Big Sky Euro

I apologize in advance for the crappy pics. Really poor lighting, and it was hard to hold my gf's point-and-shoot steady for 1" (using the flash only gave a glare on the touchscreen).

Just ran the GPS cable, but not happy with the current GPS antenna location. I'll undoubtedly end up moving it. To where, I'm unsure for now. (It's sitting on top of my sub box for decent satellite reception.)


Decided to test out the AVG-VDP1 unit before mounting it. I plugged in all the cables and wiring harness.

It lives! (longitude and latitude have been blacked out to prevent someone jacking my car )



This thing has so many customizable options, i.e. gauge choice and color, display mode preference, vehicle specs, etc.




The unit keeps displaying "SENSOR LEARNING." I'm assuming this will disappear when I actually pull the car out of the garage and drive it a bit (that way it can receive a clear satellite signal and speed signal). Looks like I'll be waiting 'til spring, unless the snow melts sooner.

I'm having a problem that a lot of other AVG-VDP1 installers seem to also be experiencing. I cannot seem to calibrate the RPMs correctly. You're supposed to throttle your engine to either 2000 or 4000 RPM, then touch the corresponding RPM button on the "calibrate" menu. I've tried this a few times, but the unit never displays the same RPM as my tachometer. In fact, the RPM reading on the unit stays nearly the same after calibration, even with the engine off! (Image below reads 1422 RPM, engine not running, calibrated at 2000 RPM)

Looks like I'll be doing some online research to figure out how to fix this.

I also didn't notice any sound coming through the front speakers, but this could have been due to the car running inside my garage (not quiet enough environment), or the volume setting set too low in the setup menu.

The unit's menu also lists many of the wiring harness's wires, and if they are correctly installed. All read good! Next thing I'm gonna do is re-glue the carpet where I had to remove it, then finish hiding what's left of the wires (make everything pretty).

Awesome work, cool display...you are the man! I was looking at some install pics from other sites, and read something about the pink wire for the sensor (VSS?). And the tach wire, someone had picked up an MSD module that clamps to the coil wire and that fixed the RPM readout problem. I'm sure there's more detail but just a couple things I noticed were common fixes.

There was also a really comprehensive install thread from a guy who installed this into his Chrysler Crossfire(?), maybe something there if you Google it.

Thanks for the info Mike, I think I know what I need to fix the tach problem by reading the Crossfire article (just need to splice in a MSD 8918 module). I think all of the other wires I installed are fine. Guess I'll just work on hiding the wiring, re-glueing the carpet, re-route the GPS cable and antenna, and securely mount the AVG-VDP1 unit 'til the module gets here...

thats awsome i cant wait to see it in person GREAT job!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Jon, it's going to be a blast to use! Just gotta wait for the weather to turn.

So today I re-located the GPS antenna and re-routed the GPS cable; the "feng shui" was out of balance with the antenna mounted on top of my sub box. Now it's cleanly mounted on my dash. I think it's less noticeable here and won't be a problem if I ever remove my sub box (which is very unlikely).


Next thing to do is pretty up the last of the wiring, then mount the AVG-VDP1 securely.

Johnny Chopsticks wrote:So today I re-located the GPS antenna and re-routed the GPS cable; the "feng shui" was out of balance with the antenna mounted on top of my sub box.

I see what you did there with the underlying azn joke...

Finished up a lot today. All the wiring is now done (except for the MSD module, which I'm waiting for in the mail). I securely mounted the AVG-VPD1 unit, then plugged it in and tested it to double-check that it works (it does).


I then re-glued the carpets, vacuumed the interior, re-installed all upholstery, then re-installed the passenger seat. Checked under the seat, and I have about 1/8" clearance from the AVG-VDP1 to the seat adjustment rod. The seat moves unrestricted back and forth easily. Phew!


All I have left to do (hopefully) is install the MSD module (when it arrives) and splice it to the ACC wire.

What does that thing do? Is it part of your stereo? why is it being connected to your MSD? It must do something cool...like change volume with rpm. Install looks good. Is it auto pilot?

No, unfortunately it's not autopilot. It's a real-time vehicle dynamics processor compatible with my touchsceen unit. Check out the first post of this topic, which has a link to the processor's stats on Pioneer's website.


So today I attempted to install the MSD module in order to fix the RPM error. I tried attaching the module to the ignition coil (my car has one ignition coil which runs to a distributor, rather than individual coil packs) and calibrating the AVG-VDP1, but still had a similar error as before (I've tried both wires coming off of the ignition coil to no avail). Furthermore, now, since the ACC wire on the AVG-VDP1 is attached to the MSD module rather than the switched ACC wire to the battery, the AVG-VDP1 unit will not work unless the engine is running.

Below are scanned images of the MSD installation instructions supplied with the 8918 module. However, I don't see anything about attaching the MSD module to a system with a distributor. Where should I try attaching the module next, since the ignition coil didn't fix the problem? Maybe to one of the fuel injectors?

I would stick to wiring the MSD to the switched 12V wire like you had before, and attach the module to cyl #1 plug wire - basically the setup on the bottom diagram on page #2 of the manual you posted. I guess if that doesn't work you could always try connecting the module to the injector wire.