Fitting RNSE into a Double Din Dash

[nin]

Hi all, I’ve started this thread to cover advice and experience of fitting an RNSE unit into an A2 double din dashboard.

As a complete novice to this, my journey might have some value to others!

And reading through the background on here, one very helpful person’s name and avatar keep recurring …

So Tom [mention]A2Work [/mention] I throw myself on your mercy and experience …

 

[2work]

Hello again Simon,

Give me an hour and I’ll have a pictorial guide on how to reshape your A3 RNS-E PU added, I’ve still got the pictures on my phone of the head unit I recently reshaped for someone. Always happy to play with a RNS-E here at 2work Towers.

This will help you I’m sure along with hopefully many more members over time.

I’ll be back!

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[2work]

Hi Simon,

As promised, I'm back with hopefully an informative solution for you to reshape your new head unit.

First up let's visualise what were trying to do using your own picture. Below is your picture (start-state) from an above post sporting its Audi A3 fascia, which is just not going to fit into the receiving aperture of the A2 double DIN dashboard:

Below you'll see the red box superimposed on your original picture, it provides a rough idea of the work that is involved by means of removing all the excess trim outside of the red box:

To me this really is a DIY task if you have patience, a steady hand and are confident using your cutting tool of choice. The very first time I stepped up to this challenge, some years ago now, I chose to use a hacksaw blade for the initial trimming but have since progressed onto using a Dremel as its so much quicker. You've possibly seen the old Dremel I used to use on my project threads:

There was nothing at all wrong with it as its a great tool but Fathers Day see me upgrade to the very latest iteration:

As for any task you ever proceed with, preparation is the key to success. During the RNS-E reshaping process there is a lot of small plastic waste which can enter the head unit so masking up is vital to prolong the lift of the head unit. I use standard paper type decorators tape that you may use to mask skirting boards or the commencement of the ceiling or similar. To not waste too much tape I wrap the head unit chassis in cling film and simply tape the fascia. The below pictures should explain what I mean:

You'll notice that Ive not taped the actual LED screen but you can if you so wish. The reason I don't is due to the factory antiglare coating some 10-15 years later has generally failed so I polish the screen once finished but prior to installation. The Meguir's Plast-RX product is great for this later screen polishing stage:

To save a costly purchase of the above product for a one-time-use then it can be subsidised with toothpaste which is just as good but not as quick to remove the failed antiglare coating. More on this towards the end.

Running out of room for further pictures so will continue in the next post shortly.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[2work]

Hello all,

Before I show where to cut I though it only right to share the start-state of the head unit I think I used throughout these picture. From memory the pictures are for the Audi A4/Seat Exeo type fascia but the process is exactly the same for your Audi A3 fascia. Below are the subtle differences in appearance:

Audi A4/Seat Exeo

Audi A3

Let’s now progress to answer your question … With the head unit fully masked up ready for attacking with your cutting tool of choice it time to understand what excess to remove and where to trim down to. The head unit itself actually gives you a perfect guide. Hopefully the follow pictures will explain this better than me typing more than necessary.

Here is the top of the head unit looking from the rear:

From the view above and comparing to your own head unit, you should be able to make out the excess fascia arrowed in blue and where to smoothly trim it down to. Remove the blue to 1mm then sand down to the red. I start with 120 grit and work up to 400 grit wet and dry if I’m seeking an absolute perfect finish. There is not need to go overboard here as it of course completely out of view when fitted. As long as the blue is smoothly trimmed/sanded down to the red then it’ll be fine.

The same is to be done for the bottom of the head unit. Sorry didn’t take a picture (or have since deleted it) of the head unit base. Basically the black plastic arrowed in red above is all the way around the perimeter. This is the level to trim/sand to.

