My Insignia Elite, 2.0 CDTI. tucpal.

[Essam Shousha]

would you kindly post pictures of how you fitted the led tube around the gear gator and how to reach the headlight switch for the connection?

[tucpal]

here is a how to as you have the astra you can get the factory LED to work

https://www.vxoc.org.uk/forum/Thread-how...GEAR-GATOR

[tucpal]

NAVI 600, INSIGNIA / ASTRA GTC, FACTORY REVERSE REAR CAMERA, RETROFIT.

FOR THE INSIGNIA WITH NAVI 600 ONLY, from 2010 TO 2013.
FOR THE ASTRA GTC NAVI 600 ONLY, from 2012 TO 2014.

 

Today i have activated the rear factory reverse camera for the pre facelifted insignia pre 2013
i have activated the factory camera on the navi 600 unit that i have in my 2013 insignia
as you may or may not know the insignia from 2008 to 2013 never had the factory reverse rear camera as an option on the navi 600 or 900
and vauxhall will not supply a VCI code to activate it and the same applies to the astra GTC no factory camera option from new factory fit
so no retro fit or VCI code will be given.

But i have found away around it and i can now activate the rear reverse factory camera on the insignia and the astra GTC with navi 600 units
i have no intentions on telling anyone how it is done so please don't ask there is a good reason for this
but if anyone is wanting it done they can contact myself or Rusty
this is also not just a plug and play option as MDI programming will be needed
plus wiring loom plugs pins and factory camera are also needed  
only myself will pass you on to Adam/Andy or Rusty dependant to where you live as they will now be able to do it
as i have shared this info with them both so others can activate this option also
i can not give you prices until they both have worked out the cost
you will sort that out with them not myself many thanks.

So the Xcarlink multimedia box with the reverse camera i had installed in the car last year
had to be removed from the car a few months back
as it was interfering with the TPMS sensors and the satnav GPS
it turned out it was RF interference coming from the interface box that was the issue
so the only option to have a camera again was to find a way to get the factory camera working on the navi 600
and with a bit of work and looking into the problem i have found the solution.

The rear reverse guidelines and warning symbols were activated first
they are linked to the rear parking sensors so they show the warning symbols for left, right, near, and far
and the guidelines will move with the steering wheel.

The controls may say it is a navi 900 but the navi is a navi 600 unit haha
i am sure we can do the nav 900 also on the insignia and the astra GTC now
with factory rear camera no problems.

But any Insignia or Astra GTC with a navi 600 or 900 must have rear parking sensors fitted from the factory
for the rear reverse factory rear camera to work correctly.          











The rear reverse camera settings on the navi 600 are all working correctly
as they should do and you can also adjust the contrast and brightness of the picture.














Then I wired the reverse camera in i used a astra k or face-lift insignia interlink rear reverse camera as the picture is just much better
than the older type camera that the astra j uses i did try that one and the picture was pants near black and white picture not the best
and also on the plus side i can centre mount the astra k / face-lift insignia camera on the insignia rear bumper for the factory look.






The factory rear reverse camera on the Insignia with the navi 600 in day view mode.












The factory rear reverse camera on the Insignia with the navi 600 in night view mode.












So i now have the factory fit rear reversing camera on my insignia
and i am very happy about that it is a nice bit of kit to have.

This can also be added to the astra j 5 door but you can get a VCI code from vauxhall with no problems
as the astra j 5 door had the factory rear camera from factory fit as an option with the navi 600/900 2010 2014
but this post is saying now we can activate the astra gtc and the insignia cars also even though they were not a factory option.
 





AS WITH ALL ELECTRICAL HOW TOO,S.
you do this at your own risk if you follow the how to correctly
there should be no problems thank you.

[tucpal]

As i have a week off work and it seems a shame to waste it
i thought it was time to tackle a few jobs that i need doing while the car is off the road for the rest of the holidays
so first off it is time to complete the project black headliner that i started back in the summer
i already have fitted all the genuine black trim parts, black consoles, black handals, and black sun visors, black glasses case etc
so now seems a good time to get the front A pillars and the headliner out of the car
and to get them dyed in black to suit and to get the VXR look.





















There not the best pics but it was very hard to get a good photo up there  
but the black headliner in the insignia really does look good in the flesh
i still have the center B and rear C pillars to do
but i will just swap them out for genuine black ones
as they will not take too well to paint etc and it just makes life easier  
i will finish them parts off very soon when i find them
then that's the project black headliner all done.

i am also just in the process of finishing off some water transfer hydro dipping that i am doing inside the car
so i will update more info about that in a day or two.

