Recoding the radio to eliminate Fender amp

[Thegoat]

same, having issues. radio doesnt play,ipod doesnt play, volume doesnt work. no output from radio

answered my own question.

car just needed to go to sleep. OBDELEVEN steps work

 

[01LSi]

If anyone wants to see the pictures, send me an email. I can send them to you. I guess I'm one of many who is not willing to pay $400 a year to have my photos show up here. Email address is: "pweggenmann@comcast.net"

THANKS PHOTOBUCKET! you bastards.

Hey Q2Quest I just sent you an email. It doesn't look like you are active on the forum anymore however.

Does anyone here have the original image files they could please send my way? Thank you in advance!

 

[andrew.lusby18]

I had fader control before install. I had a professional hook up the door speakers because I was having some problems. Fader issue started after that. I'm new to all of this but have a basic understanding of your solutions so I will take it back to the guy who hooked it up and see what he thinks. Appreciate the help and if I get it figured out I'll do a follow up post. As far as the audiocontrol unit i purchased I think you'd like it being you seem to know what your doing. Having the ability to connect to a laptop to tune is nice.

Sent from my SM-G892U using Tapatalk

Hey @bkl1974 do you have any updates on the missing fader issue? I've called my dealer and they had the same response as you did. looking to get either the OBDII pro or ross tech vag-com tool in order to recode the system. question is, does the OBDII offer that ability? TIA

 

[Jdsunrise]

When I was looking for this information about a month ago I couldn't easily find it so I decided to post this for others who are trying to find a way to bypass the Fender amp to install aftermarket amps, DSPs, etc.
The back of the MIB2 with Fender has a blank where normally the speaker wires would be in a non Fender system. There are eight pins for four passive speakers. In the absence of the proper VW connector I used four small speaker lead connectors. They are the perfect size and I plugged them into the pins in the back. I only needed a left and a right channel for my DSP. In the photo below the connectors are plugged into the rear channel right and left. I later realized that by doing this I would not be able to receive phone calls as the bluetooth calls play only through the front speakers. So, while both front and rear are full range signals, you should tap into the front left and right channels instead.

The picture below and most of this content was provided by Don (DV52) who was extremely helpful to me. Socket "N" is where the speaker pins are. I found that in my unit the designated numbered pins are exactly upside down from this depiction. Only #4 and #8 are labelled on the unit. You want 7/3 and 6/2, unlike the pins I used originally in the above photo.

I ran these speaker wires behind the glovebox, behind the passenger kick panel, under the passenger side sill plate and into the trunk. Super easy. You're dealing with only 4 speaker wires instead of 10 or 12 if you grab the speaker wires off the Fender amp.

Now for the recoding. The pictures below are screen shots from my laptop using VCDS in order.

Take a picture of your long coding just in case you get messed up you can always put it back the way it was.

Use the tab button on your keyboard to cycle through the individual bytes and make the following selections.

The photos below are screen shots of a VW diagnostics software I am unfamiliar with, but I believe it is OBD11. They were also provided by (DV52) as a guide to recoding if using that application instead.

I hope this helps someone else. I also hope I didn't forget anything. Originally when I was using the speaker wires off the Fender amp into my DSP I got terrible pops when the radio was off. Grabbing the wires from the head unit as described cured those pops and completely simplified the wiring.

I have both a fender and a stock system in each of my GSW, is the stock one easier for upgrading?

 

[q2quest]

The Fender system is a challenge because of the optical cables which run from the glove box to the amp under the driver's seat. At the time I started this thread there was no real way to grab the audio signal from the optical cables for use with an aftermarket amplifier or DSP. I'm not sure if a new product exists or not to solve this problem. All of this is a little fuzzy because it's been a few years. A non Fender system is far easier to upgrade.

 

[Adurm]

There are some most adapters but it will cost you. Audison bit dmi and helix zen nav tv. You'd have to check for compatibility with your vehicle though. But the bit outputs to a dsp. The helix one, i believe, has built in dsp adjustability. Non fender is way cheaper to deal with.

