Technical Retrofitting steering controls?

[jeffreyli86]

No idea if anyone has done this, but in my 1.4 POP, no steering controls come as standard.

I have upgraded to the Abarth steering wheel with the buttons but I believe there is no loom going to the headunit. I would very much like the buttons to work.

Has anyone tackled this before?

Cheers

 

[306maxi]

Nope. Won't work

 

[mjsmke]

Nope. Won't work

Thats helpfull....

I dont know if the head units are the same from your car and one with steering wheel controlls.

If they are the same its just a case of running the correct wires to it. If its not the same you will need to find the fiat head unit from a car that had steering wheel controlls.

Another option. Most after market head units are compatable with steering wheel controlls with an adapter. So, as you now have the controlls you could upgrade to an aftermarket head unit that is compatable.

The tricky part is working out which wires go where. It may be some trial and error to work it out. For example the first attempt may result in the volume button skipping tracks...

 

[jnoiles]

Nope. Won't work

Or be more detailed, won't work without a lot of effort. As you'll have seen when you took your wheel off there's a block connector. That block connector has a bundle of wires coming out of it that go off deep in the bowels of the dash. Some to the blue&me unit and some to other places. You'd need to get the blue&me unit, the head unit, the wiring between them and then pull the dash off to run it all and bolt it in place. So yes, possible, but not easy or particularly cheap. The last blue&me unit I saw on ebay was £280 used and that was just the device, not the wiring or the radio. If you want to do it though, let me know, I'd love to watch/help out.

 

[mjsmke]

If its just the stereo controlls you want, as in volume/mute/track skip, then it wont be too hard. If you want blue and me as well you need the correct stereo and microphone. This will be more trick to wire up without the original wireing loom. Still possible though.

 

[loveshandbags]

At this stage you've probably got the old steering wheel off and you're in the process of putting on the 'new' Abarth steering wheel and you want to get the buttons to work .
It would annoy the hell out of me if I have a fancy steering wheel and the buttons wouldn't work.
Here is a to Steering wheel control adapters which might go someway to avoiding an ebay £280 price - I'd imagine there are plenty on the market which are similar.

Another option is to fit a different steering wheel and use one of those remotes that are tied to the steering wheel (you could take it off for track days ).
This steering wheel caught my attention but there's no airbag . Full set of pictures over on the Abarth section under 'Next A500'.
Next I'd be recommending that you fit a Supersprint manifold and leave the CAT light on but that would be irresponsible of me.

 

[306maxi]

Thats helpfull....

I dont know if the head units are the same from your car and one with steering wheel controlls.

If they are the same its just a case of running the correct wires to it. If its not the same you will need to find the fiat head unit from a car that had steering wheel controlls.

Another option. Most after market head units are compatable with steering wheel controlls with an adapter. So, as you now have the controlls you could upgrade to an aftermarket head unit that is compatable.

The tricky part is working out which wires go where. It may be some trial and error to work it out. For example the first attempt may result in the volume button skipping tracks...

It is nowhere near that simple as Jason has pointed out.

 

[mjsmke]

It is nowhere near that simple as Jason has pointed out.

I didnt say it will be really simple. I said it wont be too hard. And i speak from experience doing similar things on other cars that have been modified with steering wheel controlls/hands free.

You just said it "wont work".

 

[306maxi]

I didnt say it will be really simple. I said it wont be too hard. And i speak from experience doing similar things on other cars that have been modified with steering wheel controlls/hands free.

You just said it "wont work".

You said it won't be too hard which is very different to what Jason said...... you obviously don't understand the difference between the wiring of CANBUS and non-CANBUS cars.

 

[mjsmke]

....so before Maxi turns this into another war thread.....

To the OP. The steering wheel controlls are possible for you to wire up to a head unit. Like i said in the 2nd post i dont know if your current head unit will be compatable but the options are to either upgrade to an aftermarket one or check your current head unit for compatability.

Then use you will need the correct adapters from the back of the steering wheel and head unit. The video posted by loveshandbags explains this perfectly. Halfords can order most steering wheel control adapters.

You may even be lucky enough to find the original wiring loom for between the steering wheel and head unit on ebay or scrap yard.

At the end of the day if your confident with wiring and know not to go cutting into random wires you should be able to work it out. If not there are plenty of ICE specialists to do it for you. Though it may be pricy.

If you have any questions about this PM me if you want.

 

[306maxi]

....so before Maxi turns this into another war thread.....

