# How To: Retrofit a Pioneer head unit in your TT



## Sophus (Apr 26, 2013)

I just fitted a Pioneer AVIC-F77DAB and thought I would share what you need if you are thinking of doing the same. The parts used would also work with the popular CarPlay unit SPH-120DA (no DAB) and probably many other Pioneer head units.

*Why retrofit?* I had the new high resolution RNS-e with phone prep. Not bad. But trouble free Bluetooth streaming, easy phone charging, iPod/iPhone music and content connection, DAB, speed cameras and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and touch screen controls to name a few, were functions I missed. Upgrading the OEM route by way of adding AMI, aftermarket BT dongles etc is expensive, complicated and not really getting you a modern future proof solution. This retrofit is fully reversible. No OEM stuff was hurt in this installation...

The parts in this install are for a car originally fitted with RNS-E, BOSE, multi function steering wheel and phone prep and Audi RNSE navigation unit with OEM shark fin antenna/GPS antenna. The parts will let you keep functions of the steering wheel buttons (though their functions are slightly changed), and your Bose amp will still be operating. The sound will likely be improved quite a bit.

*YOU NEED (I went for Connects2 bits as they are high quality and easy to use products):*


*- The Pioneer head unit* you want


*- Removal keys* to get the old OEM unit out of the dash.


*- CTSAD002.2 adapter harness* provided your Pioneer HU has low level RCA out. Otherwise CTSAAD006.2 may be an option. Both harnesses also come with wires for connecting various canbus signals (speed pulse, handbrake, reverse signal, amp on, antenna amplifier power etc) and provide with ease very good functionality. 
_Please note:_ The CTSAD002.2 harness uses the RCA low level line outputs from the Pioneer to the factory installed BOSE amp. The alternative CTSAD006.2 is often recommended by resellers. However, instead of low level RCA out, it uses the high level speaker out via what appears to be potentiometers in an additional black box that allows you to dial down the levels to your liking. While that seems like a good idea, I tried the 6.2 harness first but it causes white noise with the BOSE amp. Switching to the 2.2 harness allowing for the use of the RCA low level line out eliminated the noise which confirms that the CTSAD006.2 caused line level noise. The 2.2 harness is both better, sleeker and cheaper, so this is an easy choice to make.


*- CTPIONEERLEAD* which goes between the black box for steering wheel remote that comes with the harness and your headunit. When powering up for the first time, only the head unit side of the box should be connected to the harness, then after power up you may connect the car side of the box. The head unit will power on and the box programmed.


*- CT27AA56* twin fakra antenna adapter. One phantom power lead comes with a pin that you may either connect to the blue amp remote lead or insert into the connector of the CTSAD002.2/6.2 in an empty slot that corresponds to the antenna power out from the head unit. You may look up pin out for the Pioneer ISO connector to find the right slot. Not impressed by the FM signal strength but it works. 
_Edit:_ powered the antenna adapter off the red switched ignition feed as suggested by Blaylock. The other leads may have fluctuating voltage or too low amp, not ideal for the adapter. Seem to have improved reception, but still not quite at OEM level. It's ok though.


*- CT23AU05* Fascia premium mounting kit for TT. It comes with a slim cage. The one that comes with the head unit does not fit. The fascia fit is not perfect, but good enough with a little Dremel or knife work. It still sits a tad too high. The plastic fascia goes in first. Remember to move the airbag light from your old headunit to the new fascia and connect the lead before you slide it in. Then the cage is slid into the plastic fascia.


- You also need to get a few bullet connectors to crimp on the leads going from the head unit. Make sure you get the right size.


*- Alternative mic.* If you want to have a mic in the OEM position in the overhead light cluster, rather than a visible after market solution, you may get this Fiscon mic:
http://www.ampire.de/Multimedia-Solutio ... 802&p=3802
You also need an adapter from 3.5 mm to 2.5 mm jack. In any event, mic positioning can have a large impact on call quality and some compromise may have to be made for optimum result, see my install notes below.


*- A HDMI cable* if your head unit supports it (not in the box)
Alternatively I recommend something like this socket to be flush mounted (it includes USB and HDMI cables at sufficient length): http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB2-0-HDMI-Fem ... 9#shpCntId









*- Various tools* and stuff like electrical tape, pliers, nylon strips, a flexible plastic pipe or similar for threading cables through the dash and other places, etc

*THE INSTALLATION:*
The install is not difficult as all the connections are there and nicely marked or explained. It may be helpful to connect and test fit the head unit harness and the ctsad002.2 plus antenna adapter plus the different leads and fix bullet connectors at your kitchen table, instead of in your car. When everything is made ready, it is just a matter of removing the old HU and plug in the new stuff.

