Hi, my name is Anton Richards, and i am creating this thread as I know there is a demand for people showing the single din to double din to RNSD conversion.
I am well aware that there is already a post on how to go from Concert I or concert II to Symphony II. Si I am merely just showing that I have gone through the procedure of changing from single din to double din, and managed to install the very rare genuine audi a3 s3 RNS-D satnav unit into my car.
First of all i would like to say BIG thank you to: ScotB5 and g60leigh for their help with this project.
Me
Now this is something that i have wanted to do for a very long time, but Its one of those things that seems very daunting and therefore ive put it off until now.
I am currently training to be a commercial pilot. I already Hold a Private Pilots License (PPL) and i am currently studying the theory to the commercial license. Now the audi S3 has always been a dream care for me, but the cost of one and cost of insurance at the age of 20/21 is ridiculous and therefore i have made do with a very good 1999 audi a3 TDi 110.
I have been waiting for the perfect car to come up, as i did not want to buy a molested, tuned up and frankly ruined version. So ive bided my time, and it was very very worth it as I just got hold of a mint condition 2002 Audi S3 8L in lovely gloss black with the blue and black half leather half suede interior, full electric seats, electric sunroof, and even built in satnav, but not the RNSD type, its the in dashboard trip computer type plus lots lots more. So the car was fully loaded.
I did not want it modified, and im not really a fast driver, as training as a pilot, you cannot afford to have any points on your driving license as it will effect other aspects of my flying career and completely ruin my dream.
Overall i am very happy with the car, the only thing i would say is that motorway economy is not great, and not what i thought, even for me, who drives at a modest 70 MPH with cruse control on and aircon off (eco on). I still only get 30MPG (trip computer read out) so im not sure how accurate that really is, but I drive to training and to the airfield for flying every week and £50 gets me around 220 miles. Im not to sure how good/bad this is for this car, but for me its not great, as my old tdi used to do 500 miles for around £45 driving faster then i do now.
SO IF ANYONE COULD TELL ME ABOUT ECONOMY RE MAP, i would be very greatful.
Now back to the Nav:
Below are some photos of my unit once installed, as g60leigh has already made a montage of the steps to go through for installation, I am merely showing the finished product, as I do not want to take the light away from his efforts.
Now below is what i started with when i purchased the car. This is the concert II bose system that comes factory installed unless otherwise purchased, in the audi S3 8L:
If you do not know whether you have double din or single din, concert I or II or Symphony i or II, the link below should help you to determine what your car is equipped with (it may load slower, im sorry)...:
Ti Kan: Audi Radios
Now this is the satnav that my car came with. The error i made, was thinking that It had everything I needed to convert from this to RNSD, including Navigation map player in boot, and GPS Arial fitted to car.
And the arial and nav cd player on rood and in boot:
and finally this is the control unit, underneath my hand brake:
Now here is the installed RNS-d unit. Note the worn buttons, which frankly ruin the look. I will be changing these, but in order to fit the unit, a new air con panel is required, as the old one (pictured above) is to wide. You also loose the cuby hole when change to double din, which is annoying as i used it for many things.
Im not sure how clear it is in the photo, but there are a few things wrong on this setup, and I havnt been able to figure out how to rectify it yet..so any imput would be most useful.
First off all, all the buttons and knobs should light up when the lights on the car are turned on, but the dont. Now I do know that a few wires in the back arnt plug and play, the need to be swapped and fiddled with. I did this with the help of scotB5, but all i managed to do was to get them either always on, which would drain the battery as the would never turn off, even when lights are off, engines off and car is locked, or they are always off, which is what i have now as its the safer option.
The other problem I have is that although its connected to what i believe is a GPS arial, (already fitted to my car), it wont find the location of my car, and it seems to be stuck on a completely different location to where the unit now is :s
Lastly, I cant get radio stations, its all fuzzy, and is as if i do not have the arial plugged in (which i can assure you is wrong, as i have checked and triple checked that its plugged in, and not sliding out when i push the unit into the front console.
Now if anyone needs any help with installation of this or anything, please ask, but I may be limited in what i can tell you as i got alot of info from the two guys repeatedly named above.
