A few years ago, installing a touch screen monitor in your car was something you either saw in the movies or on those wacky, tricked out cars built especially for science fairs. Now nearly all of the newer cars come with them factory installed or at least they can be installed aftermarket quite easily. Through these monitors, drivers can program their GPS navigational system, control their Bluetooth, and set all of their stereo channels all with the tap of your fingertip.
There are a few different ways to have these put in your car too. The most common two are either an in-dash setup keeps the factory look of the car. Then there is the set up which uses a motorized panel frame to fold out of the dash and then in an upward and visible position. Here is a step by step breakdown of how you can install a touch screen monitor system into your car on you own.
The first thing you'll need to do is take a look at your car's dashboard and figure out if it has a double DIN setup or the single DIN setup. It's pretty easy to spot if you know what you are looking for. The double DIN setup for your car's dashboard will allow you to mount a touch screen monitor system which lies flush with the dash. A single DIN setup will not allow this and require you to install a monitor that flips up.
Make sure you have all the right tools to go along with the installation kit and wiring harness you should have previously purchased. Any place that sells car audio systems or offers installation services will have these for sale. If your vehicle does have an installation kit made for it, then roll up your sleeves because you have some work ahead of you in the form of alterations to your dash.
Now you'll need to get underneath the car's hood to disconnect the battery cables from the battery. You'll again need the right size tools to take care of this.
Take the old head unit out. Depending on the make of the car, you'll probably need to remove a few of the dash panels to do this. The old head unit will be held in there with mounting screws. Take these out and the stereo should slide right out of the dash. Once out, disconnect all of the wires and the antenna from it.
Now that you have all the old equipment out of the car, start install all of the new hardware and the touch screen with the installation kit. Seat it securely into the kit so it won't slide out and possibly break.
Now that the monitor is all set to go in the installation kit and ready to be put back into the dash, connect all the car's wires to the preinstalled wiring harness which should already be attached to the touch screen monitor. Connect the audio/video cable to the monitor and always check the user manual if you aren't sure where it goes.
Ok. You're all wired up and ready to go. Now you need to install the monitor back into the dashboard. Of all the steps this is the easiest since it's almost the last one. Secure into the car by tightening all of the screws and replace the dash panels once you've finished doing that.
Reconnect the battery cables back up and start up the car to test out the monitor. If everything went smoothly during the installation, the screen should light up.
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