Prius Valor iLink L2 Install Part 1

Valor iLink L2 Install Part 1

Installation of the much-awaited product for in-car purporting to allow ANY iPod to play video!


First let me say this started out to be a review, however, after spending a few days with the unit, let me say it turned out to be more of a How-To-Install with Part 2 to be the Review!

Okay, let me first say this: I wanted this to be true.

I REALLY WANTED THIS TO BE TRUE!

I have a 2005 Prius. I was looking for something to allow my iPod to seamlessly integrate into my MFD.

I bought the "Ultimate Lockpick" from CostalETech and I am gonna say it: "I Had A Wonderful Experience"! I placed my order, got a confirmation and waited. I called within a week just to get a suggested time-frame because I had heard some warnings about Coastal from others here...however I got a returned phone call from Kelly within a matter of a couple of days (I called on the weekend--so they called me back the following week) and she let me know the products had, indeed, shipped from the manufacturer to them, and were slated to ship to me just after they come in. I asked her to add the EV kit (which she did) and within 2 weeks my Lockpick & iLink (and EV Kit) were to my house.

I received the entire kit within 3 business days after shipping from Coastal (UPS 3-day select). I got a UPS shipping tracking email and was able to follow the progress and know exactly when it would get here. Many have not had favorable experiences...however, I have got to say that they were professional and gave me all the support I needed during this process. I would highly recommend Coastal.

What was included:

Everything came packed in several manilla envelopes. (unlabed, however, there was no mistaking what-was-what.

Ultimate Lockpick:
One mass of blue wires with 3 connectors for the back of the MFD - this has a passthrough.
One video wire to plug into the back of the MFD
One audio wire to plug into the back of the stereo - this has a passthrough in case you need it.
Instructions with pictures (from Coastal)

iLink:
One power wire with clips attached
Three clip taps to tap into live wires for power (1 extra in case you need it)
One audio/video wire (seems to be a normal iPod video-style wire.
Assorted extra mounting clips and magnets
Instructions with pictures (from Coastal) AND LOUSY instructions from Valor Multimedia.

EV Kit:
One circuit board with three wires.
Two clip taps
Instructions with pictures (from Coastal)


I want to get something out of the way first. When the information said: "plugs right in to your Prius", I was hoping (and expecting) the entire thing to plug into the ports on the DVD player under the seat. False hope...I know. I got VERY uncomfortable at the idea of taking apart my Prius...even if the ENTIRE DISASSEMBLY required only 2 screws on the outer piece of the dash and 2 screws on the MFD. (and only about 45-60 minutes of my time)

So, I started with the EV kit. This was EXTREMELY easy. Note to others: When the instructions say "Make sure the wire is pushed totally into the plastic harness" (or something like that)...it MEANS IT! You do not get power to the EV Kit unless the tap wire is pushed all the way in. Also, for safety's sake, I left my keyfob inside the house...as you are NOT SUPPOSED to start the car after you remove one of the computer plugs. You must remove the plug, insert the new wire in the plug, reinsert the plug, then start the car to test. Leaving the keyfob inside the house stopped me from accidentally hitting the power switch to the car and messing up the computer.

The entire EV kit install took 15 minutes from start to finish. Works great. SO--after having successfully installed that add-on, I decided that I could handle the Lockpick and iLink install! After all, I am a computer programmer and am used to schematics... What could go wrong? Ever notice after having said (or read) that line...that things go wrong?

WARNING, WILL ROBINSON, WARNING! FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS ON POLARITY WITH RESPECT TO THE iLINK AND OTHER PIECES OF HARDWARE! YOU DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK! The following is a generic, not step-by-step, guide to what I went through. Follow the instructions Coastal gives you--referring to mine simply for reader feedback and hints on wire paths.

First, the tricky piece. The center console has a curved piece of plastic that contains the cigarette lighter power jack. Below the lighter, to the right is a pull-friction pin. Slide your fingers behind the plastic on the right side of this plastic piece and pull to the right. It will take some effort. This dislodges the friction pin. Put the pin aside. Now, grab the entire curved plastic piece by the bottom. Pull toward the cup-holders--up and back--slowly but surely. The entire piece will snap off the dash assembly. Put it aside, leaving the lighter plug connected to the back. Removing the lower left cover, vent (near the emergency brake), bottom plastic cover (above your feet -- 2 screws), and top cover (with the power switch) took about 5 minutes of snapping -- and only 2 screws. MAKE SURE YOU KEEP TRACK OF ALL YELLOW SNAP-TABS during the installation. If they fall off the dashboard piece when you unsnap it, snap the snap-lock clip back on to the dash piece *prior* to setting the piece of plastic aside and moving to the next one. Some snap-locks are different sizes and will not hold correctly if they are not removed and put back JUST LIKE YOU FOUND THEM.

