Big Day For The Avalanche Yesterday! Installed OEM nav radio and bluetooth VCIM

Had a busy day yesterday. My son (GMGuy84 on GM-Trucks forum) and I tore into my Avalanche and swapped out the Bose 6 CD radio for an OEM touchscreen nav radio (15882766) and while we were at it replaced the Onstar VCIM with a newer one with bluetooth (20783877, and antenna 15938939). We also installed the GPS antenna (1520179 and the VSS harness. This was pretty fun, but some of it was a real PITA! The VCIM required both of us to get out - one to hold the clips back and the other to wiggle out the VCIM module. The other thing that I thought would be easy, but wasn't was adding the green voice wire to the wiring block under the dash. Pretty difficult to un-clip this thing, turn it around, locate the green/white wire and tap into it. The harnesses are pretty thick and I was worried about damaging the connectors, so I wound up unclipping most all of them to be able to turn the block around.

One thing that I forgot before we began was to eject all 6 of the CD's that were in the original radio. I had already unhooked the battery and was waiting for bleed down when I realized the disks were still in.    Oh well, powered up the radio, took out the disks and then waited again for the power bleed down. Gave us time for a beer!   

Here are the pics from our fun time. Beer was shared and valuable bonding time with my son was priceless!   

Here is what we will be installing today:


Here is what we are starting with - a perfectly fine LTZ........


Prying off the trim bezel... We used some trim tools that I got from Harbor Freight for 7 bucks.


Out come the controls...


And finally the original radio is out!


Everything out, and you can see the dreaded Onstar VCIM in there yet to come out


Out comes the old Onstar module


Adding the GPS antenna and fishing down the harness to the radio location


Put everything back together, connected the voice harness and powered her up.
When I started the truck, the screen showed a Chevy bowtie emblem and played radio station garble for about one second and then went to Theftlock, which I expected.







Now, its off to the dealer to run the Tech2 re-learn. Looking forward to the nav functioning and the bluetooth. I want Onstar to work and I know it won't, hoping we can find a solution to this someday.

Enjoy the pics!!

Do you think the ON* needs to be cleared.

From what I understand, no one has been successful getting a '09+ Onstar bluetooth VCIM to work in a '07 or '08. Bluetooth works awesome. Onstar has an issue if your VIN is not in their database. What is going on is you are tying to put a device in a vehicle that is not intended for backward compatibility. So, Onstar goes into lockup mode and the techs can't set it up. What we have found out is if the Onstar database can have your VIN added, then Onstar will work with a newer VCIM installed in an older model truck. We are working on this with Onstar.

I hope you get this done, I saw a post here some guy figured out how it clear the VIN on XM modules.

Any updates?

Royal Vador:

I have a 2010 Z71 with Bose, and Im looking to do the same thing you did. (Put in the touch screen head unit instead of my factory cd player).  I dont need to worry about the VCIM do I?  I will still have On* and bluetooth correct?  This is what Im looking to put in.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GMC-CHEVROLET-HUMMER-CD-PLAYER-RADIO-DVD-GPS-NAVIGATION-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQfitsZYearQ3a2010Q7cModelQ3aAvalancheQQhashZitem2c580975d9QQitemZ190455576025QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Does this have everything I need?  Also, do I need something extra to be able to control gps/dvd while driving?
And lastly, could you put a pic or two up showing where exactly you put the gps antenna?

Oh, ans what exactly is the VSS harness for?  And would I need it?

shepherdbrooks said:

Royal Vador:

I have a 2010 Z71 with Bose, and Im looking to do the same thing you did. (Put in the touch screen head unit instead of my factory cd player).  I dont need to worry about the VCIM do I?  I will still have On* and bluetooth correct?  This is what Im looking to put in.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GMC-CHEVROLET-HUMMER-CD-PLAYER-RADIO-DVD-GPS-NAVIGATION-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQfitsZYearQ3a2010Q7cModelQ3aAvalancheQQhashZitem2c580975d9QQitemZ190455576025QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Does this have everything I need?  Also, do I need something extra to be able to control gps/dvd while driving?
And lastly, could you put a pic or two up showing where exactly you put the gps antenna?

Click to expand...

