[TorchRed77Vette]

Hello all, bought a Nox for my wife for Christmas and glad to see there is a forum for these cars....got to love the Chevy Owners. First off I am proud to say I am finally back to all GM cars (2011 Equinox 1LT 4cyl, 2004 CTS-V, 1978 Chevy C10, 1977 Corvette) after trading in an Accord and Tiburon for the Nox.

I have a question regarding a bluetooth install on these cars. As in other threads on this site, I bought a used fleet Nox which was sold to me as having Bluetooth, and being it had all of the controls and the microphone on the ceiling. I believed it, until I bought it, got it home, and tried to pair the iPhone which gave me the "Not Available" message. I was pretty ticked at first and the dealer got an earful :angryfire:, but I have now accepted it, and I'm starting to figure out ways to fix this shortcoming.

The dealer's solution was to buy a Parrot Bluetooth control, however I don't want an addon, I want the controls that are already installed onto the steering wheel and headunit to work. I have found some Equinoxes in nearby junkyards that have bluetooth installed and I was wondering what parts are need to make it work on my car. Is is a simple module, if so where is it located, or is it the whole headunit, climate control and all.

I've read other threads that say this is extremely difficult, but I was hoping since the 1LT trim came standard with bluetooth and my car already has the controls on the steering wheel and microphone installed that it wouldn't be that bad.

Any information on this would be extremely helpful.

Just to vent a little, a usb bluetooth reciever is less than $1 these days, I don't see how it is saving chevy all that much money by creating an option to leave it out, especially when they are leaving in all of the buttons, microphone, and other things that are associated with the option. It seems the option tracking and paperwork would cost more than the 75 cent bluetooth attenna.......

 

[Hawkeye-08]

On the GM trucks, it pretty much was a swap for a VCIM that has bluetooth and the BT antenna. Probably the same here. If you get one that is the same year, your Onstar will probably still work... On the trucks, the VCIM is located in the center, remove radio and there it is..

 

[TorchRed77Vette]

Cool. So it looks like on the Terrain and likely the Nox, the module is located right above the gas pedal, behind one of the lower dash covers. Since my car had the bluetooth/OnStar option removed, I wonder if there is another box in its place, to where I can simply swap it out with one from another vehicle, or if the antenna will run directly into the back of the radio making this a little more difficult. I'll have to take a look tonight.

 

[TorchRed77Vette]

Also, I wonder if there is any reprogramming that will need to be done, being currently when I try to pair my phone it says "Not Available" or will it automatically see the option is now available and let me use it.

Of course if anyone has successfully or unsuccessfully done this, please let me know. Right now I am blindly going to buy some junkyard parts and start plugging them in....doesn't look like they are going to be too cheap either. I would like to know what has been tried, whether it worked or not. I will certainly share what I discover.

 

[gtpprix]

Does the car have ONSTAR at all? IE the mirror with the buttons etc?

 

[TorchRed77Vette]

No it doesn't have any indication of OnStar (plain old mirror), but it does have the buttons for the bluetooth control on the steering wheel and on the radio head unit.

 

[TorchRed77Vette]

Ok I went under the steering wheel, and didn't really see what was described as the VCIM or anything in its place. I snapped some photos under there and maybe somebody can spot where the new VCIM would plug in or what is currently in its place.

 

[Sburngasser]

I thought the VCIM was integrated with the OnStar module? It's in the ceiling?

 

[gtpprix]

I thought the VCIM was integrated with the OnStar module? It's in the ceiling?

VCIM IS the onstar module, its normally in the location where hes looking however if it was a fleet vehicle I'm 99% sure that onstar delete also deletes all the ancillary wiring for it (as well as the mirror) since the HS bus loops through the unit. The only reason it still has the steering wheel controls is that its also the mute button and it's the only set of controls available.

 

[Chevrolet Customer Svc]

I would be happy to look into this for you with more information. Please feel free to contact me with the last eight of your VIN for more assistance. Thank you.

Tricia, GM Customer Service.

 

[Mochaman]

I bought this for my wife this Christmas because she was upset my Terrain had backup camera and she has backed into 2 carrs with her G6 convertable. It is too neat works perfect and streams stereo from her Android phone to the radio too. The only down side is it has to be recharged from time to time but she plugs it in when she gets home from work. Wireless camera adds that to a low level Nox or it can be used for all the other functions with out it. It takes 5sec to install or remove from the car. I am seriously impressed by it. Look at the things it can do. It even has an earpiece built into it if you want to use it or the mirror speaker or the radio.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180769712987

Bluetooth Rearview Mirror 3.5" Display Wireless Camera



Description

This car kit is a rear view mirror integrated with 3.5” Screen and backup rearview wireless camera kit, Wireless Hands-free Bluetooth, MP3 player functions, Radio transmitter, Phonebook and Call display. It supports SD/MMC memory card up to 32GB, USB Memory sticks, MP3 or other audio or storage devices. There is a built-in FM radio transmitter for accepting calls thru car speakers and also can be used with built-in mirror speakers in case car radio is occupied by any other media. Mirror includes wireless rechargeable ear peace for private calls and hands-free solution. Mirror equipped with advanced microphone with full duplex, noise reduction, and echo suppression. This mirror kit supports A2DP protocol for ability to play MP3s and other media from your mobile device or smartphone. It will wirelessly stream media from mobile phone in to car speakers if mobile devise supports it. A2DP supports full media control directly from mirror face plate.

