After Market Stereo

[scottjenkins]

Hi, The below pic is the the loom coming straight from behind the stereo - I dont think the wires on the left hand side are original?
IMG_20120324_105358.jpg
The original block which goes into the back of the stereo seems to be connected to another block (maybe some kind of adaptor for the Nokia Hands free?)

IMG_20120324_105456.jpg
This is what i thought i could just plug my "Passat to Iso" adaptor straight into?

I hope this make sense to some one - ps after messing around with it, I now have my air bag light on, Ive heard this is common and can be cleared by VAGCOM?

Thanks Scott

[patomlin76]

From the photos above, there seems to be either a CD changer or some other after market audio adapter fitted. This is the smaller 12-pin block you can see. The original block that fits into your stereo does not go into another block (unless you have Parrot installed, in which case you can't miss the 100s of wires!).

From my experience when I had third party stereos, you need to look for any VW quad lock to ISO adapter (this clicks onto the existing block and converts to twin ISO, which then connects to your particular stereo block. The key though, is that you need to ensure you have an ignition live, either from the cigarette socket (or like me) from the fuse box. I paid an auto electrician £10 to have one installed on a free fuse location.

Then it is quite simple. A correct VW quad lock-iso adapter will also have a trailing red lead which is meant to be connected to this ignition live. Without it your stereo may make noises and eject CDs, but you will not power it on. Finally, with trial and error you need to test whether you need to swap the live red/yellow wires around. A simple test is to set date/time and any other personal setting. Switch the ignition off, lock the car, wait a few mins then go back. If it has remembered settings you have the permanent and ignition live set correct. If not, swap the wires around.

Hope this makes sense? I've fitted both Sony and Kenwood systems to mine in the past, so any queries I'm happy to help.

By the way, do you know what the slightly thicker cable is that is present in one of your pics to the right hand side? Doesn't look standard to me. Hopefully you still have two fakra-style aerial connectors? That in itself is another thread as to the best way to power these up...

Cheers

[scottjenkins]

Sorted - In a fashion anyway!!!

After searching everywhere and reading all your posts, I had another go...

Id read that there is a switched live from the cig lighter, after checking this out i found that mine was a continuous feed (which meant the stereo would not turn off) so that was not an option.

To cut a long story short - I have had to use the feed from the light around the cig lighter, which basically means that I need to have the lights on for the stereo to work but I don't mind that as long as I can rock out to The insprals carpents on the way to work

Thanks for all your help
Scott

[patomlin76]

You're nearly there. Find a proper switched live from the fuse box and you'll be sorted


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[scottjenkins]

I will do when i get some more time, cheers pal

[Teflon]

Looks from the photos like you have a Nokia CK70 phone kit or a similar one of their range. You can unplug the old telephone holder from the box of tricks and it will still work fine as a bluetooth unit. Find the instructions on the internet for use. The passcode for pairing is 1234. It is a very good little unit providing the microphone is still in place and it will mute your radio and use the car speakers when on a call.

It's a pity that the 12V socket isn't switched live but you might be able to use the same feed that a previous owner found for the Nokia kit. (I think it is the yellow wire on the Nokia box, but check the instructions to be sure).

It looks like your wiring has been butchered a bit and as Patomlin says, the easiest and safest way forward is to buy a Quadlock to 2 x ISO plugs adapter. This will deal with all the speaker connections, etc. The phone kit also can connect into here for the mute and use of the car speakers. The only changes you need are a lighting feed (use the one you have already found) and a switched live.

Don't bother trying to get into the back of the fusebox to splice in a connection. Just find a spare slot that responds to ignition (use a multimeter) and stuff a spade in it. You MUST, MUST, MUST put an in-line fuse in the cable, or even better, use a "piggyback fuseholder" that you can get on EBay for peanuts. There's no point telling you which fuse position to use because they vary so much by year and trim level.

You also need to feed 12V back up the aerial cable to power the gubbins otherwise the reception will be pants. Look for a "WV Fakra power adapter". Power it with the same switched live you use for the radio, with a suitable, low value fuse. You don't need to use both of the original VW aerial feeds, almost any aftermarket radio will work with just one of them.

p.s. You can find a full list of all the pin-outs at the back of the radio with a quick internet search. If you struggle, PM me an e-mail address. I've still got them somewhere.

[Emmitt23]

Both the power wires to your radio are permanently live. You basically have five options, in increasing order of difficulty and cost.

Option 1 is to leave it as it is and turn off the radio with the volume knob every time you get out of the car. It worked for me for my first 20 years of driving but has largely gone out of fashion today.

Option 2 is to take a switched live supply either from the fuse box or else the 12V socket in front of the gear lever and modify the radio wiring to accept it. You can also take a lighting feed for the dim/bright switching of your display. Your radio will then turn on and off with the ignition. Unfortunately, it will probably also briefly turn on an off when you push the starter. With a cheap radio this is no hassle but if you have something quite tasty with SD card, USB disc or DVD storage it can be a mighty pain, because the reset and track read takes 5-20 seconds. The £400 JVC I fitted to my Golf drove me insane doing this.

Option 3 is to buy a CanBus adapter. You can sort out the wiring so that it fits into the Quadlock plug behind the radio. It will give you a switched live supply which exactly mimics the way the standard radio behaves i.e. it is live until you actually pull out the key and does not drop off when you turn the key to start the car. Don't worry about not having the MFSW buttons, because they wouldn't control your Sony anyway, unless you bought an additional, expensive box of tricks. Just Google "VW CanBus adapter" and you will find something suitable.

Option 4 is a route I went down for my Golf. Get out the electronics book and build a fancy little device with a12V relay and some IC timer chips. It will mimic what the CanBus system does. While you are at it you can even design it to allow you to watch DVD's legally without needing to fit a microswitch somewhere in the handbrake circuit (CanBus again).

Option 5 is the route I would recommend. Give away the Sony (just like I gave away my JVC in the end). Buy an RCD 510 on EBay and if needed the CanBus gateway to make it work without flattening your battery. It looks like it should and sounds as good as a radio can in a Passat without carving out trim panels for new speakers. It has 6CD/MP3 changer and an SD slot so you could drive to the moon and back without ever having to hear the same track twice.

@Teflon it seems that you know yourself around head units quite well. Can you recommend me one?

Sorry for being off-topic. I'm looking for a good stereo and can't make my mind up which one is the best.

There are so many aftermarket stereos that it's hard to find a good one. Many of them have one digit difference in their name. Anyways I've been reading reviews on the nets and they are all hype. Most of them downplay the negatives and hype features like 7" as if it would be that important. I've found a different blog. The thing I liked about this stereo blog is that it says it how it is. No sugar coating no BS. Even so there are ten or more head units on the site. How to pick the right one?

Any tips?

[UMEL]

You might have a long wait, Teflon was last active almost 2 years ago, March 2018