Audi A3 8P Aftermarket Android Problems.

[soultron]

Hi all,

My first post here and hoping someone with more experience can help.

I have now gone through about 5 different headunits.

1. http://xtrons.co.uk/pf75aa3ar-7-and...n-mirroring-function-obd2-for-audi-a3-s3.html
All wiring, steering controls, rear speakers worked fine.
Issues:
1.Cheap plastic facia not OEM type material.
2. The facia does not clip int dash board no matter what

2.
http://xtrons.co.uk/pf73aa3ar-andro...n-mirroring-function-obd2-for-audi-a3-s3.html
Unit fit in better, looked much more like OEM

Issues:
a.Rear speakers were almost dead, very faint music coming out almost no sub at all.

3.
http://www.autopumpkin.com/car-dvd-...rlink-wifi-3g-dvr-steering-wheel-control.html

This was one of the worst
Issues:
a. Bluetooth was awful
b. Mic was abismal, had to shout for anyone to hear me and visa versa.
c. Rear speakers did not work
d. Massive amount of static interference through speakers on everything

4.http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7-32G-Android-4-4-Audi-A3-Stereo-Car-GPS-Sat-Nav-DVD-Screen-Mirroring-DVR-Wifi-/322075372198?fits=Car+Make:Audi|Model:A3&hash=item4afd302aa6:g:nrYAAOSwhDdXEJQS

This one was much better overall but these two let it down
Issues:
a. Rear speakers did not work
b. Fitting was very difficult, almost had to rip the unit out of the dashboard

5.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7-AUDI-A3...069108?hash=item35f76837f4:g:7z8AAOSwFGNWS95D

This one was similar to point 3.

One thing I have noticed on all of these units, these are not made for a perfect fit into the main console, even though they advertise this unit would fit.

Every unit had the bottom locking clips completely wrong and required a lot of messing about to get the unit to slot in and take out.

Not a single unit was the same dimensions as the original, for some reason they made the heights of these units too short.

The original unit I have is on the right of pic 1. I have the following quadlock in my car show in pic 2. All the android units come with cables such as picture 3.

So my question is even though I connect the right quadlock cables, how am I suppose to get the rear speakers and sub working?

Every thread I have read have been about the older iso cable rather than the newer quadlock. To date I have not seen a thread using the newer quadlock and how to get rears to work.
Some work very quietly and some are louder but none of these work fully.

Can this not be easily done and how do I get the rears t work properly?

 

[Scott_Crossley]

Buy cheap buy twice.... Or in your case 5 times.

Best thing to do would be to upgrade to the RNSE or buy a decent make radio i.e. Alpine, Kenwood etc. move away from the cheap Chinese rubbish.

 

[Matt268uk]

As above..... bite the bullet and pop in a RNS-E mk2 unit. perfect fit with sound and functions all working correctly through dis if you have that.

 

[ab1702]

You need one of these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171354188404

The reason the speakers don't work properly is because there is a hidden amp in the boot that powers the rear speakers, these android units don't give out enough power to turn on the amp so one of these adaptors are needed and it turns the amp on. The advert says it's for Bose buts it's also for non Bose as alot of non Bose audis have these amps aswell.

 

[Sherv]

The so called "cheap" android HU i've heard them on my friends BMW & they sound fantastic! If you get the rear speakers working with amp lead then I bet it still sounds shithot.

It's also a pisser about number 3: http://www.autopumpkin.com/car-dvd-...rlink-wifi-3g-dvr-steering-wheel-control.html

As this is the only one I can find that has DAB support, looks like I'll be getting this then but as it's no DAB i'm gutted; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/XTRONS-PF...708102?hash=item2a65923906:g:99QAAOSwQYZWwuUG

 

[soultron]

The so called "cheap" android HU i've heard them on my friends BMW & they sound fantastic! If you get the rear speakers working with amp lead then I bet it still sounds shithot.