To the OP. The steering wheel controlls are possible for you to wire up to a head unit. Like i said in the 2nd post i dont know if your current head unit will be compatable but the options are to either upgrade to an aftermarket one or check your current head unit for compatability.

Then use you will need the correct adapters from the back of the steering wheel and head unit. The video posted by loveshandbags explains this perfectly. Halfords can order most steering wheel control adapters.

You may even be lucky enough to find the original wiring loom for between the steering wheel and head unit on ebay or scrap yard.

At the end of the day if your confident with wiring and know not to go cutting into random wires you should be able to work it out. If not there are plenty of ICE specialists to do it for you. Though it may be pricy.

If you have any questions about this PM me if you want.

In a CANBUS system you can't simply go cutting wires and putting bits of other looms in. It doesn't work that way!!!!!

The body computer would need to be programmed to enable this to work and the cost would be prohibitive.

With a CANBUS system, gone are the days where a switch on the dash is linked directly to the think that it operates. Only very simple things like interior lights or the horn actually have their switches directly connected to what they're operating without going through the body computer.

If you're talking about putting an aftermarket unit in then yes, it may be possible to directly connect the steering wheel controls to the head unit.

 

[mjsmke]

In a CANBUS system you can't simply go cutting wires and putting bits of other looms in.

I know. Thats why i said "At the end of the day if your confident with wiring and know not to go cutting into random wires you should be able to work it out."

If you're talking about putting an aftermarket unit in then yes, it may be possible to directly connect the steering wheel controls to the head unit.

I know. Thats why i said "i dont know if your current head unit will be compatable but the options are to either upgrade to an aftermarket one or check your current head unit for compatability."

Plus with an aftermarket head unit you can wire it directly to the steering wheel controlls. Even in a canbus system. Just use the correct adapters.

 

[loveshandbags]

Could the OP confirm if he is still using the standard head unit fitted in his POP ?

If he is can the Part number for the head unit be checked with a lounge or a sport to see if it is still the same unit ?

If the head unit used by Fiat is made by a particular manufacturer e.g. in the BMW it is Pioneer so if you needed a harness to upgrade the unit it was straightforward although the wiring setup in this may have been the 'old system'.

Maxi has raised a valid point on the complexity of wiring in cars.

http://www.mmsa.org.uk/guides/car_audio/wiring_interfaces.html
You might think that the automotive industry would have moved towards completely standardising electrical systems, and that everything must be simpler now. Almost the opposite is true, in part because of the extra sophistication and variety of equipment fitted to today's vehicles.
With many modern cars now using a digital data bus control system (known as the Controller Area Network or CAN bus system), the need for professional advice and specialist in-car interface devices has never been greater.

It's a pity that nothing is straightforward nowadays.

 

[306maxi]

I know. Thats why i said "At the end of the day if your confident with wiring and know not to go cutting into random wires you should be able to work it out."

I know. Thats why i said "i dont know if your current head unit will be compatable but the options are to either upgrade to an aftermarket one or check your current head unit for compatability."

Plus with an aftermarket head unit you can wire it directly to the steering wheel controlls. Even in a canbus system. Just use the correct adapters.

With a bus is it not as simple as cutting any wires though.

With a serial bus if you lose any of the signal wires you lose all function unless the system has built in fault tolerance.

 

[jeffreyli86]

Thanks for all the replies guys

Currently I have the factory Blaupunkt MP3 unit. Do have plans to upgrade to an aftermarket one though, have actually ordered the facia plate already and and ISO adapter, but have yet to decide on a headunit that will not be too out of place in the very nicely designed dash of the 500.

Having gone through the replies, and knowing that I tend to break everything I attempt fixing, I probably will forget the idea of the steering controls.. If it's much easier with an aftermarket unit though, I'd go straight down that route.. After all, the stock headunit, though adequate, is not good enough. I'm not looking for anything fancy, but at least something that has better compatibility (I have no USB slot since no B&M) and some RCA outputs.. The Focals I've fitted all round are seriously starving of power.. I know how they should perform but currently they are just starving :bang:

Having said that, I'm still quite undecided whether to take the plunge and go for a new headunit. If it is easy to get the steering controls to work if I get a headunit, that's a no brainer

 

[jeffreyli86]

Just watched the video posted by loveshandbags above. Seems like a very handy module but as always, it's not compatible with any Fiat..

This sucks.. For a moment I thought we've cracked this.. :bang: