Step by Step Scion HU t1819 HU install in LC Radio

[2fpower]

Ok, first off I don't consider myself very brave when it comes to playing with electronics. I can take a computer apart, but 50/50 if it will work afterwards. So with that brief introduction, with all the postings on MUD to install a Scion radio, I figured that I could do it. With the help of Rockjock82, SamStewart, and others too many to mention, I finally got mine working. Having said that, I wanted to post up more of a step by step manual to get one to work.

First off, why the t1819 unit. First off is made by pioneer, so it is good quality. It is available in late model 2011 and 2012 scions. It is found on clist and ebay for about $100 bucks. It has bluetooth, HD radio, iPod and data connection standard. If you buy most head units (HU), they are all "ready" which means you have to buy a $75 harness to complete the connection. On top of that it allows for handsfree phone if you add the microphone (here is the harness deal). It is Sat ready, I am not covering this part, as did not install myself.

Here is a link to the manual. http://www.scion.com/assets/pdf/audio/2012_Pioneer_Audio.pdf


Once you have this all installed, you now have a cool radio in your rig that no-one really wants to steal, because it is a factory radio!! one note here: I am looking to scrape off the scion label and put Toyota. If anyone has a cool idea how to do this, post up.

Ok, let's get started. First off is the buying. Search for t1819 on ebay. also look for pt546-00130 or t10004 or alcp-w13u pioneer. All these are different markings on the unit. If you can get this at a junkyard, try to get the wiring harness pieces. That will save you some serious money! Here is the search I would recommend.. copy and paste this on ebay (t1819,t10004,pt546-00130) also pioneer (2011,2012,2013)

I got mine shipped for about $80. Be patient, and keep watching otherwise you can spend $200 or more.

First off, they have this fancy new style of antenna. So you need to convert this back to the old style. Find this on amazon. Scosche lsaarb

To get the wireless speakerphone to work, you have to buy a couple wiring harnesses:

pt546-00120-ch (this is a 20 to 28 pin adapter that allows you to plug in the mic.
pt546-74120mc (this is a prius mic)

To use the usb, you need the pt546-00120-us

On the usb cable, you have a couple options. You can cut this brand new cable and wire it to a female usb cable, or you can order a dash connection from a tacoma or tundra. p/n 86190-0c020. If you want to do that you will need a "a" to "A" usb cable. find that cable on amazon or your local computer shop.

 

[2fpower]

As many posters have said, this is plug and play when you put in a Scion. Well, let's change that to pull, cut, cut some more, fit, refit and finally plug and play. So, let's get started taking the old radio out.

You will find two screws behind the ashtray and two more behind the little cubby above the radio. Use a flashlight and you will see the two little clips you have to pull to get this to slide out. Don't force it, it will come easy if you get the little clip pulled up.

At this point, the trim bezel should be ready to pull out. There are some friction clips that hold it in, so just pull easy and it should work out. Now, everything will come with it. The a/c, the antenna switch, everything, so be ready to unplug this stuff. Have a little pick ready to help. Set all this aside.

There are four 10mm bolts holding the radio in. Two on both sides. Pull this out. Then the radio should come out. You may have to pry the left side. Unplug the cables and antenna in the back and note on the harness on the back going up from the radio the two plugs you disconnected from the radio. One is white and one grey. Only one of these (grey) will be reused. if you look about 5 inches up on the harness, you will see another wiring plug. Mine was taped to the harness. You will need this other plug. The unused plug (white) is to the factory amp that we will not need. You will need to unplug the amp in a later step.

 

[2fpower]

Now comes the cutting. The scion radio is about 1 full inch wider than the original. It also is able to project forward through the trim, so you want to move it forward about 3/8 inch.

So, on the original radio, there were two mounts that attach to each side of the radio. These had the two 10mm bolts that you took out in the earlier step. Each have 4 10mm bolts take these out and keep for future use.

The new radio would accept this mount, but again, we want to move the radio forward. So, grind off the little mount fingers that align it and punch and cut new holes about 3/8 forward. See my pics below. First pic is factory. Second has holes and grinding, and final shows the difference from stock to adapted.

 

[2fpower]

now, it's time for trimming the bezel. First let me describe it as best as I can. When you look at the face of the stock radio/trim there is a flat section on both sides of about 1/4 inch and top and bottom of about 1/8 inch. all this goes away. Additionally, you have to take out more of sides.

 

[2fpower]

here is my finished size.

 

[2fpower]

more finished right side, top and bottom as this piece slopes. Note that this piece will ride to the right of the protruding radio, so you may be able to leave it a tad bit longer, maybe 1/8 inch and then pry it outward to fit the radio tight.

 

[2fpower]

Now, on the backside of the trim/bezel you need to trim off some of the bolt that holds the climate control in.

 

[2fpower]

You will also need to work on the HU, cutting about 3/4 of the trim on the top and bottom left side of the unit. I put the entire radio in a ziplock and taped the area I was cutting to keep debris out of the radio.

Let me explain better as the pic did not come out great. on the sides of the scion radio there are flat black plastic area that projects perpendicular to the unit outward. You have to cut off the area on the top and bottom left side so that you have room for the bolt that you cut above from the climate control and for room where the mount is that mounts the bezel to the dash.

 

[2fpower]

Ok, now for wiring....

Here is all the wires (except for the two existing grey connectors described earlier) and the radio wire.

In the second pic you can see the two plugs on the bottom left (when looking at the rear of the radio) where the factory harness will plug in.

