BT45 TOY Install (1 Viewer)

[Red Beard]

I think there are a handful of threads on this exact topic but this is one of my first upgrades to my LC and I wanted to try doing a post about it. I couldn't seem to get my iPhone 11 with the latest iOS to work with the handsfree interface, so the BT45 was perfect.

I also wanted to give my phone a nice spot to live where I can easily see while driving without getting in the way. I went with the mount from proclip listed below. I'm really impressed with it and it keeps my phone glued to its spot. Yes, it blocks the vent a little but I don't mind because I love the placement.

Project: Install the USA Spec BT45 TOY Bluetooth adapter for music and phone.

EDIT (12/30/20): Just adjusted the overview steps and changed the process for attaching the mic.

Time: ~1.5hrs
- It took me around 2.5 hours because I was figuring stuff out. I originally thought I would send the mic wire down the driver side, but I ended up changing late to go down the passenger side.

Parts:

• USA Spec BT45 TOY- $152.83 on Prime
  • Includes harness to hook into the back of your radio and a mic for the phone
  • USA Spec site's product page for more info. Costs $100 more for the same product on there.
• USB Extension Cable 9 feet
  • Probably don't need 9 feet, but its what I had, I think. I had it laying around.
• iPhone usb charging cable
• Proclip Center Mount - $29.99
• Scosche MagicMount XL- $24.99
  • Proclip makes clips for mounts and then you select which mount you want to pair with it. I have an iPhone 11 Pro, and this is what was recommended to me on their site.
  • The MagicMount comes with a magnet you can put on your phone or in your case like I did.
  • You can replace the silver edge with a black one. I changed it to the black one so its less eye catching when not in use.
  • If you are going to use the ProClip + MagicMount, the MagicMount uses supplied 3M tape to attach to the mount and needs time to properly set. I attached this to the mount first to let it set. I probably let it set for ~3 hrs and it doesn't budge. They give you an alcohol prep pad to clean the mount too.
• Black wire wraps - Currently unavailable, but amazon has tons of these types of products for cheap. I think mine were $9.

Tools:
Trim Removal Tools - $5.99 on Prime
10mm Nut Driver - $10 at Ace Hardware
Philips Screwdriver

Notes:

• Brady Adventures video is great on how to remove the trim around the nav!
• For my 2006 Nav LC, I went with the SAT DIP setting (ON, ON, ON, OFF) and it shows Song, Artist, and shows a little bit of the Album. I've only used it for Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
• If you're going with the pro clip mount I put the magnet inside my iPhone's case at the bottom so the phone can sit higher on the mount.

Overview

1. Pop off side vents
2. Remove radio and attach harness
3. Test unit and DIP settings
4. Route harness to behind the glovebox area
5. Route USB extension cable to glovebox area
6. Set DIP setting and place BT45 behind glove box, attach supplied harness and usb cable.
7. Tape mic inside of overhead console
   Use the screw from the factory mic to fasten the mic
8. Run mic wire along headliner, down passenger a-pillar, down alongside dash, and then into glove box. Attach to BT45
9. Put everything back together and attach pro clip.

Now, more more detailed steps and photos!

The final product:

 

[Red Beard]

First step was to remove the vents and radio. Like I said above, the Brady Adventures video is super helpful to get an idea of what to expect!

Placing the trim tools like this seem to work the best. This after I popped it off but I took this photo to capture what I did that worked.

Vents off. Now I used the 10mm nut driver to remove the 4 10mm bolts holding the radio in. I approximated where they are in this photo below.

The radio seemed to pop out from the top with a decent amount of force. No trim tools needed here.

The back of the system. The bottom is where we're going to be working.

 

[Red Beard]

Harness attached. This is a good time to test your DIP settings! I used the SAT settings (ON, ON, ON, OFF) - haven't tried the others. From the official manual: (PDF here)

SAT seems to work for me, it shows song title, artist, and a little bit of the album:

I have to tap TEXT to get this view. Otherwise, you see the normal SAT homepage:

I routed the wires towards the glove box for later. The crappy red line gives you a tiny idea of what I did.

 

[CurbsEnthusiasm]

Nice install. I’m getting ready to purchase my 2nd bt45, as the one in my truck died after 2 years.