The hardest part of the install is routing the mic, USB and hdmi and antenna cables. It is probably best to remove the glove box as well as the one A-pillar trim. There are many options to pick from when routing cables. What I believe to be the best is only my opinion. Avoid routing antenna and mic cables through the side of the dash where the fuse box is, if possible. Of course always start threading your cables _from_ the desired position of your mic/antennas and _towards_ the head unit, not the other way around :-|

Also note: My car is a left hand steering wheel config. Things may be different in a UK car.

*Anyway, this is what I did:*


- The eBay socket containing both USB female (for lead no.1 from HU) and HDMI female to be flush mounted on the rear of the center console came out nicely (the USB no. 2 lead I have in the glove box). To install: You need a 20mm drill bit I think, but don't remember exactly. No need to take the center console out. Just the tray at the back. Feel underneath to find the right spot. Drill a small pilot hole, then drill and mount. The cables you push down between the center console and the carpet, then pull them through. Push them back up under the console trim as you move towards the dashboard. Take off the center console cover along the footwell and route the cable up from the footwell into the dashboard behind the head unit. Last part a bit tricky. Taped the cable to a flexible plastic pipe to thread it through.







It looks brilliant and very OEM.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB2-0-HDMI-Fem ... 9#shpCntId


- I first tried to put the GPS antenna under the dash, over the glove box, but that did not work well. I then moved it to the base of the A-pillar, behind the trim panel in a nice little horizontal foam padded spot right up to the window. It worked better but still not a great and undivided success. I frequently lost signal among tall rises in the city, or if big lorries were alongside etc. Middle of dash close to front screen as recommended is probably best, though it will be visible). The easiest route for the cable is from your chosen spot, along the windscreen between dash and windscreen, (if applicable based on your chosen position) and through the base of the A pillar, into the dash over the glove box and on to the head unit slot.
_Edit:_ This adapter lead will let you reuse the existing OEM shark fin antenna for GPS if you have one. It worked perfectly. Now tracking 12 satellites and everything perfect with no unexpected signal loss.Additional bonus is that you avoid the hassle of threading the cable for the add on GPS receiver through the dash and you will have no visible non OEM add-ons after the install.
http://enfigcarstereo.com/ENFIG_GAA_PIO2.html


- The DAB antenna that came with my Pioneer HU is a powered sticker antenna for sticking onto your front windscreen. If your head unit does not have Dab, you may of course skip this step. 
I initially placed the antenna in the glove box, waiting for a better solution came along. It worked, but reception not that robust. Easiest route is through from windscreen into A pillar trim (needs to come off) down to the base of A pillar and into the dash, over the glove box and into the head unit slot. Remember to ground the antenna to the A pillar as per the instructions.

_Please note:_ Tttony bravely pioneered an excellent OEM retrofit solution that works great and leaves you with no visible aftermarket parts. It is a bit more work and money, but seem to be the best route to go if you want a well working, professional DAB install and very good OEM level reception. Details in the Knowledge Base here: 
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=1004361
_Please note: _If you do this DAB retrofit and you have a Pioneer HU, remember it comes with a SMB type DAB antenna in and not the Fakra type. You can get around this by removing the Fakra housing from the FAKRA antenna cable listed by Ttony and just stick it in the antenna in on the HU and hope it doesn't fall out. Nevertheless, I strongly recommend you also order this Fakra to SMB adapter from your Audi/VW dealer, so that it will be properly secured. Part No: 000098700


- The OEM AUX port in center console I decided to reuse by soldering the leads onto a 3.5mm jack plugged into the Pioneer, so that the center console aux port is still operational. I don't think the good old AUX will ever get much use though, so you should probably just skip this step...


- Install the mic. Route cable from your chosen spot (cluster or along headliner, into the head liner, down the A pillar to the base, through the base of the A pillar and into the dash over the glove box and on through to the head unit slot. 
I first went with the Fiscon mic over the Pioneer one. I placed it in the overhead light cluster where the OEM mic resides. No OEM wires cut, the OEM mic is just left in the cavity behind the headliner. The sound quality was not good though. It picked up a lot of noise and my callers complained more than they did with the oem phone prep. Some are happy with the Fiscon, and I may have botched my install by soldering on a smaller jack instead of using an adapter or routing the cable to close to high voltage leads. Nevertheless, the more certain way of getting good call quality is using the Pioneer mic mounted on the sunshade or head lining in plain sight. With the Pioneer mic like this, call quality is great and tons better than Audi OEM. Siri/CarPlay also works great. However, forum user Aquazi is happy with the Fiscon mic, so a better installation than I did may save the day.
_Please note: _Mic cables carry only a few millivolts and are badly shielded. They may easily suffer from interference or induced false signals. Therefore I recommend you route the mic cable down the A-pillar on the opposite side side of the car from the dash fuse box. Try to avoid close proximity to other higher voltage cables to reduce risk of interference and induced noise.


