Steering Wheel Stalk Modification

September 14, 2010

Hi

I've been looking at getting a replacement circuit board (PCB) for the steering wheel stalk, so that it would be possible to use aftermarket head units for the pre-facelift Corolla. I've currently been using a Pioneer HU for about a year now, and been missing using my steering wheel remote...

My plan is to design a new PCB that can be assembled to be able to use several head units. It will be a DIY kit, where the plug for the remote must be salvaged from the old PCB, so some tweaking must be done, but my plan is to keep it to the minimum.

Would anyone be interested in modifying the remote? I'll be designing the PCB, and the more people interested, the cheaper the PCBs would be. Let me know which head unit you have, and I'll see if I can get the design to suit it. I'm not doing this for my personal gain, and I'll try to keep the price around £20, but that depends on the number interested.

By the way, does anyone know any really cheap PCB manufacturers? :)

September 14, 2010

I fear you wont get enough orders, PCB's only get cheap when you produce millions of them, you will struggle to get a small number made within budget, but good luck anyway

Kingo :thumbsup:

September 14, 2010

I fear you wont get enough orders, PCB's only get cheap when you produce millions of them, you will struggle to get a small number made within budget, but good luck anyway
Kingo

I know... but I've found a manufacturer that kan make them as cheap as 7 euro if i order 10 pc, or double price if i order only 5.

September 14, 2010

I thought you can just buy an adaptor to plug in to the back of the units and connect to the steering wheel anyway :blink:

September 14, 2010

I thought you can just buy an adaptor to plug in to the back of the units and connect to the steering wheel anyway

No, that's not the case for the pre-facelift. There are no adaptors as I know of, and I've been looking for two years now! I've also bought several ones that I thought might be usable, but every single one was for the facelift version.

The differences are explained here: Steering wheel control facts

September 15, 2010

I thought you can just buy an adaptor to plug in to the back of the units and connect to the steering wheel anyway
No, that's not the case for the pre-facelift. There are no adaptors as I know of, and I've been looking for two years now! I've also bought several ones that I thought might be usable, but every single one was for the facelift version.
The differences are explained here: Steering wheel control facts

So what you are saying is all the ones I have considered buying when looking at different stereos would not have been compatible even though it is saying on their systems they are for a pre facelift :unsure:

Seems very odd to me that. You probably just had bad luck when you bought yours :lol:

September 15, 2010

So what you are saying is all the ones I have considered buying when looking at different stereos would not have been compatible even though it is saying on their systems they are for a pre facelift
Seems very odd to me that. You probably just had bad luck when you bought yours

Yes, that's what I'm saying. But please prove me wrong!

February 24, 2011

Now, the PCBs have arrived. I did a quick fitment test, and they fit nicely...

I ordered 8 PCBs, and got them quite cheaply since there is only one copper layer, no silk screen and no solder mask. I have also found switches that can be used, but unfortunately I haven't found a replacement socket for the plug. That means the plug on the old stalk must be taken off and placed on this new PCB.

I'll do the fitment this weekend, and I'll show you the results!

February 24, 2011

yes you can get them for a PFL<

i had one off eBay for £17 for my pioneer,

plugged it in and that was it.

just shop about more. they are available.

February 24, 2011

yes you can get them for a PFL<
i had one off ebay for £17 for my pioneer,
plugged it in and that was it.
just shop about more. they are available.

I'm still not convinced.

Did you have a stalk next to your steering wheel, or did you have buttons on the front of the steering wheel? Did the converter use 3 wires for the interface, or was it just 2?

If you could point me to the particular product or manufacturer, then I would appreciate it!

February 27, 2011

Modified stalk has now been mounted and tested. Works perfectly!

Some pictures:

PCB with components. Switches are taken from an old CD player.

PCB assembled. Notice that the green PCB is the original board that I've just transferred. Also notice the socket for the plug that I've transferred from the old PCB.

Unit fully assembled.

Plugs straight into the OEM plug.

Wire for my Pioneer. It connects the tip and ground pin to the stalk.

Plug for the stalk is located.

Wires attached

Works like a charm!

February 27, 2011

:thumbsup:

it looks to me like you've converted it to resistor ladder switching. So it works like a facelift?

February 27, 2011

it looks to me like you've converted it to resistor ladder switching. So it works like a facelift?

Yeah, kind of... facelift use three wires. Prefacelift use only two. Also, it's not a ladder, just fixed resistors for each button.

I've made it to work on pioneer only, but believe it is possible to adapt it for other manufacturers as well.

June 21, 2014

Hello, Is this project still alive?

I would very much like to modify / convert my steering remote as St_Thicket has done.

Are there any PCB's left?

Modified stalk has now been mounted and tested. Works perfectly!

June 23, 2014

I'm not very active on this forum anymore, so please PM me if anyone wants a PCB plus necessary components.

I still have at least 3 PCBs left.

April 4, 2017

Hi there!! I have Toyota Yaris Verso VVT-I 2004 with the same situation I need to convert my old digital remote control to analogue. Do you have any PCB available to sell??

You have done a great job, congrats!!

April 5, 2017

Yes, I do.

Please PM me, and we can discuss the details in private.

June 10, 2019

On 6/23/2014 at 11:58 AM, St Thicket said:

I'm not very active on this forum anymore, so please PM me if anyone wants a PCB plus necessary components.

I still have at least 3 PCBs left.

Hi St Thicket, I hope you are still there and can see this message. I have a pre-facelift Toyota Corolla 1.6 VVT-i from 2002 that lost its steering wheel controls due to a radio upgrade. I would require your PCB replacement approach to get them active again on my new system. Do you still have those PCB-s to offer so I can reactivate my steering wheel controls again?

By the way, your info was the most instructive of all that I have found online. Great job!

June 19, 2019

Sorry, but I am sold out of boards, and I am unable to produce new ones due to a hard drive failure. I sold my car in 2012, so I don't have access to the board. I don't even own a Toyota anymore ☺️

I know there is a user here on the forum called tsavman that is currently trying to replicate my project. You should PM him.

June 29, 2019

Wow...that is some work you have done to make this work 😄

Out of curiosity...is there a reason why you are not using the Metra ASWC-TOY-LEX or a similar interface?

http://www.metraonline.com/part/ASWC-TOY-LEX

March 18, 2020

Hey.
Thanks for this post. That was very helpful for me. I was make something similar, more cheaper 🙂 but works.

Best Regards

March 18, 2020

2 hours ago, Adam Ś said:

Hey.
Thanks for this post. That was very helpful for me. I was make something similar, more cheaper 🙂 but works.

Best Regards

Hi,

Have you seen this recent post, the next to last entry where the guy has made some pcbs.

https://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/190971-corolla-e12-prefacelift-steering-wheel-control-problem-with-aftermarket-android-radio/

Not sure if its the same as your model or what the differences are with the post facelift ?

Would you be interested in sharing your circuit, either privately via a pm or in the open forum, sure it would help others update their old head units.

Contrary to the earlier (2010) comments, its now so cheap to get a few small pcbs made, far cheaper than the return air postage.

February 3, 2023

Hi there.

I have a Corolla Verso 2003 with this "bad" remote controll.
As I have upgraded my radio years ago, I really miss my steering whell remote.
Now that I have found this tread, I will try to modifi my remote as well.
This is how it looks so far.