Sorry this took so long - been busy, you know, and the forums 'ulp' weren't on the top of my list - I know, I know 

To answer your questions - If you already have Onstar and bluetooth, and all you want to do is upgrade the head unit to a touch screen nav, then yes you can and yes you will retain what you have.

Instructions for the install are here:

http://reviews.ebay.com/2008-SILVERADO-CREWCAB-LTZ-NAVIGATION-INSTALL_W0QQugidZ10000000009073767

You will need to get the vss harness to get full functionality. The vss harness either is for the "vehicle speed sensor" or the "voice" portion of the nav system to have it read instructions to you and for you to enter destination data by talking to the nav over the Onstar mic/speakers. You will also need the GPS antenna.

My pictures show us installing the GPS antenna into the top of the dash. This is all spelled out in the above instructions. It was pretty easy, actually, just had to get past disassembling a perfectly good truck!! The dealer programming was a little tricky, though. My friend, who is also a tech at my dealership thought I was nuts, as he had never done this before and was even told by GM corporate that "if the truck didn't come with nav, then you can't put it in".

If the radio is new, or has been cleared of theftlock, then she should fire right up. Don't forget the nav dvd disc! I've got 5.0C, but there may be a later version. The disks update the maps as well as the firmware on the head unit.

If you get the theftlock screen, then reprogramming is required. 

Now here's the REALLY weird part:

In the Tech2 menus for GMT900 trucks, there is no menu option for the vehicle to "relearn" the radio. There are special instructions for this. I will try to find them and post, but basically, with the Tech2 connected, tell the Tech2 that it is hooked up to a 2006 Monte Carlo LTZ. Make your way to the "entertainment" menu and there is an option for radio replacement / vehicle relearn new radio. Let the Tech2 do its thing, remove the key and leave the door open for at least a minute to bleed down retained power. Start her up, and all should work. This is what I did as the radio came off a wrecked truck from a dismantler on ebay. It had theftlock on the screen which required me to do the above procedure. My tech friend thought I was nuts, but we looked up the instructions on TIS on his laptop, and lo and behold, the same instructions were there that I downloaded off the forums. - He bookmarked it! 

I would like to add my pictures of the Backup camera and USB I put in my 2008 AVY today.  How did you post your pictures??

wburger1 said:

I would like to add my pictures of the Backup camera and USB I put in my 2008 AVY today.  How did you post your pictures??

Click to expand...

Read this post

http://www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php/board,1/action,display/threadid,4.html

That looks to complicated.  I just wanted to do an attachment with a browse button but I do not see the anywhere.

Thanks anyway.  I will just post them to GM-Trucks.  There website allows pictures without a web site.

Royal Vader said:

You will need to get the vss harness to get full functionality. The vss harness either is for the "vehicle speed sensor" or the "voice" portion of the nav system to have it read instructions to you and for you to enter destination data by talking to the nav over the Onstar mic/speakers. You will also need the GPS antenna.


! 

Click to expand...

Royal Vader, or any other tech guru,
question, if I upgrade from a 2007 Bose, DVD  Rear Ent  but no NAV to a 2009 Nav/ Bose  unit, do I also need the VSS harness? I thought it would be just plug and play as long as I got the Nav antenna and  a dealer to reprogram the vin.
Just want to make sure. thx

It will work somewhat without the VSS wire, but choppy and you will miss a lot of turns. Also post the part number of the nav and do you have the RSE Rear Seat Entertainment(DVD Player).

MS,
Thx for the reply. Basically i have an 07 with Bose,cd & rear dvd ent, onstar nonactive and no nav.
Not sure of the NAV unit's potential replacement # but it comes
Out of a 2009 tahoe with bose listed on another thread.
What i need to know before investing in it is what do I need to have full function of everything...
Nav antenna-/ disc- no problem. vss adapter - which one, I see several on ebay looking similar but different, dealer update to unlock it - or is there another way.Anything esle?
Am I better off going all aftermarket for the cost of replacing an GM OEM NAV unit and adapters, etc?$600-750.

Some of the Nav units will not work with the rear DVD player so the part number is important. To have the full function do get the factory GM kit on Ebay I think they run about 65 bucks. Yes the Dealer will have to unlock, but do call them ahead of time and ask them about it, some dealers do not like to do this.

