08 SENTRA - Retrofit Steering Wheel Controls

[alperazzoli]

Hey guys,

I've recently bought myself a 2.0S. I live in BRazil, and here it comes with the 6-speaker single CD player, no MP3 and, alas, it didn't come with steering wheel controls. Neither does the Brazilian-market top trim, the 2.0SL! Quite usual for cars to be stripped down to be sold here, which is bad. In my case, I just have a blank plastic "faceplate" on the left side of my steering wheel.

Would any of you know if there is a way of retrofitting the audio controls to my steering wheel? I've done a lot of research and found that in other Nissan models the controls and the "faceplate" are actually one part as a whole, I thought if I could get a hold on a set of audio controls I'd maybe be able to pull my wheel apart and put the controls in place of that blank faceplate.

But for that, I would need to find out:

* If i can get these steering wheel controls somewhere* Whether my car would have the proper harness fitted.

Just for reference - I have found this guide for doing exactly the same thing on a 350Z: http://www.350z-tech.com/zwiki...stall

It seems doable, except that I'd like to keep the original stereo so that I don't loose the trip computer.

Well, this is a hella text, but thanks for any help on this!

Cheers

[nametakennow]

Best bet is to first compare the part numbers for the dash wiring harness on models with the steering wheel controls and without. If it's the same, you could retrofit it as the wires exist for the controls. Otherwise you're out of luck.

[alperazzoli]

OK.... any clues as to where the harness' part number would be found?

Thanks

[nametakennow]

I just noticed the link to the writeup for the Z. Given that, I don't see why not, as the wires for the controls were simply spliced in. You ought to be able to follow the same procedure. I'm not sure how, if at all, the Brazilian model differs from the US one, but I would think they'd be the same in that area, so I would suggest you grab the FSM from the link in my signature (below my first post) to help with the wiring and steering wheel removal.

If you have any uncertainty once you get in there about what you're doing, you'll want to back out.

[ser-steve]

i can tell you how to get a quick answer to this

go to the stealer and ask for a wiring diagram for your stereo, it will have harness #'s on everything

then just have him grab another with the radio package and compare PN or wires

they love to throw away paper for money so they will print this out free of charge [at least they always have for me]

[alperazzoli]

Well, the service manuals really are insanely useful.

Reading through them, it seems that the Steering Wheel controls use the Bluetooth Module located underneath the driver's seat as a sort of CAN 'proxy'. Well, this would maybe explain why even the Rockford Fosgate models in Brazil don't have the steering wheel buttons. Maybe lack of a Portuguese-speaking Voice Command System? (well I'm just speculating).

Anyway, the job seems complex: Get a Voice Command ECM, find out all the harnesses needed, route them correctly, connect them to the BT ECM, and to the stereo, also change the dome light module for one that has the BT microphone and, phew, pray that the car's BCM recognizes all this stuff.

Would you guys say it's too complex to be done? Not worth the time/trouble? Or maybe I should be crazy enough and go on and try it? Anyone ever tried to retrofit bluetooth/voice command?

Thanks guys.

[alperazzoli]

HI guys,

Further studying the FSM suggests that the controls don't use the CAN bus. Seems they go dircetly into the Headunit and they work in the usual setup of different resistances for each button.

This makes me think it would be a bit easier to retrofit the controls.

Now the quest is for the controls themselves and their harnesses. They are nowhere to be found. Any of you would be able to point to a parts dealer in the US that could supply them?

Cheers