EC Off Road CarPlay/Android DIY Install for 2016 Land Cruiser (1 Viewer)

[dnh1]

Touché Screem..... not inspiring confidence in their product.

Great write up!

I’m not sure being able to speak English is a prerequisite to building quality electronics. Or Land Cruisers.

 

[RobW0]

Very detailed. Thank you for this. I am interested in this unit. Do you ( @DomSmith ) have plans to see if you can connect an OBD II dongle to the android interface. I would be interested in this functionality to display transmission info and such while towing.

 

[DomSmith]

Hey Rob that’s my plan but I’m new to the android scene. I did buy a VeePeak OBDCheck BLE dongle before heading out of town last week and confirmed it worked with one of the free apps available for iOS on my iPhone. Next step is to sort out connectivity to this Android unit and which app to use. Leaning towards the torque pro but that’s just from surfing the forums.

Maybe @greynolds or some others with more knowledge/seat time with this can confirm. I will try to tackle that in the next few days if I have time.

There very well could be more functionality conversation going on at the other thread too. I will post up over there once I sort it out.

 

[RobW0]

Hey Rob that’s my plan but I’m new to the android scene. I did buy a VeePeak OBDCheck BLE dongle before heading out of town last week and confirmed it worked with one of the free apps available for iOS on my iPhone. Next step is to sort out connectivity to this Android unit and which app to use. Leaning towards the torque pro but that’s just from surfing the forums.

Maybe @greynolds or some others with more knowledge/seat time with this can confirm. I will try to tackle that in the next few days if I have time.

There very well could be more functionality conversation going on at the other thread too. I will post up over there once I sort it out.

I will look forward to your comments on this.

 

[seajeff]

Nice job and great write up! I've been looking at some sort of navi upgrade for a few years now and not much at all out there, only the Alpine X902D AU Hema full-on replacement "tesla" units. And then, poof, over the last week seems to have blow up with favorable reviews of both the Naviplus and now the EC offroad offering. I'm researching both more now.

Please do update with your short and longer term experiences, love to hear how you like it after using it more.

I'm especially intrigued with the wifi + android options, seems a lot of flexibility there. Maybe a question for the EC guys, any restrictions as to what apps you can install on the EC Offroad unit (other than the android 7 requirement)?

 

[greynolds]

Nice job and great write up! I've been looking at some sort of navi upgrade for a few years now and not much at all out there, only the Alpine X902D AU Hema full-on replacement "tesla" units. And then, poof, over the last week seems to have blow up with favorable reviews of both the Naviplus and now the EC offroad offering. I'm researching both more now.

Please do update with your short and longer term experiences, love to hear how you like it after using it more.

I'm especially intrigued with the wifi + android options, seems a lot of flexibility there. Maybe a question for the EC guys, any restrictions as to what apps you can install on the EC Offroad unit (other than the android 7 requirement)?

There are already some shorter term experiences posted in the other EC Offroad thread and it probably makes sense to attempt to keep this thread focused on install topics and the other on more general feature and usage experience discussions. I fully realize there's going to be some discussion creep both ways though.

There don't appear to be any restrictions on apps other than available storage and Android 7. I haven't installed a lot of apps yet, but haven't run into any that wouldn't install and run. I'm planning on posting a bit more about apps and usability in the other thread in the next day or so.

 

[FerrisBueller]

I did not use the yellow RCA plug in the main power bundle. In fact there were absolutely no RCA cables to hook anything to on my 2016 with rear screens. These must be for a different year or are connectors for a different application. At the end I wrapped them all up in non-adhesive wiring loom tape to keep them from rattling around. I would not recommend using electrical tape as it will get gooey and sticky over time. I did test the system (see below) before wrapping up and attaching anything securely.

@DomSmith Just to be clear, was this unit able to display things on your rear screens even without anywhere to hook up that RCA cable? And follow-up question: can you simultaneously use navigation (via an EC unit app or CP/AA) while simultaneously displaying other things (like Netflix) on the back screens?

 

[psnyman]

@DomSmith Just to be clear, was this unit able to display things on your rear screens even without anywhere to hook up that RCA cable? And follow-up question: can you simultaneously use navigation (via an EC unit app or CP/AA) while simultaneously displaying other things (like Netflix) on the back screens?

My experience: I also have a 2016 LC and followed the great install thread above. I have only been able to run Netflix on the front main screen but no display yet on the rear screens using any combination (AUX, Rear -AUX etc). I've recorded a video and sent it to the friendly guys (Cale/Michael) @EC OFFROAD to analyze and come back. All my other experiences are inline with @DomSmith and @greynolds so far.

 

[DomSmith]

Sorry I have not replied to the question above. I have not had any time to monkey around with the rear entertainment setup while driving but will attempt to climb back there and mess around tonight to do some testing. I will also update the thread as they said to leave the DIP switches alone.

I did not hook up any of the RCA cables and EC said I could save them for later to add other components if I like. I don’t think they are used for anything except adding extra cameras and possibly an external video source.

EDIT: The yellow RCA plugs needed to be connected for the rear screens to work. Install posts updated above.

 

[DomSmith]

Posted some AV info on the other thread...

 

[DomSmith]

Hey guys I added a warning at the top of the first post for now until we can determine the proper rear screen connections. Some others have been told the RCA's must be hooked up for rear screens to work. I have my rig apart again and I see no RCA's anywhere.

I have an email in to EC to get some clarification.

 

[DomSmith]

Thread has been updated with better instructions as I now have clarification on the rear video connections...

