B6 sat nav- a sinking feeling; HELP!!

[jimmp]

Hello,

I'm just about to come over from 8L to B6 ownership and am just about to sink a deposit on a '52 plate 1.9 TDI quattro.

The seller says "factory fitted satnav" but it looks too new to me; a call to Audi to quote the chassis No. reveals the car didn't and could never have come with this generation of unit. I e-mailed a shot to a guy at Audi and he was blown away that something so modern could be fitted to a '52 plate.
When I went to see the car the navigation was doing something but there was no detail; just an arrow moving around on a blank map...

Seller says to me "oh, yeah I need to get a UK disc- this one is just Europe..."

As I understand it, the Europe discs incorporate the UK as well. Looking into it on eBay, I find a guy selling an "identical" unit who says "as this unit has been removed from another car it will need decoded..."

Am I about to buy something that half works as it needs reprogramming? And what are my chances of getting that done??

Anybody??!

Thanks

pics of unit in car here-

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/3795/nav2q.jpg

http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/6862/nav1o.jpg

JimP

 

[Mike B]

I doubt if its factory fitted .My son fitted one to his 04 but had trouble with the set up cos it came from a German ebay source.If you arent happy with it I would get a generous allowance for the cost of fixing or removal

 

[jimmp]

Thanks Mike...

the chassis No. confirms it's NOT factory fitted.

I'm trying to see if anybody recognises the symptoms I describe as being indicative of the need for "decoding" and what my chances are...?

or whether this is just a black hole and these things regularly fail.

JimP

 

[simon.m]

well im not 100% sure on this but as i would think the code will come in the book with the head unit just like a cd player one would i got a cd player and the book with it from ebay and it has the key code in it if its not with it there maybe a good chance its stolen for some ones car i also no you can take the car to audi and they will program it to your car for 1hrs labur

 

[jimmp]

Thanks Simon

I spoke to Audi about it earlier and they are pretty freaked out- RNS-E was from 2004 onwards and differentiates by being DVD based. They're totally blown away that it could be fitted in a '52 plate. I don't know if I could persuade them to touch it- but to be honest that's a secondary consideration- there are people out there who would do it;

I just need to know if a green landshape with an arrow and NOTHING else means it needs "decoded"...?

or something more serious...

 

[iyrix]

Have you actually bought the car yet? This could be more than just a reprogramme.

 

[jimmp]

No, actually I haven't but to be honest I can't really better it as a vehicle- there just isn't a better one that fits the bill for me (engine/drivetrain/price) at the moment.

However I'm trying to find out if I'm signing up for a centre console with a pretty double-din piece of junk that actually does nothing (previous owner was dropping the screen down to load individual CDs into the navigation DVD slot to play music as there isn't an autochanger!!) or whether I can spend a "bit" to straighten it out...

 

[NHN]

If you press Car, then push the big dial inwards what shows on the screen, pic would help, also when you press radio, does it show stations & you can here them?

No it doesnt need decoding from the car although you would need a pin no to stick it into another car, but by your pics it seems to be functioning, if its got a dvd thats not for this country then it may well show that on nav screen given cars in UK & specific dvd is for say east eu, maybe the zoom is set to 54yds, zoom out to 50 miles iirc & see what it shows then, probably show europe then.

If it is an issue, then I can maybe sort it out.

 

[hades-]

god knows why audi are blown away cos a rns-e is fitted in a 2002
loads have done the retrofit
i better show them my b5 with it fitted prob give them a heart attack

 

[C17LJR]

i fitted the rns-e to me b6. its not rocket science mate. you can buy a 35 quid plug & play pack from ebay.

don't know how audi are blown away/freaked out that its fitted?

 

[chrisash32]

yeh, with the map thing too it could just be a faulty GPS Chip, nothing too major to replace!
Try zooming out on the map and seeing where the unit thinks you are.

