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Hallo, Ich habe eine Frage. On my Car the HU I guess is the basic one with tapedeck and the non functional telephone and cd buttons. In the mini shelf underneath there is an ipod cord (prolly put by one of the previous owners). Since the car did not come with a cd changer, can I put an OE in? and as far as aftermarket, I tried looking for the Pioneer unit mentioned with the 6 cd and ipod and gps and whathveyou but couldn't find it. Can I swap in an OE model from a better equipped car?
You can easily upgrade to the COMAND system of the time.
I know this is a 12 year old thread but I want to thank everyone for the detailed instructions... without this thread I would have had to take it to someone else’s to install. Everyone working great including the stearing wheel controls. Get the volvo wire harness and your good to go.
Everyone working great including the stearing wheel controls. Get the volvo wire harness and your good to go.
Does your set up display the radio station information on the screen between the speedometer and tachometer? I used these instructions too plus a Youtube video that provided some step-by-step instructions for removing the OEM radio. Everything on my car works except the audio menu in the gauge cluster says "Please Wait" at start up and then shows a series of of dashes (-----------).
Guys,
Just adding my experience, last week I installed on mine (CL203 C200 SportCoupe 2005 facelifted) a Pioneer w8400nex, as interface to maintain steering wheel controls I used a Connects2 interface that works pretty well, I mean, I would love to have dual way communication so it prints on the dash whats going on the radio but haven't found a solution yet to that, if I found I would probably switch the interface in the future.
The microphone was installed on the dome light, mine has not aire sniffer there so it had the spot free, but I added a small molex connector at the end of the mic cable (like 10 cm before the mic) so it can be disconnected if I have to remove the dome light. If it causes me any problem in the near future I would probably get a CLC mirror, I was thinking anyways on installing an autodimming one and I could pick the one that has the microphone on the front, and I actually think it would be much better, so far no problems though. To get the cable there I got the roof liner partially removed ( just a few centimeters to get my hand in there and get the cable along with the normal cables, and then the pilar on the drivers side (This one gets out easy but getting it back the right way is not THAT easy, I mean, it could look good but sometimes it is not tight enough and could be noisy when driving afterwards).
For the USB I did some magic :P, the aux USB (I use android and this unit has two USBs, Android works only on USB2 and iPhone just on USB1), in my case it is the USB1 as I will not use it for the phone and just for a pendrive or external drive, the HDMI, and the aux input, I opened the tab of the glove box to get the cables through there, and got some neutrik HDMI and USB2 chasis connectores to make it look nice, I won't modify the glove box anyways, I will just 3d print something so it gets there nice and without intervention on the original stuff.
For the USB2 I wanted to get it on the armrest, as I have the 3D one that opens in 3 positions it was ideal. for the phone there.
So I had to remove the center console and got the USB running along with the factory phone cables. Not a big deal but it took like 20 mins to do it right, then once it was already on the compartment I left the female connector there as I wanted it to be removable in the future. Then opened the upper compartment (The one that comes with the UHI connector for the phone) and removed that connector. Initially I thought on 3D printing something to get a nice USB there, but then when I took it out I noticed it was possible to be disassembled and actually a PCB USB fits perfectly there on that square. That was magical, I just got another USB cable and soldered it to the female PCB USB and got the cables running as the factory ones too there, just a few zip ties and everything looks perfect. It looks like original and I love that.
Let me know if you want some pictures I can upload a few, but I'm pretty pleased with the results.
My install was seven years so I don't know if anything new is out ... but my install still works great so if nobody has better suggestions I would just recommend what I used. Be sure to get:
And if you are using head unit pre-outs to an external amp that is turned on by the 12v signal wire from the head unit, check to see if your head unit has a delay built into the pre-out signal so you don't get a "pop" when you turn on the radio ... if not, then you will need to get a 1-2 second trip wire delay unit that waits to turn your amp on until the head unit has sent power to the pre-outs (and gotten past that "pop").