Here is the same head unit looking at the top from the rear with the blue removed:

Base of the head unit with the blue trimmed and sanded to the red:

Hopefully you’ll get the idea more from looking at the sides. The sides are also the same but here’s a few pictures to further explain:

Same process again on the sides. You’ll see above the excess fascia trim in blue that requires trimming and sanding down to the black plastic perimeter in red. When Sandi g you much use a sanding block or block of wood to ensure your strokes/movement is even and flush. Point to note, keep the corners to a point, do be tempted to add a curve which results in rounded corners, it just won’t look right and will not blend with the central vents housing above or the climate unit below.

Here’s the sides with the blue trimmed and sanded down to the red:

You’ll see the the sanding prices isn’t to a perfect finish but it isn’t on show when fitted, you can sand it for a long time going through the various glades up to 1000 grip finished of with the Plast-RX product for an immaculate finish, but it’s unnecessary. It I’ll show how this actual head unit looks fitted shortly.

Again running out of room for pictures so will be back shortly.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[2work]

Hello all,

Back again to add some more information to enable you with the necessary knowledge to have a go yourself. Above you’ve seen that excess fascia material has been removed. Just incase the other driver here ever reads this thread I must add that the Dremel work was done outside. In the below pictures you should be able to see most of the material that has been removed, please excuse the small round 12ft pool in the background as it’s since been upgraded to an 18ft rectangular variant. It’s awesome but that another story for another day.

Also in the below pictures you’ll see the actual cutting wheel I use on my new(ish) Dremel:

An Audi A3 fascia pre Dremel action

Audi A3 fascia post Dremel action

As mentioned earlier, notice that the corners have been left sharp and not rounded.

The following pictures show the various visual improvements that can be obtained by simply swapping of the piano (gloss) black screen surround and also from black buttons to their chrome cousins, all down to preference I suppose. Here’s the pictures to show how clean the Finish is regardless of who much work you do sanding down to the red.

Mat black screen surround with chrome dials:

Piano black (gloss) screen surround with chrome knobs:

As with any RNS-E PU being installed. Don’t forget to update to the latest custom firmware available from rnse.pcbbc.co.uk:

RNS-E Firmware | Home

RNS-E Custom Firmware, VIM, Digital Speedo, SD Card Maps

rnse.pcbbc.co.uk

With your head unit running the awesome customer firmware you’ll be able to have functionality like radio station art, album art, navigation via SD card and much much more. Follow the link or browse the Project OEM or Project EUD threads. Here’s a taster of the visuals that the custom firmware brings:

Hope that gives you a good understanding of what’s involved in the reshaping process and what can e done to these antiquated yet glorious head units. They’ll never be the latest head unit like what’s available these days but they’ve still got a place and are not done yet. They of course look splendid in the A2 cabin.

Any questions then please do ask away.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[2work]

Hello again Simon,

I'm sure you'll find the information most useful and it should easily see you through the DIY process. Should you get stuck with anything then please do ask questions as I'm always willing to help. If you're ever passing Coalville then I'd happily help out in person or even do the reshaping for you. After doing this many time now, it only takes me some 20-30 minutes from removal to refitting.

I often get PMs asking for assistance like this and have since typed up similar responses in the background. At least here on this thread, its now public facing for all to read and benefit from, it will save me repeating such information over PM again.

Hope this helps others out there too.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[nin]

Thanks so much Tom, it his is really helpful, and hopefully for others too.

I’ll post up my efforts in due course!

 

[2work]

No problems at all,

More than happy to help out.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[2work]

Hello all,

Only just read through the above posts and realised I missed out a small chunk of information regarding Meguir’s Plast-RX for polishing the screen

Below are some very fitting pictures that demonstrate the failed antiglare screen coating which requires a few minutes of work to look it’s best:



The easiest was to get to this stage is to power up the head unit in the vehicle and then disconnect the Quadlock connector before the screen automatically closes. Then move to you cleanly prepared working area. For me it’s the kitchen island as this process isn’t messy at all.

Next up is to remove the screen surround, to do this then the head unit over so you can see the underside of the screen, just like below:

You’ll see the bottom left and right corners of the screens underside and a PH0 screw, in the red circles. These must be carefully removed to assist in screen surround removal.

