New Head Unit for the Car

So, I’ve acquired and installed a Jensen vm9512 unit. Click here for pictures and here are some specs:

• 7″ TFT touch screen display, AM/FM radio
• Built in DVD/CD player with support for mp3, wma, picture, and divx files.
• SD card reader, usb drive reader also supports same.
• Ipod control through Jlink adapter
• Bluetooth – supports the headset and media control profiles.
• Two AV aux inputs, a rearview camera input, SAT/XM radio inputs.
• Rear-zone AV/touchpanel input/outputs
• Aux audio in, can detect when car is put in reverse and auto activate rear cam view.
• Motorized flip out screen, can auto open and retract triggered by car power.
• NAVigation unit support – I’m adding that plus a rearview cam in a couple months time.

It was a little bigger than the stock unit and had a lot more AV cables in addition to connecting to the stock harness, but it was fun to get in. I figure I’ll use this to archive solutions to some questions that typically come up regarding this unit.

Unofficial Jensen VM9512 FAQ

Q. Do I need to connect up the parking brake wire?
A. No. Do a search for parking brake bypass. It’s really simple to do.

Q. I’ve tried burning mp3 dvd-r but it always says ‘Bad Disc’
A. Same happened to me though I noticed it would play divx movies recorded to a dvd-r. What currently works for me is to use a DVD+RW (there is a difference between dvd-r and dvd+r). I haven’t tried dvd+r drives yet, I figure if DVD+RW works, I’ll just stick to it. If someone tries it out, report your experience to me so I can update this.

*Update – I’ve tried burning a divx movie to a dvd+rw and it did not work. . .well, it played, but very choppily, like the laser had a hard time keeping on track. Of course, it now hits me that divx movies worked from a DVD-R, so I’ll try that later.

Q. My vehicle harness/harness adapter has a dimmer wire but there is nothing about that in the manual for the vm9512.
A. The vm9512 does not have this input. Terminate that connector or wrap it with electrical tape. You can in the setup menu configure the unit to auto dim the screen or you can select the brightness/contrast ratios yourself. RTFM for this.

Q. Hey, I had to get a jumpstart and now my deck wants a password? any ideas

A. Assuming that you did not change the default password, it is 012345 (six digits). If you have changed it and cannot remember what it is, you may need to contact Jensen customer service at 1-800-323-4815.

That’s it for now. If I remember other issues or someone asks me something, I’ll add on to the list. Right now, I’m rocking to Justin Timberlake’s Summer Love. That song is amazing.

Edit: So, tastes change, my new top song is Freeze Ray from the soundtrack of Dr. Horrible’s sing along blog.