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Navigation & AudioAudio upgrades, bluetooth, and navigation discussions surrounding the Clubman (R55), Cooper and Cooper S (R56), and Cabrio (R57) MINIs.
Hello!!
I have a 2009 mcs ac schnitzer. I have the dash with the gray digital hvac, gray cd etc. with the separate volume ****. I want to buy the android unit WITHOUT the speedometer. Will the black cd unit fit, and what will happen to the volume hole, or it does not fit? Must i change the dash with the lci one and is it easy?
Thank you in advance
I don't have a link but there is someone in America who fitted the black unit to the silver (seperate ****) fascia and she carefully enlarged the hole which left only a small gap where the volume **** was/had been, it looked fine to me and was hidden mostly. She was able to fit the standard Android device. As mentioned the alternative is a second hand LCI fascia. These are quitre rare though and with mine being a manual AC even rarer. I fitted a silver android unit which came with the seperate **** but no DVD slot and I don't miss a DVD since everything is either streamed now or on a micro SD card/USB.
[QUOTE=Steve500;4451156]I started a thread elsewhere that might not get the attention that it will here instead; I wish I would have found this awesome thread earlier. Coming here with my successes of installation and some concerns needing resolved.
I have installed this model HERE (link) with the 4gb ram 32gb rom option in an r60 2013 Countryman S All4 US model. I was impressed to find that the unit has all of the bmw/mini factory harness connections on the back of the disc drive and lcd display unit the same as the factory big ben speedo and disc drive including 6 pin the ibus/can port on the back of the LCD unit that runs the tach/main cluster. The installation went well, only time consuming part was getting that dash to come apart with a lack of good information online amongst the different years/models of how to do it without breaking something, lol. Photos:
Does anybody know if this will fit a 2014 countryman sport? I see that it fit a 2013, I looked for any differences online but could not find any. Looking to pull the trigger on this unit. I also contacted half a dozen vendors, included a picture of my stock radio, but many of them either did not know or did not respond. I bought the other head unit with the LED KPH bezel (LED Bezel) but it was DOA (Dead On Arrival) with a damaged 8 pin harness. I believe it was a used/returned unit. Trying to get Alliexpress to deal with the issue. Kinda shady if you ask me. Wish there was a local dealer.
If anybody is installing the unit mentioned above on a 2014 or 2013, can you post pictures of the main harness (Stock radio harness) to back of android unit? I would like to compare pin outs.
Taking the dash apart is no joke, i have done many car radio installs and this one was intense. My countryman is now sitting with no center panels until i get this resolved, using back up car.
I don't have a link but there is someone in America who fitted the black unit to the silver (seperate ****) fascia and she carefully enlarged the hole which left only a small gap where the volume **** was/had been, it looked fine to me and was hidden mostly. She was able to fit the standard Android device. As mentioned the alternative is a second hand LCI fascia. These are quitre rare though and with mine being a manual AC even rarer. I fitted a silver android unit which came with the seperate **** but no DVD slot and I don't miss a DVD since everything is either streamed now or on a micro SD card/USB.
i allready bought the lci fascia and am waiting for the unit to arrive. finger crossed! Thank you!
I started a thread elsewhere that might not get the attention that it will here instead; I wish I would have found this awesome thread earlier. Coming here with my successes of installation and some concerns needing resolved.
I have installed this model HERE (link) with the 4gb ram 32gb rom option in an r60 2013 Countryman S All4 US model. I was impressed to find that the unit has all of the bmw/mini factory harness connections on the back of the disc drive and lcd display unit the same as the factory big ben speedo and disc drive including 6 pin the ibus/can port on the back of the LCD unit that runs the tach/main cluster. The installation went well, only time consuming part was getting that dash to come apart with a lack of good information online amongst the different years/models of how to do it without breaking something, lol. Photos:
I was surprised to find that the gas gauge and other indicators worked well and retained the power on/off pattern/dance that the gas gauge does.
RETAINING FACTORY USB PORT FUNCTION: I did cut and splice into the factory circular 4-pin USB connector that used to plug into the factory unit. I continuity tested the correct wires for D+ D- P+ P- in the photo above if any other want to retain their factory USB port functionality. The Auxiliary audio jack was already wired in the included harness wiring.
A few unresolved issues found since installation:Blinker tick sounds are terrible and laggy, no other door chimes or vehicle notification sounds exist. The speed display on the steering column tach cluster isn't working exactly as it was before after installing this system. The "refresh rate" of which the digital speed indicator has slowed down, the factory mph display screen doesn't react as fast as it used to, just behaving differently. The unit is properly showing MPH unit and it is set that way in the settings menu of the tach cluster BUT when setting cruise-control while driving, the cruise speed shows as Kph, after cruise is set, it returns to show Mph traveling speed. Increasing or decreasing cruise speed shows as kph: confusing! It did not behave this way before installation of the android head unit system.
Possible plans to resolve:
As far as chimes, blinker ticks, and notification noises, the unit's speaker it came with only produces cornering blinker noises which are slow to react and sound absolutely silly. I am guessing this is part of the MCU firmware and likely tough to modify and customize back to working like the factory sounds, might be worth hitting up xda to see if people there have an idea. This device here (link) seems to do the trick for others. I am hoping that I can just parallel connect the CAN-bus wires that this module reads from the quad-lock connector into the harness that is already there and ignore/remove the rest of the un-needed wires of the axcess adapter and have my noises back. Can I parallel connect that unit to the CAN high/low wires WITH the stereo?
