I just purchased this one:

AliExpress

They gave me a discount of 77 Euros without asking. So I pais 368 Euros for it. Will be here around 16 november.

 

Please keep us updated on the results - this could be a major game-change for our cars. Especially those with the outdated satnav!

 

I will for sure. Just received a message from FEDEX that package wil be here tomorrow.

 

Lots of us are interested in CarPlay so will watch with bated breath take plenty of pictures of the install

 

Unit arrived today and it looks like its going to be hard time installing this. No documentation with the unit but a message to the seller and they send me an email.

Still need to figure some things out.

Hope tomorrow to be able to start the installation

 

Have a question regarding ACC mode. Seller send me documentation and I need to connect 3 cables to the factory harness.
Those are 12V , Ground and ACC.

12V and Ground is not an issue. Those are pin 44 and 38 according to below list.
Problem is that i con not find any ACC pin on the connector.

Could that be pin 43? Entertainment Remote Enable Signal

Rest of the list can be found here: Volt Radio pinout

 

Could that be pin 43? Entertainment Remote Enable Signal

I suggest you refer back to the seller - this is an expensive bit of kit and one would expect the seller to have researched it thoroughly.

 

I think i figure it out. I can connect both AAC and 12V cables to the 12V, as the car shutdown power to the radio if you leave the car. So unit won't drain the battery.

 

You will need a permanent live (12v) to store settings etc. and a switched live (ACC) to power it.

 

If you can tell me which pin switched live is then i will be very happy

 

Pin 43 looks possible, failing that pin 13 "Integrated Centre Stack Wake Up Signal" sounds like an option.

 

This is more complicated than it looks because Ampera/Volt does not have a discrete ACC supply.

The radio is powered permanently from fuse F2 in the LH side of the dashboard (for RH drive) and its power status is controlled via the serial data bus as required. It also self-controls what is known as the 'retained accessory power' function for 10 minutes after all the car systems are shut down or until a door is opened. But I think you'll be unlikely to find an ACC power feed unless you tap into an internal circuit board.

There is another 'retained accessory power' function that is relay controlled, again for 10 minutes after shutdown. This second system controls only the 12v power socket and the cigarette lighter socket. So if you want a 12v feed that is only on when the car is on, then one of those is probably the best bet.

But beware. Some aftermarket accessories (eg dashcams) have been known to distort the expected current drain to an extent that the retained function keeps resetting and can drain the battery.

 

You mean that using the 12v what goes into the radio module connector is not a good idea.

So better split the 12 volt cable to the lighter ?

I already find out that a normal ACC likenotherncars would be very difficult to find. Thats why i want to connect both the 12V and ACC cable together and attached to a 12v pin on the car.

 

I think it would be fine to use the 12V into the radio connector, however a fuse tap often used for hardwiring dashcams would probably make more sense, as the same could be done to take power from a RAP relay controlled fuse, so F1 or F15 in the "Instrument Panel Fuse Block" here: Fuse Box.

I have used one of those two to hardwire my dashcam along with one of the constant live ones and I've not personally had any issues like SpinDrift describes, but its good to be aware that its a possibility, especially as aftermarket MMI's use a fair bit of energy, at least going by the heat they usually kick out

 

Well... enough ideas to start the installation.
Will start tomorrow and slowly check what the best solution is in this case

 

OK.Today I started installing everything.

Power is now coming from the main radio module connector.
Was the best option for me.

Only had to strip the black(pin 38) and Red wire (pin 44) and attached them to the Red/yellow and Black on the power cable bundle going into the unit (below mentioned as GL8/Malibu power cable)

Screen has two cable attached, a blue (guess video) and a black (power / touch)
Take them both out.

With the kit you get two VIDEO cables. Both are marked as LCD IN and OUT

-First one. One side factory video cable form screen, other side to the module.
-Second cable is going from the module to the screen

This makes sure that video feed passthrough the module.

And last you need to attached the kit power cable (to left on the drawing) Which already is connected to the radio connector (12V/ACC and GND)

You get 2 different power cables with this kit, but you will find out very soon which one you need

Here you see all three extra cables i solder to the kit power cable, those three cables are not soldered to the radio connector.
Made them extra long so i had room when installing. Red and yellow are twisted in the picture but not when installed.

