[Hog_cts]

Is the nav/dvd plug and play for non-dvd cts?

 

[shaft]

Nope.

http://www.cadillacfaq.com/faq/answers/navconvert/index.html

I'm afraid if your car doesnt have the bose package to begin with you wont be able to have the voice controls at all (phase 2).

 

[odysseus]

There are three cases with varying degrees of work.

If you have a CD based (early '03) Nav, then you simply swap faceplates and it's plug and play.

If you have the Bose system with a six disk changer DIC style headunit, then you go to the FAQ for the info on how to swap them. You need to add three sets of harnessing to get them to fully work, but if you don't care for audible directions or voice commands, they you can get by with only a VSS wire from the instrument panel to the Nav.

Basic Swap:
http://www.cadillacfaq.com/faq/answers/navconvert/index.html

Voice commands and audible directions:
http://www.cadillacfaq.com/faq/answers/navpart2/index.html

If you have the base single CD DIC unit, then you install the VSS wire and stop, since there is no way to get audible directions without Bose. You could install the voice command harness to the VCIM (On-Star box) if you wanted to, though.

 

[dslplaya]

Hey guys, i found the nav i want.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2005-Cadillac-CTS-GPS-NAV-DVD-Ebony-Black_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ38653QQitemZ8015080959QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
The only problem is after reading the facts, it seems like its to technical for me to do it. Do you think a dealer will install it? or a place like car toys maybe? I want it to be just like stock and have all the voice commands to work too. Keep in mind i have a 2003 cts, this 2005 dvd/nav will work in there correct?

 

[-1-]

Hey guys, i found the nav i want.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2005-Cadillac-CTS-GPS-NAV-DVD-Ebony-Black_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ38653QQitemZ8015080959QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
The only problem is after reading the facts, it seems like its to technical for me to do it. Do you think a dealer will install it? or a place like car toys maybe? I want it to be just like stock and have all the voice commands to work too. Keep in mind i have a 2003 cts, this 2005 dvd/nav will work in there correct?

:hmm: The basic installation for the DVD NAV is super simple. The hardest part is removing the instrument cluster to tap into the VSS wire. If you have "basic" skills, you can do it. Read, reread, the FAQ on the radio swap. Follow the steps. I would highly recommend the seller for the NAV unit you're looking at. I purchased mime from him. He's sold many to forum members. Don't ask the dealer about installing this. First answer is "can't be done'. They don't have a clue. Cut out the less informed. Any audio installer could do the swap with the necessary items and the detailed instructions provided on www.cadillacfaq.com There are two phases for the DVD install. Phase one is without the additional wiring for "voice guidance" and "voice commands". Start with phase one. You can add phase two later. Chances are you don't have XM satellite radio. If you go with the NAV, you might want to install it at the same time. Check www.radiosandmore.com for their XM kit. I also put a 2005 DVD NAV in a 2003 CTS, no problems. I don't believe there's another mod for your CTS that will give you more satisfaction for the money. DO IT!

 

[jteolis]

Here is a standing offer to anyone, if you purchase an 06 Nav with wood grain, and want ebony, I'll swap an ebony faceplace from mine for the wood trim off the new one. Yet me know!!

 

[rm2077]

so if you do not have the bose system the only thing you would lose is the voice promps? is this correct. will onstar and cell still work through car speakers?

 

[odysseus]

The C1, C2, and C3 connectors are pinned identically, whether you have the Base, Bose/DIC, or Nav. The only difference is the Nav adds connections for the VSS (required for the Nav to work), audible directions to the Bose amp, and the voice commands going to the VCIM (On-Star box). The last two are optional, since those features will simply not work without the harnessing.

You'll need to add all of those, if you want those features with a Nav, except there is no provision for the audible directions (nav talks to you for turns, etc) for the non-Bose amplifier. On-Star and the cell phone will work identically, but you'll need to add harnessing if you want voice commands (talk to the nav to tell it what you want to do).

I haven't installed a Nav into the base CTS, but from the schematics, this is how it works. Anyone who's actually done this particular swap can chime in.

 

[dslplaya]

By CTS does have the bose system in it. I doubt it has XM radio, but i really dont care, cuz im gonna go with sirius. So where can i pick up the harnesses to make the voice work?