It's also a pisser about number 3: http://www.autopumpkin.com/car-dvd-...rlink-wifi-3g-dvr-steering-wheel-control.html

As this is the only one I can find that has DAB support, looks like I'll be getting this then but as it's no DAB i'm gutted; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/XTRONS-PF...708102?hash=item2a65923906:g:99QAAOSwQYZWwuUG

I currently still have that unit with me and was annoyed when the rear speakers didn't work. Be honest with you, some of these units did sound better than the OEM. But can't do with the rears being quiet

 

[fps_cod]

So my question is even though I connect the right quadlock cables, how am I suppose to get the rear speakers and sub working?

Every thread I have read have been about the older iso cable rather than the newer quadlock. To date I have not seen a thread using the newer quadlock and how to get rears to work.
Some work very quietly and some are louder but none of these work fully.

Can this not be easily done and how do I get the rears t work properly?

I've got a Pumpkin one that works fine. It's the Concert II Style though, not the RNSE style.

Using the Quadlock connector that came with it. Rear speakers work fine, you just have to make sure you've connected the amp trigger cable, as for some reason they have not done this in the quadlock they provide. (also have to connect the power for the aerial amp with an adapter)
Speakers then have to be about 70% to the rears on the head unit software.

The microphone is indeed awful until you modify it. Detail on XDA forum, but basically you need to wire a new mini jack to the bluetooth card and desolder the input it has. It's not hard. The sound s awful due to the PCB running audio leads unshielded, so they pick up all the electrical interference. Mine sounds alright since i've modified it, nowhere near the standard audi bluetooth obviously though.

Never had any problems with static over everything.

As for fit, it's about the same as the original concert II.

Bottom release points are in the wrong place, I take it as a security feature due to the effort it takes to release the bottom clips.


Once it does work, it needs a custom ROM from over on the XDA forums. I've got TomTom for Nav and Poweramp for media player. Combined with a few other bits such as Toast and a 32Gb SD and it works how I want it too.

Must say though, Pumpkin customer service are abysmal, my screen died after 6 months, took 3 months to get them to send a new one after a bunch of lies from them about shipping.

 

[Sherv]

Just ordered this one; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/XTRONS-PF..._id=1031243016563&afsrc=1&rmvSB=true#shpCntId

I really hope there is a way to get DAB on this unit!!

 

[The Governor]

I just fitted a Dynavin N6 HU to my 2011 8P with Bose.

It actually isn't too hard, it powers the rears on mine fine, although it seems to not understand the centre speaker in the dash, no matter how much I adjust the fade the centre speak remains at the same level.

I went for this because I was keen to have Bluetooth music streaming, as well as an SD card and USB. I also fitted the DAB tuner to it.

Again, all fairly straightforward, it's a bit nerve wracking at first but once you get over the fear of pulling the HU, glovebox etc out it's fine.

If I can help at all, shout, I had to find my own way as any questions I asked here didn't elicit many answers to be honest

 

[freezebox]

You need one of these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171354188404

The reason the speakers don't work properly is because there is a hidden amp in the boot that powers the rear speakers, these android units don't give out enough power to turn on the amp so one of these adaptors are needed and it turns the amp on. The advert says it's for Bose buts it's also for non Bose as alot of non Bose audis have these amps aswell.

Have you used one of these yourself mate? Just want to make sure its the right one before I buy it.

 

[ab1702]

Have you used one of these yourself mate? Just want to make sure its the right one before I buy it.

No not yet, I've got one but my headunit hasn't arrived yet. Someone on this forum had an android unit installed by a company that sells and installs headunits and said after it was installed his rear speakers worked perfectly as like when he had his Audi unit in. I emailed the company to ask what adaptor I would need and they said the one above. I also emailed another company for a second opinion and they replied and recommended the same connector.

Apparently the android units don't give out enough power to fully power the rear amp for the rear speakers so what the little box does that you can see on the above connector is act as a little transformer to give the amp the right power that it needs to function properly.
The dynavin units as someone else said above give out the same power as an Audi headunit so they are literally plug and play but a lot more expensive.

 

[leshkin]

These cheap units are not perfect, but RNS-E is out of date, way over-priced and lacks many of the features in comparison. I've been using a similar system for months and love it.

