Android Head Units

ATOTO on a Scion tC, Part 2: Backup Camera and Steering-Wheel Controls

Part 2 finishes the tC ATOTO install: headlight dimming, a three-wire steering-wheel tap, USB ports, the backup camera with fixed guidelines, and a final boot where everything actually works.

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Part 2 finishes the tC ATOTO install: headlight dimming, a three-wire steering-wheel tap, USB ports, the backup camera with fixed guidelines, and a final boot where everything actually works. This 14 min guide covers the Same Scion tC and ATOTO kit as Part 1. John did not have the exact tC steering-wheel harness — this chassis uses a 20-pin SWC.

Overview

Part 2 picks up on the Scion tC after the main harness is in. Headlight dimming works — the ATOTO screen dims when the lights are on. Steering-wheel controls are the hard part: John does not have the exact tC 20-pin harness, so he explains that SWC is just key 1, key 2 and ground, then taps those three wires on a 28-pin connector (ground first from the right, then SW−, then SW1). The on-screen mapping lives under Settings → General settings, and it is easy to miss. He plugs USB A (standard 2.0) and USB B (the quick-charge lead), trims the plastic 'wings' on the USB housings with scissors so they do not collide, and finishes the antennas, GPS and Wi-Fi. On the final boot the ATOTO splash appears, illumination stays on unless you change the color or turn it off in a submenu, steering-wheel keys work, and the reverse camera comes up with fixed guidelines you cannot adjust. Everything he set out to install in this part works. The description's first buy link is the same tagged Amazon ATOTO page as Part 1, plus the harness, trim, camera, a USB adapter, optional SWC and a Bluetooth OBD2 dongle.

Vehicle & fitment

Product
ATOTO universal Android head unit with a backup camera, USB leads and an optional steering-wheel-control adapter (same Amazon links as Part 1, plus a USB adapter in this description)
Shown on
Scion tC (continuation of the Part 1 universal ATOTO install)

Always confirm fitment for your exact year and trim with the seller before buying.

Tools & parts

Tools

  • Wire tap or solder and heat-shrink if you are jumping key 1 / key 2 / ground
  • Scissors or sandpaper to trim the USB housing wings
  • Plastic trim tool for the last bezel clips

Parts

  • ATOTO universal Android head unit (already installed in Part 1)
  • Backup camera
  • USB A and USB B leads
  • Steering-wheel key 1 / key 2 / ground connection or the ATOTO SWC adapter

Video chapters

Step by step

  1. 1

    Test headlight dimming▶ 0:01

    With the headlights on, the ATOTO screen dims. The illumination itself can stay on, but the dimmer is doing something — a useful check before you bury the unit.

  2. 2

    Steering-wheel controls: key 1, key 2 and ground▶ 0:32

    John does not have the exact tC harness (this car uses a 20-pin SWC plug), so he is out of luck on a dedicated adapter. The controls are only three wires: key 1, key 2 and ground. He plans to identify ground and tap those three.

  3. 3

    28-pin pinout and the hidden settings page▶ 1:23

    On the 28-pin he is looking at, ground is the first pin from the right, then steering-wheel minus, then steering-wheel 1. On the unit, the mapping screen is under Settings, then the General settings submenu — easy to miss.

  4. 4

    USB A, USB B and the plastic wings▶ 1:55

    USB A is a standard USB 2.0 pair (flash drive, phone, and so on). USB B is the quick-charge lead. The plastic wings on the housings hit each other, so he trims them with scissors for clearance.

  5. 5

    Antennas, GPS and Wi-Fi already in▶ 2:10

    GPS, Wi-Fi and the main harness are already connected from Part 1. The backup-camera lead is the remaining big hookup before the final boot.

  6. 6

    Final boot, SWC and the camera▶ 12:10

    The ATOTO splash screen comes up. Illumination stays on unless you turn it off or change the color (red, white, blue, green) in a submenu. Steering-wheel controls work. Reverse camera works too, with fixed guidelines you cannot adjust on this unit. Dim the screen with the headlights and call the install complete.

Wiring notes

FAQ

What vehicle does this head unit fit?

It is shown for the Same Scion tC and ATOTO kit as Part 1. John did not have the exact tC steering-wheel harness — this chassis uses a 20-pin SWC plug — so he taps key 1, key 2 and ground instead. On the 28-pin connector he used, ground is the first pin from the right, then steering-wheel minus, then steering-wheel 1. Confirm your pinout before you splice Always confirm your exact year, trim and factory audio with the seller.

How long does the install take?

John's full video is 14 min. Plan on that much time for a careful DIY install, plus extra if you are new to dash work.

What tools do I need?

Tools called out in the guide: Wire tap or solder and heat-shrink if you are jumping key 1 / key 2 / ground; Scissors or sandpaper to trim the USB housing wings; Plastic trim tool for the last bezel clips.

Does it support wireless CarPlay or Android Auto?