Once removed (again red circles) the screen surround easily will pop off from the top of the surround. If it’s not coming off easily then is could have some cleaning product residue which has hardened and seemingly glueing the surround on. If this has happened it’ll be along the bottom and the best way to overcome this is to release the clips along the 5 notches shown in the yellow rectangle:

Once the screen surround has been popped off, turn the head unit back over and you should be looking at the screen without the surround, like this:

As a reminder, here is the product of choice again:

As I said earlier, toothpaste can be used as an economical substitute. To remove the antiglare coating just apply a small blob of the chosen product (half a pea sized amount) onto a microfibre cloth and rub it into the screen. The Meguir’s product along with toothpaste is a gently abrasive which will quite quickly remove the coating. Remember to not push too hard on the screen as it’s fragile, be very careful. After some 5 mi utes of working the product into the screen the coating should be removed. Clean the screen with a fresh microfibre cloth and a windows cleaner, if there is any coating remaining then repeat the earlier procedure followed by cleaning to confirm no coating remains. Eventually it’ll be spotless like this:

Pop the screen surround back, flip the head unit over and refit the PH0 screws to each lower corner. It should look like this:

If you’re happy with yourself and the result achieved then reinstall in into the vehicle. Don’t be tempted to push the screen in. Let the internal electrics do that for you so nothing is forced or damaged; note I actually pushed the screen back in before reinstalling into the vehicle as I’m quite content that nothing will be damaged, plus it’s my own head unit. If I was to do this for someone then I’d wait for the vehicles power to close the screen up for me:

That should you everyone reading this now able to reshape the RNS-E for perfect fitting the into A2s double DIN dashboard. Those of you who are t as brave are more than welcome to drop in or send it to me to conduct the necessary adjustments for you.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[2work]

Evening Ian @Proghound,

Just noticed your online Sir. If you’re not too busy could you add this thread as a sticky for others to quickly locate in the future; as the RNS-E just looks right in the A2 I can’t see it being taken off the table anytime soon. Certainly not with many more tweaks going on in the background which could well be hitting the streets once fully tested.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[Proghound]

Evening Ian @Proghound,

Just noticed your online Sir. If you’re not too busy could you add this thread as a sticky for others to quickly locate in the future; as the RNS-E just looks right in the A2 I can’t see it being taken off the table anytime soon. Certainly not with many more tweaks going on in the background which could well be hitting the streets once fully tested.

Kind regards,

Tom

Done Quite happy with that as a suggestion

 

[Hoomart]

Hi there, all, just want to use this post to publicly thank Tom @2work for his willingness to help sort out an RNS-E PU head unit ; his knowledge of these units is 2nd to none.
I absolutely reccommend him for all his efforts to get people fitting these units as a great upgrade to all our A2's.

Thanks again, Tom.

Martin.

 

[2work]

Hi there, all, just want to use this post to publicly thank Tom @2work for his willingness to help sort out an RNS-E PU head unit ; his knowledge of these units is 2nd to none.
I absolutely reccommend him for all his efforts to get people fitting these units as a great upgrade to all our A2's.

Thanks again, Tom.

Martin.

Hello Martin,

No problems as I was more than happy to help you out, this also can be extended to our fine membership.

Just to explain to everyone reading this what I actually done to assist you…

This particular RNS-E PU was purchased by Martin from Peter @A2Dreamer from our very own Market Forum. It required a tidy up from its original reshaping along with the screen polishing. This was accomplished with a quick wet sanding along with Meguir’s Plast-RX. From there I updated the firmware to the very latest iteration which is available and purchased the extra feature pack. Additionally I purchased 3x 32GB SD cards and preloaded one of them with the necessary license files for album art and radio station art which you’ve seen on my project threads. The 2 remaining SD cards had Eastern Europe navigation data on one and Western Europe on the other. This enables Martin to switch navigation SD cards as he crosses mapping boundaries when transiting the EU.