Easy to install takes seconds; just clamp over original car mirror (no tools required). To install backup camera just trace the wires to backup tail light socket. Then clamp the wires to taillight socket or attach wires with scotch locks. Mirror kit includes car 12V DC to USB Charger and charging cable.

Features:
Bluetooth V2.0 and A2DP, range 0-10m.
Super Ultrathin Shell, only 17.5mm.
Answer/refuse/redial/voice dial, dial the last number.
Compatible with most of Bluetooth mobile phones and applicable to GSM/CDMA/TDMA/WCDMA.
Built-in Speaker and microphone.
FM headset for privacy.
Phone book supports 600 name cards.
Built-in MP3 player, support MP3 format, SD/MMC/USB port
Built-in FM transmitter, enjoy music or call from car audio.
LCD screen display Caller ID and English name.
Adopt CVC filtrate the Noise and suppress Echo for high quality voice talking.
TFT monitor shows vivid camera photos with full color, the visual angle of camera is 150°?
Direction of obstacles are showed on the LCD(left)/ (right)
Camera is shockproof, waterproof, night vision.
The visual distance for the best vivid image should be in 5 meters.
Wireless camera and easy to install.
Built-in rechargeable li-thium battery to provide over 180 hours stand by time

Parameter specifications:
Voltage:12~24V
Operating current:25mA
Connection distance:0-10m
Bluetooth program: BC5
FM emissive frequency: 88.1~107.9MHz
MIC sensitivity: -49dB
Continuous working hours: up to 66hours

Package Contents:
Car Mirror Bluetooth + Wireless Earpiece
Car Lighter Charger
Wireless Camera Kit with 3M tape and Screws
User Manual - English
Retail Packaging

 

[18YRW8]

After reading through all of the forums and trying to find backup camera solution, I purchased a Garmin 2798 LMT w/BC20. It has a bluetooth camera that activates when you put the car in reverse. Of course, this install needs a relay in order for there to be enough power to juice the camera, which was a common complaint on many sights. I'm posting this so that anyone else attempting this install might not bang their head as hard as I have.

Most of what I've written below is a "helpful hint" section, to go along with the factory install in structions.

1. Remove the top and bottom trim pannels on the rear hatch. The top is held in by clips only; the bottom has a torx bolt hidden under the little cover inside of the place where you grip to close the lid. In addition to the white clips, the bottom has another clip in the top-center of the bottom that does not release willingly, so a flat screw driver can coax it to let go.
2. The install is pretty straight forward, with the exception of the relay. To remove the chrome license plate light trim piece, you'll need to use a 10mm deep socket to unscrew the four nuts holding it in place (there are two white clips also holding it in place.
3. Once you have removed the plastic chrome piece, you can see a rectangle where the factory camera would have been. This is where I mounted the camera (see picture.)
4. After you have all of your parts "roughed in", here comes the relay. I used a GM High Power 8385 (Part number: 13500114) as when I tried a non-High Power, though the relay clicked and worked, the amperage was insufficient (didn't work. :banghead I cut four 4" pieces of wire onto which I crimped slide on plugs on one end; freeing up the other end to either be connected to the wires in the harness or the camera. I used a light green wire which will connect the light green backup wire at the top of the hatch and the blade on the relay labeled 30; a red wire to connect to the thicker, red w/white stripe wire and the blade labeled 87; a brown (didn't have black) wire to connect THREE wires: the black ground of the harness, the black camera wire from the Garmin BC20 camera and blade labeled 85; and a yellow wire which I soldered to the RED wire on the Garmin BC20 camera which will connect to the blade labeled 86 on the relay (see picture.)
5. The schematic pictured below shows where the relay connections need to be made (see picture.)
6. While I did not take a picture of where I mounted the Bluetooth transmitting unit, I positioned it to the right of the open space top center of the lower hatch as you face it from inside.
7. Tie everything down. Stabilize the relay so it doesn't bounce around; then put it all back together.

EVERYTHING was straight forward EXCEPT for the relay. After multiple tests, I continued to test as I reassembled the trim pieces, everything works GREAT :cheers:

I hope that if you are looking for some helpful short-cuts to install any Bluetooth camera that needs a relay, this will be helpful to you.