The module is now located below, at the front in the center console

Kit comes also with 2 USB cables, a jack cable and microphone. Those are not installed yet.

Challenge is now getting the system to work. You have on the bottem of the screen 8 switched. If you move nr 7 to ON, and power down and up the unit then you get a calibration cross. You can do this but is not necessary.
After that move nr 7 back to OFF, Nr3 and 8 must be on ON.

And this is were i am stuck.
Have no idea how to go from the factory screen to the Android Auto / Carplay screen.

Documentation saids that on the Malibu you need to install the extra switch, which is deliver with the kit.
There is no empty place on the module were this switch can be connected.
But they don't tell you how to connect it

Second option is first going to AUX and the touch the middle of the screen. Does not work for me.

So i send them a message. Hope to get back tomorrow from them.

We will not give up

TO BE CONTINUE

 

Some volts in the USA were able to press the hang up phone button on the steering wheel for 3 seconds , others added the switch under stereo near the gear selector

 

Thanks for persevering

 

Already tried that ,but no luck
Also pressing the aux button.

Its a shame that pressing the screen does not work
Already calibrated the screen after installing the module sontouch is working.

Only option is switch...but first need to know how to connect

 

OK...Hope last update bout this Chinees Android Auto unit.

It WORKS.
Manage to change from default view to unit.
After playing around with cables and switches on the unit, i moved pin 2 to ON (aftermarket touchscreen) and suddenly screen went black and a new logo come on.

My phone was already connected to Android Auto so screen first showed me the normal module options to change to Android Auto.

System is not the fastest in the world but it works. I am use to aftermarket Android units on my former cars, where they use latest CPU's. But it works.

Need only to figure out some drops off when playing music. Looks like as soon as my phone starts doing something music drops and stutter.
Some tweaking is for needed.
On the menu I see a BT option . Need to figure out where that is for.

Also needed to installed the 3.5 jack from the unit to the center console.
And last will be the microphone. First I will test if it works with phone mic, if that is not an option then i need to install it


For now i am happy.

And that is already my second upgrade on the Ampera after the so needed cargo shelf

Next is get new drivers door button, and get ride of moisture on the backdoor reflectors

 

Hi. I bought the same kit as you and I'm having problems. I already checked the harness and everything looks ok. If I connect it with the GVIF bridge but not the black cable bridge it shows the image (touch screen doesn´t work obviously). But if i connect it LCD doesn´t backlit. I´m lost and I don´t know what to do.

 

Well done! Think I'll have to have a go at this now, thanks for the great updates

 

Check this video if you need more info. Just came across

Carplay/Android Auto

And if anybody who buys this unit and needs to connect the extra switch , this is how to connect it.
Seems like pins are under a black tape on the power cable:

 

UPDATE 3 : After using the unit for a couple of days I notice some issues.
-1st: Sound stutters out of nowhere
-2nd When having navigation on without giving a specified location to go to , arrow stops for a few second and continue. Don't have this issue when navigating to a location
-3th: Unit loose connection to my phone , while according to my phone its still connected to Android Auto by BT

Looks like units memory is on overflow and starts to slow down. But could be also connection between the phone and unit by BT.
Todat i touched the wifi antenna while stuttering and problem suddenly disappear. Will try first to use a antenna extend cable, to see if something is interfering connection.

I am already in contact with seller, so hope this will be solved soon.

And last thing I found out today, having the unit on the drivers floor due to this issues.
Unit does not power off when leaving the car.
Notice that Android auto started instantly when powering up the car.
First I was very lucky with this, but after doing some shopping i came back in to the car and a whole different song was playing then when i left.

So when i got home i locked the car, and saw LED flashing as normal on the unit.

After 30 minutes i went back to the car, and looked through the window and LED was still flashing.

So I guess powering the unit by using the 12V from the radio connector is not the way if i want my 12 battery not to die on me. (wonder why factory radio keeps getting 12V after car is shut down)

I think i will move the Red and Yellow wire from that connector to the 12 Power outlet op top of the dashboard. This is very close to where the cable are now.

But first i need to be sure that 12V power outlet is disconnected when leaving the car.

 

I've noticed Android Auto over bluetooth is often buggy, try with a quality USB cable instead and see if the problem goes away

 

You've made good progress so far.