- When everything is in place, mount your facia kit and cage in the crater left by your old head unit. Some adjustments may be needed for a good fit. you may also do this step right after removing the head unit, but access is better before you fit the facia/cage


- Connect the harness to the Pioneer harness. Remember to only plug in the steering wheel control box to the pioneer HU at first. Connect all the other cables, plugs, bullet connectors and stuff. Connect the harness to the quad lock coming from the car. Make sure everything is correct and fire up the ignition. Connect the remaining plug to the steering wheel control box and watch everything come to life.


- Do some tests and make sure everything works. Test fit the head unit and adjust fitting depth by adjusting the side plates until you are happy with the fit. Tuck everything carefully in place and slide your brand new glorious multimedia unit in place. 


- Refit trim panel(s) and glove box etc. tidy up.


- Sit back, explore and enjoy!

*Please note* that you may get no sound when powering up, even if everything is correctly done. Don't despair! The reason is that the OEM Bose amp is now controlled by a 12v current through the blue Amp remote lead, but it needs to be told so. You need VCDS for connecting to the car's diagnostics port, go to the Sound System module and coding. Change the correct digit from "3" (undocumented OEM setting) to "1 Wired Remote". Sound will flow instantly.

Hope this is of help.

The finished result is great! A true upgrade in quality and functionality.

*EDIT: this post is updated with several corrections learned the hard way, so that you don't have to make the same mistakes.*


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## aquazi (Dec 24, 2014)

Great post....

Although i dont have a separate bose box with my connect kit... But then my facia was also different so maybe i they have changed it since mine.

And yeah my FM signal is so much worse.... I have tried, duel and single and even changing how the blue cable was connected... Nothing has improved my signal yet.

Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk


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## Blaylock1988 (Dec 29, 2014)

FM signal should be good if wired properly. The power source for the adapter can make all the difference. Try connecting the power for the dual Fakra to the switched power of the car (I think red wire on the harness) and see if quality improves. Otherwise you may need to try another adapter.


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## Vassilis (Mar 20, 2007)

Are you still able to control the subwoofers of the Bose soundsystem through the sub settings of the Pioneer on your setup?


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## Sophus (Apr 26, 2013)

Blaylock, thanks. Will check it out. 
Vassilis, not sure but from what little I have seen, it seems that the subwoofer is not separately controllable with this harness. The Pioneer has the functions, but it seems that the harness or something else in the setup don't allow for communication with sub on separate channel. Not sure if it is a valid indication, but the black box only has four adjustable channels. Left/right for front and back. Bass is good though and a huge number of equalizer settings are available.


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## migzy (Apr 17, 2007)

you cannot control the bose sub, sub setting are for a 3rd party sub connected to the sub outputs on the head unit.

also my fm reception is greatly improved.

ta

migzy


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## Sophus (Apr 26, 2013)

Migzy, how did you wire up the antenna adapter?


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## migzy (Apr 17, 2007)

sorry don't know man, paid road radio to do it wish i'd videod the install.

but it's 100 % improved over the OEM.

cheers

Migzy


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## aquazi (Dec 24, 2014)

My radio reception is rubbish... And i've rewired mine twice.

I'll get order a new adapter tomorrow... Failing that may try the single faraka adapter instead.

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## Sophus (Apr 26, 2013)

Aquazi, did you try the red lead as suggested by Blaylock?
Anyway, keep us posted on any progress and results, good or bad. No need to make the same mistake if you have already tried it, right?


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## V6KMO (Mar 24, 2013)

are you getting error codes in the VCDS.
I had my head unit professionally fitted and I don't think its using the amps at all. I checked with VCDS and it tells me error codes ?? [smiley=bigcry.gif] Still playing but not as good as I would have expected.
If the BOSE amps had been bypassed would it still play using the head units amps....


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## Sophus (Apr 26, 2013)

You will get some error codes simply because your OEM stereo is missing. As far as the car understands, your new stereo is not a replacement for your oem system. 
Have a look here: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=971594
This is more or less unavoidable but also no problem. 
I am certain that my Bose amp is working, simply because I had no sound until I recoded it.


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## Vassilis (Mar 20, 2007)

migzy said:


> you cannot control the bose sub, sub setting are for a 3rd party sub connected to the sub outputs on the head unit.
> 
> also my fm reception is greatly improved.
> 
> ...


I had to change the amp on my Bose setup to get control of the bose sub directly through the avic headunit (the amp was broken anyway so they changed it under warranty by Audi and I had to add some extra money to get a better one).


