Hey Gang,

New 2009 G37x owner here! Had my car since late April and love it. Got the Premium but not the Nav, because I didn't need any of the features. However, what I miss from the Nav package dearly is the steering wheel buttons - the up/down lever that can be depressed to act as "Enter" and the missing "Back" button above the volume buttons - not having them makes controlling my iPod a total PITA.

Can I replace my non-Nav buttons with the Nav-style buttons? Is there a DIY somewhere, and if so, where would I buy the parts?

Thanks guys.

 

It probably won't work. The A/V Control unit needs to be changed to read the signal from the extra buttons. I changed my steering wheel and it had an extra button and it just didn't work. I had to change my wheel for another.

 

I have a non-nav as well. All the controls on the steering wheel connect through a spiral cable into the car's wiring harness. In the non-nav, there are two two connectors. The first one is called the horn harness and it has 8 connections all used. There is a second unused connection on the spiral cable case that MAY be used for those with nav. Even if you could use those pins on the spiral cable, you would also have to hack the harness behind the AV unit. Most all the wiring diagrams are in the FSM. Also, note that I was informed that the spiral cable assembly varied by VIN and two of the online sites I checked for prices did not have them posted. They said they needed the VIN to check price and availability. So if you mess it up, it is going to a pain to restore to original. Not sure it is worth all that work, but if you try you would probably be the first.

 

Hey guys, here's a definitive answer after doing some homework and experimentation:

I read the service manual, and the wiring is identical for all versions of the steering switch assembly. This is because the buttons aren't hardwired - the system uses 4-bit resistor-cascade data lines to communicate button presses.

In plain English:

Each button has a uniquely-valued resistor wired in series after it. The AV unit supplies a control voltage to the switch assembly and interprets the changes in that voltage as specific button presses. When you press a button, the resistor for that button is switched into the control voltage line, the voltage drops to a level which the AV unit interprets as the command corresponding to the button.

So the problem here is not electrical, but software - the AV unit must be programmed to respond to the additional voltages that the Nav-version switch assembly can generate.

I tried a Nav-version switch assembly (literally took the wheel off a buddy's G37xS with Nav) on my non-Nav car and the "Enter" and "Back" buttons do nothing, so it seems the software in the non-Nav version of the Bose system does not have any commands associated with those additional voltages. (My non-Nav switch assembly works on my buddy's Nav car, BTW.)

 

Thanks. I loved well researched answers. There is a lot in the FSM which is how I figured out which wires to hack for my non-Nav for video in motion.

 

My pleasure. I always like to get to the bottom of things. Maybe someone can figure out a firmware hack for the AV unit? Would be nice!

 

Hi. am experiencing a similiar problem. However my original Skyline 370Gt came with a steering without any controls on it. After getting my hands on the G37 steering with all the controls, nothing seems to respond. not even the audio controls such as vol and source. Any one knows what can be done!

MUCH APPRECIATED!

 

Hi audiotechnica

BTW does your car comes without any buttons at all on the steering?

 

Did you even read this thread? I explained everything already.

 

hey mate,
i dont know **** about electronics, but ive seen how those tesla screen units have options to program the buttons. I have a base model and got no steering wheel buttons. So if change my media unit into one of those tesla screen units will i be able to get nav wheel buttons to work?

 

Being this thread has been dead for the past 12 years I doubt anyone from the original thread will reply, however...

Keep in mind you are in Australia which means your car is likely a JDM-spec import, yes? Some of the wiring for JDM cars is completely different from US/EU/GCC-spec cars.

That said, in theory, if the headunit (whether it be this Tesla thing or OEM) is programmed to read the switch signals, then likely you could add the switches to the steering wheel. However, it might not be as simple as just "plugging in the [new] switches." The clockspring may or may not support that wiring, nor might the harness have the necessary wires from the steering column to the headunit. The connectors may also be different- unlikely, but a possibility.

Can it be done? Absolutely. Anything can be done with the right planning, research, resources, and execution. For example, I went from a 2008 steering wheel to a heated 2019 wheel from a Q60.
Is it worth it? Only you can answer that. But being you "don't know (bleep) about electronics" indicates that you may not have the ability or skills necessary to do this project. If you have to pay for the install then it may become cost prohibitive. Your car, your wallet, your decision.

At the least, I would suggest you source the wiring diagrams for the JDM cars (good luck) and also inquire if the Tesla thing is even available for your country (Japanese wiring / Australian radio antenna/ etc.). I'm sure they have different versions but I would verify first. Also, I am sure there are resources available at http://www.sau.com.au and at http://www.minkara.carview.co.jp that might help point you in a better direction.