Multizone safety lights controlled though Alpine i407 + KAC-001

[ControlNode]

Sadly, not for the Ranger, but for my wife's RHD Postal Jeep that is finally getting a radio update, and since I'm getting her the Alpine KAC-001 accessory controller with it, getting all the safety lights wired for control with that controller. And she'll be able to set different strobe patterns for the upper (side fenders/old 3rd mount light) and lower (front fenders and back bumper) separately from the radio interface. I still have 2 more grounded output controls not going to the relay/fuse box. Alpine support states that the ground latched controls disable when the radio turns off though, which is a problem since she'll need the lights going while dismounting to for to the door delivers, so I've got one of the outputs going to a relay on the Batt +12V to supply +12V to the Ign lead while the Jeep is off and the Maestro kills that signal. She'll just need to enable "Dismount Mode" before turning off the Ign and opening the door. And adding the cargo light using the extra LED strip from my bed lighting project. Plan to tackle that this long weekend coming up.

Update: Not going replace 3rd brake light, instead I will use the glass hinge caps. And connected white driver's side and cargo light to same circuit that is only available when dismount mode is enabled. I may still make some other updates so tie that dismount mode into to only work when the parking brake is set, or transmission is in park.

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And returning the i407-WRA-JK kit, while planning the wiring and reading the install/owner's manuals a few times I noticed no mention of the KAC-001 in the 407 manuals. Looking at other older models I see what that section should look like, but it's just not there. Support where I bought the radio from says it supports it. After a bench test I could not find any menus related to it. Contacted Alpine directly and it turns out that Alpine removed support for the KAC-001 radios, they actually added support for the $2k+ i509 kit with a firmware update, but no plans for the $1k kit. Had to order an older kit i207-WRA, but at least that upgrades two things over the 407, better EQ and dedicated GPS antenna so the phone can use less battery powering its internal GPS to a higher refresh rate. Then to see if my wife notices the different radio than I showed her on her birthday after it's installed.

 

[ControlNode]

And the seller of the 207 Restyle kit called yesterday evening as part of a credit fraud prevention measure and when I mentioned why I was ordering the older kit instead of the newer one they stated they don't ship the 207, instead they ship the 407. So that order was cancelled before it was shipped. I went on to explain why that is a really bad business practice to not list the actual product they are selling, especially since, specs wise, the 207 is a better system than the 407.

Shopping back on Crutchfield, after having looked in detail at the i207-WRA kit I found that the iLX-507 looks to have about the same chassis design as the iLX-207 that is used in the 207 kit. Better yet, even after buying the iLX-507, Maestro, wiring harness and "a-la cart" brackets from the 207 Restyle kit it's a little cheaper than the 407 restyle kit and with a WAY better head unit. The only feature I'm losing in this, from what I thought I was initially getting from the 407 kit I originally ordered, is the custom wallpaper on the display. I was looking forward to picking on my wife by branding the radio with the USPS logo as the wallpaper on her. While the improvements from the 407 include slightly better RMS rating on speaker output, more USB ports (one with more amps for charging too), HD audio playback, 13 band parametric EQ, wireless AA/CP, dedicated GPS antenna and the required support for the KAC-001.

This thing has been a roller coaster, and I've not even installed it yet.

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