Used Vehicle - existing Maestro - Radio Upgrade

[Dhines201]

Hello,

I purchased a used 2014 F150 that already had a K150 and Maestro RR installed along with a Pioneer AVH-X3800BHS.

I wasn’t happy with not seeing the climate control info in the screen so I purchased a Kenwood DMX-7706S.

I installed the Kenwood, plug for plug, and used the Weblink to reconfigure the Maestro for the new Kenwood.. idatalink connection is via the 3.5mm plug, not the multi pin plug.

All I get is red flashing lights on the Maestro.. I’ve reflashed multiple times for all of the available firmware versions - same results.. With all firmware versions, the Kenwood will power up if I unplug / re-plug the power cable on the Maestro, but it just acts like a normal radio, none of the idatalink features work.

Am I missing something? Is the Kenwood not wired the same as the Pioneer ?

Thanks in advance!
-Dale

[Dara DeGrand]

It sounds like the data cable is missing. See the link below. This cable needs to be connected between the maestro and the radio to be able to display data to the radio.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_794PART1/ ... BL4BS.html

[Dhines201]

Thanks for the reply!

That cable is 100% most definitely missing, however, the cable with the blue end that goes to the 3.5mm connector is there...

Does the Kenwood radio require both of those cables to function properly or just the cable in the link you sent?

Thanks again,
Dale

[Dhines201]

One more follow-up question... Shouldn't the climate control knobs on the K150 function correctly even if the Maestro RR can't communicate with the Kenwood radio?

They worked with the older Pioneer even though the Pioneer didn't have climate control integration, however, the in all cases, the temperature control knob does not function with the Kenwood in place. The fan speed seems to function.

Thanks,
-Dale

[Dara DeGrand]

You just need the black data cable, not the blue one, for this install type. In theory, it should all work, or none of it should work. I would add the data cable and if you have any issues, give our tech support a shout.

[Dhines201]

So, I cobbled up my own cable out of two other cables just to make sure it works - and it appears to work perfectly now.

The original install was missing the cable to connect the truck's OBD2 connector into the Maestro RR -- is that something I can purchase separately?

Thanks again for all your help!

-Dale

[Dara DeGrand]

Dale, we don't sell it separately. You could get an aftermarket OBD plug if you wanted to, or simply splice the two wires to the vehicle (red/brown to pin 6 at the OBD, and yellow/brown to pin 14).

[Dhines201]

I have an old OBD2 extension cable I can hack up to connect to the Maestro RR. Do the pins have polarity or does it not matter which pin on the Maestro goes to which wire?

Also, the Kenwood doesn't seem to auto-switch to the backup camera when put in reverse. Is that data send over the black 4-pin cable or is it a manual connection via the reverse input on the radio?

Sorry for all the questions, this thing didn't come with a manual or anything so I cam kinda shooting from the hip.

Thanks,
Dale

[Dara DeGrand]

red/brown to pin 6 at the OBD, and yellow/brown to pin 14

It does matter. See above for the maestro wire colors and specifics on which wire goes to which pin.

[Dhines201]

Understood that the red/brown goes to pin 6 and the yellow/brown goes to pin 14, however, I don't have the cable at all. So I don't know which pins they go to on the Maestro RR end of the cable..

Any pearls of wisdom regarding the backup cam? I checked the radio settings and backup override is enabled. When I hit the "cam" button, I see the image and the red/green/yellow indicators work and flash when an object is near... It just doesn't automatically displace when I put the truck in reverse and, without any documentation, I don't know which wire is supposed to control that or if it just supports to work via the black data cable ?

Everything else seems to work fine.

[Dara DeGrand]

They're already pinned on the maestro side. They should be loose on the side that goes to the car, so that's all you need to know in order to connect it.

Make sure the purple/white wire is connected between the maestro and the radio. That is the wire that prompts the screen to change when you go into reverse. Also, ensure the backup camera/reverse interrupt is ON in the radio settings.

[Dhines201]

I bit the bullet and pulled the whole harness apart and I did find a little pigtail with little black connector and red/yellow wires buried in the bundle, I just assumed it connected to one of the unused connectors on the Maestro itself.

I also dug the reverse indication wire out of the harness. It was wired into the multi-pin connector on the rear of the radio, however, the Kenwood has a single wire outside that harness for reverse indication.. Cut into it and connected to the single wire -- works perfectly now.

Thanks for all the help! It was a little difficult without the original instructions, hopefully this thread helps someone else out in the future!

-Dale