If you are having issues with the unit or want to find out more on how to get it to work/connect with Audi's stock speaker setup, read this thread - http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/android-rns-e.248150/page-5#post-2742298

 

[lincoln_dj]

i bought an android stereo from iceboxauto that is a similar layout to the rns-e. I swapped to that from an rns-e and i much prefer it, better in every way other than perhaps the physical fit in the dash, and takes some effort setting up.
touch screen. torque app. spotify. DAB. multiple sat nav apps to choose. full internet use. built-in bluetooth. 2x USB sockets, 2x microSD slots. it records from a cheap £8 usb camera mounted by my rear view mirror. spot on. no DIS info, but steering controls work fine.

 

[ab1702]

Someone has just replied on another thread saying that they have used one of those adaptors that I suggested and said it has sorted their rear speaker problem so it does look like that is the way to go

 

[soultron]

Whoop whoop. I think I might be getting somewhere. A new unit arrived over the weekend and when I connected it up all speakers and sub worked out of the box with no additional wiring. I am not sure what this piece is attached to the rca's but it is doing something special. That thing is making the all the speakers and sub work and to sweeten the deal, there is not a whisper of static noise what so ever??!! I actually thought first the rca's weren't connected until I tried playing music and noticed speakers were connected but couldn't understand why I didn't hear the usual hum or buzz. So I blasted it to full volume with no music like the other units where the static noise became louder, but this time not a single whisper of static noise.

The two issues I have now:
1. The facia is not a perfect fit it sticks out more than I would like it to.
2. Music sounds crap. Sub sounds crap. That was until as a last resort thought I'd try out poweramp since it was recommended a few times and oh my days. The music sounds lush and sub notes are clean and lush too! Don't think it can get much better with the standard speakers and sub and miles better than what the OEM could ever produce.
Now my question is, how do I get rest of the unit to sound like it does on poweramp? I guess the unit must be quality if it sounds that good on poweramp so it must just be the default equalizer of the unit ain't that good.

Does poweramp do a sole app for equalizer I can install? I love how music sounds on poweramp.

 

[hollows wife]

hope this is ok to link but you might be better off looking for a new front end for the stereo ,one which can be customized more to your own needs
, have a read of this thread see if there's anything in here as theres no seperate equaliser for poweramp .
http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/digital-car-android-tablet-t2834750

also http://forum.xda-developers.com/android-auto

lots of apk's for android car stereo's plus you may get a better response for the problem on there as there's more users on android car stereo's

 

[lincoln_dj]

i found i didnt need poweramp/viper for EQing at all once i'd got the rear speaker issue sorted with them rca adapter/line things. from what i can remember it sounds comparable to when I had the RNS-E. Just use the default mp3 app now

 

[Sao Tith]

Hey how did you get the rear speakers to work on the N6 Dynavin for the Audi a3? I don't have bose. Let me know

I just fitted a Dynavin N6 HU to my 2011 8P with Bose.

It actually isn't too hard, it powers the rears on mine fine, although it seems to not understand the centre speaker in the dash, no matter how much I adjust the fade the centre speak remains at the same level.

I went for this because I was keen to have Bluetooth music streaming, as well as an SD card and USB. I also fitted the DAB tuner to it.

Again, all fairly straightforward, it's a bit nerve wracking at first but once you get over the fear of pulling the HU, glovebox etc out it's fine.

If I can help at all, shout, I had to find my own way as any questions I asked here didn't elicit many answers to be honest

 

[Mun802]

Just fitted xtron core 8 in mine from genuine supplier and its absolutely rubbish...just saying!

 

[samisnake]

Just fitted xtron core 8 in mine from genuine supplier and its absolutely rubbish...just saying!

in what way?

 

[maxpayne]

Just fitted xtron core 8 in mine from genuine supplier and its absolutely rubbish...just saying!

Had the same experience. Returned the unit. In my case sound quality especially over Bluetooth streaming was noticeably worse from my non Bose Concert unit. Shame the unit shined elsewhere!

 

[Daveyonthemove]

I never use the BT streaming function on mine, I thought the whole idea of these head units was to have the music streamed or stored locally on the head unit and not on the phone.
I've set up spotify on mine and downloaded my playlist so it can be heard offline, but i've also set my mobile up to create a wifi hotspot when they detect each other, and then I can get up to date live traffic info or do other data related stuff if needed (ask Google for weather at my destination, find a petrol station etc etc).