* 12v signal turn-on delay (Pac TR4)
-- John
Last edited by jkowtko; May 7, 2020 at 09:46 AM.
Reason: typo
I plan on putting in a new head unit. Is there a particular adapter you guys would recommend?
I used the Crux SWRBM-57C. I installed my head unit about 3 years ago and something better may be available now. However, the Crux SWRBM-57C works well in my car. Please note that I have a 2005. If you have an earlier car, you may need a different model.
I used the Crux SWRBM-57C. I installed my head unit about 3 years ago and something better may be available now. However, the Crux SWRBM-57C works well in my car. Please note that I have a 2005. If you have an earlier car, you may need a different model.
I just looked this up. I meant like the trim adapter you would need when replacing the stock unit.
Decided to try putting in my HU this weekend. It gets power just fine, but I'm not getting sound. So I have a few questions...
With the aftermarket harness I have, all the pins for the speakers are exposed, did i miss something? What's supposed to go there?
Also I looked in the trunk & I do indeed have an amp with the fiber optic cables goin to it. Where am I supposed to put the fiber optic loop?
And what do I do with the white connector? Is it for the CD/CD Changer?
I also had a connector that wasn't hooked up (red circle). Is that for the factory phone interface?
And am I supposed to use the yellow or black for the radio antenna?
Lastly, is there anyway to make the CD changer work with it?
I thought I had everything so jus wondering what I could be missing to make it all work.
Last edited by Scorpion34; Jul 5, 2020 at 03:22 AM.
Amp: I did not have a rear amp so I had speaker wiring going to the head unit connector. You will have to hear from those with the rear amp to see if they found an adapter that drives the audio signal through the fiber, or if they had to rip out and replace the amp in the trunk. (I personally replaced everything in my car ... new amp in trunk, new wiring from amp to speakers)
Antenna: Black is for normal RF (FM/AM radio) reception, and yellow is called ZF, intermediate frequency, which I am guessing is the wide band that the Audio 20 used. So use the Black connector. Also remember to power the antenna amplifier.
Decided to try putting in my HU this weekend. It gets power just fine, but I'm not getting sound. So I have a few questions...
With the aftermarket harness I have, all the pins for the speakers are exposed, did i miss something? What's supposed to go there?
Also I looked in the trunk & I do indeed have an amp with the fiber optic cables goin to it. Where am I supposed to put the fiber optic loop?
And what do I do with the white connector? Is it for the CD/CD Changer?
I also had a connector that wasn't hooked up (red circle). Is that for the factory phone interface?
And am I supposed to use the yellow or black for the radio antenna?
Lastly, is there anyway to make the CD changer work with it?
I thought I had everything so jus wondering what I could be missing to make it all work.
In my install I had to bypass the factory amp totally because that amp was for the sound speakers I had 2 stand alone amps installed in its place one for all speakers and a second just for the subwoofer box. In my install I could not add the factory CD changer because of its fiber optic connection thus did not use it.
Amp: I did not have a rear amp so I had speaker wiring going to the head unit connector. You will have to hear from those with the rear amp to see if they found an adapter that drives the audio signal through the fiber, or if they had to rip out and replace the amp in the trunk. (I personally replaced everything in my car ... new amp in trunk, new wiring from amp to speakers)
Antenna: Black is for normal RF (FM/AM radio) reception, and yellow is called ZF, intermediate frequency, which I am guessing is the wide band that the Audio 20 used. So use the Black connector. Also remember to power the antenna amplifier.
Thank you for that info. What about the white connector?
In my install I had to bypass the factory amp totally because that amp was for the sound speakers I had 2 stand alone amps installed in its place one for all speakers and a second just for the subwoofer box. In my install I could not add the factory CD changer because of its fiber optic connection thus did not use it.
I'm a bit curious why no one ever came up with a fiber optic adapter for the aftermarket HUs. Seems like that would've been easier.