Check the product listing for wired vs wireless CarPlay / Android Auto before you buy; John shows what worked in the video.

Where do I get the parts?

Use the buy links on this page for the unit and any harnesses John used. Some links are affiliate links.

Is this beginner-friendly?

The guide breaks the job into 6 steps with timestamps into the video. If you can remove trim panels carefully, you can follow along.

Full transcript

Show the full transcript (106 lines) +

0:02You should test is your dimmer. So do the honors and turn on those headlights

0:08So these lights should turn on I believe they're on turn off turn off turn on turn in I think these remain always on

0:20But then you know when you dim it it actually dims the lights and the screen which is nice

0:25So the dimmer switch works. It's doing something

0:27All right, so next off. We're gonna do is focus on

0:33We want serial controls to work. So that's a big thing right there

0:40Key plus-key and ground is what's important

0:46See so on I

0:48Don't have the right harness. So make sure you buy the right harness we want serial controls to work so that's a big thing right there key plus- key and ground is what's important see so on I don't have the right harness to make sure you buy the right harness

0:52But for the TC this whatever this is

0:59Like a 20 pin

1:06I'm kind of out of luck right there so but I mean their steering wheel controls are literally just three wires which is key one key to and a ground wire so I'm

1:23gonna try to figure out which one of these are ground and I'm just gonna tap it into it alright so right here we got the 28 pin you have your ground wire which is actually the first one from the right so if you're looking indirectly it goes ground steering wheel - and then

1:38steering wheel one this set under settings it was actually kind of hard to find but if you go under settings and then enter the submenu general settings you'll be able to find the steering wheel controls other than that we're just gonna wrap it up make it look kind of pretty and then hook up all the USBs

1:55which is pretty easy you know I'm gonna have to show you guys that just a few plugs and then we should be golden alright so we have the antennas plugged in GPS we have Wi-Fi the main harness check out that black back we're gonna be working that very soon

2:10let's check out these USB ports USB a will course go with the first lot and what that is is just regular USB 2.0 slots so make sure it clicks and it comes with two USB female receiving ends

2:26good for you if you put a flash drive or you're hooking up guard you know whatever your iPhone and stuff and then we have a USB B this is their quick charge which is most likely just there to Aunt Mary and just plug it in to can

2:32You know whatever your iphone and stuff and then we have a usb b

2:36This is their quick-charge which is most likely just their tube amp variant and just plug it in

2:42to

2:45Can you get that so when you try to put the other wing on?

2:51It's just the wings are hitting each other

2:56And

2:58Yeah, it's not pretty so kind of bad design right there

3:04can get sandpaper my case I'm just gonna get a scissor and chop off the swing because we like to like to look everything so you see that creating some clearance so now that wing

3:22should have really affected yes it doesn't now I'm able to squeeze it in there kind of poor design but it's an easy fix you have the adapter that you can get on

3:37Amazon I'll link it below and this is going to be plugging into any of these you want so with the US the the regular USBs they have a short nubby one which is kind of like not good so maybe of ideal to put here but we want to use the OEM

3:53USB to be the quick charger so even though this one's a little bit longer we might not even uses maybe a flash drive in the back of your car or something if you ever see or what can what we're gonna use the fast charger on here so

4:00in the back a car or something like you don't ever see or

4:04webcam but we're going to use the fast charger on here

4:08This OEM port is gonna go through it's gonna go into here and to there as far as this

4:16We're just gonna have in the back, and then if we want we can tuck this

4:20USB through here and see if I can squeeze my hand so now you he has extra USBs to charge whatever device

4:43but we're working on that for about started around 12 fish told 30 and we're filming and taking breaks it's been about two and a half hours realistically

4:58the wiring took a while but it was easy just tedious the brackets still need some work but you know we don't have time with the go somewhere but the brackets I had to like kind of like cut things and fabricate little things to make it fit you know you're just playing

5:00the brackets still need some work but you know we don't have time with the go

5:07somewhere but the brackets I had to like kind of like cut things and fabricate

5:12little things to make it fit you know we just we're playing it by ear but it

5:16looks good it fits this is like you we can drive around it Wi-Fi Bluetooth USB

5:23works everything, pretty much works besides I didn't hook up aux running

5:29have a time in the reverse camera we didn't hook up yet but this is a this is

5:31didn't hook up yet but this is a this is I mean look at it it's good enough steering wheel controls took a while but we figured it up a few moments later yay

5:47we have a backup camera and we're gonna be fitting it to this TC which doesn't have a backup camera probably just gonna bolt it on to here of course you have to route the wires so pretty much go all

6:10the way to there if we want a clean setup it's up to Jason so let's figure out a way to take all the stuff out hey we

6:27just popped it out we just literally just yanked it out there was no bolts holding that trim piece together and here and that is super simple and we're just gonna route the wire into there with the camera whoa

6:56you popped up the little trunk trim it's right there you're just giving it a nice wipe what we're gonna do is we're gonna fish the wires right here and that's it reverse camera bolt it on and now we