 

[DC-A3-8P]

I've got a Pumpkin one that works fine. It's the Concert II Style though, not the RNSE style.

Using the Quadlock connector that came with it. Rear speakers work fine, you just have to make sure you've connected the amp trigger cable, as for some reason they have not done this in the quadlock they provide. (also have to connect the power for the aerial amp with an adapter)
Speakers then have to be about 70% to the rears on the head unit software.

Hi, do you have more information on how to do this? I just installed an XTron unit and I can't get the rear speakers to work. My unit has a "amplifier control Cable" output, so my guess is that I just need to find where to connect that into the quad-connector...

Thanks in advance for any tips on this.

 

[fps_cod]

Hi, do you have more information on how to do this? I just installed an XTron unit and I can't get the rear speakers to work. My unit has a "amplifier control Cable" output, so my guess is that I just need to find where to connect that into the quad-connector...

Thanks in advance for any tips on this.

Hey Dude,

God it's been ages since I looked at the back of the unit ha!

From what I remember there is a pin out on the bottom or top of the original stereo

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=C...UICigB&biw=2439&bih=1241#imgrc=7qHR56cZO7qi5M:

Think that pic should explain it, you'll need to move the remote pin on the xtrons adapter to where the remote switch pin is on the quad lock.

Hope that helps.

 

[ab1702]

Hey Dude,

God it's been ages since I looked at the back of the unit ha!

From what I remember there is a pin out on the bottom or top of the original stereo

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=C...UICigB&biw=2439&bih=1241#imgrc=7qHR56cZO7qi5M:

Think that pic should explain it, you'll need to move the remote pin on the xtrons adapter to where the remote switch pin is on the quad lock.

Hope that helps.

There should be a blue cable coming off your speaker rca cables hopefully if it’s an xtrons unit and then there should also be a blue amp cable coming off the loom that plugs into the quadlock connector. If that’s the case then you simply just connect the 2 together.

 

[DC-A3-8P]

Hey Dude,

God it's been ages since I looked at the back of the unit ha!

From what I remember there is a pin out on the bottom or top of the original stereo

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=C...UICigB&biw=2439&bih=1241#imgrc=7qHR56cZO7qi5M:

Think that pic should explain it, you'll need to move the remote pin on the xtrons adapter to where the remote switch pin is on the quad lock.

Hope that helps.

Thanks! That's exactly the information I was looking for, the only issue is that my quad connector looks different from what's in the schematic you pointed me to.

Here is a photo of the Quad connector (on the car side):

And here if the image you pointed me to:

Also, here is a wiring diagram out of my XTron unit:

Thanks again for the help.

 

[DC-A3-8P]

There should be a blue cable coming off your speaker rca cables hopefully if it’s an xtrons unit and then there should also be a blue amp cable coming off the loom that plugs into the quadlock connector. If that’s the case then you simply just connect the 2 together.

Thanks! The blue one on the green connector on the images below (that's the quad connector on the car loom side)?:

 

[leshkin]

The diagram is for the old style, ISO, connector and you have the Quadlock connector. For the rear speakers/sub to work, the amp needs to see current the amp-on wire. The blue one.

In theory, the harness adapter for XTrons unit should be wired correctly and you do not need to do anything with the blue wire. In practice, this may not be the case. When I had one of these stereos, I just snipped the blue wire in the headunit harness and connected it directly to the remote-on/amp-on wire on the same harness, bypassing the can-bus electronics box all-together. You can also use the same wire to connect the FM aerial adapter amp wire, to improve FM/AM reception.

 

[ab1702]

Thanks! The blue one on the green connector on the images below (that's the quad connector on the car loom side)?:

View attachment 160079

View attachment 160080

No you don’t need to do anything like that. If you look at the speaker rca cables then they will have a blue cable labelled ‘amp’. Then if you look at the set of loose cables that connect to the quadlock connector, another one of them will say ‘amp’. All you have to do is literally join those together.

 

[ab1702]

If you look in the item description and scroll down on this one from eBay you can see all the connectors and cables. You have to connect number 3 to number 18.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/202238920635

 

[DC-A3-8P]

If you look in the item description and scroll down on this one from eBay you can see all the connectors and cables. You have to connect number 3 to number 18.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/202238920635

Fantastic! I'll try that later this week and report how it works.