For this service I charged Martin absolutely nothing; yes free of charge. He of course paid the minimal fees for the license feature pack, the 3x SD cards and delivery to his UK address. I like to assist where I can at no financial profit, am I mad. That said it was an hours work which I conducted/monitored whilst preparing dinner for the 2Work clan.

If anyone else requires this type of offering then get in touch as I do like tinkering with these head units.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[Kleynie]

Can I just add that I have done this a few times now using a hacksaw. I do own a Demel, but find the hacksaw gives good straight lines with minimal filing. Not saying Tom is wrong, but if you don’t own a Demel then a hacksaw is as good, just be careful!
Thanks to Tom for helping me too.

Ian

 

[2work]

Can I just add that I have done this a few times now using a hacksaw. I do own a Demel, but find the hacksaw gives good straight lines with minimal filing. Not saying Tom is wrong, but if you don’t own a Demel then a hacksaw is as good, just be careful!
Thanks to Tom for helping me too.

Ian

Hello Ian,

Completely agree that a hacksaw blade alone produces just as good results. The very first time I took the brave pill to reshape a RNS-E, I didn’t have the cuttings disc attachment available for the Dremel and as such was armed with a hacksaw blade, the very same close finish can be achieved in preparation for sanding through the various grits for a smooth finish. I only moved towards the Dremel after finding the Dremel accessories when I reshaped my second head unit.

I’m sure another member has mentioned a Xacto Knife blade which I guess would be also do a good job in the right hands, maybe take a little longer though.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[2work]

Afternoon,

Calling Mike @Bobferret. This is the thread I mentioned in your PM regards RNS-E retrofitting Sir.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[Stan2stan2]

Afternoon, After spending the afternoon relaxing in the garden and catching up on reading through the latest posts on a2oc I came across your detailed explanation on how to fit an RNS_E to the A2, I have been on the sidelines for a while with this upgraded option but after reading this excellent thread you have convinced me to go ahead and attempt this conversion.

I was holding out for an RNS look-a-likely that can out-put CarPlay because that's the only media device I use these days and I find it so convenient, but the original RNS does look good in an A2.

Quick question regarding the Maguiars, Could this remove a scratch on the screen? depending on the depth of course.

It is time to make a list and collect the required items for this project.

regards

Jae

 

[2work]

Afternoon Jae,

Glad the little write up I provided Simon @nin has encouraged you to have a go yourself. That was the intension. I get so many question in the background regards the RNS-E and this thread enabled me to share some of my knowledge to the community.

There are some good looking alternative head u it’s out there but I personally prefer the stock look of a perfectly shaped RNS-E PU. It does all I need it to with DAB (internet radio), perfect clarity streaming, faultless handsfree calling and of course displays the rear PDC sensors.

The Meguir’s product is extremely good and quick at removing the antiglare coating. Not sure if it’ll resolve a deep scratch though. It does slowly remove surface scratches though, just don’t press too hard as you’ll damage the screen.

Kind regards,

Tom

 

[Stan2stan2]

Hi Tom, thanks for the reply, I ask as while scrolling through eBay yesterday i came across a RNS-E that has a scratch on the screen, and for the cost of the unit it would’ve been worth a punt if I could remove the scratch, it all depends how deep it is on the surface, which I won’t know until i see it up close and personal.

Regards

Jae


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[2work]

Hi Tom, thanks for the reply, I ask as while scrolling through eBay yesterday i came across a RNS-E that has a scratch on the screen, and for the cost of the unit it would’ve been worth a punt if I could remove the scratch, it all depends how deep it is on the surface, which I won’t know until i see it up close and personal.

Regards

Jae


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hello Jae,

As I've polished many RNS-E screens I'm more than happy to take a look at the pictures you might have of the head unit. To keep the whereabouts of this bargain RNS-E away from others, you could send me a link or pictures via PM where I can take a look. I have a good eye at seeing what might be possible just from a picture if its from the right angle. Let's move to PM to see if I can assist you further Sir, promise to not buy it from under you, not my style and only here to help.

Kind regards,

Tom