[Tonto]

That looks awesome mate, well done. Something I'd love to do to mine at some point too.


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[tucpal]

The other job that i have been doing this week and the last job for 2016 is to sort out the insignias radio display
i hated the standard radio display surround in the insignia it looked cheap looking in a plane matt black plastic
it really does let the inside down with all the lovely looking gloss black trim parts that surround it
so i have been looking at options to improve the radio display like paint, wrap, plastidip etc
but none of them were really going to do the job that well
so i decided i wanted something that would blend in with the gloss black trims
but still stand out but not over the top and have some detail on them
so the option i chose was to go for the water transfer hydro dipping option  
there are loads of types of hydro dip films to chose from but i chose a black gold carbon fiber weave.

Here is the standard radio display and the standard armrest display controls.








The first thing i did was to remove the parts from the car that i was going to dip
then i rubbed them down with 400 and 800 wet and dry to get a good key and then i put them in a plastic primer
and i allow a few days for them to dry out then i rubbed them down again with a 1500 wet and dry.








Then as the hydro dip film i am using is a transparent film that has the carbon fiber gold weave pattern only on it
i had to then use a base coat as a back ground and in this case i used black and then after that had dried out after a few days
again i rubbed it down with 1500 wet and dry to smooth it down again.








Next it was time for the fun bit the water transfer hydro dipping
basically you cut the film to the size needed and then border it with tape
then make a few cuts at each edge for the film to expand
then lay the film in warm water and get rid of any air bubbles and then wait for 60 seconds
then spray the top of the film with activator spray then you have 20 second to dip the part.








Then you leave the parts you have dipped for about 5 mins to etch the print onto the base coat
it will then have a glossy look to it after it has been dipped this must then be rinsed off with warm water
until all the glossiness and the slimy feel has gone completely
then it will be left for 24 hrs to dry out and then it looks like this like it has a dull mat finish to it.




   



Now it is time to make that black gold carbon fiber weave print pop
i added 3 coats of clear lacquer and after 24 hours hours i then flatten it back again with 1500 wet and dry
and then rubbing compound and a lot of elbow work to get a nice even gloss finish
then i reassembled all the parts back together.











And finally i got all the parts back into the car and it was job done.











I am very happy with the results and i think it blends in very nicely with the other gloss black trim bits
and it looks much better in real life than in the pictures for sure the black gold carbon fiber weave works very well
it may not be everyones cup of tea but it is certainly is better than the standard matt black plastic it had before
and it is definitely difrent.

[Rusty2009]

Looks nice mate good job but carbon is not my cuppa tea.

Is hydro dipping easy to yourself?

[vocky]

I read this entire thread yesterday, you have certainly been busy

[Tonto]

That looks awesome mate, well done.


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[Jj0063]

I really like it but it would bug the hell out of me that you haven't kept the weave the same way round. Your top trim doesn't match the other two.

Good effort though

[tucpal]

Ha ha that was intentional i was thinking on the lines of shading to get definition
anyway thanks

very easy rusty but you must be very handy with the painting side of things.

[stigeye]

Love it all, love the vxr style headlinerr etc, and love the carbon dipping. Next time we go on holiday I'm leaving our car with you lol

[raimon]

Impressive work.

[raimon]

@tucpal sent you pm bud

[tucpal]

i will have a look

[tucpal]

well Hello anyone who has been trying to contact me for the last few months
without success i have had a bit of a brake but now i am back again haha

just an update about the car and not a good one for me

i had 4 new tyres done a few weeks back i went for nexen n fera su1 very happy with them too

i also thought i would get to the bottom of the idle issue i have had for sometime now
unsettled idle on tick over and surging noise and also occasional misfire loss of power issue on the motorway
had a suspicion it was the suction control valve on the high pressure fuel pump
so i checked it out and cleaned it up and when i was about to remove it i noticed diesel all over the bottom of the fuel pump
wow great i have a leaking fuel pump replaced the suction control valve the tickover is much better
but the car was then sputtering and misfiring on the motorway still did a compression test and all 4 injectors are leaking also
so now the car is parked up and i am awaiting a very expensive repair bill
have to get the high pressure fuel pump and all 4 injectors refurbed etc

[Rusty2009]

Not good mate hopefully it's too larger bill for you.

[tucpal]

sucks mate need a new EGR also
i am just lucky i dont have to pay garage prices
but still not going to be cheap by a long shot.

[Jon_es]

Damn dude, obviously doing most of it helped the bill


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[zzattack]

Great thread, enjoyed reading most all of it except the bad news at the end. Touch break tucpal, hope this'll be the last of your troubles