 

[DC-A3-8P]

Fantastic! I'll try that later this week and report how it works.

It worked!!! THANK YOU ALL FOR THE HELP.

Here is a summary of what I did:

In the harness below:

I ended up connecting:

• 18 (auxiliary amplifier control signal output from the head unit) to 3 (lead going to the quad connector for the control of the rear amplifier on/off)
• 21 (head unit rear right channel output) with 6 (lead going to quad connector rear right channel rear right input on the rear amp)
• 22 (head unit rear left channel output) with 7 (lead going to quad connector rear left channel rear right input on the rear amp)

Note that I am not 100% sure that the labeling on the image above is accurate regarding the RCA connectors, but it easy enough to test if you have the right channel by using the Fader application ;-)

Now... I have started playing with it a little more and here are a couple of things that I noticed so far:

• The fit and finish isn't that bad (I forgot to take a photo) and it matches the Audi finish pretty well.
• I have the hardest time pulling it out. The lower extraction keys bump somewhere on something hard and I can't insert them past half a centimeter. And then some of the locking tabs seem to hang a little low and catch on stuff when you try to pull the unit out.
• I am getting some static noise (little clicks) especially when using bluetooth.
• When I connect to a WiFi network, there is no indication from the software that the connection has been made (either on the status bar or in the WiFi preferences).
• Not sure I like the default home screen... what do you guys use?

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[ab1702]

If you go into factory settings (code is 126) there are lots of options you can change. One of the options somewhere in there is for amp and you can decrease it and it improves the quality of music playback on Bluetooth and there is also a voice section where you can increase/decrease the volume of normal Bluetooth and radio amongst other things.

There is another forum called XDA forum and you’d be better off on there for more info as it has an android headunit section and you can get all the updates and mods and a better dab app if you have dab.

 

[Joshwa94]

Just installed this unit into my 2011 S3

And I've completely lost all bass from the stock bose sub any ideas?
Also have a really annoying humming sound but it might just be a bad ground going to try that soon

 

[splinter-cell]

Hi, sorry to resurrect an old thread but I have recently fitted an Xtrons Android head unit into my 2010 A3 with Bose sound system.

Everything works fine however, I am experiencing a feint popping noise when I turn the unit on (I assume this is the amp powering up). I’m also experiencing some static/interference through the head unit as well as alternator whine.

Does anyone know what might be causing these issues and what I can do to fix them?

 

[abmat]

Interferance- Ground loop. Either put some ferrite filters on the ground and power cables to the head unit or run a new ground from the hu the amp.

I have the same issue. Filters didn’t cure it so running a new ground.

The issue is normally caused because the new unit draws more power from the alternator, and as the alternator isn’t filtered this caused the interferance. Common with Bose systems.

 

[splinter-cell]

Interferance- Ground loop. Either put some ferrite filters on the ground and power cables to the head unit or run a new ground from the hu the amp.

I have the same issue. Filters didn’t cure it so running a new ground.

The issue is normally caused because the new unit draws more power from the alternator, and as the alternator isn’t filtered this caused the interferance. Common with Bose systems.

Thanks for the reply. I’ll try your solution as soon as I get some free time hopefully. Have you managed to run the new earth yet? Has it made a difference?

 

[abmat]

I haven’t done it yet as mine isn’t that bad. In theory it should eliminate it as you’re closing the loop.

Before you go hiding the cable you could test fit one to see if it eliminates the interference. That way you don’t pull half the interior apart to find it doesn’t work.

 

[splinter-cell]

I haven’t done it yet as mine isn’t that bad. In theory it should eliminate it as you’re closing the loop.

Before you go hiding the cable you could test fit one to see if it eliminates the interference. That way you don’t pull half the interior apart to find it doesn’t work.

Oh ok thanks. So basically on my wiring harness, I have a few extra wires coming out with plastic caps on them. One of them is labelled ground. Do I just have to splice this wire and run it to a grounding point on the car chassis or am I going in completely the wrong direction?

Sorry for the noob questions

 

[abmat]

Ground should be black. If that doesn’t run into your car harness then that could be the issue.