Lighting on aftermarket car radios

[awj223]

Has anyone ever seen an aftermarket car receiver head unit that has lighting that works like the original?

For example, the OEM radio that was in my brother's car had lights that would come on when the headlights were switched on -- even if the unit was off -- to help the user find the power knob, for example. In addition, these display lights would brighten and dim as you used the dimmer switch for the interior panels, to match the lighting on the gauges, climate controls, etc.

On the aftermarket unit (Pioneer), however, the lights are only on when the unit itself is switched on (making it difficult to find the buttons if it's exremely dark) and the intensity does not follow that of the other interior panels and controls.

 

[joshleblanc]

I had a Blaupunkt unit that had amber or pale green adjustable lighting that would adjust its brightnes with the dimmer switch on my toyota camry. Most newer radios look like video games with strobing spectrum analyzers,multicolor full graphic animations ect. Seems like theyd be more of a distraction to drivers than an audio system is already.

 

[westlife]

> Has anyone ever seen an aftermarket car receiver head unit
> that has lighting that works like the original?

Look for a radio that has a wire which connects to your vehicle's lighting circuit. This used to be almost universal on aftermarket car radios, but as they've gone for flashy video-game-like displays, it has become less and less common. In fact, some have become blindingly bright, with no way to dim the display at night. My sister has an aftermarket Blaupunkt CD head unit in her car, and since it has no dimmer, she resorted to glueing a piece of window tinting film onto its display to cut down on its brightness.
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[PhilJSmith67]

> I had a Blaupunkt unit that had amber or pale green
> adjustable lighting that would adjust its brightnes with the
> dimmer switch on my toyota camry. Most newer radios look
> like video games with strobing spectrum analyzers,multicolor
> full graphic animations ect. Seems like theyd be more of a
> distraction to drivers than an audio system is already.

That's the same reason I buy Blau receivers. Quality without jumping fish or other immature gimmickry. On my Alaska-II, the dimmable lighting works like the stock receiver did.

 

[awj223]

I have to wonder why auto manufacturers haven't been including AUX inputs to the OEM receivers for years. It allows for you to connect anything, no matter how technology might change. How much could it cost for a small input jack on the front? Maybe $5 at most?

Unfortunately Toyota had enough sense to design the radio so you can change the channels w/o taking your eyes off the road, but not enough common sense to just put an AUX jack on there. If I ever decide to get sat radio, I'm in real trouble because I have an existing CD changer, and cannot use an auxiliary input adapter that doesn't require you to have a CD playing to hear the auxiliary sound (very annoying and a great way to wear out the CD player). FM modulators and tape adapters don't count because the sound quality is bad.

I also wonder why no one has designed an auxiliary input adapter that also works with CD changer, that intercepts the signals being passed between the player and the head unit, rather than just passing them through and only intercepting the audio channels. It could then act as a signal repeater when there's a CD in the player, or trick the head unit into thinking there's a CD playing when you want to listen to auxiliary, so you don't have the actual CD player active.

> Look for a radio that has a wire which connects to your
> vehicle's lighting circuit. This used to be almost
> universal on aftermarket car radios, but as they've gone for
> flashy video-game-like displays, it has become less and less
> common. In fact, some have become blindingly bright, with
> no way to dim the display at night. My sister has an
> aftermarket Blaupunkt CD head unit in her car, and since it
> has no dimmer, she resorted to glueing a piece of window
> tinting film onto its display to cut down on its brightness.
>

 

[BillP]

I've got a Blaupunkt Alaska in my junk cabinet.

It was a great unit, but the display got dimmer and dimmer over time until it became invisible.

------------ Bill


> That's the same reason I buy Blau receivers. Quality
> without jumping fish or other immature gimmickry. On my
> Alaska-II, the dimmable lighting works like the stock
> receiver did.
>

 

[rbrucecarter]

Sloppy Installation

> On the aftermarket unit (Pioneer), however, the lights are
> only on when the unit itself is switched on (making it
> difficult to find the buttons if it's exremely dark) and the
> intensity does not follow that of the other interior panels
> and controls.

