C55 Harmon Kardon Radio upgrade
#51
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Yeah customs agents been going in on checking packages I just ordered some steering wheels and waiting 2 months to arrive but finally here
that decoder should be good I had a few little issues connecting it myself in the beginning but once I had the right decoder box it was simple plug and play
they should just have it built in already like the steering wheel control box but hopefully this one will arrive soon and you should be listening to some kool tunes
that decoder should be good I had a few little issues connecting it myself in the beginning but once I had the right decoder box it was simple plug and play
they should just have it built in already like the steering wheel control box but hopefully this one will arrive soon and you should be listening to some kool tunes
My decoder arrived today, quite impressed with the delivery time from Amazon, just on one week.
Connected everything and finally, there is sound! Problem is, the sound is really soft, not sure why this is, basically on radio startup, half volume is inaudible, at max volume is just softer than normal listening volume. I don't know, it seems like this car is intent on messing me around. I'm officially out of solutions at this point, plugging the original radio in produces proper sound.
"Update"
I instead connected a phone to the decoder and sound is normal seems like the output from the radio is weak. Not sure if there is a setting on the radio to fix this but I've already checked the equaliser.
Last edited by Sly1980; 11-25-2021 at 01:15 PM.
#52
Super Member
Radio
@Benzrider17
My decoder arrived today, quite impressed with the delivery time from Amazon, just on one week.
Connected everything and finally, there is sound! Problem is, the sound is really soft, not sure why this is, basically on radio startup, half volume is inaudible, at max volume is just softer than normal listening volume. I don't know, it seems like this car is intent on messing me around. I'm officially out of solutions at this point, plugging the original radio in produces proper sound.
"Update"
I instead connected a phone to the decoder and sound is normal seems like the output from the radio is weak. Not sure if there is a setting on the radio to fix this but I've already checked the equaliser.
My decoder arrived today, quite impressed with the delivery time from Amazon, just on one week.
Connected everything and finally, there is sound! Problem is, the sound is really soft, not sure why this is, basically on radio startup, half volume is inaudible, at max volume is just softer than normal listening volume. I don't know, it seems like this car is intent on messing me around. I'm officially out of solutions at this point, plugging the original radio in produces proper sound.
"Update"
I instead connected a phone to the decoder and sound is normal seems like the output from the radio is weak. Not sure if there is a setting on the radio to fix this but I've already checked the equaliser.
one word of advice don’t mess with the master setting or factory setting 0000 if you want to access it but be careful not to change any if your not sure what it’s for
there’s lots of drop down options on that screen .
#53
Junior Member
Thread Starter
great to hear you have sound there’s a loud button on the left top for bass that should give you louder sound and also check the EQ but I think once you tune in you will be happy
one word of advice don’t mess with the master setting or factory setting 0000 if you want to access it but be careful not to change any if your not sure what it’s for
there’s lots of drop down options on that screen .
one word of advice don’t mess with the master setting or factory setting 0000 if you want to access it but be careful not to change any if your not sure what it’s for
there’s lots of drop down options on that screen .
Thank you for the response.
I fear that the radio output is too weak, spoke to the supplier today and they said that I should increase the gain and when checked, it is already at max. Loud is also on and when I start that V8 with the door open, you cannot hear the radio, even though it's at max volume. I also then disconnected the RCA out between the radio and decoder and instead connected my iPhone to the decoder, sound is brilliant! So, I guess the radio is faulty, I don't think that there are any settings that would bring the sound level up.
#54
Junior Member
Thread Starter
@Benzrider17 @brauhaus313
Finally got my radio installed today, after months of struggling. I have to get a 9" unit as the 7" unit was out of stock from the local supplier (South Africa sucks in this regard!) Anyway, the sound is great, a bit better than the stock unit. The best quality I got out of the head unit was when using CD's but it sounds better now with Bluetooth. We'll have to see what long term usage reveals about the head unit.
Anyway, the last question is, how do I set the time in the instrument cluster now that I have the android unit? I checked the settings menu but there is no time & date option there 🤷
Finally got my radio installed today, after months of struggling. I have to get a 9" unit as the 7" unit was out of stock from the local supplier (South Africa sucks in this regard!) Anyway, the sound is great, a bit better than the stock unit. The best quality I got out of the head unit was when using CD's but it sounds better now with Bluetooth. We'll have to see what long term usage reveals about the head unit.
Anyway, the last question is, how do I set the time in the instrument cluster now that I have the android unit? I checked the settings menu but there is no time & date option there 🤷
#55
Super Member
Should be on second menu where you check your oil levels
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Sly1980 (12-23-2021)
#56
Junior Member
Thread Starter
@Benzrider
Thanks for the response! The option just isn't there, it gets time from the Comand unit, plugged it back in and it got the time from GPS. Apparently, the cluster has to be reprogrammed to not look for the Command unit and GPS time, so I need a star diagnostics tool to get that done. This will be ok until the battery gets disconnected. Lastly, the unit actually sounds much better than the stock head unit once I played with the DSP settings. Here is a pic of the install:
Not really crazy about the non-stock look but hey, the unit is much higher spec.
Anyway, thanks for all the help and advice, it is really appreciated. Hope you have a wonderful festive season!