 

[tshrey]

Just want to add, I'm doing this now on my 2019 R. When I turned off byte 19 in OBD11 the radio stopped playing. When I shut the car off and opened the driver door the radio stayed on. I had to disconnect the battery to get everything to work correctly.

Just FYI.

 

[bboytaktix]

Just want to add, I'm doing this now on my 2019 R. When I turned off byte 19 in OBD11 the radio stopped playing. When I shut the car off and opened the driver door the radio stayed on. I had to disconnect the battery to get everything to work correctly.

Just FYI.

Awesome, thank you for sharing your experience tshrey - about to do this in my 2018 golf R and definitely gives me some faith. Got all my aftermarket gear ready to go, just working on a nice stealth box for two low-profile 10" that will fit under the floor of the trunk.

 

[FSTSNAL]

Anyone know if this works on a 2021? Also the last option usb vs usb & iPhone. Any reason not to choose iPhone?

the 2021 doesn’t use most. I picked up an iDatalink maestro ar to pull the can signals at the amp but so far no luck yet. No file or instructions on setup for a 2021. They said it is in development who knows how long that will be though.

 

[bboytaktix]

Anyone know if this works on a 2021? Also the last option usb vs usb & iPhone. Any reason not to choose iPhone?

the 2021 doesn’t use most. I picked up an iDatalink maestro ar to pull the can signals at the amp but so far no luck yet. No file or instructions on setup for a 2021. They said it is in development who knows how long that will be though.

I would assume the 2021 would actually be the 2020 which is identical to MK7.5 - otherwise the "new" mk8 coming out would be a 2022 which nobody would really have info on.

 

[Adurm]

Not to discourage you, but idatalink told me the mk7 gti radio replacement bit was under development about 3 years ago. They do have a forum if you haven't checked it out. It may be beneficial.

 

[FSTSNAL]

Not to discourage you, but idatalink told me the mk7 gti radio replacement bit was under development about 3 years ago. They do have a forum if you haven't checked it out. It may be beneficial.

Thanks. Talked with them their install instructions list 2018 and 2019 jetta which are both mk7 they have a beta file which includes 2021 gti. It lists as non amplified and they told me for the amplified Jetta you move the 2 pin connector from the white to the black connector (moves which pins it pulls power and ground from). However they also said it is untested on mk7 GTIs at all. When I connected before doing this the maestro ar did not power on. I will be trying this over the weekend and fingers crossed.

I replied in their forum and they gave no info. Different people over there seem to provide different info.

trying to find an alternative since the 2021 seems like an oddball. Fender amp but no longer uses a most fiber wire (the wire diagram only has one mention of most and it shows green wires, not fiber, at the amp connector.

before I found it no longer uses most I was planning on getting a nav tv unit and pulling audio from most.

 

[FSTSNAL]

I would assume the 2021 would actually be the 2020 which is identical to MK7.5 - otherwise the "new" mk8 coming out would be a 2022 which nobody would really have info on.

NAR 2021 is a mk7.5. It is an oddball and not same as 2020. It has the MIB3 and does not use most to transmit audio from the glovebox head unit to the amp.

 

[FSTSNAL]

Not to discourage you, but idatalink told me the mk7 gti radio replacement bit was under development about 3 years ago. They do have a forum if you haven't checked it out. It may be beneficial.

Also. Tried their note of moving the 2 pin connector still didn’t power on. No worry. Factory sound is not horrible. Was just trying to get my Audison apsp kit to work with the fender system. Spent a pretty penny and then the car I bought it for was totaled. Only thought I would go this direction when I tried for a month to sell it at a huge loss. Guess I’ll be trying to sell the individual components now to recoup some cost.

 

[bboytaktix]

NAR 2021 is a mk7.5. It is an oddball and not same as 2020. It has the MIB3 and does not use most to transmit audio from the glovebox head unit to the amp.

very strange!
I assume that is for the non-fender audio system - or are you talking for the Fender as well? I find it strange they would revert away from the MOST communication system, since it eliminates any electrical noise between head unit and amp.