[QUOTE=jkowtko;8098430]Amp: I did not have a rear amp so I had speaker wiring going to the head unit connector. You will have to hear from those with the rear amp to see if they found an adapter that drives the audio signal through the fiber, or if they had to rip out and replace the amp in the trunk. (I personally replaced everything in my car ... new amp in trunk, new wiring from amp to speakers)
Antenna: Black is for normal RF (FM/AM radio) reception, and yellow is called ZF, intermediate frequency, which I am guessing is the wide band that the Audio 20 used. So use the Black connector. Also remember to power the antenna amplifier.[/QUOT
1 more question. Lets say I got a new amp for now & ran the speakers to that. Would it be fine to use the factory speaker wiring when I replace the speakers later?
I don't know what the white connector is ... I don't remember my car having that, so it must be related to one of your upgrades ... maybe the phone connector?
The fiber cables I believe are encased in a bright orange skin, so that white connector doesn't look like fiber to me.
Regarding your question on speaker wiring ... the wires in the car looked like 18 gauge to me ... your call if you want to reuse that or run higher grade wiring. I figured I was taking enough of the interior apart that I should replace all the wiring as well, so I don't end up regretting not doing it and (psychologically) thinking that the sound quality is being affected by the stock wiring ... so I installed 14 gauge KnuKonceptz wiring and had no regrets.
I don't know what the white connector is ... I don't remember my car having that, so it must be related to one of your upgrades ... maybe the phone connector?
The fiber cables I believe are encased in a bright orange skin, so that white connector doesn't look like fiber to me.
Regarding your question on speaker wiring ... the wires in the car looked like 18 gauge to me ... your call if you want to reuse that or run higher grade wiring. I figured I was taking enough of the interior apart that I should replace all the wiring as well, so I don't end up regretting not doing it and (psychologically) thinking that the sound quality is being affected by the stock wiring ... so I installed 14 gauge KnuKonceptz wiring and had no regrets.
Thanks. No my car didn't come with the phone. I was thinking it may be the CD changer but since y'all said that's Fiber driven Idk.
I think I'll keep it simple & get 1 amp to power everything (I'll be getting subs in the future), and jus hook up the factory speakers to it.
I just joined the forum and this entire thread and this post in particular I quoted has been AMAZINGLY useful... Thank you everyone!!
I just installed a new HU in my 06 C230 and used the tips here for mic routing, as well as many other posts on the forum to retain my factory Harman Kardon amplifier.. (Using the AVIN MOST adapter)..
Originally Posted by jkowtko
Just wanted to share some pics and a few notes from my stereo install this weekend:
Pioneer AVIC z130BT, Scosche faceplate, wiring harness and antenna adapter, Metra Axxess ASWC steering wheel control adapter
I bought a refurb z130BT. Chose the z130BT over the z140BH because it has voice commands for the nav unit, and because it was about $100 cheaper. I don't need android app capability ... nav, phone and HD radio are the features I want most.
General instructions are available on the forum ... below are my notes on things that haven't already been covered:
Dash removal: buy a T15 screwdriver if you don't have one. I also have a T15 socket and used the ratchet to loosen some of the screws. The top vent is a bit tricky to remove ... the top catches look like a series of barbs and need to be pulled down about 1/4" in order to clear the underside of the dash.
The faceplate fit very well -- no modification needed. It came with round head and flat head screws to attach the side panel. I had to use the flat head screws for side clearance in the cavity of the dash.
Faceplate rear support: The stock radio had rear side tabs which fit in a channel to support the rear of the radio. I could not fit these onto the new unit, but the new unit is significantly lighter in the rear than the stock unit. Right now the rear is "floating", but also pinched a bit against the wiring in the rear, so far it's not going anywhere. I still have to replace the antenna converter (see below) and when I do I will try to fit a filler block under the rear of the radio to support it from the cavity bottom. Since the faceplate is custom to this specific car and only 3 years of production, they really should build these support tabs into the side panels of the faceplate kit.
