Car audio gurus? Alpine ILX-107 car play

[NearJetties]

Purchased a 1998 LC over the summer with an Alpine ILX-107 wireless carplay. This install looks clean, has a great backup camera, and works really well.........except for the navigation.

It’s a well documented problem with this head unit if you get beyond the initial google results...of course I learned that after buying the car lol. The problem got marginally better with the iOS 13 iPhone update but still very glitchy.

I’m considering a new head unit but not sure what’s involved. Are the hookups proprietary or interchangeable between brands? What about the backup camera?

Any suggestions on replacements?

car audio noob here

 

[Jakes40]

Depends on how the original Installer did it. If he did it correctly (in my opinion) they would use a plug and play adapter from the head unit pigtail to the original LC plug. And you can reuse the plug and play adapter with some help from the inter webs. The backup cameras are mostly all the same I have not seen a different aftermarket one. It’s a RCA connection and a reverse input.
No real suggestion on a replacement just don’t go Chinese go name brand. I had an old JVC it was for the old IPhone plug so I didn’t use the Nav.

 

[TRFCSUX]

What he said, the aftermarket plug will be Land cruiser in one end and alpine on the other in this case. If you bought another alpine it would just plug in. If you buy another brand would prob need another plug. Look on Crutchfield. They have great info.
I maybe interested in the old alpine if it ends up extra

 

[NearJetties]

@TRFCSUX

would definitely be willing to pass on the old one for a fair price.

confirmed it looks like they used a harness....phew. For $25 crutchfield will pre-wire new connector to the new head unit. Sounds like I just swap out that and the other standard ports like rca for the camera. I’m looking at Pioneer and Kenwood.

I really like it but the nav is so frickin’ annoying. When it’s works it’s amazing.

 

[Felix]

I really like the Kenwood Excelon that I put in my 3rd gen 4Runner. Bigger screen since the CD slot is hidden behind it. It also lets you set the unit to default to any of 6 different screen angles. I can't picture the 100 series dash, but this really helps in the 4Runner because the DIN slot is low on the center stack.

 

[NearJetties]

I’m leaning towards the Kenwood Excelon DMX906S over other Kenwoods mainly because it has a capacitive touchscreen over resistive.

Kenwood Excelon DMX906S

Digital multimedia receiver (does not play CDs)

www.crutchfield.com

 

[JohnVee]

...because it has a capacitive touchscreen over resistive.

What's the difference between those two?

 

[NearJetties]

What's the difference between those two?

Capacitive doesn’t rely on pressure (uses your fingers conductivity). They’re more responsive, and higher resolution. It’s what an iPhone (and I assume most smartphones) has. Better at things like pinch and zoom.

Resistive is older tech and is what you’ll find in ATMs, self checkout lines, etc. I imagine they’re mostly fine in headunits these days but the capacitive isn’t that much more $. The pressure causes a voltage drop in the sensors layered in the screen.

 

[Jakes40]

I agree with you they are better tech. But like your cell phone it will not work with gloves on. I ran into this with a touch screen computer at a hospital I worked in it is something you don’t think you do until you do it.

 

[Felix]

I’m leaning towards the Kenwood Excelon DMX906S over other Kenwoods mainly because it has a capacitive touchscreen over resistive.

Kenwood Excelon DMX906S

Digital multimedia receiver (does not play CDs)

www.crutchfield.com

Mine is a similar unit. Only difference I think is that mine plays CDs. I didn’t care about the actual CD player - I just wanted the tilt screen.

You’ll be happy with it.

 

[NearJetties]

So I’ve been trouble shooting the ilx-107 nav and it finally seems to be workable now. Now I need to get rid of the alternator whine.

When the car was running with the stereo on and I was reinstalling the headunit the mounting screws caused distortion and crackling.....bad ground better despite being grounded through the harness.

A “new ground other than the factory with the harness is needed” is what I’ve found which makes sense. Do I ground the HU case to a good grounding spot behind the dash? Or do I splice in the ground wire on the headunit?

paging @emorth @TRFCSUX @Felix @Jakes40

 

[Jakes40]

I’d do both @emorth may flog me fo saying this. But Ground is ground. You can’t have to many. When in doubt do both.

 

[emorth]

The three most common noise problems are;
1. Conducted - noise caused by the alternator. ignition, etc. coming in via the power cable
2. Radiated - radio frequency noise (interference) caused by the alternator. ignition, etc. coming in via the antenna
3. Ground loops - noise caused by connecting the various components of the system to different ground locations that may be poor grounds

If it is a whine that changes frequency when the engine's RPMs change, then it is most likely conducted alternator noise.
If it is a hashy sounding noise, then it is most likely radiated interference. Very common in older vehicles with relays in the voltage regulator - lots of arcing.