That was sloppy installation. All Pioneers that I have installed can be hooked up to the car's dimmer system. And - don't assume a shop will do the job right. Order the mechanicals and wiring harnass from Crutchfield and do it yourself for a professional job.

 

[awsherrill]

> I had a Blaupunkt unit that had amber or pale green
> adjustable lighting that would adjust its brightnes with the
> dimmer switch on my toyota camry.

I put a Blau Casablanca in a Nissan Pathfinder awhile back. I connected the dimmer wire as instructed, but the dimming function never worked right. The Blau dial lights would flicker a bit when the headlights were turned on, and that was it.

There might have been a config setting buried in a menu somewhere that I missed. The radio worked fine otherwise, and the lack of dimming didn't really bother me, so I never pursued it.

 

[PhilJSmith67]

> I've got a Blaupunkt Alaska in my junk cabinet.
>
> It was a great unit, but the display got dimmer and dimmer
> over time until it became invisible.
>
> ------------ Bill

Well that kind of sucks! Perhaps on your unit the "quality goes out before the name goes off." <g>

I actually ordered a Nevada faceplate for mine which is very brightly backlit in orange. The deep-blue on the old display was disturbingly ugly when I moved the unit to a new car with red/orange dash lighting. The Nevada display is phenomenally easier to read in sunlight or darkness, too, and is 100% compatible with the Alaska.

 

[awj223]

Re: Sloppy Installation

> That was sloppy installation. All Pioneers that I have
> installed can be hooked up to the car's dimmer system. And
> - don't assume a shop will do the job right. Order the
> mechanicals and wiring harnass from Crutchfield and do it
> yourself for a professional job.

I asked Pioneer about this, and this was the email response I got back from them:

Pioneer: The DEH-2700 does not have a lighting wire.
The face should always be on and the display should bright.

I think this means that not only does the display brightness not adjust, but it is operating as designed when it goes completely dark when the thing is switched off, so it's difficult to find the on switch in the dark. I guess Pioneer has changed...

 

[PhilJSmith67]

Re: Sloppy Installation

> > That was sloppy installation. All Pioneers that I have
> > installed can be hooked up to the car's dimmer system.
> And
> > - don't assume a shop will do the job right. Order the
> > mechanicals and wiring harnass from Crutchfield and do it
> > yourself for a professional job.
>
> I asked Pioneer about this, and this was the email response
> I got back from them:
>
>
> Pioneer: The DEH-2700 does not have a lighting wire.
> The face should always be on and the display should bright.
>
> I think this means that not only does the display brightness
> not adjust, but it is operating as designed when it goes
> completely dark when the thing is switched off, so it's
> difficult to find the on switch in the dark. I guess
> Pioneer has changed...
>

Prior to 1985, every Pioneer receiver I installed had the dimmer/lighting input. However, in 1986 I installed a DEH-#### (not sure on the exact number, but it was the first of the LCD units) and the wire was missing. Since then, I've noticed that many Pioneers have been manufactured without the input, but some still have it. This does not necessarily follow along with cost, either.

Other brands of receivers are made to accommodate different types of cars' dimmer controls, too. This results in some receivers being "dimmable" until the dash lights are almost completely dark, at which point the receiver's backlight jumps back up to max.

 

[BillP]

> > I've got a Blaupunkt Alaska in my junk cabinet.
> >
> > It was a great unit, but the display got dimmer and dimmer
>
> > over time until it became invisible.
> >
> > ------------ Bill
>
> Well that kind of sucks! Perhaps on your unit the "quality
> goes out before the name goes off." <g>
>
> I actually ordered a Nevada faceplate for mine which is very
> brightly backlit in orange. The deep-blue on the old
> display was disturbingly ugly when I moved the unit to a new
> car with red/orange dash lighting. The Nevada display is
> phenomenally easier to read in sunlight or darkness, too,
> and is 100% compatible with the Alaska.
>
Phil -

If memory serves correctly, a replacement display was over $100 from Blaupunkt.