 

[odysseus]

You can't buy them. You gotta make them. All the hard work has been done (researching part numbers and vendors, etc).

http://www.cadillacfaq.com/faq/answers/navpart2/index.html

 

[rm2077]

The C1, C2, and C3 connectors are pinned identically, whether you have the Base, Bose/DIC, or Nav. The only difference is the Nav adds connections for the VSS (required for the Nav to work), audible directions to the Bose amp, and the voice commands going to the VCIM (On-Star box). The last two are optional, since those features will simply not work without the harnessing.

You'll need to add all of those, if you want those features with a Nav, except there is no provision for the audible directions (nav talks to you for turns, etc) for the non-Bose amplifier. On-Star and the cell phone will work identically, but you'll need to add harnessing if you want voice commands (talk to the nav to tell it what you want to do).

I haven't installed a Nav into the base CTS, but from the schematics, this is how it works. Anyone who's actually done this particular swap can chime in.

IS there any chance the VSS wire is already connected. i thought i read somewhere that on 05 models it was already in the harness. anyone with any experience with this.

just to clarify...the onstar and cell functions (including the voice dialing) will work either way without adding the aditional harness that allows for voice commands on the nav.

 

[odysseus]

When you pull the radio, look for a wire in pin 7 of connector C2. If it's there, you have the VSS installed at the factory. Mine is an '03, which is not istalled unless the Nav comes from the factory, so I had to put one in.

On-star and cell functions will work exactly the same, even if you don't install any more harnessing. The wiring is already in all CTS's and connected exactly the same, regardless of the head unit. The VCIM (Vehicle Cellular Interface Module) is simply an analog cell phone, with a GPS reciever in it, that's also connected to the cars serial bus so it can transmit telemetry. On-Star is the actual service that the box calls when you push the button on the mirror.

When you talk to the VCIM via the microphone in the mirror (i.e., call On-Star, or your wife), the signals stop at the VCIM, unless you install the harnessing that lets those signals travel from the VCIM back to the Nav. The voice recognition software decodes the voice commands to computer commands.

For audible directions, the other harness lets the digital Nav section of the head unit (the actual analog radio is a separate electronics board inside) talk to the Bose amp directly. Why it isn't connected internally to the Nav is a mystery to me.

 

[dslplaya]

Would anyone be willing to actually build these harnesses for me, so i can just plug and play. Im horrible with anything electric, let me know, i would be willing to pay a little bit of money.

 

[rm2077]

i was thinking the same thing. i definately think i can install the radio and VSS cable if need be but tracking down and making one of these cables may be over my skill level

 

[odysseus]

Even if you have the harnesses in hand, they're not exactly plug and play. Pulling your dash apart to find one 26 guage wire for the VSS in the instrument panel harness takes balls, if you don't feel comfortable with messing with electronics. Cut that wire while your splicing it, and you're speedo/odo quits working.

I've built the harnesses in the past as favors for several members, but even then, it's a one to two hour job to install them. Only one end of one harness has a connector. The rest are terminals that you have to properly plug into the correct pin locations on the correct connectors on three electronics boxes. Also, you need to track down five terminal pins from your dealer and crimp them on, yourself. I've had limited success getting these terminals in the past.

If you don't feel comfortable with not having a 'plug and play' harness that simply snaps in place, I wouldn't recommend that you mess with this. It's not all that, IMHO, and other than to test it out, I don't use either function (audible directions or voice commands). Regardless of actually making or buying the harnesses (they're not that hard to make), read the link that I posted carefully to see if you feel comfortable with the install. If you do, and want to forge ahead using the instructions posted on the FAQ, the next step is to become a supporting member of the forum and donating to the FAQ. Most of us learn valuable information that's worth much more than the cost of membership.

If you haven't already, you should also go to the Nav Swap writeup (in my first reply above) that shows how to retrofit the Nav in a non-nav car. This is where the VSS wire splice is explained. If you succeed in that, tackling phase 2 would be the next step, or you can stop and still have a functioning Nav.

 

[rm2077]

i am not very fimiliar with the how the nav functions. how do you imput lets say an address or gas station without the voice commands? i have never actually got to play around with one.

 

[tomm]

i am not very fimiliar with the how the nav functions. how do you imput lets say an address or gas station without the voice commands? i have never actually got to play around with one.

You easily just add the address using the dial. As for gas stations etc. you just choose gas station in the destination menu and it will list them in the order that is closest to you.

 

[dslplaya]

I wish someone lived in washington, haha i would pay 200 bux for someone to install it.