Thanks for looking
Anton
I am well aware that there is already a post on how to go from Concert I or concert II to Symphony II. Si I am merely just showing that I have gone through the procedure of changing from single din to double din, and managed to install the very rare genuine audi a3 s3 RNS-D satnav unit into my car.
First of all i would like to say BIG thank you to: ScotB5 and g60leigh for their help with this project.
Me
Now this is something that i have wanted to do for a very long time, but Its one of those things that seems very daunting and therefore ive put it off until now.
I am currently training to be a commercial pilot. I already Hold a Private Pilots License (PPL) and i am currently studying the theory to the commercial license. Now the audi S3 has always been a dream care for me, but the cost of one and cost of insurance at the age of 20/21 is ridiculous and therefore i have made do with a very good 1999 audi a3 TDi 110.
I have been waiting for the perfect car to come up, as i did not want to buy a molested, tuned up and frankly ruined version. So ive bided my time, and it was very very worth it as I just got hold of a mint condition 2002 Audi S3 8L in lovely gloss black with the blue and black half leather half suede interior, full electric seats, electric sunroof, and even built in satnav, but not the RNSD type, its the in dashboard trip computer type plus lots lots more. So the car was fully loaded.
I did not want it modified, and im not really a fast driver, as training as a pilot, you cannot afford to have any points on your driving license as it will effect other aspects of my flying career and completely ruin my dream.
Overall i am very happy with the car, the only thing i would say is that motorway economy is not great, and not what i thought, even for me, who drives at a modest 70 MPH with cruse control on and aircon off (eco on). I still only get 30MPG (trip computer read out) so im not sure how accurate that really is, but I drive to training and to the airfield for flying every week and £50 gets me around 220 miles. Im not to sure how good/bad this is for this car, but for me its not great, as my old tdi used to do 500 miles for around £45 driving faster then i do now.
SO IF ANYONE COULD TELL ME ABOUT ECONOMY RE MAP, i would be very greatful.
Now back to the Nav:
Below are some photos of my unit once installed, as g60leigh has already made a montage of the steps to go through for installation, I am merely showing the finished product, as I do not want to take the light away from his efforts.
Now below is what i started with when i purchased the car. This is the concert II bose system that comes factory installed unless otherwise purchased, in the audi S3 8L:
If you do not know whether you have double din or single din, concert I or II or Symphony i or II, the link below should help you to determine what your car is equipped with (it may load slower, im sorry)...:
Ti Kan: Audi Radios
Now this is the satnav that my car came with. The error i made, was thinking that It had everything I needed to convert from this to RNSD, including Navigation map player in boot, and GPS Arial fitted to car.
And the arial and nav cd player on rood and in boot:
and finally this is the control unit, underneath my hand brake:
Now here is the installed RNS-d unit. Note the worn buttons, which frankly ruin the look. I will be changing these, but in order to fit the unit, a new air con panel is required, as the old one (pictured above) is to wide. You also loose the cuby hole when change to double din, which is annoying as i used it for many things.
Im not sure how clear it is in the photo, but there are a few things wrong on this setup, and I havnt been able to figure out how to rectify it yet..so any imput would be most useful.
First off all, all the buttons and knobs should light up when the lights on the car are turned on, but the dont. Now I do know that a few wires in the back arnt plug and play, the need to be swapped and fiddled with. I did this with the help of scotB5, but all i managed to do was to get them either always on, which would drain the battery as the would never turn off, even when lights are off, engines off and car is locked, or they are always off, which is what i have now as its the safer option.
The other problem I have is that although its connected to what i believe is a GPS arial, (already fitted to my car), it wont find the location of my car, and it seems to be stuck on a completely different location to where the unit now is :s
Lastly, I cant get radio stations, its all fuzzy, and is as if i do not have the arial plugged in (which i can assure you is wrong, as i have checked and triple checked that its plugged in, and not sliding out when i push the unit into the front console.
Now if anyone needs any help with installation of this or anything, please ask, but I may be limited in what i can tell you as i got alot of info from the two guys repeatedly named above.
Thanks for looking
Anton