took the best part of a day and it's all been plug and play. Everything except the reverse camera was connected and worked without a hitch (no AM reception though which confuses me).

This afternoon I installed the reverse camera in the bumper above the towball. Wish I could say how good it was, but it doesn't seem to want to work. I knew it was going too easy when I found the reverse wire in the passenger footwell on the 2nd attempt. I took a power feed from the reverse light which was only reading 5 volts max. Me thinks this is my problem.

Below is a couple of shots of the screen and the digital radio antennae.

[Gramps]

Pioneer DAB+ Stereo

Bought myself a present yesterday. I was sick of house renovations, so I thought I needed a little distraction.

Digital Radio, Reverse Camera, DVD/CD, Bluetooth, iPhone and AUX which will be used for a forward facing camera later on. I didn't need a GPS unit as I've already purchased a unit from Iantz.