But as I mentioned before, the car radio unit is permanently powered. Whether it draws power is determined by commands it received through the serial data feed from the other car controller processors. This is because the radio does a lot more than just being the radio - it is a multi-function processor in its own right. The only accessible power feed that goes off when you power down (and open a door) is the one that feeds the 12v sockets.

 

Yeah... I just figure that out. Thanks for explanation.

Reason for doing this is also two different install videos of a multimedia system like mine.
On both videos they used the radio connector to draw power.

What I will do now is leave the Yellow wire connected to the 12V of the radio module and move the RED to the 12V of the socket on top of the dashboard.

Will see what happens when doing this

 

Another update for this Chinese system.

Power is now drawn from the upper 12V power outlet. So it does power down as soon as you shut down the car and open the door.
The only drawback, is that it takes about 20/30 second before the system is up and running when you hit the Power button ON.
Would be nice if the system would power up as soon as you open the doors. But that is something i need to figure out if it is an option to do.

Issue I had with music stuttering, had a lot of communication with the seller about this. After a while i figure out that it was a connection issue. Placing the phone next to the antenna there was no problem, but moving it away, stuttering started. Not always, but more than less.
Tried a different antenna and also a longer antenna cable did not solve the issue.

Already had in mind to change the software on my phone from Xiaomi's system to Bare Android. So Sunday evening had nothing to do so I installed a new Rom.
And surprise, this new ROM somehow solved my communication issues with the media module in the car.
Drove yesterday around without any issues. Music and navigation work flawless.
Even having the unit in his final place behind dash panels did not give any problem.

Next thing need to do is connect a cable from the unit to the 12V backup light. Doing this, the screen will change to the camera when you go into reverse when you are on Android Auto.
Now the screen only flickers and goes back to Android Auto.

To do this, you can guide a wire from the front to the back of the car and connect it to the power cable of the backup light. But as the light is under the bumper, I try to find another solution. So i took a look at the wiring diagram.

There I can see that light is powered up by the BCM (bodycontrol unit) from connector X7 PIN 3

Only thing i need to figure out is what the location is for the BCM.
Hopefully someone can give me a push in the right direction

 

Another update for this Chinese system.

Power is now drawn from the upper 12V power outlet. So it does power down as soon as you shut down the car and open the door.
The only drawback, is that it takes about 20/30 second before the system is up and running when you hit the Power button ON.
Would be nice if the system would power up as soon as you open the doors. But that is something i need to figure out if it is an option to do.

Issue I had with music stuttering, had a lot of communication with the seller about this. After a while i figure out that it was a connection issue. Placing the phone next to the antenna there was no problem, but moving it away, stuttering started. Not always, but more than less.
Tried a different antenna and also a longer antenna cable did not solve the issue.

Already had in mind to change the software on my phone from Xiaomi's system to Bare Android. So Sunday evening had nothing to do so I installed a new Rom.
And surprise, this new ROM somehow solved my communication issues with the media module in the car.
Drove yesterday around without any issues. Music and navigation work flawless.
Even having the unit in his final place behind dash panels did not give any problem.

Next thing need to do is connect a cable from the unit to the 12V backup light. Doing this, the screen will change to the camera when you go into reverse when you are on Android Auto.
Now the screen only flickers and goes back to Android Auto.

To do this, you can guide a wire from the front to the back of the car and connect it to the power cable of the backup light. But as the light is under the bumper, I try to find another solution. So i took a look at the wiring diagram.

There I can see that light is powered up by the BCM (bodycontrol unit) from connector X7 PIN 3

View attachment 200534

View attachment 200535

Only thing i need to figure out is what the location is for the BCM.
Hopefully someone can give me a push in the right direction

Did you ever figure out the reverse issue? I've only just got around to installing the system after my beloved ampera was totalled in December and I bought it back, and I'm having the same behaviour. It seems strange to me that it knows about reverse being selected as it flickers, but doesn't stay active, perhaps it's a setting somewhere?

EDIT: I've had a look around the TIS I have for a volt, and it seems that the BCM is just behind the fusebox on the passenger side:

 

Never had the chance to do this as i manage to get me a Model S so Volt had to go .