To get the tach gauge cluster working as factory again, I am at a bit of a loss of knowing how it works in the first place. The video posted above of the guy that installed a double-din unit in an 07 Mini, the big speedo separated from the stereo unit proved that the stereo has no responsibility of the gauges functionality. The speedo/info lights/gas gauge is a separate component that is powered by and communicating with the main steering column tach cluster via the 6 pin connector. When this connector is disconnected, the steering column tach gauge does not power up at all. So, that means that something inside the android head unit was reverse engineered to keep the tach cluster happy. I'm wondering if removing the circuit board out of the factory speedometer unit, hiding it away inside the dash and going about things that way will provide true factory function and performance of the tachometer cluster.
Silly extras: For this unit, the "factory menu" is accessed via password m123456 if that wasn't already mentioned previously.
While I was in the factory menu, I adjusted FM receiver volume down a bit to match the system software audio and auxiliary input audio, etc. After saving and rebooting, reverse camera input switching started working via Can-bus. I did not hook up the reverse-sense 12v input wire at all. I ran an RCA video signal wire down the side of the car for reverse camera installation later.
Overall I really am happy with this unit and understand that I can do some software tweaking to make it the way I like but I would love for the other "little things" to work as it did factory as close as I can.
Will this unit work with the Harmon Kardon system?
Hey guys, if anyone is on the fence about this system...it’s great!
That said, I traded in my JCW this past week and my system is available. I’ll be posting in the marketplace soon, but wanted to give a heads up. It worked perfectly, all parts are included and since everything was plug and play, no wires were harmed in the making of this awesomeness.
Hello!!
I have a 2009 mcs ac schnitzer. I have the dash with the gray digital hvac, gray cd etc. with the separate volume ****. I want to buy the android unit WITHOUT the speedometer. Will the black cd unit fit, and what will happen to the volume hole, or it does not fit? Must i change the dash with the lci one and is it easy?
Thank you in advance
i have seen one fitted on youtube and she enlarged the hole for the black dvd part and was left with a small part of the volume hole under it but it was not obvious
i have seen one fitted on youtube and she enlarged the hole for the black dvd part and was left with a small part of the volume hole under it but it was not obvious
So... Looks like this Chinese Android Navigation system is what I want too. I love the big silver spedo with the orange lights but the refurbished OEM units are a gamble and even a DIN conversion costs a bit if I get a few goodies on it and I have to black out the radio display anyway.
I just bought a 2010 Clubman, it has a dead silver boost with HK speakers. It seems the best price is on the black radio version and it seems that I can change the center stack and either pop my silver controls into the new console layout or keep the black ones. They're interchangeable. Am I correct?
I just need to find a black console with the extra climate control buttons and then get which version of the black ring navigation units?
Should I get an older version of Android because the Cooper is a 2010, or just go by price??
And why do some say not compatible with amplifier, don't buy this..
I'm not a stranger to radio swapping but I don't want to rewire the whole car..
I wanted this Clubman so bad 10 years ago... I'm going to have fun with it!
So I just rambled on about the navigation upgrade process...
Hi, I'm George... Just got my dream Clubman (almost, needs new radio and maybe change the seats from grey to that camel color 😂
Anyone else confirm or deny my conclusion... Looks like the post ahead of mine spelled out my situation. But what about the HK amplifier... Is that a deal breaker for the navigation system?
Thanks all!
So I just rambled on about the navigation upgrade process...
Hi, I'm George... Just got my dream Clubman (almost, needs new radio and maybe change the seats from grey to that camel color 😂
Anyone else confirm or deny my conclusion... Looks like the post ahead of mine spelled out my situation. But what about the HK amplifier... Is that a deal breaker for the navigation system?
Thanks all!
The problem is that the Chinese units are already amplified and quite loud, putting the signal through the HK amp will be tough as there is no alternative output other than the amplified signal direct to the speakers. You cannot just cut out the HK amp as the speakers for it are HK 2 ohm instead of the regular 4 ohm. I suppose you could bypass the HK amp and change the speakers to compatible 4 ohm. Most of the sellers of these units will respond to enquiries the same day taking time diference into consideration.
If the speakers need the amp then it looks like it all has to come out if I want to install the Chinese navigation system.
What about a Regular DIN/2XDIN swap? Is the amp an obstacle still?
I may just have to get a 2nd hand OEM unit until I figure out what all is required but I haven't looked to see where the problem is with the current setup.
I could replace the silver one with the black one and at least that is a step towards the goal of the navigation system.
Off to the junkyard!!
Long story short, this is a device that spoofs the correct digital signal to the HK amp so you can use a non-factory head unit.
Of course I need the more expensive one. Converting to $ costs $$$! Looks like it's off to the junkyard for a black boost console with auto climate control. Hopefully it's just a fuse.
Thanks for the knowledge... I have a plan now at least. I really want the navigation system...
I don't think you need it. On my 2013 with the H/K amp, the amplifier can be turned on just like any aftermarket amplifier, just by hooking up the remote lead to 12v.
So I got the dead radio out and I ordered a refurbished silver boost OEM from eBay, it's shipping from Brittain. Should be here in a week or so. Hopefully this works, I don't want to go digging out the amp and speakers. Side note, my battery has died 3 times since I got it a week ago. Maybe I'm not running the motor enough to recharge it?? Better not be the alternator!!
That looks awesome howiestt! Now if only I can find that same display (without ODO around it) for the gray non-LCI radio. All the displays I have found like that are for black, LCI models. The gray non-LCI options I have found all have the ODO ring in kmph with a smaller screen. If anyone can find the larger display with the gray non-LCI setup that would be info a lot of us 2nd gen guys would cherish!