The last two dash pieces prior to removal of the MFD are the easy ones. HOWEVER, ensure you take EXTRA care with the dash piece that covers the vent to the right of the steering wheel--making sure you do not disconnect the parking button wires or any levers used in operating the vent opening-closing mechanism (i had to remove and reseat this cos my vent controller would not swivel--I had replaced the piece incorrectly). You MUST unscrew the gear shifter head to remove the vent cover enough to get a comfortable working area. It just screws off and back on later. Turn to the left to loosen, to the right to tighten. (Duh!)

After you remove the 2 vent pieces (one to either side of the MFD, you have 2 screws on the MFD. I did not have a 10mm (i hate metric) wrench so I used pliers to remove these bolts. The MFD pops right out by simply grabbing the sides of it and pulling towards you. DON'T PULL TOO FAR before disconnecting the wires on the back! Disconnect the 2 top wires first, then the 2 bottom wires.

Plugging the lockpick in to the back of the MFD is easy, then plug the original cable into the female Lockpick cable that Coastal provided. While you are there, plug in the video-in feed cable (a longer cable would've been nice, Coastal!)

Put the MFD back on the top of the dash for the next steps.

Anyway, next -- and this is important -- If you do not wish to take the stereo out of the harness, then locate the bolt UNDER The right-hand vent (to the right of where the MFD was. It is holding in a WHITE wire harness and--if removed--allows that harness to be shifted such that hands as large as mine can fish their way into the rear of the radio, attaching the r/l audio harness to the rear right side of the radio (as you look at the radio from the front). IF you have something installed there, simply unplug it and plug it into the daughter harness on this r/l audio harness. Thanks for that option, Coastal!

The wire path is important. The video-wire that Coastal gives you is only about 6 inches long and not long enough to reach the rear bottom glove compartment which you will probably use to store the iLink L2. SO, slide the video wire UNDER air vent feed tube to the right of the MFD such that it does not get in the way when you insert the vent tube from the grey vent cover back into place. The r/l audio have enough give to move them behind the lower glove box...move them there now.

If you have not removed the lower glove box, do so now. Empty it out and detatch the mechanism from the right hand side (the plunger-mechanism that slows it down when you open it). Then bend the inner-right and inner-left sides of the glove box inwards enough that the glove box releases from the frame of the dashboard. Be careful. The hinges on the lower portion of the glove box do not keep it attached...they are guiding hinges ONLY. Lift the glove box up and off the hinges. Set it aside.

Here is where the actual fun starts!

Open the shipping container for the iLink. You will find that coastal already opened this case for you and have attached 2 plugs to the power cable for the iLink. They also include (in the same bag) 3 wiretaps (only 2 are used. The 3rd is for 'just in case').

REGARDING THE ILINK L2 POWER CABLE: There are NORMALLY a red wire and a white wire. IF THESE WIRES ARE NOT THIS COLOR STOP! DO NOT FOLLOW MY INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING THE iLINK POWER LINE IF THE WIRE COLORS DO NOT MATCH MY DESCRIPTION!

IF you have a red and white cable in the iLink L2 kit, AND Coastal has already attached the plastic wire plugs to the end of them, go ahead and follow the next few directions.

The iLink L2 requires a 12v-ish line. (i say "ish" because evidently the iLink can handle 9v to 16v in the version I have...however do not trust that. Simply realize that they made this for cars and trust that they know the car voltage) The best thing to use is a switched line from the Prius. The closest switched lines that are easy to access are the wires connecting to the cigarette lighter plug. They are surrounded by black electrical tape (which you can easily separate for about 3 inches so you can tap them. Do not separate more than that. The tape is there for a reason. One of the wires to the lighter plug are white. The other is white with a black stripe. IF THESE WIRES ARE NOT THIS COLOR STOP! DO NOT FOLLOW MY INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING THE iLINK POWER LINE IF THE WIRE COLORS DO NOT MATCH MY DESCRIPTION!

IF you have a white and a white-with-black-stripe line, then you are set!

Tap both lines about 1 inch from the lighter plug using the conveniently provided wire taps. Then feed the iLink L2's power line DOWN from the glove box, down the left hand side of the glove box area, behind the plastic cover. If you do it right, you can hit a small (about 1 inch) hole and pass the lines through that hole so that you then plug the lines into the back of the cigarette lighter taps you just installed. Common sense is your friend. If you cannot feed the lines this way, then find another path to feed them through.

Now, these instructions are IMPORTANT. There are NO second chances. Believe me -- I know. I FRIED my first iLink L2 by reversing the polarity by accident. SO, look closely when you plug them in! The smell was awful and took 2 days to get our of my Prius. (not to mention a quick call to get the iLink replaced--AT MY COST!)

The RED LINE from the iLink plugs into the WHITE line on the cigarette lighter.
The WHITE LINE from the iLink plugs into the STRIPED WHITE and BLACK line on the cigarette lighter. Toyota usually colors ground using a white wire with black stripes. This connection from the iLink to the Prius SEEMS backwards, but it is not! DO NOT TURN ON THE CAR UNLESS YOU ARE SURE THIS IS THE CORRECT CONNECTION!

