Couldn't b happier with my Bluetooth install

[dArK5HaD0w]

last night i got the chance to install the bluetooth unit - did it all myself, including the vcds coding.
all up it cost me $250 woOot.

i got the 9wz (3C8 035 730 A) bt unit from a forum member here. thanks Chris.
it's basically an 9w7, but it also has RSAP (with the aid of an external gsm antenna).
the bt unit did not come with the bluetooth wiring harness, so i bought it from ebay - bluewagen.
its the complete deal - literally plug n play. i didn't have to do a single thing with wiring, but simply plug the ends together. it even has the MDI bit, so no need to transfer it from the car's connector to the bt harness wiring.

the install wasn't without hiccups.

my original plan of putting the unit upright beside the glovebox, towards the passenger door, failed. not enough room.
plan b was behind the glovebox. again no room there.
plan c was behind the headunit. fark no, i couldn't even put a cigratte box there, let alone the bt wiring harness!!
plan d was behind the climatronic controls. this plan was almost foiled by the fact that these was a small black box sitting in there - its an afs sensor, used for the xenon lights leveling.
luck me, with careful adjustment, i was able to place the bt unit above it, connect the bt wiring harness, external gsm antenna, with enough room for the climatronic and its wiring to fit back in place.
plan e was under the passenger seat. i wanted to avoid removing the door sills & carpet at all cost, so i made sure plan d was my last stop

that done, i was pleased, now to connect the headunit, put it all back & its all good. boy was i wrong!! wiring was piss easy, as all i had to do was plug it all together, after that it went down hill!! i spent the next 2 hrs trying to tuck everything (bt wiring, bt quadlock & headunit quadlock), in behind the headunit!!! fark me it was a pain in the royal a55. no matter how i crafted the wiring connectors, i could not get the friggin headunit all the way in. anyways, at 1am, persitance prevailed, i managed to get most of the wiring & quadlock connectors out of the way by tucking it next the glovebox.

i ran the bt gsm external antenna behind the glovebox, and up the a-pillar (without actually removing it) and mounted it in the topmost corner inside the windscreen. can't even notice it. reception is awesome when in rsap mode thanks to this antenna.

this morning i did the vcds coding myself. thanks to a very help & friendly forum member here, he let me borrow his vag-com cable & laptop (with vcds installed). enabled the 'telephone' in the canbus controller.
now its all good. initially i was having trouble as i didn't know how to activate the car's bt visibility before and i wasn't pairing the devices correctly. i managed to work it out.
making use of the rns voice control mic & steering wheel controls for the bt unit did not need any seperate coding.

while i was at it (coding), i did some extra vcds coding tweaks like enabling cornering lights (fog), drl dim with indicator, & coming/leaving home with foglights.

couldn't b happier. saved a bucket load of money to get a premium bt kit & some vcds tweaks

i'll put some pics up later once i get the chance to install.

[dArK5HaD0w]

some pics for viewing.
apologies for the quality as it was at night in my garage - not much lighting.

[dArK5HaD0w]

had a good chance to play around with the bt unit today.
impressive is all i can say.
reception is top notch, meaning audio quality is crisp n clear.
the factory fit voice control mic works like a charm with the bt unit. i can b heard loud n clear.
in rsap mode, i never have to touch the phone at all. i can read sms messages on the headunit or mfd. i can also have the sms read out to me by the same 'voice control lady'.

makes me wonder why i didn't do this mod much earlier!!

i've attached some more pics of the where i placed the gsm antenna. the wire runs between the windscreen glass & the a-pillar trim. its concealed nicely

[Socceroo]

Awesome stuff dude. It's funny how most of the time when doing similar installs its not the technical side that stumps us, rather its the cosmetic finish - tucking in wires etc.

[dArK5HaD0w]

Awesome stuff dude. It's funny how most of the time when doing similar installs its not the technical side that stumps us, rather its the cosmetic finish - tucking in wires etc.

u got that right.
there i was getting worried about the wiring, the units/modules, the placements, the coding etc etc, when all along i should've been worried about how to tuck it all back in!!

on a positive note, i placed the connectors such that i won't have to remove the columbus unit out again if i ever decided to retrofit mdi in the future. i just need to remove the glovebox.

[Ryan_R]

It sounds like you already had the VW mic already installed in the roof console, which made your job a lot easier. I had to run the mic cable from behind the RNS through the A pillar (tucked under, didn't remove it), then across the roof. I actually went the other way, under the steering wheel, past the fuse box, and up that way. Actually I probably gave up going that way and pulled it down from the roof in the other direction. I would be interested in using RSAP in my car but I've heard that your phone looses a lot of functionality while RSAP is in use. Fortunately I'm not very popular and don't receive that many text messages while driving