Installing Factory Navigation Radio and Uconnect in my Caliber SXT
#1
04-24-2006, 01:14 AM
Installing Factory Navigation Radio and Uconnect in my Caliber SXT
Ok, so i just bought a new Caliber SXT on Monday(4/17) and had to bring it in for service 4 days later on Friday for the climate controls. They didn't change where the air came from(defrost, vent, floor) and so as they had it tor apart, I had an epiphany. Why not ditch the cubby hole under the radio and install the navigation radio in there. It can't be too hard could it. I know they don't offer it as an option but hey, I used to work in the auto electronics field for a better part of my late teens and so I'm gonna take a stab at it. I figured that since the bezel is silver it will be cake matching the color and if all else fails, I'll just repaint the shift bezel too. Thinking that if I'm gonna go for the UConnect as I was goign to do the second I got all the parts, I'll kill both birds with one stone and only have to tear my dash apart once. I will be documenting this the best I can so anyone else that chooses to do this mod will have a base to start with. First things first, I needed an REC. Not buying one from dealer as they will charge you $2500-$2750 depending on who you know and how much business you do with them. Not for me. It's off to find a slavage/repairable to garner our parts from. A 300 is the best place to look these parts as most of the time if you find one that has the nav radio, it will also have the UConnect. For me it was no dice as some one else beat me to it.(I swear to god someone is hording these things as I've found three and they are all missing the modules) I just ordered the harnesses from eBay to make the UConnect work. JAAK put together a really good write-up on installing it on LXForums. Thanks buddy if you see this. LINK
As for everythign else, I will post updates as they happen.
As for everythign else, I will post updates as they happen.
#2
04-26-2006, 02:19 AM
RE: Installing Factory Navigation Radio and Uconnect in my Caliber SXT
Well I managed to do two things today; break my $500 camera and install my navigation radio. Let me tell you all as a forewarning, if you have less than two years experience working on tearing apart vehicle interiors and installing mobile electronics, this is NOT for you. Chances are very good that you may break something installing this. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!
Alright, down to business. I broke my cam so no pictures right now but when I install the UConnect later I'll take pictures and mock up the old and new and all that good stuff.
First things first, you will need these tools:
7mm socket,
7mm box end wrench,
Medium Philips screwdriver,
Trim removal tool or fat standard screwdriver that doesn't have rough edges (the cheap ones usually work the best for this)
Vinyl application squeegee (a semi-hard one works the best)
Old credit card that you don't use anymore
1) Unhook the positive battery terminal and let it sit for 15 minutes before you continue. I cannot stress this enough. You will be working around the airbag and the CAN bus probably wouldn't like a spike of 12 volts if you short it out somehow. Be safe and follow this one.
2) Remove the shift collar by lightly prying down on it with the old credit card. Once the collar is loose, pull up on the shift ****. It will be snug but just give it a good yank and it will come right off.
3) Slide the trim removal tool under the lower right corner of the shift lever bezel and pry up the corner slowly working your way to the top. Once that side is out, do that same thing on the other side.
4) Turn the vent **** to defrost and the temp **** to cool. This will keep you from breaking the climate control cables.
5) Slide the trim removal tool under the right lower corner of the radio/climate control bezel and rock slowly back and forth until you pop the first latch loose. Do the same on the left side and continue to do this for each latch moving from side to side to until you get to the top where you will pull slightly from the bottom of the bezel up to release the last latches on top of the vents.
6) Remove the 4 screws on the back side of the climate control with the box end wrench. Don't pull it out too far or you risk damaging the cable system for the climate control.
7) Remove the connector from the hazard flasher controller.
8) Remove the 4 screws that hold the hazard flasher controller in place. You will need this later when you install the new bezel.
9) Remove the 4 screws that hold the radio in place.
10) Carefully pull out the radio and remove the wire harness. Do NOT pull on the actual wires! After you can see the back of the radio, pull on the black collar that holds the antenna connector. It is in there very tight so take your time so you don't wreck the connector or you are SOL. They don’t' have a replacement end yet!
11) Remove the 4 screws that hold the radio support and remove it. Reinstall the screws so you don't loose them as there is no radio support made for the navigation radio as of yet. Expect to see one in about a month.
12) Remove the screw on each side of the radio holding the top trim piece to the bottom one. Remove the two screws from the back of the top glove compartment as well as the one in the front by the latch. Remember which screw came from where as these are different lengths.
13) Remove the small cover from both A-pillar panels and remove the screws with the medium Philips screwdriver. Be careful so that the screws don't end up behind the dash as it can be a real PITA to retrieve these when they are tucked back in some tiny little nook.
