I got it to work earlier today and will post pictures and information about the installation and setup!

 

The ASWC is a pretty easy installation. I plugged the 3.5mm wire into the wrong plug on my headunit and found that to be the problem hours later. So, make sure all your connections are correct. It's a good idea to use the headunit's plug and not hard to make. The hardest part is taking it off the circuit board. Pictures below to show how easy it is.

Once you have all your connections and double checked them, turn the ignition to "ON", after hold the VOLUME UP BUTTON (on the steering wheel) until the red light on the ASWC stops blinking. Your wheel controls should be working after it continues to blink for a few seconds.





This is the direction shown in "Silver tiburon's" post on Page 1.










And then stuff everything on the lower left side. I have the PAC, steering, and bypass harnesses stuffed down there:

 

^^^ This is awesome. Great job AARONHL. These are a perfect addition to the basic instructions I could provide at the time. I'm glad the plug-and-play idea appeals to more than just me as well. Just a few thoughts about the problems you had earlier, and for those who may run into these same issues. If you do everything I outlined to make the plug-and-play connector correctly there is NO possible way the plug will be the reason your ASWC doesn't work. If you make your connections where they are supposed to go according to the diagram I provided, and all of them are solid, all you have to do is plug it into the car's harness and you are golden. There are 2 other primary things you need to look for that do not involve the harness. The first is what tripped up AARONHL. This is the 3.5mm control connector (the one that looks like a headphone jack). If this is not hooked up correctly, there is no possible way your AWSC will ever program. Without this connection, your AWSC will not get any signal from your deck, so it will never program. Ensure this connection is always in the correct spot. The user manual that comes with your deck will show you where to make this connection, so make sure it is done properly. Also make sure your deck is compatible with aftermarket wheel control inputs. This is commonly referred to as SWC (Steering Wheel Control) compatibility by most manufacturers, and will be a 3.5mm connection. Look for this label or term when selecting a deck. Not all decks will work with the AWSC, so before you go though the trouble of trying to hook one up, make sure your deck is compatible. Secondly, make sure you have GOOD GROUNDS. This is in reference to the black wire of the AWSC, and also pin 11 from your plug. Both of these wires need to have a good ground for the AWSC to function correctly. Make sure you go straight to a body point where there is bare metal to make your ground connection. A weak ground can make your AWSC do all kinds of crazy stuff, so ensure this ground is solid before you start troubleshooting anything else.

 

That's right, I was checking the plug I made for hours, but then realized I had the 3.5mm wire plugged into the wrong spot on the head unit. At that time I was an expert on programming the ASWC!

Thanks for the ideas!!

 

First off, big thanks to Silver Tib n AARONHL GREAT write up!!

If you wouldn't mind me adding in my .02, I have a couple things...

You gave instructions to remove the other pins, but this harness is also needed for the Navi voice mod. Luckily I did the Navi voice fix a while ago but as we use pins 22, 23 and 25 for the AXXESS, pins 24, 31 and 32 are used for the navi(audio +/- & mute signal).
So since the people installing this will be using a DD setup could you please edit your write-up so its more friendly to our navi users? thnx. and for the possible issue of shorting, I soldered everythign in and then poured superglue over the thing, then I wrapped it w/ electrical tape. works like a charm

+1, I hooked mine up to my Navi and HU, no bueno lol I'm getting issues with the thing turning on my attenuator when it wants and flipping from iPod to radio ect...


but thanks again to the both of you, this writeup's a great deal of help!

 

Hi guys,

So I'm in the process of installing a kenwood DD into my 03 coupe, with Bose.

Everything is going smoothly, except I ran into problems with getting the metra ASWC to work properly.

I used the technique described earlier in this thread, by removing the harness from the stock unit and wiring the three wires to the appropriate pins. I have my own homemade harness.

Everything hooked up, grounded, ignition turned on, and...

-Light flashes repeatedly, quickly... as expected.
-I hold the volume button up until it stops blinking... release
-light flashes 7 times, as indicated in the instructions that it would do. Note: the 4th flash stayed on longer. From what i read, it's telling me that the 4th pin is wired correctly. (true?)
-Light then blinks 5 more times. Here where it gets weird. According to the instructions, the last set of blinking lights tells you what head unit the ASWC THINKS it's hooked up to. By blinking 5 times, it's saying it's hooked up to a JVC.

So now, obviously, it doesn't work. The LED is lit up solid red.

I've tried resets... both by the reset button on the unit, and by disconnecting the battery/ground. Process starts over, but with the same results.

Also, reading through this thread (multiple times), the brown 3.5mm plug is used a little different for kenwoods. Per the instructions, I'm to connect the female plug to the audio jack provided. Then I'm to hook up the brown wire to the blue/yellow SWC wire from the head unit... which I've done.

I'm getting really frustrated here, and spent a couple hours just on this issue alone last night. ANY insight, help, you guys might be able to provide would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance...

 

maybe its a simple fix. u try different things? like switching the 2 wires around on the brown 3.5mm female jack?

 

Thanks Trickstyle.

Hopefully, it is something simple that I just plain overlooked.

I'll give it another go tonight... maybe try another grounding location, and double check my wiring.

 

Yea, it's not finding your headunit. When I didn't have it plugged correctly to the headunit, the first series blinked on the 4th. Triple check the headunit connection..

 

^^^^ This. Bong I would bet my life the problem lies with the connections involving your 3.5mm audio jack and the other wires you mentioned. I wish I was more familiar with your head unit. Give me the model and associated info of your deck and maybe I can help you out better. Triple check your signal connections because I would almost guarantee you that is where the problem is.

 

Hi guys,

Thanks for all your input.

After much research on the Axxess website and on Kenwoodforums.com I FINALLY got it to work last night. I was on the verge of ripping the whole thing out b/c the level of frustration I was reaching.

It all had to do with the headunit. The Metra ASWC does not fully support the Kenwood DNX9960 without a minor modification...

Per the Axxess site:
** Note: The following four models, DNX9960, DNX7160, DDX896 and
DDX418, need a 10k to 12k ohm resistor between the Blue/Yellow of the
Kenwood and the Brown wire of the female 3.5 during programming.
After programming remove the resistor and reconnect the Blue/Yellow
and brown wire.

(reading the kenwood forums, I learned this also applies to their new DNX9980 as well)

Yeah, that's right... I had to wire in resistors in between the headunit and the Metra unit.

Well, it works now. And I know can control my spiffy new headunit through the steering wheel!

Now I just got to work on wiring the amps and speakers so I can actually hear some sound coming out of my new system. lol.

Thanks again guys... especially for the idea of using the old Bose plug to make a custom harness. Genius.

This whole install would be near impossible without the resources I have found here.

 

Does anybody know the name (make & model) of the white 16-pin male plug in the Bose/Clarion radio? What is it called? Where can I purchase such a plug or adapter?

Image of 16-pin plug/adapter:



Thank you,

Cameron

 

I'm not aware of this being available anywhere for purchase? After your inquiry, I searched around online and was unable to locate anything even close to this. I'm afraid the only place you are going to get one is out of the back of a Bose stereo unit. They may be available somewhere and be called something, but I wouldn't know where to even start looking and what it would be called?? I think you will be hard pressed to find one new. Sorry man.

 

meh, I'm sure if you went on the forums and posted "WTB: broken OEM head unit", you would get a plethora of offers lol and iirc, the non-bose plug will work as well...

 

Yes, either bose or non-bose have the same connectors on them.

Just don't try and post the WTB in this forum. That'll get ya banned. Take it to the marketplace.