Now, there is a LOT (15 feet or so) of power wire provided with the iLink. Simply roll it up and bind it using electrical tape. Fit it on the inside of the dash to the left of the lower glovebox area. There is a handy cubby hole that all these wires can fit into.

Plug in the video (yellow) iLink cable to the video input you just installed near the vent hole. Plug in the r/l audio (red and white) to the audio plugs you just installed. REMEMBER, you CANNOT get to the video cable once the car is put back together...so ensure the connections are tight. The audio connections are long enough that simply removing the glovebox is enough to get to them, but the video connector requires removal of the passenger left hand vent!

Here is where I am iffy. I was always told to NEVER roll up audio/video cable cos it creates a magnetic field. Someone tell me if I am wrong...however, there is 5 feet of it so i rolled. Magnetic field be damned (for now!). I have not noticed a bad degredation, however, I have not played with the system for more than a few days.

Okay, one more thing. The remote IR that is provided is a NECESSITY (unless you want to open your glove box and keep it open). A few points of interest. It is EXTREMELY CHEAP! It is EXTREMELY susceptible to stray sunlight and it has an EXTREMELY CHEAP velcro connector. SO, here is what I did. (Mileage may vary.)

I ran the IR reciever down through the same hole I ran the power wire through so that i could then run the IR receiver to the bottom of the curved plastic and put it face-up on the floor of the Prius on top of the "drive shaft" when I was done. I did this because the surface of the plastic on the Prius would not hold the adhesive on the velcro AND the velcro pad itself that Valor provides you with is insufficient to handle the weight of the IR receiver AND the associated wire weight. So, run it where you feel is the best. The way I did it, I simply point the remote at the floor when I drive to activate the iLink. If the iLink does not work when you point the remote at it, check to see if the sun is shining directly in it, if it is, move it. Radio Shack sells similar high-quality IR receivers for less than $10. Buy one of those if you are so inclined. Many other IR receivers are omni-directional. Remember, the one that ships with the iLink is UNI-DIRECTIONAL and is best placed face-up on the floor for front seat passenger operation. I am looking at buying one of the omni-directional Radio Shack variety as they are all compatible with the iLink signal AND port plug. (if you have a Tivo around, this IR blaster plug is not the same ... it is a SENDER and not a RECEIVER). I would not have mentioned it, but someone asked me.

Next...PLEASE do this next PRIOR to putting the car back together. You will appreciate it in the long run. Look at the wire runs you just did. Are any of them in the way of hinges or plastic or vents? If they are, the Prius dash pieces will not fit together correctly or the glovebox will not close. Save yourself some heartache. Check it now.

The iLink runs HOT! Very Hot! Hot like a MacBook Pro! I do not know why, except it is doing a lot of things on a small enclosed space. Because of this, I did not mount the iLink behind the glovebox. I wanted full access to it during my testing phase. I simply laid it IN the glovebox. I also wanted direct access to the on/off switch (as you will see later).

Plug in the following:

iLink power
video/audio cable
IR cable


DO NOT PLUG IN THE iPOD YET! This is for safety -- you do not wanna burn out the iPod if you made a bad connection.

Put the car back together.

NOW:

Open the glove box so you can see the iLink. Turn off the iLink (or ensure it is off). Start the car. Make sure your start button works. (grin).

DO NOT TOUCH any buttons on the MFD yet. The lockpick should automatically hit the "AGREE" button for you. This ensures that the lockpick is working. If it does not hit agree for you immediately (within a couple of seconds), then something is wrong. Troubleshoot -- then come back when the Lockpick is functional.

Otherwise, Make sure the MFD operates like you think it should. Now, to testing the iLink. First of all, hit the power button ON THE ILINK, not the remote. IMMEDIATELY a green light should show up on the front of the iLink. IF THE GREEN LIGHT DOES NOT TURN ON, IMMEDATELY TURN THE ILINK OFF! If you smell burning plastic, you have reversed the polarity. The iLink is fried. You cannot rescue it. Sorry.

If you get a green light on the front of the iLink, then you did good! Congratulations!

Now, turn on your stereo and hit your CD/AUX button on your stereo until DVD shows on the MFD (or hit the VOICE ACTIVATION button and say 'DVD'). Then hit the UP button on your steering wheel. A blue screen should show up with "VALOR MULTIMEDIA" on the upper right -- saying "NO MEDIA FOUND". If not, then the video is not connected to the video plug or the iLink video cable is not fully seated. Troubleshoot.

If so, GOOD! This is fine for now. Plug in the iPod to the iLink using the connector cable. The system should say "MEDIA DETECTED". This is all to expect for now. I will go into issues pertaining to operation of iLink in the next post.

...And read my next posting for more.