 

[FerrisBueller]

A few more questions:

1. When in the EC unit mode, does hitting the "camera display" button on the dash behind the steering wheel switch over to that OEM 360-degree view (obviously need to be below 9mph or whatever the limit is)?
2. Same question ^, but for when shifting into reverse, does the 360-degree camera view automatically pop up?
3. Does the EC unit support any sort of 360-degree camera view itself like the OEM functionality does?
4. I keep trying imaging how the electronics inside the box must be set up, and how the OEM head unit and rear screens select between different inputs (both audio and video). I keep convincing myself that there might be an approach that allows the user to go into the EC mode, set up the video / audio / etc that you want displayed on the rear screens, then switch back to the OEM display at the front. As long as rear units are set up to select "A/V" input, and the front OEM unit is set up to select A/V audio input, then EC video should be playing in the rear and EC audio should be playing on the car speakers, even though the front display is doing OEM stuff. This is all speculation, but if this is true, then this unit suddenly becomes even more versatile.

 

[greynolds]

A few more questions:

1. When in the EC unit mode, does hitting the "camera display" button on the dash behind the steering wheel switch over to that OEM 360-degree view (obviously need to be below 9mph or whatever the limit is)?​

2. Same question ^, but for when shifting into reverse, does the 360-degree camera view automatically pop up?​

Yes, these both work fine.

3. Does the EC unit support any sort of 360-degree camera view itself like the OEM functionality does?​

The simple answer is that I don't know. The EC unit has several video inputs, but I have no idea how a 360-degree camera view might work on the EC unit (it may be as simple as finding an appropriate Android app) and I'm not sure if the unit has access to the factory cameras.

4. I keep trying imaging how the electronics inside the box must be set up, and how the OEM head unit and rear screens select between different inputs (both audio and video). I keep convincing myself that there might be an approach that allows the user to go into the EC mode, set up the video / audio / etc that you want displayed on the rear screens, then switch back to the OEM display at the front. As long as rear units are set up to select "A/V" input, and the front OEM unit is set up to select A/V audio input, then EC video should be playing in the rear and EC audio should be playing on the car speakers, even though the front display is doing OEM stuff. This is all speculation, but if this is true, then this unit suddenly becomes even more versatile.​

I don't have rear screens, so I can't test any of the rear screen functionality to give answers that are much beyond guesses. That said, the EC unit pipes itself into the factory unit as the AUX input for both audio and video. I have no idea if you can do things like watch Netflix on the rear screens (from the EC unit) AND also use Google Maps (from the EC unit) on the front screen. But I have a hunch you CAN watch Netflix on the rear screens and use the factory navigation on the front screen. But it would be best to have @DomSmith (or someone else with rear screens) finish trying this out and report back with his findings on what can and can't be done.

 

[FerrisBueller]

I don't have rear screens, so I can't test any of the rear screen functionality to give answers that are much beyond guesses. That said, the EC unit pipes itself into the factory unit as the AUX input for both audio and video. I have no idea if you can do things like watch Netflix on the rear screens (from the EC unit) AND also use Google Maps (from the EC unit) on the front screen. But I have a hunch you CAN watch Netflix on the rear screens and use the factory navigation on the front screen. But it would be best to have @DomSmith (or someone else with rear screens) finish trying this out and report back with his findings on what can and can't be done.

Yeah, my assumption is that the EC unit can't do two different things at once on front vs back screens, but it seems plausible that EC could control back while using factory navigation on front. The inverse of this seems true, also: using the factory HDMI input for the rear screens (like can already be done), and then use the EC unit for navigation up front. I can see myself using both of these configurations for road trips to keep the kids occupied while keeping what I need up front. As long as at least one of these approaches works, then I only need to wait for @EC OFFROAD to have a fix for the HVAC issues before I purchase.

 

[FerrisBueller]

I just realized that if the EC unit is used for rear screen media, then the back seat passengers could use a USB-based wireless mouse to control things themselves, without needing the front seaters to switch screens to change things for them.

Thanks @greynolds @DomSmith @psnyman for being the guinea pigs with this and taking the time to try out my many requests.

 

[residualboulders]

@DomSmith now that you've had the EC Offroad unit for a year, how do you like it? Pros and Cons? Wireless work? How is the audio quality?

 

[greynolds]

@DomSmith now that you've had the EC Offroad unit for a year, how do you like it? Pros and Cons? Wireless work? How is the audio quality?

Keep in mind that several of us, including @DomSmith, switched to the newer version of the EC Offroad unit in ~October of 2020. So far, we have all been pleased, overall, with the new unit - it's a fairly significant improvement over the older unit this install thread covers (the install of the new unit is very similar, just some minor connection differences).

 

[residualboulders]

Keep in mind that several of us, including @DomSmith, switched to the newer version of the EC Offroad unit in ~October of 2020. So far, we have all been pleased, overall, with the new unit - it's a fairly significant improvement over the older unit this install thread covers (the install of the new unit is very similar, just some minor connection differences).

thanks, good to know. Somehow I didn't come across this thread before purchasing a Naviplus. I just received it but now wondering if I should have gone with the EC Offroad instead.

 

[Casual Cruiser]

thanks, good to know. Somehow I didn't come across this thread before purchasing a Naviplus. I just received it but now wondering if I should have gone with the EC Offroad instead.

I am wondering as well. I installed Naviplus last year and enjoy it but on long trips it disconnects from CarPlay every hour or two. Also, I have to long press nav. To start it each time in the car.