Wiring harness: The wiring harness adapter matched well. There is NO switched 12V on the car's harness, so connect the RED wire on your radio harness to the YELLOW/BRN? wire of the cigarette lighter for switched power. To do this I unwrapped the cigarette wiring harness wrap several inches back from the lighter assembly, stripped about 3/4" of insulation off the yellow wire about halfway back, wrapped my tap wire around it, soldered the joint and wrapped with electrical tape. I snaked the power wire under some foam and up into the console cavity. I used a push connector to join it to the radio wiring harness, in case I need to remove the harness again in the future.
USB cable: I pulled the CD changer from the glove compartment, freed up a huge amount of much welcomed space, and snaked the USB cable in through the hole in the left side where the CD wires came through (pic). The CD changer wiring actually came out through what looks like a HVAC vent, and I couldn't figure out how to pull it out, so instead I bent it back around the outside of that vent where I snaked the USB cable in. So the USB cable comes in through the hole but not through that little duct. I folded the excess cable and tucked on the right side of the radio cavity in the back. That cable is really thick! It could be a lot thinner and shorter.
Antenna converter: My car has dual antenna cables. The adapter that came with the kit handles only one cable. I found only a couple of places selling the dual cable converter and will swap it out soon. For now my FM reception is pretty poor.
ASWC: worked great, once I figured out how to do it. It took a couple of tries to set up the initial auto-programming ... once that was done I had working volume controls, no seek buttons, and phone buttons that did something screwy to the radio. So I tried manual programming ... didn't work. The trick here was that, since my Pioneer was able to auto-detect , the manual programming DOES NOT work. Instead I had to do the remapping sequence, which was simple and painless, and I now have seek up/down, phone on/off, and volume up/down all working on my steering wheel NOTE: Have the display category set to Audio on your dash when you are programming the seek up/down buttons, so your seek buttons send in the correct signal for the ASWC to recognize. My Audio dash display still shows '-----' for the audio track, I don't know if that can be fixed or not.
GPS: I tucked the GPS in a small cavity area to the right of the top vent unit, just under the dash (red circle in pic). There is about an inch of foam under the top of the dash -- I had to cut a slit in it with a kitchen knife in order to get the metal antenna backing plate to sit flat and not be pinched. Once I had this in place the antenna fit nicely.
Mic: After failing to find a place to snake the mic cord from the steering column over to the radio cavity (the dash parts are all very tightly fit) I decide to mount the mic on the rear view mirror mount, left side (pic). Fit the wire under the lip of the headliner, down the door side of the A pillar cover, into the black flexible weatherstip door moulding, and across the underside of the dash just inside the underside cover (3 T15 screws). So far no complaints about voice quality from people I have spoken to, so I'm satisfied with this location for now.
Wiring: Packing the excess wiring into the radio cavity was a real challenge. Between the extra boxes and long wires there is a lot to tuck away. When wiring up the harness I removed all wiring from the RCA harness except for the mute wire which I moved into the bypass slot. Traffic tuner tucked into left side of cavity. GPS wire on top behind the switch panel. USB cable on the right side. ASWC and antenna adapter down below and into the back of the heater control cavity. And the original radio harness on the right side of the cavity bottom just under the rear of the radio. The ASWC and antenna adapter are in a location behind the heater controls where I can get to them without having to remove the radio.
All in all this took me 6-8 hours over the span of three separate days. Much of the time was spent in the discovery process. If I had to do it again I would estimate it taking me about half that time.
CD changer cable is wrapped back into cavity ... I taped it to the USB cable going back into the center console cavity. Look at all that space! Attachment 407225
Glad to hear you are benefitting from our posts ... these DIY forums have been an invaluable resource to me ...
Fyi I sold the C230 over a year ago (bought a Tesla Model Y which comes pretty well equipped stock and doesn't have much DIY activity) but I still enjoy reading these posts ... and I also have a 2005 Toyota Sienna that still needs plenty of TLC ...
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
NOTE: Have the display category set to Audio on your dash when you are programming the seek up/down buttons, so your seek buttons send in the correct signal for the ASWC to recognize. My Audio dash display still shows '-----' for the audio track, I don't know if that can be fixed or not.