7:02wipe. What we're going to do is we're gonna fish the wires right here and that's

7:09it reverse camera bolt it on and now we just got to get some wires get it going

7:18the backup camera bolt it on right here and the video signal is just temporarily

7:24going right now to here and this video plug also has a power plug which is

7:32through the front for the red for the black side I'm just gonna ground it right here and going through the head unit help me out go into the head unit

7:51side we have keep it protected anyways moving to this side we have the backup purple wire this is backup and then we also have that same wire we have from

8:08all the way back there the red wire also is connected to that backup wire and then there's a 28 pin it's gonna be a red 28 pin number two you plug into the back of this and you can see that I had

8:23did a little shitty job right here but if you want to solder it or splice it or whatever you want to do it's gonna be your 20 pin this wire so that that triggers and tells the head unit that it's in reverse head unit bring put

8:39powers to the camera then the magic happens so let's test that out real quick I'm not sure it works

8:54so some radio mode hold the break and then there you go you got the reverse camera we can angle it adjust the lines in a bit it's gonna help out a lot get that beautiful super right there

9:03camera we can angle it adjust the lines in a bit it's gonna help out a lot you

9:08got that beautiful super right there it's just nice through the quality is

9:13actually really high quality it actually looks nicer than using a stock

9:18camera so in the BRZ I'm using the stock OEM camera and there's a lot of

9:23Artifacts this one. There is no artifacts. It just looks like a reverse camera

9:28So that's something to keep in mind of you if you want to go

9:42a cleanup with all right all right back at it again from the video it's got the wires tucked in here went through this harness piece once it's wiring loom thing I decided not to drop the

9:57headliners because those clothes are really stubborn and they felt three fragile so I didn't want to mess with this so we just have the wire going like this most of these words gonna be covered up with that trim piece so the only thing that you pretty much will seize this which is not too bad and

10:01So I didn't want to mess with it so we just have the wire going like this

10:05Most of these wires are gonna be covered up with that trim piece

10:08So the only thing that you pretty much will seize this which is not too bad and

10:15Jason's routing it, you know just pushing it inside there and so we have the serial control IR for the little watch thing

10:22I have right here. I

10:24Don't

10:24Know we're gonna put it generally you put it right here and then like wrap it or something like that

10:28Maybe we'll throw this in the back so people in the back can change the steering wheel stuff. We have the microphone, which I

10:30steering wheel maybe we'll throw this in the back so people, people in the back

10:33can change the steering wheel stuff we have the microphone which I comes in

10:41here, wraps all the way around, and it's on the ground right now, but we're going to make

10:46it look nice. Main harness, everything's plugged in right now, so we should be Gucci.

10:55Oh, for the trim piece, it didn't fit perfectly, so we are fabricating it, so the screws

11:01Fabricating it modifying it so the screws in the right hole and it fits flush like this

11:08So we already did this side

11:10See if you can see that

11:14See as you can tell this piece right here

11:18Is not in the right mount. So we kind of just pliered and sand this area down that way

11:25We can get it fitting flush

11:28Like this earlier it extruded that way too far. Maybe there's an easier way. This is how we're doing it fit

11:37fit in it another thing we're starting to button everything down as you can tell super clean the only thing guys not is this little wire they're just not even noticeable

11:54got the camera up top it's lit just the angle and he's just working on the line which was good yeah hey so we had the unit fully installed with everything

12:02He's working on the line, which is good. Yeah, it's good

12:05All right, so we have the unit fully installed with everything pretty much plugged in

12:12That's fire up the bad boy

12:15So initially it shows the atoto

12:18The things we installed today. What was the things we installed today?

12:21We installed a backup camera on here a mic and an IR

12:28No, I R steam will control

12:31Um, yeah, so this is the boot up screen you can tell that

12:36You got your little switch these lights always stay on

12:41But if you want to turn them off there is a sub menu where you can turn them off or change its color to red white blue green

12:49So there's that option right there and while it's bright

12:53So

12:57Strenelor

12:59Another thing this it does work with the steering wheel controls

13:00this is work with the steering wheel controls so steering wheel controls to work and let's test how the reverse camera again there it is

13:15it's kind of bright right now but it works with it does have the guidelines that todo this unit you cannot adjust it it's just what you see is what you get so there's that other than that I mean everything's pretty much complete so

13:32we're gonna be testing out this unit see what we like what we don't like how it stacks up to other units wow it's bright let's turn on the dimmer switch so turn on the headlights and you got instantly a lot different but yeah everything

13:48pretty much works and that's cool all right stay tuned for the review say subscribe comment like any questions you want to see what this thing can do other than that I'm gonna start just messin

14:05can do other than that I'm gonna start just messing with it see what I like

14:06peace

Machine-transcribed from the full-length video and lightly cleaned (product names fixed). Watch the video for exact wording.

Next step

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