 

[Red Beard]

Popped off the overhead console. First was to remove that screw. Then use your trim tool to lightly pop it down from the top. You'll see the clips in the next photo. It needs a decent amount of force.

Factory mic in factory location. I started to loosen the clip but wanted to snap a photo so thats why the metal clip looks a little loose. Normally that thing is snug.

My plan is to place the BT45 Mic where the factory mic was. First, I moved the factory mic to the right side. It looked like that the left and right side mirror each other. I'm sure for Right Hand Drive LC's, the mic goes there. So I put it there just in case I get handsfree to work in the future? I don't know, just felt good to put it over there. I used that clip and install the factory mic on the right.

The factory mic clip in the right hand drive side. Ok, enough talking about this, its pretty unimportant.

BT45 Mic in the factory location. I used hockey tape to secure it to the top of the map light. Really high tech. Gorilla tape might be a better option.

Now, the overhead console slits for the mic does have a little screen behind the slits which probably helps dampen the mic a little (?) but I chose to keep the supplied mic foam as well. I really haven't made any meaningful calls yet but my wife said she could hear me just fine it just sounds like I'm talking through a car mic. I'll report back. Since the overhead console is easy to take off, I can always adjust this.

 

[Red Beard]

This was the tricky part. I was able to pull the headliner behind the overhead console down just enough to fit the end of the mic through (forgot to mention that in the previous post. ) Here's what the wire looked like when I initially got it in there.

At this point, I tucked the wire up into the headliner and went down towards the passenger side. I popped off the "Oh sh**" handle by popping off the clips and unscrewing the phillips head fasteners in there. Then I loosened the A-Pillar trim.

Here is the DRIVER SIDE, but I ended up doing the passenger side after I couldn't get the mic wire behind the dash. But the process is the same.

NOTE: There is probably someone more experienced and smarter than I am that will pop in and say that you shouldn't be monkeying with the a-pillar trim because there are airbags in there (I'm assuming). So be careful. I had the battery connected during my install but your mileage may vary. I'm awaiting the roast session.

[[ I need to take more photos of where I routed the wire which I'll do later this week. But I can explain what I did.. ]]

EDIT 12/31/20: Here is where I snuck the wire in and under to the glove box:

I tucked the wire into the trim and then down the dashboard trim along the door. I thought I was going to have to remove the dash but I found a lined channel that I snuck the wire into. That wire went down and was routed into below the glove box, unseen.

 

[Red Beard]

First I removed the glovebox. There are two screws at the bottom and then it slides a bit out. You need to remove the restraining wire that slows the opening function of the glovebox before you can remove it. Its on the leftside.

Then there's a black panel behind that fastened with 3 screws. Remove those and then sneak one side out from behind the tan dashboard part. That piece has these "wings" that sneak behind the dashboard that help secure it.

With that stuff off, here's where I hid my BT45 device.

Here it is with just the Mic cord installed. You can see my mic cord all wrapped up in the black cable wrap.

The supplied harness and usb go along here. You can see my mic wire wrapped to a wire down below, but I moved that.

I wrapped up the extra USB wire here:

Attach all the wires to the BT45, stow that thing in that little spot I showed above. Make sure the DIP switches don't get moved. I didn't use any adhesive, the wires around it seem to keep it in place pretty well. I'm going to keep an ear out for any rattling.

The black panel and the glove back go back on and hide all that.

I think a handful of people mentioned putting the BT45 in the center console. I bet that space would work fine as well but I felt more comfortable working with removing the glovebox and it seemed like there was just enough space for it there.

 

[Red Beard]

I tucked the USB extension behind this panel above the gas pedal, and attached the Apple charge cord. I ran that cord a little bit up the panel to hold it into place and made sure it was long enough to just reach my phone with a tiny bit of slack.

I don't LOVE this, but it works for now. The USB powerline that the BT45 provides is great. It keeps me from having to use one of the cig adapters. Plus, I think its always on, so if you want to charge your phone without having to have the ignition on.

Here's a short video of me demonstrating the magnet strength of the MagicMount. Its the strongest I've ever come across.

