Chat about RNS510 installation into T5.2

[Lams]

hello, just thought I'd chip in a few thoughts after having installed a few things in my 02/10 Caravelle, and also having purcahsed Chinese units in the past.

My Caravelle is an ex-cult (PM me if you want details, it's interesting!) car and when I bought it from a dealer they fitted in a new RCD510 for me. But as it is used for commercial passenger services a satnav is important, and I had an RNS510 off my Caddy so I didn't consider fitting anything else.

The dealer said the Caravelle had bluetooth and cruise control. Lies, it had no bluetooth and had an ugly aftermarket cruise control unit.

Apart from RNS510 I also fitted a 729B Skoda bluetooth I had lying around, plus a Tiguan MFSW. I couldn't get my GTI gear-shift paddles working and I believe not having factory cruise is the reason for this.

Back on the RNS510 - I fitted the GPS next to the dash tweeter, and the bluetooth module deep inside the dash (there's plenty of room in there!). The overhead light console did not have microphone provision so I stuck it in next to the light (not visible). This took roughly an hour. I then added an OEM camera off a Jetta or something, had to butcher the camera holder and now the camera sits central between the license plate lights. It looks a bit rough and if there's time I'd probably have another go at it. I also added rear speaker wiring while I was in there. The RVC was a pain to install, straightforward but fiddly especially getting it through the tailgate. In the end we had to take the plug apart to feed the wires through.

All these parts added up over time would have cost $1500 or so. Yes it may be expensive but what you're getting is functional VW hardware with the typical VW user-friendliness and attention to detail. In comparison, in our Crafter Bus we have a $400 Chinese unit paired up with a $10 camera. I've had to work with the manufacturer to switch wires, test software patches... it does its job, but it is a piece of turd. Slow to start up, every time we start the car it loses power and has to boot up, user-unfriendly, lots of bugs, and what annoys me most is the built in sound amplifier is stuffed. On 0 BAL I lose the main channels and everything is distorted. The FM only works 30% of the time. I can go on and on and on

So I would highly recommend you buy the VW bits. When you're done with your car, you can sell them and probably lose 10-20% of what you spent, but unlike a Chinese unit you would be impressed by it, rather than frustrated by it. My Chinese unit for my Mercedes Crafter cost me $410 shipped new, and now I highly doubt I can sell it, main reason because my concious would not allow me to pass these problems to any other Sprinter/Crafter owner, it's just not nice. Unfortunately the equivalent Mercedes systems are not as plug-and-play as VW systems, and there isn't a community of Mercedes people fiddling with their cars like there is with VW.

[kordo]

So once the wires are run the bluetooth is just plug and play?

[Sunny43.5]

Hi Lams maybe you should get one of these cameras CCD CAR Rear View Camera VW T5 Transporter Multivan T5 | eBay

[kordo]

Lams, how/where did you tap in for additional speakers?

[Lams]

Thanks Sunny. I used an OEM Jetta one which was plug & play. Not sure how to make one of those work with the RNS510
Kordo you need to add 000979021 wires to the radio plug so you can run rear channel output. You'd need to code the RNS510 to a 4 speaker system too. For the bluetooth, most kits are now plug & play. We used to have to solder onto the CAN network and add a power source from the fuse box etc, but these plug and play kits make things a lot easier

[kordo]

So where do you source the 000979021 wires and where in the plug do they go?

Also how do you code the RNS? I'm guessing I need a tech to plug into it or can I download firmware from somewhere?

[Sunny43.5]

No worries LAMS I just thought it might interest you , I have never seen the arse end of any RNS units except for the stock unit I removed from our latest van but as the clever little Chinese buggers make the plug with CAN bus adaptor for their VW units it just plugged straight in and worked right off the bat , the connections for extra speakers and camera and numerous other inputs and outputs are all part of the head unit .

[kordo]

So can anyone give details on where to tap into the rear speaker wires?

[Sunny43.5]

kordo does your van look like there are places for rear speakers at the rear if not I very much doubt there are speaker wires for the rear , you may have to run your own and fit the speakers in a suitable location if you have a look at the post on our T5 project I fitted speakers into the roof trim at the rear and just ran my own wires to suit . If you are trying to hook up extra rear speakers at the rear of the head unit there may not be any there at all from factory , probably the only vans that might have rear speakers and wiring standard would be the top of model ones only . Now if you are fitting a factory unit that has front and rear fade you may have to add the wires for the rear speakers at the plug if there are none there you are going to have to tap into the plug directly onto the back of the head unit somehow , I had a look on the back of our factory unit and it shows rear speaker outputs but I cannot remember if there were matching wires in the factory plug . As for changing the factory speakers [incidently they are probably made in China as were ours] you can but its a bit of a challenge as the speakers are actually moulded into the mounting that is riveted to the door inner skin . I just cut the old speaker out from the mounting frame and attached new ones of a much higher spec as I am running large amplifiers for front splits and the subs . Another interesting thing is that both of our other T5s from 2005 had factory tweeters fitted into the dash top at each end , those tight arsed bastards at VW did not bother with them on the new one along with a heap of other things the buggers left out as well .

[kordo]

So if there arent wires in the harness how do I assertain which wires in the head unit plug are the rear speakers and which is +ve and which is -ve. Does anyone have a wiring diagram?

kordo does your van look like there are places for rear speakers at the rear if not I very much doubt there are speaker wires for the rear , you may have to run your own and fit the speakers in a suitable location if you have a look at the post on our T5 project I fitted speakers into the roof trim at the rear and just ran my own wires to suit . If you are trying to hook up extra rear speakers at the rear of the head unit there may not be any there at all from factory , probably the only vans that might have rear speakers and wiring standard would be the top of model ones only . Now if you are fitting a factory unit that has front and rear fade you may have to add the wires for the rear speakers at the plug if there are none there you are going to have to tap into the plug directly onto the back of the head unit somehow , I had a look on the back of our factory unit and it shows rear speaker outputs but I cannot remember if there were matching wires in the factory plug . As for changing the factory speakers [incidently they are probably made in China as were ours] you can but its a bit of a challenge as the speakers are actually moulded into the mounting that is riveted to the door inner skin . I just cut the old speaker out from the mounting frame and attached new ones of a much higher spec as I am running large amplifiers for front splits and the subs . Another interesting thing is that both of our other T5s from 2005 had factory tweeters fitted into the dash top at each end , those tight arsed bastards at VW did not bother with them on the new one along with a heap of other things the buggers left out as well .