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## Sophus (Apr 26, 2013)

Having researched the FM problem, it seems cars originally fitted with RNS-E uses a switched diversity antenna system. Some other Audi head units use a phase based diversity system.

Electronics do some clever signal processing and switches between the two antennas to give you the best possible reception at all times. Unfortunately this function is part of the RNS-E. When that is replaced with an aftermarket unit you are left with two antennas and no electronics to take advantage of them.

The aftermarket active adapters simply combine the two signals and amplify the result. One of the signals will always be inferior to the other. This approach is not good RF science and will give you a signal that will always be noisy, and on top of that, the noise is amplified too. The supposed diversity adapters are likely to give you a worse signal than if you had settled for a single lead (passive or with active amplifier) adapter and chosen to connect it to the one of the two antenna leads that gives the best reception.

Too bad no one has bothered with making a true diversity adapter with signal processing and switching. I would have bought it, even if it had cost substantially more than the "fake" adapters that are presently on the market.

Bottom line: You probably should take into account that though an aftermarket head unit will bring you lots of good stuff, it will also ruin your FM reception. Part of the bargain.

I am happy to note that since my DAB antenna is working nicely even from its temporary position the glove box, I may forget about FM for the time being.


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## Sophus (Apr 26, 2013)

I just found an adapter lead that will allow us to reuse the factory GPS shark fin antenna with the Pioneer aftermarket head units instead of bothering with the aftermarket antenna!!
It's from the U.S. and postage was quite expensive, but I broke down and ordered anyway. This is the item:
http://enfigcarstereo.com/ENFIG_GAA_PIO2.html

Will update when I know whether this is successful or not. Fingers crossed!


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## aquazi (Dec 24, 2014)

Thats interesting about the aerial.... Maybe i'll just go get a single farka and try that then!

The DAB isnt great (derby with a daily commute to coalville) with the arial on my glovebox 

Maybe i should give up on my FM too and just try getting the DAB to work properly!!

Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk


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## Sophus (Apr 26, 2013)

This adapter lead for using the existing shark fin antenna for GPS worked perfectly. Now tracking 12 satellites and everything perfect. 
http://enfigcarstereo.com/ENFIG_GAA_PIO2.html

Additional bonus is that you avoid the hassle of threading the cable for the add on GPS receiver through the dash and you will have no visible non OEM add-ons after the install.


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## Sophus (Apr 26, 2013)

Retrofitted OEM DAB antenna amplifier to make use of the rear screen antenna element. Works really well. 
How to here: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=866929

No more glovebox antenna.


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## tttony (Dec 21, 2014)

VAG Fakra adapter cable 000 098 703 is a universal male to female and should work to connect the gps shark fin aerial to a Pioneer headunit. Will much cheaper than getting the Enfig one from the States.


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## Sophus (Apr 26, 2013)

FM antenna reception seem improved after powering from the red ignition switched lead as suggested by Blaylock. According to aquazi the voltage fluctuate on the blue lead and is not a constant 12v.


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## aquazi (Dec 24, 2014)

I swapped my fm adaptor to red on friday given it a go over the weekend and i would say its as good as oem...

Not sure if its a bose thing but powered by the blue cable... which also switch the bose amp cause massive variation in the voltage... So probably need a relay to the red to have a stable switched power for anything... Atleast on my car.

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## delta16 (Nov 29, 2012)

Sophus said:


> I just fitted a Pioneer AVIC-F77DAB and thought I would share what you need if you are thinking of doing the same. The parts used would also work with the popular CarPlay unit SPH-120DA (no DAB) and probably many other Pioneer head units.
> 
> *Why retrofit?* I had the new high resolution RNS-e with phone prep. Not bad. But trouble free Bluetooth streaming, easy phone charging, iPod/iPhone music and content connection, DAB, speed cameras and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and touch screen controls to name a few, were functions I missed. Upgrading the OEM route by way of adding AMI, aftermarket BT dongles etc is expensive, complicated and not really getting you a modern future proof solution. This retrofit is fully reversible. No OEM stuff was hurt in this installation...
> 
> ...


Old post I know. I have recently installed a Kenwood all singing and dancing head unit and I used the CTSAD006.2 as recommended by the audio shop but I now have white noise, which gets louder when the canbus wakes up, such as indicating, or turning lights on, or putting hazzards on etc. The noise is always there and I have tried to play around with the pots on the canbus module to try and reduce the noise which helps but noise is still present. I spoke to audio shop and they are advising me against using the 2.2 as they said if I think my white noise is bad it will be much worse with the 2.2 as I will get engine whizz noise.

So just wanted to check that the 2.2 sorted your issues which sound similar to mine?


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