Aftermarket units have better sound, but you will need a lot of adapters.


Sorry it is not allowed to chat in the 4 sale section so I did not post there.

MS,
Thx again for the advice. It all seems so complicated for a a fairly simple concept.
I was also lookin at the Alpine dvd unit on here however the included adapters won't work on an 07, so final package will be very expensive.
My stock unit is looking better now.

I just did the uprgrade from 6 disc to Nav in my '07 LTZ. The hardest part was removing the surround trim. Everything went fine but I have yet to drive around for the system to align with the GPS satellites. You will find if you have speed compensated volume you should already have the VSS connector/harness. I have a couple questions; 1) This is just a curiosity but is the default for the map section the west coast and 2) I have Bose ,RPO-UQA, but the option for DSP processing is absent in the sound menu. Is this a programming issue or is there a "higher" option Bose system for the GMT900 platform. I'm going to contact the company I purchased from also (I must say this company/person was most helpful in answering all my questions and the unit came unlocked ready to install - I would name but not sure it's permissible). The only drawback to me is the nav unit's single disc CD player but plus side it plays a DVD.

I just ran across this thread and was hoping for a clarification.  I have an 07 LTZ with Bose Nav, On*, XM, back-up camera, and rear headrest DVDs.  The two things I would like to add to the truck are BlueTooth and and iPod, I don't need On* neccessarily.

Am I correct in reading that I can buy an On* VCIM for a newer model and I will get bluetooth?  Any chance of an iPod interface as well?

Thanks,
Harry

Not sure on the Ipod but the blue tooth will work. Here is one of the part number 20829984

bump for later reading

OK I picked up a VCIM, # 20829984 and the matched antenna.  This weekend I will put it in the Avy.

Where can I find instructions on how to actually pair my bluetooth phone to it and then use it?

Thanks,
Harry

I got the "new" vcim in the Avy, I took my phone in, started the truck, turned on bluetooth in the phone, and set the phone to pairing mode. 

It finds the truck displays a number then shows me GM Bluetooth on the phone, Problem; the phone is telling me to set the truck in discovery mode.  When I go into voice command mode, it does not understand the command "Bluetooth" or "Bluetrooth Pair". 

Well I went ahead and told my phone to pair anyhow and of course it trys for a while and then fails.

How do I get past the problem above?

Thanks, Harry

Finally figured it out.

Once the VCIM is in do the following

1) Start car
2) Go into cell phone and activate bluetooth
3) Hold "voice" button on steering wheel for 1 second,
4) When you hear the ding say OnStar
5) When OnStar replies with "Ready" say "BlueTooth"
6) When OnStar replies with "BlueTooth Ready" say "Pair"

at this point follow the directions

7) OnStar will read you four numbers, this is the pairing code.
Tell your phone to discover bluetooth connection
9) Select the GM connection
10) When asked enter the 4 numbers from step 7

That's it.

Mine now works like a charm

Here is a link on how to use it http://www.onstar.com/web/Bluetooth/receive-a-call?brand=Chevrolet&mod=2011%20Chevrolet%20Avalanche&provid=Verizon&phone=device-verizon-lg-env2-vx9100

This link is specific to my setup, just change the phone or vehical as needed.

Best, Harry

I purchased a vcim with Bluetooth that came off a 2009 Escalade. I installed the unit and connected it to the factory bose with the navigation and rear entertainment. I have a 2008 Chevy Avalanche LTZ. After the installation I attempted to pair my cellphone. My cellphone was unable to detect any unit. I attempted to pair my cell but the stereo and it kept telling me that it did not under when I said ?Bluetooth ? or ?pair a device ?.  Anyone have any suggestions?  By the way, I was able to get a 90 free subscription from OnStar. The associate that subscribed me thought my Avalanche was a 2009 Escalade so I know the vcim works. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

You have to hold down the button and say unstar, then Bluetooth, pair, etc.  Be you sure you installed a Bluetooth VCIM?  It would have had an extra small Bluetooth antenna plugged into the back of it.  If it did not come with it you can get them on ebay pretty cheap.