Done a good job of retrofit if it is

 

[paulsb]

i don't think its a fault, the reason your only getting the arrow over a blank screen is because the seller only has a europe disc and as the disc dosen't contain uk road maps, it won't show any roads. its the same as if you'd driven into the middle of a field and your sat nav arrow points to you position in the field.

also i have rnse fitted to my y reg b6 with no problems.

 

[Cabbyfan]

Agree with the above, looks like you need the Europe DVD that covers the UK, there are 2 different Euro DVD's east and west.

I retrofitted RNSE ro my B6 saloon when I had it, no coding, just plug it in, stick the DVD in and job done.

 

[Woorlord]

I retrofitted a 2008 RNS-E into my 51 plate B6 and it only had a single DIN CD/Radio factory fitted, and I also have Bluetooth, Reverse Camera and many more little toys!

As mentioned sound like the unit has an Eastern European disk hence no raod coverage on the UK location. You could check the Longitude/Latitude location against a TomTom or iPhone / Blackberry / Smart Phone GPS as part of a test drive - you can normally see this during a planned route under one of the NAV status screens on the RNS-E, or at any time if you go into "Maintenance" mode. If the long/Lat match then this would tend to indicate the unit is working. I can give you exact instructions if you want to pursue this test.

Perception is that you can simply take an RNS-E from one Audi car and fit into another, (obviously with PIN radio code), but there are a number of settings that should be checked or set with VAG-COM. Most of the time these items are fine tuning to the system set-up. For a full list of "Coding" & "Adaption" settings you can find them here. Simply a 20 minute job to go through and check these items with VAG-COM - maybe someone local who could help you do this with their VAG-COM?

There are some users who use "copied" MAP disks, be aware that the DVD laser has to work much harder to read this Dual Layer DVD writeable media so it is always best policy to get an original disk. Laser life can be affected by using writeable media. Dealer prices I think for maps are around £170-£200, I picked up a 2010 Original disk of Western Europe on Ebay for £63 a few months ago including original media case so their are bargains to be had if you are patient.

 

[Mr.Vagcom]

i have rns-e fitted to my 03 b6 and with the latest audi maps my street isnt listed just shows me on a blank patch and when i use navigate feature it says 'please navigate to route shown', if that helps ?

 

[jimmp]

Thankyou thankyou, one and all...

that all makes me feel alot better actually. Some really useful info there- perhaps it is just down to the disc/way the display was set after all.

Anyway- I had it out with the seller last night, and they are going to replace a couple of leaking seals on the rear diff, respray a slightly corroded back arch and they GUARANTEE they can get the satnav working!

I've put down a deposit.

If all goes well, I'll be in the B6 club next week!

Thanks again

JimP

 

[simon.m]

fingers crosed for you mate

 

[BahnStormer77]

If you need some help, Hazzy Dayz (Home - Vw & Audi Sat Nav, Bluetooth , TV Tuners, Cruise Control Installations UK) do retro-fitting and repairs all around the UK and I've had pretty good service from them so far.

They can definitely be retrofitted, but I thought the model up to about 2004 was the RNS-D (CD based): my friend's has factory fitted RNS-D and I'm pretty sure his is a 53 plate, but I'll go and check!

Don't stress about the CD "issue"... there should be 2x SD* card readers behind the screen....

*note SD, NOT SDHC, so 2Gb max normally, 4Gb if you find the rocking-horse poop SD versions... I bought a couple for £7 each when they were going out of fashion, but last time I saw them, they were about £40 each!! Most 2Gb SD cards are not SDHC. Give em a shout if you need some tips on setting up play lists, etc (or look at the ICE section).

 

[quattrojames]

Welcome to Audi ownership!

 

[jdp1962]

Thankyou thankyou, one and all...

that all makes me feel alot better actually. Some really useful info there- perhaps it is just down to the disc/way the display was set after all.

Anyway- I had it out with the seller last night, and they are going to replace a couple of leaking seals on the rear diff, respray a slightly corroded back arch and they GUARANTEE they can get the satnav working!

I've put down a deposit.

If all goes well, I'll be in the B6 club next week!

Thanks again

JimP

Good luck. Hope it turns out a good deal, cos you'll love the car.