cva 1000, novice

I just picked up an Alpine CVA-1000 from eBay for $80. My current head unit is stock and broke. I was looking to spend around $100 for a new one. Rather than get something mediocre from 2008, I decided to buy the very best head unit 1999 could offer. Anyway, the unit comes with all of the cables but without instructions. I found the user's manual online from a french-language site, but I still need the wiring diagram. The manual did not include any information regarding installation. Additionally, I spent another $8 for a small dvd player. I'm interested in connecting the DVD player to the CVA-1000 but I know that it does not have any video inputs. I know that there is a hack for this, and I'm hoping the people still remember how to use such an old deck. I don't have an AI-Net cable, but I'd buy one if it would make adding a video input easier. thank you very much! Dan

Dan, there should be a couple of AUX inputs on the brain. If it is not an alpine, then you do not need the Ai-Net Cable. You just need to run RCA cables (Red, White, and Yellow) from the dvd player to the brain. Then you connect the power and ground wires to the car's harness.2001 Corolla S and 2005 Neon SRT 4 ACR.

Though it is hard to believe, the CVA-1000 actually has no aux inputs. The models made after it did, but the CVA-1000 does not. I have found some information about splicing a video-in signal to the nav video wire, but I am looking for a little more information. Back when it was new the CVA-1000 was quite a ripoff. No video in and no cd...just FM radio for $1500 :)

Damn! I have an IVA C801 that I got from ebay for 300, along with a dvd player and cd changer. Maybe you should purchase a later model. They have some for auction right know. I wouldn't mind having the IVA D900 or 901 with the touch screen and built-in dvd player. Then you would need an auxiliary dvd player.2001 Corolla S and 2005 Neon SRT 4 ACR.

wow. what a blast from the past... i was an installer when this head unit first came out, and i put it in my car the day it was released. you are correct in that it has NO inputs. i believe that the CVA-1000 paved the way for all of the head units today. it was way ahead of its time... that said, there is a way to add video (although, i cant help you 100%). i did it successfully, but it was so long ago that i cant remember wire colors. what i did was i took a home vcr with video input and output RCA jacks (i used a power converter too, hardwired to my car). i hacked into the thick cable that runs from the brain the to dash unit. this cable contains the video wires. you cut the two wires and hardwire it to the RCAs. the end that leads back to the brain goes to the RCA video input on the VCR, and the end of the wire that goes to the dash unit gets hardwired to an RCA and that gets plugged into the video out of the VCR. now, when you arent using the VCR the video from the brain passes through it and goes to the display. when you want to watch a movie the VCR interupts the video source from the brain and sends its own video to the monitor. also, if the VCR has a few inputs you can add a playstation, dvd player, etc. note: this was in the late 90s before DVDs were popular. you could probably sustitute the VCR for a DVD player that has video passthrough and a few extra inputs. anyways, thats how its done, and i can attest that it works perfectly. i did mine myself. however, now you must do the footwork to find which wire colors inside the thick wire are the video. you just take a razor and carefully strip back the black shielding on the thick wire. it will expose about 10 to 20 small wires of all different colors. good luck!2015 4Runner TRD Pro

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So, it's all installed. It works great. The power antenna goes up like it should, the radio locks in a signal...but there's no sound. I have the speakers wired directly into the built-in amp. A AA battery confirms the connection. It took me like 5 hours to get it set up, drill the hole to put the brain in the glove compartment. And now it doesn't work. Darn!

Is there a slot cut into the bottom cover, with a white plastic switch under the hole?   Look under both pieces of the unit.  The deck and the brain.  There should be writing on the chassis of the radio near the slot.  The 2 choices are going to be  EQ or Norm.  Make sure it is switched to Norm.

I tried that switch. Tt doesn't change anything. On the bright side, the pre-amp outputs work very well. I plugged them into my computer and I get sound. I might just buy an external amp and use that.