Questions for those who installed the backup cam OR installed the RB5 NAV radio

[bramfrank]

I suppose I could make two posts, but the one involves a double upgrade.

NAV RADIO

I managed to buy an RB5 radio from a 2014 Journey and dropped it into my vehicle which had an RE2 - all well and good, but does the traffic feature work for you? Is it the FM traffic? Or is it SiriusXM? It is the weekend and there is no traffic today - the unit says it is enabled and that I will get alerts - for a unit with Garmin's software it works just differently enough to be annoying. And that includes the fact that there's no volume/mixer control specifically for the nav, though the way they handle it in the radio is actually rather neat - if only the announcements were higher wuality.

And why don't they show album art on the left when the map is up in player mode?

The unit does need to be updated, but first a map update . . . . maybe there's something in the 5.1 release that adds features.

BACKUP CAMERA

While doing things and spending money I figured I would add in the backup camera - purchased the kit and did the install this afternoon - it was not complicated - as far as I got. And that's where the questions come in:

The connector on my radio already has wires on the video input pins - the pin lock is engaged and I can't get it to release . . . what have YOU done? Did you cut the wires that go to the connector and splice them to the camera leads? I really don't like the concept of replacing the connector with the one from the kit, since that means literally destroying the existing one.

I can't for the life of me get out the front cigarette lighter socket to splice in the power leads . . . what they could have done is to use the switched cigarette lighter in the rear left side of the vehicle - and you need to disconnect THAT one when installing the wire harness anyway . . . . . so, what is the trick to getting that front socket out? Or shall I cut those wires and connect to the rear socket.

All experience welcome. I have yet to make those last camera connections, but the radio comes out in 3 minutes anyway.

[dhh3]

I went into Best Buy to get an adaptor: power port to USB. I put it in the socket. It would not go all the way in so that the center pin would make contact. I pulled it out and the whole socket came with it. I think that friction just holds it in, because I tried a couple of times to get the adaptor to go in completely. Each time, the whole socket came out with it. I exchanged it for a smaller one, put it in the socket, and pushed the socket back in. So far, it has not fallen out, and I did not see any evidence of broken retainer clips. Hope this helps.

[bramfrank]

Thanks . . . .

I decided to bite the bullet - I have an appointment tomorrow morning to have the dealer do the instrument panel connections - it's all of 5 wires and they have the removal tool, so it should cost me an hour of labour ($110/hour?) - if they mess up the wiring harness it becomes their problem and they have to add in the sales code to make it work anyway.

I'll have the trim tabs pulled before I get there to save the tech valuable minutes - all of 6 screws to remove to get the radio out.

One thing I did discover from reading the manual is that it uses dead reckoning in addition to GPS . . . very neat.

I'd still like to know how the traffic on the nav works for us in Canada. I saw no traffic data when I was out on this bitterly cold day.

Edited February 24, 2015 by bramfrank

[2late4u]

let us know how it turns out, good luck...

[Lobitz68]

Unfortunately, they usually charge you "book time" regardless of what the actual labor time is... If the book says an hour and it takes 5 minutes, guess what you pay for...an hour.

[bramfrank]

I guess I was lucky - aside from the fact that the tech couldn't find the cable and they called me in to explain it to him, he managed to spend 1.3 hours . . . but they knocked it back to 1 hour. I paid and left and it works just fine.

The tech asked why I didn't connect the power in the rear, considering how accessible it is, we both felt that running the power up to the front was wasteful. So If you are planning to add the camera and you run the wiring yourself just pull the power leads from the harness and wire them to either the backup light circuit or to the rear outlet.

Still looking for information on traffic - anyone in Canada getting it?

I wonder if there's another module, for traffic reception that is missing for Canadian users? There is a multi-pin connector on the radio that is empty in my installation. I plan to get on the phone with Sirius later this week and ask them about it.

[Lobitz68]

Nice! It's always nice to have a good dealer experience... I recall a post on here somewhere where the poster called Sirius USA to have it activated and then it worked in Canada... May have to search a little bit, but it wasn't too long ago.

Edited February 24, 2015 by Lobitz68

[Lobitz68]

Nice! It's always nice to have a good dealer experience... I recall a post on here somewhere where the poster called Sirius USA to have it activated and then it worked in Canada... May have to search a little bit, but it wasn't too long ago.

http://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/topic/5890-siriusxm-navtraffic-canada/

[bramfrank]

Thanks for the link. Interesting. I haven't moved my subscription to the new radio yet (heck, it works, right?) Who knows? Maybe the PO bought a lifetime subscription?