Just added heads-up display to my car (projects speed onto windshield like fighter planes). It was part of the digital dash option for some GXEs.
I'll be adding a how-to on my site sometime over the next week or so when I get a chance. It's not as much work as ACC conversion, but parts are harder to find and you have to take out the whole dash to cut the hole.

I was at the junkyard this weekend and found a max with a fully intact digital dash. So I got the main control unit off of it since I already had the heads-up display module and trim piece. Spent some time looking in the FSM and found which wires needed to be hooked up. I was lucky on several things like the speed sensor being the same signal and signals going to the ECU being the same. I think it was something like 12 wires or so that I had to connect but most of them are right in that area behind the gauges already so it wasn't too bad. I just did the signals I'd need for the HUD since I dont like the looks of the digidash. I got that working but then had to take out the whole dash piece so I could cut a hole for the display to sit in. I made a little template at the junkyard and got the hole almost perfect. With the cover on, it lines up perfect with the curvature of the dash.
Right now I have it wired to my power/comfort switch. You can toggle it on/off by putting it in comfort mode. I hardwired it for MPH since KMH doesn't really mean anything to me but could have done that on a switch too.

Right now it just reflects off the windshield, but I'm gonna look around and probably end up putting a small square of window tint on that part of the windshield. The cars with HUD came with a special windshield with a reflector built in, but theres no way I'm gonna do that. Anyone have other ideas for the reflector material or where to get a small piece 6"x6" or so.

So it is definitely possible to do a complete digidash conversion, but I like my SE gauges better so I didn't bother with that.

couple pics

completed hole after dremelling and drilling mounting holes


unit on looking down through the windshield


unit reading "16" on the windshield. Hard to get good pics of it . In person, it's pretty easily readable. With a tint patch, it should be brighter too.


24MPH

 

side view of trim piece

 

OH MYGOD! Would you be able to PM me with the wire connections? I used to have the digital dash but had to let it go for the SE and would love to get the Heads up Display. I even have a spare H/U unit from when I had the Digi Dash.

 

I think, once again, we should all bow down to craig...nice work man!

I'm definitely interested in this, craig, where is the main unit located...I havn't seen any digital dash maxes at the junkyard yet, but maybe I'll get lucky. You need the Main Unit, HUD itself, trim piece, is that it? or did you chop off the harness to the HUD, and where did you put the main unit...again nice job you ****in rule!

edit: btw get some night pics...bet it looks sweet!

 

u just an amazing man......you know you're gonna have to make another write-up right?

 

go you

 

i'd rock it

 

yeah, I'm gonna do a how-to so everyone will just have to wait a few days

I put the main control unit behind my gauges. I had to cut a little bit of plastic back there to make it fit, but not a big deal (especially while the whole dash was out).


I took a couple night pics on my way to dinner

 

edit: the is strong in this thread

edit: git off my internet!

 

Craig i asked you about this onece and you said probably impossible.....but you have done it great Job...now i must copy!!! I've wanted one of those since i saw them on a caddy. Beautiful Job man.

 

HUD is awsome! The install looks really nice and clean. I drove a vette that had the HUD and I never even looked at dash, Only at the HUD. But on the vette it also had a tach.

 

you wouldnt happen to have a picture of all the parts that you will need to get this done. if I go to the junk yard and find one I want to know what the parts look like so I can make sure that I got the correct parts.

btw.. great job it looks awesome

 

http://maxima.cardomain.com/memberpage/153018/12

 

nice install Im thinking of putting my digi dash in as well as the HUD but I got all the clips for the digidash and finding clips of the back of a analog dash and just soldering wires into clip so If i dont like it I can change it. I was looking at my chiltons last night and its not hard at all. theres goes being the first SE with HUD. oh well maybe I can be second.

 

nice

whats next, GXE keyless entry keypad swap?

 

dkris - I've been wanting to do the HUD for a while, but never had all the parts I needed since the digital dash is so rare. I made several assumptions to do this and they turned out to be correct luckily.

maximaboi - I will post all the stuff needed when I do the how-to

dmad - good job finding the other pics, there are a couple harness that you need as well that I'll show later

alpicone - I saw something on the internet the other day about a first gen Altima HUD system that had the MPH and blinker indicators and a couple other little things. No tach, but still morethan just speed so that'd be cool. Not sure if their speed sensor is the same or not though.