A technique to attempt to determine if the noise is radiated or conducted is to connect the entire radio system to a separate battery which is not connected to the vehicle. This eliminates the conducted noise coming from the alternator, ignition, voltage regulator, etc. While connected to the separate battery, if there is no noise when the engine is running then the noise source is via the vehicle's power or ground cable. It there is noise, then it is radiated and coming in via the antenna. What Is the Difference Between Conducted & Radiated Emissions?

Ground loop noise occurs when different parts of the system are connected to different grounds that may not be well connected to each other. For example, the amplifier has big power & ground cable that runs to the battery and the dash unit is grounded to a body part that is sitting on a rusty frame. Getting Rid of Ground Loops

If connecting everything to good grounds doesn't fix the problem, then filters have to be installed at the noise source (alternator, ignition, etc.) or at the power source to the audio system.

How is it currently connected? What is the power source(s) and where are the ground(s)?

 

[emorth]

One more thought. If the alternator has one bad diode, it will create a lot of noise without creating any very noticeable charging problems/symptoms. The easiest way to diagnose this condition is with an oscilloscope to look at the output of the alternator. The bad diode will cause the alternator to output a negative spike per revolution which can be the source of the audio system's noise.

 

[NearJetties]

I’ll have to double check the power source but pretty sure it’s through the original radio harness and not tapped in anywhere.

It’s definitely conducted as whine is perfectly in tune with RPM changes. Or I have a supercharger now

time to bust out the multimeter and find some good grounds

thanks @emorth @Jakes40 !


Behind the scenes:

 

[NearJetties]

Revisiting this thread. The Alpine ILX107 has been working great since I got the bugs worked out.

I did reduce the humidity quite a bit using a capacitor. My alternator eventually went out and it went away almost completely with the new alt.

100 series forum recommends bypassing the factory amp to fully get rid of it. So I took on that project recently mainly to make room under the front seat to mount a ham radio.

….well I’ve created a new problem for myself. Details starting at post #18
Post in thread 'Bypassing Factory AMP (For idiots)'
Bypassing Factory AMP (For idiots) - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/bypassing-factory-amp-for-idiots.1225782/post-15815981

Long story short. It works but the volume is so low you can barely hear it.

I’ve been reading all the threads I can find on it and this quote may be a key (I’m using RCAs) but I don’t exactly know what they mean. There don’t seem to be other speaker outputs.

Duncan - exactly right. The RCA's at the head unit are low level outs no speaker outs (to clarify) Be mindful of wire colors at Head unit end. As MXN said a few cruisers have been different connectors, but wire colors are consistent.

Make sure at the amp end you tie the power wires etc together as I describe in my blog.

Post in thread 'Radio replacement / bypass amp'
Radio replacement / bypass amp - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/radio-replacement-bypass-amp.638220/post-8989879

Edit: think I figured it out

Use these with no amp:

Not these:

 

[jht3]

correct, you want to use the Alpines internal amp. so you must use the speaker-level outputs as those carry an amplified signal.
if you have an external amp, then you'd use the RCA's. they are an UNamplified signal.

not even sure how you drove the speaker w/ RCA's. some sort of adapter? didnt' click those links you sent.

the Sony i have in my 80 series is connected to factory wiring with an adapter harness, from Crutchfield or the like. factory amp is bypassed this way, and the speakers are driven by the Sony. An improvement is to put in an external amp, and drive the speakers w/ that, but this is good enough.

 

[NearJetties]

correct, you want to use the Alpines internal amp. so you must use the speaker-level outputs as those carry an amplified signal.
if you have an external amp, then you'd use the RCA's. they are an amplified signal.

not even sure how you drove the speaker w/ RCA's. some sort of adapter? didnt' click those links you sent.

the Sony i have in my 80 series is connected to factory wiring with an adapter harness, from Crutchfield or the like. factory amp is bypassed this way, and the speakers are driven by the Sony. An improvement is to put in an external amp, and drive the speakers w/ that, but this is good enough.

this did fix my issue. It was previously wired with the RCAs through the factory amp. I didn’t realize there were two different sets of outputs.

It sounds so much better without the factory amp

 

[Jakes40]

Maybe I need to do this on my wife’s Tacoma with JBL audio.