Update: 12/12/06
Change is
inevitable - especially when it comes to electronic devices and the
services surrounding them. When I got my new phone (Blackberry
7520) the hands free system installed in my Jeep was no longer
compatible.
Initially
the compatible replacement that I found was several hundred dollars and
I opted not to spend that kind of money right away.
But time
wore on and I grew to miss the hands free capability. I did some
checking and found the hands free system I wanted had two different
pricing schemes. You can either buy just the hardware and install
it yourself. For a $200 savings you get an instruction book and
advice to have the unit professional installed. Or you can buy the hardware and installation all in one
price. Cha-Ching!
I
downloaded the owners manual and
reviewed the installation instructions. I came to the conclusion
that the professional installation was recommended because of the work
involved in getting inside the dash to route the wires, stow the
junction box, and to identify and connect the power. Needless to
say I have already spent considerable time inside the relatively simple
TJ dash. There was nothing there I couldn't handle. The
installation itself once you get the dash opened, is a matter of
connecting two power leads (switched and unswitched DC 12v), a ground,
and optionally a mute lead to the stereo. The rest of the
connections consist of plugs for the speaker, microphone, power leads,
and minute control pad. There's only one way they plug in, and everything is
so small it's easy to find a place for the hidden components and the
not-so-hidden ones.
So when I
had a couple hours of daylight and some warm-for-December weather, I
cracked open the dash. This consists of removing the glove
compartment door, center fascia, and knee pad under the steering wheel.
I had already put connectors on the power, ground, and mute leads the
night before to speed up the install.
With
everything labeled, terminated, and opened up, I ran each part and chose
a location. The length of the wires for the speaker, microphone
and control pad dictated the choices to some extent. I ended up
with the speaker bolted to the a-pillar - not my first choice.
I placed
the microphone as before.
I put the
control pad centered on the dash below the GPS units, and the junction
box inside the dash under the steering wheel.
I ran all
the wires to be sure they'd reach their destinations. (click
drawing below to enlarge)
Everything
was fine. Next, I removed the old hands free system along with the
accessory plug I had installed for it. I connected the power and
ground leads and tied that off. Then I connected the mute wire to
the stereo. That left nothing but to plug in all the leads into
the junction box and see how it worked.
And it
didn't. The power came on and the control pad lit up but that was
with the ignition turned off. So I checked all the connections.
Everything was correct but still the control pad lit with the key off
and went off with the key on. After a little double checking I
found the problem - the ground was no good. I fixed the ground and
everything came up perfect.
Next I
linked the Blackberry with the Bluetooth system according to the
instructions in both the hands free and
Blackberry manuals.
It worked first try.
This
brings me back almost to the capabilities I had previously. The
Blackberry does not support voice dialing so I must still pick up the
Blackberry if I want to make an outgoing call. But still, the
wireless connection and the return to being able to take calls without
handling the phone is wonderful!