Northeast guys - go ***** up another thread

maximan190 - I've thought about it, but it really isn't that useful since I already have keyless entry. I might do it sometime anyway if I get bored.


my windshield has lots of handprints from installing this thing since I had to use a right angle screwdriver to get the screws in place and it was also fogging up so that didn't help either

 

I vote craig COOLEST MAN ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111

 

okay first it's goign to be hard to find all the parts i need....I can't even find a fan control amp for my automatic AC let alone all the HUD stuff. and to top it all off i have to find the brown dash not the black


grrrr i hate how all the junkyards are hondas and not maximas around here

 

black is not the only color the trim piece for the HUD comes in, the girl at my school with a gxe with digital dash, sonar suspension and ACC has a maroon leather interior (gag me) so her trim peice is maroon, ive personally never seen any other HUDs in person

on the other hand im sure you could always dye it

the girls trying to sell her car, im gonna convince her to part it out instead

 

thanks, but I'm still not gonna tell you how to do all your wiring projects j/k

dkris- these definitely are more rare. I got the display part probably two years ago and just now found the other piece I needed. I'm surprised you cant find a fan control amp up there though since ACC came standard on your cars. I know another 3rd gen guy in Toronto/Guelph (Will) who might be able to get you one. PM me if you're interested.

 

I think you might have forgotten a 'not' in there

 

when are you going to get the HUD page up because i have an 89 gxe with acc and HUD and I just bought a 92 SE and i wanna convert both at the same time so hopfully soon....oh yeah and great job because i waz gonna try doing this myself just because i read somwhere on here that it was "impossible" but i didn't believe that. So now im happy i have some help great job again

 

props man.

 

Awesome, simply amazing at your creativity and work

 

dumb question but i assume the hud goes over 99mph coorect?

regardless very nice job

 

the HUD itself has the ability to go to '188' so yes, it will go over 99

 

great job as always Craig. Now find me that other part so you can put it in my car while I am painting the prelude .

 

yeah, Dmad is kinda right on this one - it has the ability to go up to 199 (not sure why he said 188 )

I went on the freeway yesterday at lunch to make sure the 100s digit worked and it did

I will put the how-to up sometime in the next few days. It's a pain writing up all that stuff and trying to make it idiot-proof. I also need to scan the template for the hole in the dash.

jeff583 - let me know how your project goes. I dont know of anyone that has actually gone through with ACC besides awsm66 and I. While you're waiting on this writeup, go ahead and do the ACC. They dont use any common wiring so there isn't too much time savings besides taking off some dash pieces when doing them at the same time. I dont think I've ever said it was impossible, but I've said before that it's probably not worth the effort and many people will still agree with that. good luck

thanks for all the compliments everyone

 

I think he said that...lol. But really a great job craig. Ive been looking for this mod. Now to get the necessary hardware. Mwaaahhahahaa

 

Great job Craig, you do amazing work! I've seen HUD Maximas around here once in a while, but never gave any thought to it.... I always assumed you'd have to gut the whole electronics package under the dash.


@ this thread

 

me too and I never had access to the parts until recently so I didnt look too hard at the FSM
like I said before, I still wasn't sure that all the parts would be compatible but I was fortunate that they did

 

Very cool.

Nice TSX.

 

Nice work.

 

Good Job, Man. You got the coolest max out there.

 

whoops, meant 199 oh well, you know what i mean!

i told the girl at school i wanted the HUD out of hers, she said she didnt care since she was selling it (must not have realized there would be a big hole lol) but I would have to take that main unit too, CRAIG where is this located? also, how hard is it to convert the Digi dash to analog, I doubt she'd let me take her gauges out and not put any back in, I still have my old GXE ones I could throw in there..

 

very cool craig, you always outdo yourself

 

looks nice, what sort of tint you're going to use to reflect the display? regular or some mirror?

 

I was looking at the space on the dash where the HUD projector would go in my car and its right behind my registration sticker... so does this thing project the number more towards the middle of the drivers-half of the windsheild or does it project it pretty much just straight which would mean the stickers for NYS would get in the way of the projection?

 

damn it Craig i really hate u right now but u know what u still did an awesome job on doin' this. now one question i was at a junkyard last monday and found a 240SX with the HUD system in it, now i just want to know if its the same as the one in our cars is it completely different??? once again u did ur the man Craig.

 

we dont have inspection stickers anymore in GA so I cant say for sure, but it does project straight up from the trim piece. It basically right at the edge of where the bottom of the wiper reaches when it's moving if that makes any sense

Grnmaxdmon - I think you could probably make that work, but you'd need to figure out the wiring on your own for that and the trim piece probably wouldn't be the same on the dash