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I was looking to upgrade the RCD 200 in my 9n3 GTi to one of the newer VW head units. Is this technically possible? I really like the look of the touch screens in the 2012 models, such as the RCD 510. Failing that, would something like the RCD 500 work?

The problem is that the RCD200 is a proper double DIN headunit (ie: a proper square box), whereas all the other new VW ones are not. They won't fit in the centre console unless you seriously modify it I'm afraid.

That's a shame. From my digging it seems there would also be other issues too, as the third generation units (eg. RCD 310 and RCD 510) run off a different CAN bus. I guess an aftermarket head unit it is!

I opted for the Alpine CDE-W235BT in the end. It seems to be the only decent traditional double din available right now.

The current selection of units with navigation is pretty disappointing. They're all either slow or have ugly interfaces. I think I'll stick with my TomTom for the time being!

Hi mate. Any pictures of this unit fitted? Looking at a Sony double din but need to find out about the kind of double din fascia I will need. Which did you get?

jem-9n3 wrote:Hi mate. Any pictures of this unit fitted? Looking at a Sony double din but need to find out about the kind of double din fascia I will need. Which did you get?

Here's the Alpine CDE-W235BT installed. I used the fascia that came with the unit.



A few notes:

• The RCD-200 can be a bit tricky to get out. You'll need four PC5-93 keys to remove it. Make sure you don't insert them fully.
• Use a PC2-75-4 harness to keep the original wires intact. It makes hooking up the unit effortless and is only £8 from Halfords.
• You'll need an aerial adaptor to get AM/FM radio working. Either the PC5-100 or the PC5-137 will do, the second being amplified. You can find them on eBay for £3 delivered.
• The unit won't fit if you insert the bolt at the back. I left it out and haven't had any problems with the unit moving around. You can cut the bolt down if you really want to use it.
• Turning off the engine and removing the key does not switch off the unit. The car actually refuses to lock from the key until the unit is off. I believe this is due to VW using non-standard wiring for memory and power, but haven't figured out a way to fix this. Any takers?

shadowfnx wrote:

• Turning off the engine and removing the key does not switch off the unit. The car actually refuses to lock from the key until the unit is off. I believe this is due to VW using non-standard wiring for memory and power, but haven't figured out a way to fix this. Any takers?

you need to find a switched live and use that instead of just using the harness - there isn't a switched live in the loom itself, either use a feed from the cigerette lighter illumination, or take one from the fusebox!

HTH!

Alternatively, if you don't want to cut the wires then get a CAN adapter (from Connects2 or similar). Basically its a box that decodes the CAN signals from the car and turns it into ISO standard outputs so it's completely plug and play. Costs about £35.

I bought the same alpine unit yesterday, just waiting for the removal keys to turn up so I can remove the old one.

How is the alpine to use? Hope I'm not disappointed.

Any other fitting tips?

Cheers

one in my old 9n mate it a kenwood

fitted my Alpine CDE-W235BT today, took a switched feed from the 12v socket and all works spot on. just need an aerial adapter now but should get one tomorrow.

kc wrote:you need to find a switched live and use that instead of just using the harness - there isn't a switched live in the loom itself, either use a feed from the cigerette lighter illumination, or take one from the fusebox!

HTH!

blazeguarder wrote:Alternatively, if you don't want to cut the wires then get a CAN adapter (from Connects2 or similar). Basically its a box that decodes the CAN signals from the car and turns it into ISO standard outputs so it's completely plug and play. Costs about £35.

Thanks for the info! Would the adaptor replace the harness?

tt509 wrote:one in my old 9n mate it a kenwood

Expert cutting on the felt there! Looks mint.

rover220 wrote:fitted my Alpine CDE-W235BT today, took a switched feed from the 12v socket and all works spot on. just need an aerial adapter now but should get one tomorrow.

Nice one. What do you think of the unit? The large buttons are one of the main reasons I chose it over a touchscreen. Much easier to use without taking your eyes off of the road.

shadowfnx wrote:

kc wrote:you need to find a switched live and use that instead of just using the harness - there isn't a switched live in the loom itself, either use a feed from the cigerette lighter illumination, or take one from the fusebox!

HTH!

blazeguarder wrote:Alternatively, if you don't want to cut the wires then get a CAN adapter (from Connects2 or similar). Basically its a box that decodes the CAN signals from the car and turns it into ISO standard outputs so it's completely plug and play. Costs about £35.

Thanks for the info! Would the adaptor replace the harness?

tt509 wrote:one in my old 9n mate it a kenwood

Expert cutting on the felt there! Looks mint.

rover220 wrote:fitted my Alpine CDE-W235BT today, took a switched feed from the 12v socket and all works spot on. just need an aerial adapter now but should get one tomorrow.

Nice one. What do you think of the unit? The large buttons are one of the main reasons I chose it over a touchscreen. Much easier to use without taking your eyes off of the road.

its perfect for me, bluetooth works well and it integrates into the dash seamlessly. success in my eyes!

shadowfnx wrote: Thanks for the info! Would the adaptor replace the harness?

It basically sits in between the car loom and the loom that came with your head unit. Its effectively a quadlock to iso adapter, but has a control box as well that decodes the signals from the car and converts them to work properly in iso plugs. The quadlock plug for the RCD200 doesn't have a switched live pin - it has two canbus wires that give ignition and speed information etc - so it gets the ignition live from that. ISO plugs have a switched live pin, so if you are using a plain wiring adapter, like you are, you need to take the switched live from somewhere else or the unit won't turn off when the key is removed. The CAN adapter just does it all for you whilst being completely plug and play.

It's about £35 or so, so more than the cost of running the switched live cable. Makes life easier though if you want to take it out again before selling it, and is also pretty necessary if you have a navigation head unit (like I do) or one which adjusts volume based on road speed.

Right, that sounds ideal. I've purchased the CTSVW002 which will hopefully do the trick. Cheers!