Thanks for the response! The option just isn't there, it gets time from the Comand unit, plugged it back in and it got the time from GPS. Apparently, the cluster has to be reprogrammed to not look for the Command unit and GPS time, so I need a star diagnostics tool to get that done. This will be ok until the battery gets disconnected. Lastly, the unit actually sounds much better than the stock head unit once I played with the DSP settings. Here is a pic of the install:
Not really crazy about the non-stock look but hey, the unit is much higher spec.
Anyway, thanks for all the help and advice, it is really appreciated. Hope you have a wonderful festive season!
#57
Super Member
Looks nice , yeah my friend had the same issue he disconnected the battery at 11:55 to get it at 12:00 but it’s different with the options I guess
i like the screen size but I also like the Oem look . I’m using the USB ports for my music option think it sounds better on my unit
specially videos sound even better with very good picture quality
i like the screen size but I also like the Oem look . I’m using the USB ports for my music option think it sounds better on my unit
specially videos sound even better with very good picture quality
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Sly1980 (12-25-2021)
#58
Reviving an old thread but just wanted to confirm something. I am currently installing a Seicane unit on my C55 and trying to make sense of the wiring and make sure I don't miss anything.
My main question is for best practice, I should connect the MOST fiber converter box to ACC so I avoid a parasitic drain on my battery right? I saw some people hooking it straight into main 12v but I would imagine the box then stays on all the time and slowly drains the battery.
My main question is for best practice, I should connect the MOST fiber converter box to ACC so I avoid a parasitic drain on my battery right? I saw some people hooking it straight into main 12v but I would imagine the box then stays on all the time and slowly drains the battery.
#60
On the MOST sound converter, are you sure you hooked the ACC wire to a proper source? I hooked it up to the cigarete lighter. If you connect the ACC to a constant source, the sound WONT WORK. The harness on the C55 doesn't have ACC source, its all on all the time. The MOST box needs that signal when you flip over our car key switch to tell the sound amp to turn on, otherwise no sound.
The main thing with the canbus is that if will tell the radio to turn on when you turn the key, in that case the signal comes thru canbus (or at least it does for mine, I didn't have to hook the ACC to the radio).
#61
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Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: SF Bay Area
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C55, e36 M3
Why would the canbus hook-up impact the no-sound issue? In my car, the canbus was already connected thru the main connector that links to the one already in my car (though mine is a seicane).
On the MOST sound converter, are you sure you hooked the ACC wire to a proper source? I hooked it up to the cigarete lighter. If you connect the ACC to a constant source, the sound WONT WORK. The harness on the C55 doesn't have ACC source, its all on all the time. The MOST box needs that signal when you flip over our car key switch to tell the sound amp to turn on, otherwise no sound.
The main thing with the canbus is that if will tell the radio to turn on when you turn the key, in that case the signal comes thru canbus (or at least it does for mine, I didn't have to hook the ACC to the radio).
On the MOST sound converter, are you sure you hooked the ACC wire to a proper source? I hooked it up to the cigarete lighter. If you connect the ACC to a constant source, the sound WONT WORK. The harness on the C55 doesn't have ACC source, its all on all the time. The MOST box needs that signal when you flip over our car key switch to tell the sound amp to turn on, otherwise no sound.
The main thing with the canbus is that if will tell the radio to turn on when you turn the key, in that case the signal comes thru canbus (or at least it does for mine, I didn't have to hook the ACC to the radio).
Thanks for the input. eBay Junsun radio seller provided the instructions to wire to the canbus. I can only think it is to signal the amp to turn on.
#62
Ya the instructions aren't always the best. You might just want to hook it up to the harness as i am fairly certain you will get canbus that way. Does the radio turn on when you turn the key? If so then its already getting canbus signal but you could try opening the door to see if you get an open door sign. Not sure what else it's used for, but for sure the radio is not sending a signal thru canbus to turn on the amp, that is done by turning on the key or by the MOST box sending a signal that is triggered by the ACC wire. Let me know how it goes.
#63
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C55, e36 M3
It turns out the radio wire connector I tapped into for ACC was faulty. The sound came on and off.
I am trying to figure out how to setup the volume buttons on the steering wheel. The instructions in the radio manual did not work...
I am trying to figure out how to setup the volume buttons on the steering wheel. The instructions in the radio manual did not work...
#64
#65
I don't really need the reverse camera as the car does very low mileage. Just BT with good streaming integration makes the best sense for me and the solution you presented seems seamless and minimally invasive.
#66
I still have some random issues with the unit, in particular from time to time it won't pair or will just take a moment. Additionally some weird screen glitches (a weird graphical bug where on some starts half the screen is low res, and other times the touch sensitivity is too high and goes nuts, i think that second part is due to humidity as the car warms up and slight condensation might happen on screen). Still, even with the issues it sounds good and looks good, I am happy enough to deal with it.
#67
I still have some random issues with the unit, in particular from time to time it won't pair or will just take a moment. Additionally some weird screen glitches (a weird graphical bug where on some starts half the screen is low res, and other times the touch sensitivity is too high and goes nuts, i think that second part is due to humidity as the car warms up and slight condensation might happen on screen). Still, even with the issues it sounds good and looks good, I am happy enough to deal with it.