GCG

Sorry to hear that after all the tweaking to finally have it just right, you now have to go through all that a second time The only comfort would be that I'm sure this one is going to look even more perfect than the first one when you're done with it

I just wanted to point out that wiring a Double Din or Single Din, Pioneer or Kenwood to the Axxess XSVI-2004 is exactly the same because both, Pioneer and Kenwood, adhere to the E.I.A. Standard Wiring Color Code and the extra wires that may be present in a Double Din vs a Single Din installation (backup camera, GPS) are not connected to the Axxess interface at all.

Regarding the following 2 wires in the Kenwood harness:

• Blue (Antenna Power)
• Orange/White (Dimmer Control)

If your Kenwood has a Blue/White (Amp Trigger), splice the Blue/White from Kenwood to Blue/White from Axxess and tape the end of the Blue wire from Kenwood and leave it unused.

Splice Orange/White from Kenwood to Orange/White from Axxess.

I hope that someone can throw some tips regarding the physical installation of the Kenwood headunit. I'm sure you're going to have perfect results!

jrprich

GCG,

Thanks for this info! Nice to know that the wire colors should match up again.

"I'm sure you're going to have perfect results!"

I hope your right ;^)

I am not new to car stereo installs. Have done quite a few over the years.
I once worked for a local Car Stereo dealer and install shop way back in the late 60s.......
The hot items back then were 8 track decks. There was no such thing as a ready-made install kit for different cars.
But I did learn that if someone else in the shop had already done a particular type of car their knowledge could save me lots of time and headaches. So I always seek out info before I begin.
The DD install in a C5 is a different animal as the DD decks may all look the same size but seem to have very different front face sizes.
The Kenwood I have on order uses a powered tilting face to access the DVD/CD slot and SD card slot. This will likely mean many trial installs to get just the right height and depth of the Kenwood mount in the Vette's center cage.
Will find out late next week when the Kenwood arrives.

69monzacpe

I installed the same Kenwood unit. I don't know what brackets you have for the install, mine were the metal ones and I had to make some modifications to get them to fit up to the cage and the head unit. I used thin washers to shim between the head unit and the brackets and just mounted the brackets to the unit itself (I didn't use the metal mounting box that came with the unit). I had to cut a small amount off the cross piece of the console under the head unit to allow the door to open and close smoothly. If you have a dremel and a file, then that's going to help. My Dremel has paid for itself many times over through the years. Just be prepared to do a lot of "in and out", have patience and it will look great when you're done. On another note, I had an older 80mb ipod and it doesn't work with the newer HU technology. The HU has an SD card slot so I just copied all my music to a SD and stuck it in the SD slot behind the door and it's staying there until I want to load some more music!

GCG

^^^ Very nice results!

GCG

This is another available option: C5 DD Adjustable (up and down, in and out) Braket Kit

jrprich

I considered these brackets, great design, but $60.00
The set that VNutts sells look identical except they are all plastic and mine broke in several places when I tried them. VN did refund the cost.

So I decided to make my own out of strong tie galvanized plates. $3.00 for a pair and wide enough to allow multiple mounting points on the side of the head unit. Took awhile to get them right but the head unit is very stable once mounted and didn't want it to sag in the back end as the thinner/narrower L brackets did. They are not pretty, but they are very strong and rock solid.

GCG

I think they're way too expensive as well. I just brought them up in case somebody was looking for something like that.

I would probably have done the same

twill

This was the bracket set that was on mine and it made the adjustment process MUCH easier! For the time and trouble that it saved me on the adjustment process $60 was a value. To me they are worth the investment, I was able to tighten everything down snug without stripping anything out.

Raiden8816

So I'm really sad and honestly annoyed at the stereo shop that did my install. Besides the fact that they charged me $450 when I supplied them everything; MVH-1400, VN metal brackets, VN double din bezel, Axxcess harness and antenna adapter. The only thing I purchased from them was the USB port that replaced the cigarette outlet.

You can clearly see they broke the middle section between the double din and the hvac, they called it cheap and said they use Metra. I told them this kit is worth double of a damn Metra.

Any suggestions on how to get this to mount more flush with the kit? Right now I am so sad, needless to say I am disputing the charge on my credit card since my initial quote was $250 and they charged $450 plus the fact that the work was shoddy and they broke the kit.

jrprich

I just installed my new Kenwood DNX893S into my 03 and am keeping my Bose amp and speakers for now. I used an Axxess XSVI-2004 to marry the Kenwood to the Bose wiring.

