V36 2008 Coupe Wiring Differences with Android Screen

[sausagepianist]

Hey all, I'm sorry if this has been discussed before.  I have a 2008 Japanese import V36 coupe with nav but without Bose.

I bought one of those AliExpress android screens, which for the most part works really well.  The only thing that doesn't work is the air con controls (well sort of) and the factory reverse camera.  The AC can be controlled fine but it doesn't report the change in temp and mode to the screen, and the volume knob/other audio controls from the panel don't register on the learning app. 

I am pretty certain that the problem is the difference in the head unit between base model (Nav but no Bose) 2007-2009 coupes and anything after 2009.  Mine is the one with the blue connector all the way to the right as seen in this forum post: 

The reason I think this is there is one wire left over that doesn't fit anywhere on this head unit, or in the factory screen which also uses different connectors to more recent versions.  I've seen the upgrade from OWC, and have sent the guy a message on eBay but no response yet.  I also don't particularly need the whole kit, just *maybe* an adapter for this one cable. 

Did anyone else here have the same problem, or have any insight about what I can do to get this working?  I have been in contact with the seller but all they seem to be able to do is ask for more pictures and videos.

Minor edit to add:  I have been researching and found a screen on Aliexpress that actually specifies my head unit in the listing, so these things do exist.  I will contact the seller to see if the wiring adapters are interchangeable with other screens.

 

Thanks in advance!

Edited February 10 by sausagepianist

[Duncan]

It doesn't really answer your question...but is the head unit full android or just android auto, are you happy with how quickly it boots and responds, and do you have a link?  If we can identify good Android alternatives it will really help people stuck with Japanese screens.

Did it have a separate reverse camera input so you would replace the factory one, or are you just going without now...that would be a pretty big steps back.

And finally, do you have a picture of the "wire" that you can't plug in? Most likely it is some sort of aerial that is not too important eg japanese traffic or am radio or something if you haven't noticed a functionality issue

[V35_Paul]

I have the same one. Mine didn't work right at the start. I had the wrong plug in the wrong spot. They asked for pictures and videos to be able to fix it. they where able to point it out in the video

[sausagepianist]

Sorry Duncan, I didn't get a notification for the replies.  Thanks for responding! 

It's a full Android device, but does allow you to use CarPlay/AA as well.  This is the one I bought from NaviRS on AliExpress: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006368602668.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.111.59aa1802JDzQ0E - the 2K 8G-256G CAM variant but it seems to have gone up by £170 since I bought it!  My purchase was ￡307.14.  

It's not the fastest thing in the world but performs perfectly adequately.  It stays on standby unless I disconnect the battery and let it power down, then it's just a fairly standard Android bootup time from cold.  The DSP Equaliser is very nice and made the standard stereo system sound pretty decent compared to the stock screen.  Perhaps I can take a video of it when I get a sec.

It *allegedly* supports the reverse camera, but I'm yet to get that working.  It has options for reverse cam (a camera unit can be bought separately) or 360 cameras (also bought separately).  To be fair it doesn't seem to detect that the shifter was put into reverse but I'm working on a theory about this as well.  At the moment I'm going without which is a bit annoying considering the car is an absolute canal barge but so far I haven't caused any damage

I'll grab a picture of the wire I'm missing later today when I can get outside. 

My theory, by the by, is that not only is the head unit different, but the CANBUS network has different signals for the different years.  I think this because I have a spare AC panel from a newer Infiniti G37 (as opposed to my Nissan panel) which wouldn't control anything except the volume when I had it wired up with the stock system.  I'm going to throw it back in and see if the screen will respond to it.  I've just ordered an arduino CANBUS module so I can have a look at the signals going around the car and see if I can spot anything.  I'm thinking if I can work out what it's expecting vs what it's getting I might be able to translate and relay the signal back but so far just a theory anyway.

I also found this on my travels, so far the only one that specifically matches my car: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002822934280.html?spm=a2g0s.imconversation.0.0.33433e5fgttovi

If you look at the picture of the before, it has the card reader slot, and the picture of the head unit is exactly the same as the one pictured in my original post.  I asked if they sell the cables separately but sadly they won't.  I didn't want to just buy this one because it's a super old Android version and only dual core - likely slow as hell. 

[sausagepianist]

On 19/02/2025 at 6:38 AM, V35_Paul said:

I have the same one. Mine didn't work right at the start. I had the wrong plug in the wrong spot. They asked for pictures and videos to be able to fix it. they where able to point it out in the video

Thanks for that Paul.  Do you think if I posted a picture you'd be able to remember where it went? 

[sausagepianist]

Right, here's a video of the basic operation at least.  This is what you can expect day to day when you turn the car on and it boots from standby.  The only thing from a media point of view I haven't gotten working is for it to autoplay plexamp when it turns on from standby (it works from cold boot) but that's more of a plexamp problem as it will autoplay other music players. 

Also attached is my one stray cable.  It's part of the screen's wiring adapters but there's just nowhere for it to go in my car.  I've just now done a bit of research and found a matching port on a 2010-2014 head unit with BOSE.  Mine has no BOSE so that's that case pretty much closed I think. 

Plugging in the Infiniti AC panel basically did nothing for me, so that's a dead end as well. 

Next port of call is to mess with this CANBUS module and see what I can find from it.  I found this resource containing the DBC files for a 2010+ G37 : https://github.com/icecube45/Dash_InfinitiG37/blob/master/InfinitiG37.dbc

I'll now have something to go from when I try to extract my CANBUS data so I can see if the HVAC Mode, Fan Speed, Temperature, etc. match and also the gear shifter position.  It's a pretty big assumption that it's just mismatched CAN signals but considering all the devices in the CAN network are talking to each other (AC can be fully adjusted just with no info on screen) it might be a safe one.  I will report back

[V35_Paul]

sorry mine's different 😬 

[sausagepianist]

2 hours ago, V35_Paul said:

sorry mine's different 😬 

All good mate I'm mostly leaning towards the CANBUS differences being the problem.  My arduino adapter is en route so I will report back.