General Steering Wheel audio controls and aftermarket HU

[Modano]

Hi !
My wife has a Marea Berlina 1.8 16V '99 (june 1999) and I want to buy her an aftermarket Head Unit, like the Kenwood BT53U, so she can have a USB port, BT phone reception etc.

The fact is my Marea has wheel audio commands (mute, volume, etc...) and , this is a must work for the new head unit.
So I have a look at the options there, but, after some research, I need a confirmation

1st, I have a Grundig AD 185 H, which means my rear view connectors , radio side are these :

C8-C9 are the remote control (steering wheel) pins, and as I don't have the CD changer, are the only one connected, on the C connector.

So, my understanding is that,obviously, Kenwood has a specific rear connector, but ships with a Kenwood to ISO connector patch lead :

The ISO connectors on the left, that should match the ones from the stock Marea.
Problem is the remote control, kenwood side, is apart, and "you need a specific adapter according to your vehicle, not included"

So I dig a little, and found the autoleads PC99-X28 that seems to match the Marea.

But this is where I'm confused.
If I understand correctly, the red and black part, on the front part of the picture go on the Marea wires, and seem to match the earlier described A,B,C connectors.

But on the rear side of the Autoleads, we have this

The two small connectors on the left seem to plug into this small black box, and the big black connector on the right seems to be the ISO connector, that will end up on the Kenwood patch lead , right ?

Now my question is, where am I going to plug the Kenwood Sterring control ? on the other side of the small box ? Will I need another interposer cable ??

Thanks a lot

 

[Modano]

Humm as per these pictures :

The blue/yellow flyhead is the wired remote control. This means a single lead does the trick on the Kenwood.
Then I imagine I just need to add this PC99-KEN connector ??

http://www.halfords.com/sat-nav-aud.../autolead-pc99ken-multistalk-lead-for-kenwood

I take the middle one, plug on the back side of the small black box, and wire the "wired remote control" flyhead ?
Would this be OK ?

 

[Neverth]

The controls is just set of resistors the wheel buttons grounds to the chassis.

Marea feeds voltage with pullup resistor so the voltage on the wire changes with different buttons.

The box just translates the voltage levels the grundig unit used to the new levels.

The box needs 12v, ground, wire from marea and new feed to the kenwood.

Just a bunch of wiring assuming the box is right.

 

[CFREITAS]

You need th specific patch lead for he exact stereo you need

Here is a pic of my Sony version
Little round Jack plugs into stereo
Red ifs into the wheel control wires in the loom
One end of black wires into stereo
Other end into loom
Sorted
Then just the programing procedure

 

[Modano]

Thanks
I guess then I 'm on the right path by chosing these two cables.

One is for the kenwood style HU, and the other one for the Marea.
My question is, is Autoleads a good brand ?

 

[portland_bill]

Generally the choice is Autoleads or Connects2, both good options.

Have a look at this site, then follow the links to the remote adaptor and it comes to the Autoleads one you've chosen. (I'm just researching a Kenwood DAB/bluetooth unit for the Panda)
http://www.justkenwood.co.uk/car-audio.aspx/kdc-bt53u-car-radio

 

[Modano]

Thanks
I ordered the HU, the PC99-KEN and the PC99-X28, all for the Marea, from Autoleads, on a refundable site in case it doesn't work.

Expect the feedback here.

 

[Modano]

Hi, some feedback.

Connected a BTR-53U (Kenwood) remote controle on the PC99-KEN + PC99-X28 and it works like a charm

Volume up, down, tuning up, down, mode and mute.
3 comments though :
- Mute is just Attenuating the volume, not cutting it totally like before
- On the kenwood ISO wire, I had to invert yellow and red (this is a solderless change, it is something that you can chose when you mount your HU) in order for the memory to keep up.
- I now cannot power up the HU without key in start position...Don't know if this is expected

 

[Modano]

Hi all,
finally a final feedback on my installation.

Works like a charm with the setup.
I just have to notice that the Bravo/Marea Fascia from Autoleads is a really poor quality one (poor fitting, poor color, poor quality), if someone has a good fascia to recommend I'll take it.

And, with the remote cabling and box, there is very little room on the rear, you need to divert cables on the right (for LHD).

I could even place the microphone and the extra USB output in the glove box

 

[CFREITAS]

Look for facia on eBay
The smooth faced one is best fitting

 

[anonymtrk]

Do you need this?

http://urun.gittigidiyor.com/otomob...ea-bravo-oto-teyp-cercevesi-orjinal-140553588

 

[anonymtrk]

Took out the ancient one and inserted a new one with that part.

Mine is like this now.

 

[Modano]

Thanks !
these ones look much better than mine.
I'll change it then.