14) Remove both A-pillar panels by pulling it out from the pillar and then slowly rocking it back and forth until it comes loose from the front dash.
15) Take the squeegee and slide it into the seam between the two dash panels. The seam is held in by the same latches the radio bezel is held in my so just take your time and they will come out pretty easy. Make sure if the metal tabs come off that you grab them and put them back where they belong so they don't get lost.
16) Remove 4 of the 6 screws that are under the dash panel you removed in step 15. Now would be the time to add a set of tweeters to your ride as you have easy access to the knockouts.
17) Remove the side dash panel by carefully pulling the floor trim piece back just a few inches and popping the 6 latches that hold it in. It may be easier if you pull out the weather stripping to do this.
18) Remove the two screws that hold the lower dash panel in place as well as the screw at top that hold the top dash panel to the bottom one.
19) Carefully pull back on the lower dash panel toe reveal one more screw to remove from the top dash panel.
20) Pull back on the top dash panel. Be careful to not move it around more than necessary as you run the risk of scratching the plastic around the gauge cluster.
21) With the dash panel slightly lifted, you should now have easy access to the dash frame. This is where you will mount the GPS antenna. The easiest way to do this is to run the wire down behind the vent and in between the dash frame. It is very tight in there so if you get the wire stuck, don't jerk on it or you may break the wire or separate it from the connector or GPS antenna.
22) There are two taps on top of the dash frame to mount the GPS antenna to. I just used double sided tape to hold mine down as, again, there is not mounting bracket for this either. Make sure you have the wire coming straight out the back or the GPS will think the car is pointed in a different direction that what it really is.
23) Put the dash panel back into place and reinstall the two screws that came out on each side of the radio. Don't do the rest yet because you want to check that everything works before you put it all back together.
24) Connect the radio antenna and the wire harness to the navigation radio. Don't connect the GPS antenna yet as you won't have enough length yet.
25) Slide the navigation radio half ways into the dash and then connect the GPS antenna. Get an idea of the orientation before you slide the radio in to make it easier to connect it as you will be doing it blind.
26) Slide the radio in the rest of the way and screw it in.
27) Reconnect the battery and verify that the radio tunes stations and that the GPS functions correctly.
28) Reinstall the dash and A-pillar panels in the reverse order of how you removed them.
29) Verify that you have no extra screws lying around. This is also important.
30) If it all works, give yourself a great big pat on the back.
Total time for install was about an hour. Just make sure you take your time. I cannot stress this enough.
Again sorry I didn't get to snap any pictures but I will get it updated when I do the UConnect.
Enjoy!
Alright, down to business. I broke my cam so no pictures right now but when I install the UConnect later I'll take pictures and mock up the old and new and all that good stuff.
First things first, you will need these tools:
7mm socket,
7mm box end wrench,
Medium Philips screwdriver,
Trim removal tool or fat standard screwdriver that doesn't have rough edges (the cheap ones usually work the best for this)
Vinyl application squeegee (a semi-hard one works the best)
Old credit card that you don't use anymore
1) Unhook the positive battery terminal and let it sit for 15 minutes before you continue. I cannot stress this enough. You will be working around the airbag and the CAN bus probably wouldn't like a spike of 12 volts if you short it out somehow. Be safe and follow this one.
2) Remove the shift collar by lightly prying down on it with the old credit card. Once the collar is loose, pull up on the shift ****. It will be snug but just give it a good yank and it will come right off.
3) Slide the trim removal tool under the lower right corner of the shift lever bezel and pry up the corner slowly working your way to the top. Once that side is out, do that same thing on the other side.
4) Turn the vent **** to defrost and the temp **** to cool. This will keep you from breaking the climate control cables.
5) Slide the trim removal tool under the right lower corner of the radio/climate control bezel and rock slowly back and forth until you pop the first latch loose. Do the same on the left side and continue to do this for each latch moving from side to side to until you get to the top where you will pull slightly from the bottom of the bezel up to release the last latches on top of the vents.
6) Remove the 4 screws on the back side of the climate control with the box end wrench. Don't pull it out too far or you risk damaging the cable system for the climate control.
7) Remove the connector from the hazard flasher controller.
8) Remove the 4 screws that hold the hazard flasher controller in place. You will need this later when you install the new bezel.
9) Remove the 4 screws that hold the radio in place.
10) Carefully pull out the radio and remove the wire harness. Do NOT pull on the actual wires! After you can see the back of the radio, pull on the black collar that holds the antenna connector. It is in there very tight so take your time so you don't wreck the connector or you are SOL. They don’t' have a replacement end yet!
