I have been toying with the idea of having an MP3 link fitted to my A2 for a while now & in the past I have made inquiries through the main dealer & firms that specialise in the supply & fit of aftermarket devices looking for advice as to which one would suit my needs best.
Sad to say that they were all prepared to have a go & fit one & charge quite a lot to do so but none could tell me if my MP3 (non iPod) player would definitely work or if I would have control from the steering wheel or Concert head unit controls.
After reading the Xcarlink details on their website I decided to take the plunge & risk buying & fitting it myself with a view that if it did not work out I could always EBay it & get some of my money back as long as I went carefully.Purchase was easy & straightforward on the net & the unit arrived next day.
It looks well made & being black does not stand out like a sore thumb.
It is now in-situ & I thought that posting my experience may help other owners who may wish to take this step at their own risk.
Oddly my A2 se does not have air con so these steps are for a unit with heating & ventilation system with knobs but I daresay there would not be too much difference.
Open the ash tray beneath the cubby hole slot,put both hands in the cubby hole slot one on top of the other & push down with the bottom hand and up with the top hand & pull towards you at the same time,it is stiff but it is only held in by two clips & will pull out.
Insert the 2 radio removal keys supplied with the Xcarlink unit into the slots in the radio fascia with the notches in the keys both facing inwards until they click then pull gently & the radio unit will slide towards you.
Protect the front control panel below with a towel before you pull the radio unit fully out or the sharp metal edges will cause damage,I managed to put a scratch on mine even with the towel in place.
Make an access hole in the back left corner of the cubby hole unit large enough to thread the lead & connectors through,I used my plumbers hole saw for a neat finish with smooth edges but you could always stitch drill a circular hole with an ordinary bit & smooth the rough edges with sand paper or fabricate a grommet.
Feed the cables from the Xcarlink unit through & out of the back of the cubby hole box & with the radio unit fully out put your hand through & guide the cables into the rear of the radio compartment.
Disconnect the CD autochanger plug & cable from the rear of the radio & insert the plug from the lead of the Xcarlink unit as per their instruction booklet.
There are two earth leads & they advise fitting both of them to the metal radio body,my torx bit would not loosen the fixings to the side of the radio,the only ones I could loosen were the torx screws holding the radio retaining clips in place so I fitted the torx screw through the larger of the earth leads & as I tightened the torx screw I pushed the smaller earth underneath the larger one & clamped it in place by fully tightening the torx screw.If anyone has a better solution to this please post it as I am not totally satisfied with this.
Re-fit the radio unit loosely gently guiding the cables from the rear with your hand through the back of the cubby hole slot,remove the keys by pushing on the sides of the retaining clips on the radio.
Feed as much of the excess cable from the Xcarlink unit through the back of the slot as you re-fit the cubby hole box loosely.
Turn on & test that all is working correctly before pushing both fully back into position.
I have only been able to test mine through the USB with with some old Creative Zen Nanos that I had lying about,they accept control from the head unit for volume,skip,random play etc but do not put up the track information as I don`t think they are capable of it.
My Dad has my MP3 as he is stuck in Hospital and at 91 & nearly blind I thought some Ray Charles,Billie Holliday,Nat King Cole & Platters may help him pass the day so may have to wait a while to test it.
I will update this when I manage to get it back from him,the info from Xcarlink does state that the unit is compatible with all MP3s.They also do an iPod version & a bluetooth version.
Hope this helps & all feedback gratefully received.
Sad to say that they were all prepared to have a go & fit one & charge quite a lot to do so but none could tell me if my MP3 (non iPod) player would definitely work or if I would have control from the steering wheel or Concert head unit controls.
After reading the Xcarlink details on their website I decided to take the plunge & risk buying & fitting it myself with a view that if it did not work out I could always EBay it & get some of my money back as long as I went carefully.Purchase was easy & straightforward on the net & the unit arrived next day.
It looks well made & being black does not stand out like a sore thumb.
It is now in-situ & I thought that posting my experience may help other owners who may wish to take this step at their own risk.
Oddly my A2 se does not have air con so these steps are for a unit with heating & ventilation system with knobs but I daresay there would not be too much difference.
Open the ash tray beneath the cubby hole slot,put both hands in the cubby hole slot one on top of the other & push down with the bottom hand and up with the top hand & pull towards you at the same time,it is stiff but it is only held in by two clips & will pull out.
Insert the 2 radio removal keys supplied with the Xcarlink unit into the slots in the radio fascia with the notches in the keys both facing inwards until they click then pull gently & the radio unit will slide towards you.
Protect the front control panel below with a towel before you pull the radio unit fully out or the sharp metal edges will cause damage,I managed to put a scratch on mine even with the towel in place.
Make an access hole in the back left corner of the cubby hole unit large enough to thread the lead & connectors through,I used my plumbers hole saw for a neat finish with smooth edges but you could always stitch drill a circular hole with an ordinary bit & smooth the rough edges with sand paper or fabricate a grommet.
Feed the cables from the Xcarlink unit through & out of the back of the cubby hole box & with the radio unit fully out put your hand through & guide the cables into the rear of the radio compartment.
Disconnect the CD autochanger plug & cable from the rear of the radio & insert the plug from the lead of the Xcarlink unit as per their instruction booklet.
There are two earth leads & they advise fitting both of them to the metal radio body,my torx bit would not loosen the fixings to the side of the radio,the only ones I could loosen were the torx screws holding the radio retaining clips in place so I fitted the torx screw through the larger of the earth leads & as I tightened the torx screw I pushed the smaller earth underneath the larger one & clamped it in place by fully tightening the torx screw.If anyone has a better solution to this please post it as I am not totally satisfied with this.
Re-fit the radio unit loosely gently guiding the cables from the rear with your hand through the back of the cubby hole slot,remove the keys by pushing on the sides of the retaining clips on the radio.
Feed as much of the excess cable from the Xcarlink unit through the back of the slot as you re-fit the cubby hole box loosely.
Turn on & test that all is working correctly before pushing both fully back into position.
I have only been able to test mine through the USB with with some old Creative Zen Nanos that I had lying about,they accept control from the head unit for volume,skip,random play etc but do not put up the track information as I don`t think they are capable of it.
My Dad has my MP3 as he is stuck in Hospital and at 91 & nearly blind I thought some Ray Charles,Billie Holliday,Nat King Cole & Platters may help him pass the day so may have to wait a while to test it.
I will update this when I manage to get it back from him,the info from Xcarlink does state that the unit is compatible with all MP3s.They also do an iPod version & a bluetooth version.
Hope this helps & all feedback gratefully received.