 

[2fpower]

Ok, so let'd discuss the usb connection.

you start with that usb Toyota factory cable. Here is the end of the cable in the first picture.

Looking closely, it looks a lot like a usb cable connection and that is true, it is really close.

What I found on another board was that you can take a usb cord and easily adapt it to fit.

UPDATE: do not remove the metal housing from all the sides, as this is the ground/interference shield. What I read said to remove all but the bottom side. This may also help on the fitment.

 

[2fpower]

What I discovered was that when I cut the cable end in the second pic in the post above, it did not get a good enough connection. Here is the trick I found.... you have to raise the pins up a little to get a good connection. So, I raised the pins on the $5 cable and put a piece of electrical tape under them. THis gave me a great connection that I was not worried about getting loose over time.

Again, this method would make you not have to splice/solder any wires. Truly plug and play.

last picture is the stock dash toyota usb/data connection in.

 

[2fpower]

So, before I figured out the tape trick, I destroyed one end of my "a" to "a" cable, so I decided to just cut the factory usb cable adapter and solder in my half cable.

when going from the factory cable to a usb cable, solder the red to red, black to black, puple to white, green to brown.

In this case, I kept the "a" side on the opposite end that connected to my late model dash point of contact for my iPod or usb flash drive.

If you wanted to save $50 you could just get a "a" to "b" (female usb) cable and then mount that female side somewhere on the dash or glove box. I likely will do this next time unless I connect the data port on the toyota factory connection.

Notice that to test this out I used a $5 old usb stick instead of my IPOD or iPhone. think about it...

 

[2fpower]

Take out the glove box, or just pull the two pins out so it will swing down and then look the right side you should see the amp with two plugs. Pull the plugs, then put the glove box back in. No need to pull the amp, just unplug and push the wires to the side.





Here is what it should do.... kudos to Mr. David Grohl.

 

[2fpower]

Oh, I forgot. On the right side of the radio, the lower bolt is impossible to get to. I welded up a longer allen wrench and put in a cap screw.

 

[2fpower]

Now for the mic. I wanted it closer to the driver so I choose to mount it on the top left hand side pop out spot for switches on the trim/bezel piece. I just drilled a hole on the flat pop out and on the trim behind so as to not crimp the wire and that was done.

And here is where I mounted my remote ipod access. If I could do it again, I would not put it here. Too close of quarters with the shift mechanism.

 

[2fpower]

Now some details for the tech savvy...



T1819 radio connectors:
10pin connector:
1 -> front right +
2 -> front left +
3 -> ACC ignition +12V
4 -> battery +12V
5 -> front right -
6 -> front left -
7 -> ground
8 -> (antenna amplifier + output) now on antenna connector, you have to splice in here
9 -> amplifier control + output
10 -> illumination + input

6pin connector:
1 -> rear right +
2 -> rear left +
3 -> rear right -
4 -> telefone mute input, connect to ground to mute radio
5 -> illumination - input, connect to ground if not connected to rheostat (instument illumination dimmer)
6 -> rear left -

12pin connector CD changer, SAT, ...:
1 -> audio signal shield (ground) for pin2+3+4+5
2 -> audio R+ in
3 -> audio R- in
4 -> audio L+ in
5 -> audio L- in
6 -> mute in
7 -> ground
8 -> not used, unknown
9 -> AVC-LAN TX+
10 -> AVC-LAN TX-
11 -> ACC ignition +12V (I think it is an output, not 100% sure)
12 -> battery +12V (I think it is an output, not 100% sure)

 

[2fpower]

Antenna connector:
-> new style (similar to FAKRA connectors), dual antenna input, antenna amplifier + output (splice in 10pin connector pin8 or use adapter harness PT546-00120-AD)

28pin connector, replaces 20pin + 8pin connector on T1819:
1...28 -> to be figured out

2 RCA connectors:
-> pre-amp output for subwoofer, monoaural, L+R have the same signal, no fader/balance, master volume works, subwoofer level adjustable

 

[2fpower]

now information past what I did. On that factory toyota dash plug, there is usb connection and a data connection that looks like an old headphone jack. Here is what I found about it.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/au...reo-input-tacoma-aftermarket-head-unit-2.html


To hook this up first you need to get the following:

-R/C toy servo extension cable (you can get it at a hobby shop just ask for a servo extension cord)

This will allow you to connect to the toyota connection point under the usb cable.


with regards to the AUX cable mod, keep in mind that the Toyoto plug has 5 pins, but the cable you make will only have 3. Basically you are only using the 3 middle pins on the Toyota plug. CORRECTION: Use the 3 pins on the right side (looking from the back). The center one is red and you have a 50/50 chance of getting the other two correct. Make sure to test these buy plugging your headphones into the port and plug the MP3 player into the 3.5mm cable you make. Try flipping the little 3 pin molex connector around and see what it sounds like. One will be much better than the other.

 

[2fpower]

Let me know if there is anything that I did not cover, but this should get you on your way.

Oh, final pics.

 

[Dazrin]

How deep is the space behind the stock head unit? I have a Cobra 29 CB that I would like to install below (or above) a single DIN stereo. I know the Cobra is too wide (7.25") to fit without trimming, but it looks like it is narrow enough to fit with trimming. The problem is the depth, which is 8.63" plus the connections. I can probably move the connections around, but don't even want to tear into the dash if there isn't a chance.

Would it fit better above or below in the stock HU location? Either way could work for me.

/Sorry for the threadjack, but all the other threads I saw about CB installs like this were ancient and hoped you could shed some light since you have recent experience with this part of the dash.