RNS-E retrofit S3 8L '03 - info/advice please!

[Poke13]

Hey Guys,

After seeing examples of how OEM it looks I am interested in fitting the A4 RNS-E head unit into my S3 that has the double din Symphony with 6cd changer. From what I know it is the probably the best starting point in terms of doing this but have a few questions.

- Where do people get the RNS-E's from for a reasonable price? (and what would people say is reasonable)

- Is the job fairly do-able DIY?

- If you DIY it does it/can you link up with display near speedo?

- What options are there once its installed eg. Bluetooth/Bluetooth mp3 streaming?/iPod or iPhone connection?

Thanks,


Poke13

I did post in I.C.E. section too but as this is model specific I thought I would try 8L section

 

[AJC]

Poke I got my unit from eBay. Paid £450 for it which is reasonable. There are loads of units from Lithuania, just beware that disk drives can fail and a replacement is around £200. Mine had this problem but I was refunded the cost to get it replaced.

You can do the job yourself and certainly if you take your time you may be more patient in getting the unit trimmed to fit perfectly. You will need to run a wire from the DIS to the unit to ensure you get info displayed in the instrument cluster and you will need VAGCOM to recode the unit.

Once installed you can fit various Bluetooth kits, I opted for the Audi one which works fine. Have the Alpine Ipod kit which is good but you have to set up your playlists as it takes ages to scan your ipod for individual tracks!

I had Hazzy Dayz fit mine and they did a superb job. They can also fit the new multifunction wheel which is a great mod (not cheap) and works well with RNS-E.

 

[Whorpheus]

The unit i fitted into my A3 was off ebay, about £450 iirc, about 3 Years Ago!! A4 units fit best with just the bottom edge to be trimmed, as the corners are still square and not rounded like the A3 Units.

Literally fitted mine DIY in 20mins. Just needed to code it to get the NAV info on the DIS and job done. That was converting from the Symphony II 6 Disc, and didnt have to add a wire? Just Plug and play.

Keep toying with the idea of adding the Bluetooth, but never get round to it. I did get half of the voice control
done, but again didnt finish that!

It certainly brings the dash upto date.

 

[pj123]

Any photos of the finished dash?

 

[AJC]

I have a guide on how to retrofit the RNS-E and although the install of the unit is quite straightforward I'm not sure how easy it is to calibrate the unit for the sat nav to be accurate as this part is not mentioned in the guide. Hazzy Dayz spent a few hours doing this after installing all of the various bits of kit and it has been spot on but don't know how it's done on VAGCOM as it's not mentioned in the guide. They were measuring my wheels and all sorts of stuff. Maybe Whorpheus can add what's involved and how well the unit works after DIY fit?
You get clear info in just the DIS when approaching junctions (pics of roundabouts etc..) and yes it does bring the car up to date. I particularly like the bluetooth phone which works faultlessly and is crystal clear at the other end without having to shout.

 

[Dan-Jnr]

Wow that looks smart. Can the DVD or SD cards read MP3's?

 

[damo.h]

That's deffo in the to do list.

 

[AJC]

Wow that looks smart. Can the DVD or SD cards read MP3's?

If you're using the Sat Nav function then the map disc has to be in the drive so your choice of music is either MP3s from the SD cards or from your iPod assuming you've got it hooked up in some way.

 

[Dan-Jnr]

Do you know if you are limited to the size of SD cards?

 

[N8]

There is a 400 file limit, 2010 RNS has unlimited so you can run 2 x 32GB SD cards which is what I'm doing!

 

[Poke13]

Great info on here guys! My guess is that the system that N8 is talking about is way too new for 8L's?

Saying that I bet its the rounded edges too and that doesnt fit, so is there an A4 version of the 2010 model that would fit/or could be used? This does start to get a bit silly!

ps. N8 saw your beast in the car park again!

 

[Dan-Jnr]

I am looking in to a company to do mine, I cant trust myself to sand/file edges down neatly.

 

[Poke13]

I have a guide on how to retrofit the RNS-E and although the install of the unit is quite straightforward I'm not sure how easy it is to calibrate the unit for the sat nav to be accurate as this part is not mentioned in the guide. Hazzy Dayz spent a few hours doing this after installing all of the various bits of kit and it has been spot on but don't know how it's done on VAGCOM as it's not mentioned in the guide. They were measuring my wheels and all sorts of stuff. Maybe Whorpheus can add what's involved and how well the unit works after DIY fit?
You get clear info in just the DIS when approaching junctions (pics of roundabouts etc..) and yes it does bring the car up to date. I particularly like the bluetooth phone which works faultlessly and is crystal clear at the other end without having to shout.

Andy that install does look great though! Really would like to sort one although I could see me needing to sell the car before I even get chance!! grrrr! Would love to get heated seats to! The interior on mine is in good nick for its age so have been pondering about it for the winter..... surely that is possible?

 

[AJC]

Andy that install does look great though! Really would like to sort one although I could see me needing to sell the car before I even get chance!! grrrr! Would love to get heated seats to! The interior on mine is in good nick for its age so have been pondering about it for the winter..... surely that is possible?

Anything is possible mate, as this forum often proves, it's just a case of your budget and expertise!!

 

[Tj 0785]

I know it's a 5 year old thread but I'm looking to do this to my s3 can it be used with the CD player in the boot and where do you place the gps antenna? Do you have to run a wire to the dis? As it already connected to the current head unit

 

[Gops]

I know it's a 5 year old thread but I'm looking to do this to my s3 can it be used with the CD player in the boot and where do you place the gps antenna? Do you have to run a wire to the dis? As it already connected to the current head unit

Is your car face lift?

 

[Tj 0785]

Yeah 2001

 

[Gops]

Yeah 2001

It should be pretty simple to do. The Canbus on the back of the clocks is only for those that do not have canbus wires. Get yourself a harness conversion (plenty on ebay) plug it in and code it to work. Lots of threads on here for that information. Mine was abit more complicated as i had to do a complete facelift conversion inside.

 

[Tj 0785]

Stupid question but harness conversion from what to what an code it in on vcds?
Cheers

 

[Tj 0785]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/272090153751

Will this connect to the dis screenlike the rsn-e it says it has a canbus decoder (whatever that is) and is it Right you have to have the gps cd in on the rsne to use sat nav so can't listen to CDs when using sat nav or can you copy the gps on to the sd card

 

[futurisma]

hello. i have purchased a used 2001 s3 and has the rnse unit. i have a dvd with the maps but when i put inside it sais the dvd is wrongly inserted and cant play it. any ideas? i want to make ggps work

 

[hydro s3]

That's a nice upgrade to have already been done when you bought the car.

 

[Tj 0785]

hello. i have purchased a used 2001 s3 and has the rnse unit. i have a dvd with the maps but when i put inside it sais the dvd is wrongly inserted and cant play it. any ideas? i want to make ggps work

Does it play normal cd’s ok?

 

[futurisma]

@hydro.indeed its a nice feature.


@tj. Yes original cd no problem. It plays them immediately

Software x---
Hardware H75