They provide a metal piece that you can either glue to the outside of your case or phone or, you can place the piece inside your case. I have the Apple leather case with the clip inside the case, the mount is still very aggresive when taking hold of my phone. Its great. In my video I kind of flick the phone, but it really doesn't show the strength of the mount.

And it should be noted, I have the clip in the middle of the back of my phone. I like my phone propped up a little bit, so I need to move the clip down. That's why you see my phone slide a little bit when I place it up.

 

[94SRUNNER]

Very nice step by step.

 

[MarineOneCrewChief]

Good stuff, thanks for the tutorial. I'll be installing mine within the next couple of weeks and this will help out a lot.

 

[Red Beard]

Wanted to give an update. Since installing, I wanted to improve the charge cable that was strung oddly from below the dash.

Here is the updated charge cable, snuck through the upper dash panel. It's a coiled cord so it hides nicely and can extend if needed. Kinda makes it seem more utilitarian like a CB mic cord.

 

[Red Beard]

Also I wanted to revisit the mic in the overhead console since I just used hockey tape as a temporary solution.

On one notoriously bumpy road, my wife had a hard time understanding me, so I think it was because the mic was moving and the foam was rubbing on stuff around it.

I also found out that the "lapel clip" that comes with the mic is actually two pieces. So the the part that has the ball receiver for the bottom of the mic is actually detachable and has 2 screw holes. So I used one of the screw holes to attach it to the factory mounting point. Here it is now securely screwed in and no foam.

Sorry for the blurry pic but you can see the screw attached there.

 

[bubear]

great explanation. I’ve installed mine on LX 2001. The problem I’m having is a get Bluetooth audio and sound but rest of Nav system doesn’t work and I get message “check the air conditioner connection.” I’ve connected back factory wires and everything is ok so I know it isn’t one of the other Nav connectors. Could picking different DIP settings affect this? Only thing left I can think of

 

[ramangain]

great explanation. I’ve installed mine on LX 2001. The problem I’m having is a get Bluetooth audio and sound but rest of Nav system doesn’t work and I get message “check the air conditioner connection.” I’ve connected back factory wires and everything is ok so I know it isn’t one of the other Nav connectors. Could picking different DIP settings affect this? Only thing left I can think of

IIRC check for blown fuse(s) for that issue

 

[scrt80]

Nice install. I’m getting ready to purchase my 2nd bt45, as the one in my truck died after 2 years.

Sent you a PM.

 

[Madadder]

great write up @Red Beard !
I'm going outside now to start mine.
How did you feed the connector end of the mic through the headliner?
Thanks!
m

 

[Red Beard]

great write up @Red Beard !
I'm going outside now to start mine.
How did you feed the connector end of the mic through the headliner?
Thanks!
m

If I remember correctly, first I pushed the jack end through the back of the over head console to get the wire through.

After that, I just kept the jack end on the floor of the car with the rest of the mic wire loose and ready to work with.

You should be able to just push the wire up into the head liner. I had those plastic trim removers tools and those helped to push the wire up into the headliner, a little at a time. The headliner isn’t super tight so you should be able to sneak the wire in no problem.

I hope that helps! Good luck!

 

[Madadder]

If I remember correctly, first I pushed the jack end through the back of the over head console to get the wire through.

After that, I just kept the jack end on the floor of the car with the rest of the mic wire loose and ready to work with.

You should be able to just push the wire up into the head liner. I had those plastic trim removers tools and those helped to push the wire up into the headliner, a little at a time. The headliner isn’t super tight so you should be able to sneak the wire in no problem.

I hope that helps! Good luck!

thanks!
i got the toy mounted last night, it's playing great!
i too used your dip combo for sat on my 06LC.
got too tired to do the mic, but gonna knock it out shortly!
excellent guide!

 

[GTS550]

How did you run the USB charge extension cord from the glove box area to the driver’s side footwell?

 

[Red Beard]

How did you run the USB charge extension cord from the glove box area to the driver’s side footwell?

Hey I'm just seeing this now, apologies for the late reply. With the glove box removed, you can feed the extension from the right of the radio area, behind the radio area, and then down into the footwell. There's a decent amount of space behind the radio/navigation. I kept the extra part of the extension coiled behind the glovebox.