2G Wiring in Speed Sensitive Volume on car stereo?

[Drop Top Road Trip]

So here's the thing: My other car is an '04 Focus Wagon with a Blaupunk stereo. It has Speed Sensitive Volume control wherein as the speed of the car rises...so goes the volume. And I'm spoiled by this feature. I want this in my Spyder...so I picked up a second hand but unused stock (Clarion) Nissan Versa double din head unit off craigslist for cheap. This has the Speed Sensitive Volume control as well and I even know which wire to hook up...but to what, I'm not sure. I'm leaning toward pin 14 on the ODB port. Any (educated) opinions?

 

[asexton6969]

You may have jumped the gun here. You need to find out how the system works. Is the radio fed mph directly from the ECU, is it told the MPH by the BCM. Every manufacturer does this differently.

 

[spyderdrifter]

Once you figure out what asexton6969 mentioned (seems like an important idea), you might be able to tap into the VSS wiring to gain the signal you need.

 

[Drop Top Road Trip]

Hmmm....sorry I forgot to get back concerning this.

I wired the Nissan unit up and got nothing from the speakers...so i gave up on the whole thing. I picked up a stupid cheap XO Vision XD107 Bluetooth reciever (no CD player) that weighs about a 10th of the stock unit and works spectacularly! Sadly, no volume by speed control. Why don't the aftermarket manufacturers get on board with this? Touch screens? No thanks...just give me some sensible features...and big easy to use knobs, so I don't crash into the car ahead of me trying to change the volume!

 

[DogWhistle]

I'd be happy with a screen bright enough to read when the top is down! One of my other cars has the steering wheel volume controls, and that is a very convenient feature. But given the complexity of steering wheel mounted controls, I'm not even going to attempt that conversion. My aftermarket Pioneer sounds great, however it is all but impossible to read in the daytime with the roof open.

Also, the angle of the radio screen seems to be perfectly suited to reflect light

 

[Drop Top Road Trip]

My aftermarket Pioneer sounds great, however it is all but impossible to read in the daytime with the roof open.

I'm afraid I'd have the same problem...that and having to look directly at the screen in order to touch the right thing (nothing tactile there to help a brother) would drive me crazy. My girlfriend's GTI has a touch screen, but you can do most anything you'd need to from the steering wheel buttons...the only saving grace of that setup.

But concerning the original question...

I think that if the Nissan unit had worked initially (just getting it in and making sound), then I'm wondering if just a signal from the speed sensor to the unit would be sufficient. I know that sounds obvious, but the Nissan unit gets it's speed signal from a car that has a digital odometer and I believe that signal doesn't come from a speed sensor like our cars have...though I'm not entirely sure.

 

[DogWhistle]

Did you order an adapter online? A couple companies make plug adapters that connect almost any radio to any car.

That way you can be sure the speaker wires are connected to the correct ports. I know our under seat amplifiers (if your car has one) makes the speaker routing different.

 

[Drop Top Road Trip]

Did you order an adapter online?

No, I used a PDF of each harness to match up the wires then re-pinned a plug that fit. (Always keeping it real...cheap)

I used the same speaker wire arrangement on the XD107 and they worked fine. There was something else up...just don't know what. Wasn't worth the battle to figure out. At least not at the present moment. I may try again some time. I really would like to have the speed / volume thing.

 

[DogWhistle]

On another thread, a member installed a Diamante VRX steering wheel, which I like very much, and looks similar to our 2G, but with sculpted hand-holds at 10 & 2.

While researching the part and availability, I discovered that the non-VRX Diamante steering wheel had a module, looks like it mounts under the air bag in the center, that has radio controls.

Here's the link: http://www.mitsubishipartssource.co...-VR-X-wremote-controls/49923429/MR930224.html

 

[spyderdrifter]

VRX Steering wheel Mine didn't have the extra controls though. I have seen them though on non-VRX Diamante's. I think the controls were part of the higher-end model's options.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

 

[DogWhistle]

Yeah, that's the one. Looks great. Did everything bolt right up? Is that the VR-X airbag, or did you attach the one from your 2G?

 

[spyderdrifter]

I all did bolt on just fine with no modifications. It is the VRX airbag cover. I removed the airbags from my car long ago, and since the salvage yard would have charged me for the airbag even though I didn't want it, I cut it out first. However, it did have the same electrical connector as our cars for the airbag. So if you get one and want the airbag, it should connect fine. The only change I did was I put the DSM cruise control switch on, and pulled off the Diamante one. They bolt to the same holes and are the same shape there. I didn't feel like rewiring anything since the Diamante CC switch is a bit different. Also, the DSM airbag cover will not fit the Diamante wheel. They look the same, but are slightly different.