How does that compare with your experience?

---------------- Bill

 

[PhilJSmith67]

> Phil -
>
> If memory serves correctly, a replacement display was over
> $100 from Blaupunkt.
>
> How does that compare with your experience?
>
> ---------------- Bill
>

They sent me the "version 2" Alaska faceplate free of charge because the Alaska-II racked up a lot of complaints about the readability of the original display. The Nevada faceplate cost approximately $45 which included shipping, which for whatever reason, was half the price of the Alaska-II faceplate. Except for the illumination color, the two faceplates are identical and interchangeable. Perhaps they have an overstock of Nevada faceplates, since they don't have the readability issue? I'm only guessing; I have no idea. Both radios carry the model number RDM-168. I believe there is also a third variation called the "Florida" with the same model number.

I'm starting to get the feeling I got lucky on my Alaska after making this post, quality-wise. Someone sent me an e-mail saying they had nothing but trouble with theirs, with the CD skipping often, even while sitting still. I've experienced a CD skip perhaps five times over the years I've owned it, but the skip was short and happened so infrequently it was of no concern to me.

Even so, my Alaska's FM reception blows away the last Pioneer Supertuner I owned, and is slightly better than my last Sony. The SHARX selectivity setting works well, and sensitivity for RDS data is better than any receiver I've tried.

 

[awj223]

Re: Sloppy Installation

> Prior to 1985, every Pioneer receiver I installed had the
> dimmer/lighting input. However, in 1986 I installed a
> DEH-#### (not sure on the exact number, but it was the first
> of the LCD units) and the wire was missing. Since then,
> I've noticed that many Pioneers have been manufactured
> without the input, but some still have it. This does not
> necessarily follow along with cost, either.
>
> Other brands of receivers are made to accommodate different
> types of cars' dimmer controls, too. This results in some
> receivers being "dimmable" until the dash lights are almost
> completely dark, at which point the receiver's backlight
> jumps back up to max.

Their response after I asked them if ANY of their CD player models have a lighting wire:

Pioneer: "No, all Pioneer radio's only have a dimmer circuit. The lights go on at night and then the radio dims the display so the display is to bright."

 

[BillP]

> > Phil -
> >
> > If memory serves correctly, a replacement display was over
>
> > $100 from Blaupunkt.
> >
> > How does that compare with your experience?
> >
> > ---------------- Bill
> >
>
> They sent me the "version 2" Alaska faceplate free of charge
> because the Alaska-II racked up a lot of complaints about
> the readability of the original display. The Nevada
> faceplate cost approximately $45 which included shipping,
> which for whatever reason, was half the price of the
> Alaska-II faceplate. Except for the illumination color, the
> two faceplates are identical and interchangeable. Perhaps
> they have an overstock of Nevada faceplates, since they
> don't have the readability issue? I'm only guessing; I have
> no idea. Both radios carry the model number RDM-168. I
> believe there is also a third variation called the "Florida"
> with the same model number.
>
> I'm starting to get the feeling I got lucky on my Alaska
> after making this post, quality-wise. Someone sent me an
> e-mail saying they had nothing but trouble with theirs, with
> the CD skipping often, even while sitting still. I've
> experienced a CD skip perhaps five times over the years I've
> owned it, but the skip was short and happened so
> infrequently it was of no concern to me.
>
> Even so, my Alaska's FM reception blows away the last
> Pioneer Supertuner I owned, and is slightly better than my
> last Sony. The SHARX selectivity setting works well, and
> sensitivity for RDS data is better than any receiver I've
> tried.
>


I concur that the tuner is very good, and I too had very few instances of the CD skipping.

How did you approach Blaupunkt for the replacement display?

------------- Bill