Just one problem remains..........my Kenwood stays on regardless of where the ignition is positioned even with no key inserted. I triple checked the wiring and I have the Red lead from the Axxess harness hooked up to the Red lead on the Kenwood. It does not seem to be the RAP as the Kenwood stays on with the doors closed no matter how long until I power it off using the switch on the Kenwood.

Any ideas or help will be appreciated as I would like to get my dash back together.

Thanks in advance,
Jim

Axxess wiring instructions:


Kenwood wiring harness:

69monzacpe

Mine did the same thing. If you think you wired everything correctly, it may be the RAP wasn't initiated properly. In the instructions it gives you the initiation procedure, but researching on the interweb I found this is pretty common problem (unit staying on). In addition to the initiation process in the instructions I found some hints from others to try. You'll want to unplug the XSVI, or if it's buttoned up, I saw where someone pulled the radio fuse instead. Wait about 15 minutes, plug the unit back in (or the fuse) then - open door, get in car, close door, wait for car to go back to sleep, then do the 30 second initiation. This fixed mine. If that doesn't work you may need to call tech help where you got the unit and see if they have any suggestions, or they may need to replace the unit.

Also, with mine I noticed the instructions I got with my XSVI unit were for a different unit (picture was different was the first hint). This was problematic when it came time to adjust the POTs. After several searches I found the instructions on the manufacturer's website, but it took some digging. After that the adjustment process was pretty straight forward.

jrprich

69monzacpe,

Thanks for the info. I "thought" I did the initiation correctly
But I could easily be wrong. I did not think to try the initiation again.
I will give it another try tomorrow using the pull fuse method first as I really don't want to pull the bezel and console again as I got it all buttoned up today.

Thanks,

Jim

GCG

jrprich

Man, that sucks

I hope your CC company backs you.
I would have contacted the manager and/or owner about how you were treated.
Any shop that delivered that work and charged you almost double should be out of business. You might contact your local Better Business Bureau and file a complaint.

69monzacpe

I also thought I did it properly, but the instructions could have been more helpful. When I did the initiation process I had my door open, so when I connected the battery the system wasn't in sleep mode and the unit didn't initialize properly. Hopefully you're system works properly now. I've noticed with mine that it "wakes up" when I unlock the doors with the fob which the old unit did, but then once I'm in the car and turn the ignition it has to "wake up" again and it can take a minute. Sometimes I have to push the power button, but not always. I've not researched to see if this is normal or not so hopefully I can resolve it. If not, it's still worth it as I'm really enjoying the upgrade. I may go back in and boost the subs a bit but for now I'm very happy with the system.

jrprich

Well, I tried both methods multiple times today.........No luck.

I tried the pull the radio fuse #5 three times extending the time off each time.

Removed the negative battery cable then removed the console & bezel & Kenwood from the dash and disconnected the Kenwood wiring plug. Left the negative off for 60min. Followed the initiation process each time.

In all cases, the Kenwood remains on after the key is pulled and the door opened every try. And will remain on until turned off at the Kenwood.

Not sure what to try next. I will try contacting Axxess tomorrow.

Thanks to all,
Jim

Update:
I had multiple emails with Metra support. The same tech always answered my emails promptly and I really appreciated that.
But he was sure the issues were with the head unit, not the Axxess unit.
But when I replaced the Axxess unit I was asking about today with a new Axxess unit all the problems disappeared..........

Cameldog

Stealth02

Obviously these jackwads didn't know what they where doing. I would dispute the labor they charged plus I would make them replace the bezel. They obviously did not know how to adjust the angle and depth of the head unit to allow it to set flush with the bezel opening. looks like they had it setting out to far on the first attempt and broke the center bar from forcing it to set back. I would hate to see how they did on the wiring if they could not master simple mechanical adjustments. I would have helped you do the install for a cold beer if you lived closer. Sorry for your ordeal.

Marc@Vettenuts.net

Guys we just got in the new mounting brackets that are stronger. We had several customers that had them to break so we had our guy fix this issue with a different material and the direction there printed in.

Thanks,
Marc

crazybird

I will get some pics of mine up this weekend. Shop did a great job, fits and looks great. Only complaint is the lid on the cup holder doesn't open up far enough for my coffee cup to sit straight up. Lol