11) Remove the 4 screws that hold the radio support and remove it. Reinstall the screws so you don't loose them as there is no radio support made for the navigation radio as of yet. Expect to see one in about a month.
12) Remove the screw on each side of the radio holding the top trim piece to the bottom one. Remove the two screws from the back of the top glove compartment as well as the one in the front by the latch. Remember which screw came from where as these are different lengths.
13) Remove the small cover from both A-pillar panels and remove the screws with the medium Philips screwdriver. Be careful so that the screws don't end up behind the dash as it can be a real PITA to retrieve these when they are tucked back in some tiny little nook.
14) Remove both A-pillar panels by pulling it out from the pillar and then slowly rocking it back and forth until it comes loose from the front dash.
15) Take the squeegee and slide it into the seam between the two dash panels. The seam is held in by the same latches the radio bezel is held in my so just take your time and they will come out pretty easy. Make sure if the metal tabs come off that you grab them and put them back where they belong so they don't get lost.
16) Remove 4 of the 6 screws that are under the dash panel you removed in step 15. Now would be the time to add a set of tweeters to your ride as you have easy access to the knockouts.
17) Remove the side dash panel by carefully pulling the floor trim piece back just a few inches and popping the 6 latches that hold it in. It may be easier if you pull out the weather stripping to do this.
18) Remove the two screws that hold the lower dash panel in place as well as the screw at top that hold the top dash panel to the bottom one.
19) Carefully pull back on the lower dash panel toe reveal one more screw to remove from the top dash panel.
20) Pull back on the top dash panel. Be careful to not move it around more than necessary as you run the risk of scratching the plastic around the gauge cluster.
21) With the dash panel slightly lifted, you should now have easy access to the dash frame. This is where you will mount the GPS antenna. The easiest way to do this is to run the wire down behind the vent and in between the dash frame. It is very tight in there so if you get the wire stuck, don't jerk on it or you may break the wire or separate it from the connector or GPS antenna.
22) There are two taps on top of the dash frame to mount the GPS antenna to. I just used double sided tape to hold mine down as, again, there is not mounting bracket for this either. Make sure you have the wire coming straight out the back or the GPS will think the car is pointed in a different direction that what it really is.
23) Put the dash panel back into place and reinstall the two screws that came out on each side of the radio. Don't do the rest yet because you want to check that everything works before you put it all back together.
24) Connect the radio antenna and the wire harness to the navigation radio. Don't connect the GPS antenna yet as you won't have enough length yet.
25) Slide the navigation radio half ways into the dash and then connect the GPS antenna. Get an idea of the orientation before you slide the radio in to make it easier to connect it as you will be doing it blind.
26) Slide the radio in the rest of the way and screw it in.
27) Reconnect the battery and verify that the radio tunes stations and that the GPS functions correctly.
28) Reinstall the dash and A-pillar panels in the reverse order of how you removed them.
29) Verify that you have no extra screws lying around. This is also important.
30) If it all works, give yourself a great big pat on the back.
Total time for install was about an hour. Just make sure you take your time. I cannot stress this enough.
Again sorry I didn't get to snap any pictures but I will get it updated when I do the UConnect.
Enjoy!
#3
04-26-2006, 02:29 AM
RE: Installing Factory Navigation Radio and Uconnect in my Caliber SXT
By the way, I forgot to mention that Dodge offers the navigation radio bezel for the Caliber right from warehouse.
The part numbers are as follows:
YZ081RHAB - Inferno Red
YZ081B6AB - Marine Blue
YZ081Z2AB - Satin Silver
YZ081YHAB - Solar Yellow
YZ081V6AB - Sunburst Orange
I also just located the radio mounting bracket part number (5291823AB) but they are not available as of right now. I'll post an update when they begin shipping them.
The part numbers are as follows:
YZ081RHAB - Inferno Red
YZ081B6AB - Marine Blue
YZ081Z2AB - Satin Silver
YZ081YHAB - Solar Yellow
YZ081V6AB - Sunburst Orange
I also just located the radio mounting bracket part number (5291823AB) but they are not available as of right now. I'll post an update when they begin shipping them.
#4
05-01-2006, 11:23 PM
#6
05-01-2006, 11:37 PM
RE: Installing Factory Navigation Radio and Uconnect in my Caliber SXT
you can go to www.unitedradio.com they also have overnight shipping for free
#7
07-05-2006, 04:31 PM
RE: Installing Factory Navigation Radio and Uconnect in my Caliber SXT
How does the U-Connect plug into all of this? I was thinking of ordering the Navi + U-connect kit, and installing myself. I guess I'm not sure how it's supposed to plug in, or where the control is supposed to go.. any help would be great!
