C4 Replacement Head Unit Steering Control Hell

[fac51]

Hi,

 

Please can somebody help me.

 

I have recently bought an ex demo C4 VTR+, I love the car apart from the very basic Hi-Fi that comes as standard.

 

On a car quoted as 'alive with technology' I was a little surprised to find that it had no MP3 option ?

 

If I want to change the Citroen offering for something more elaborate will I loose all the steering functionality and hi-fi control??

 

There are a number of kits but nothing for the C4 that I can find, even the guy at the car audio shop was left scratching his head.

 

Can somebody help me with regards to cables etc.

 

I will be changing the hi fi to a Sony mex-r5 (more mp3's per disk you understand)

 

Thanks in advance

 

Steve.

[wozza]

Blaupunkt do a compatible unit with cable etc to keep steering controls.

 

Sony do as well for some of there units.

 

Citroen do offer an MP3 option when you order the car new comes with more speakers amp and sub etc.

 

However any unit you buy will probably be compatible with steering controls soon i have spoken to Alpine who have said it should not take too much longer for there adaptor to come out.

 

You can then either get a BMW - ISO converter for the unit or i think Citroen have an adaptor too.

 

I fitted an Alpine 9855r unit to my car and i honestly dont miss the steering wheel controls all that much anymore. But id say go for a better unit than the Sony not a fan of them they dont sound particularly great generally and they feel rather cheaply put together.

[LeoTheHamster]

Theres much better units out there than Sony Xplop range.

 

If you really want to use the steering controls than it's a factor you'll have to take into account (i.e buy the Blaupunkt :P ) but it's not like it's a hardship to push a button on the dash rather than the wheel, and opens the market up to some much better quality decks.

 

Although maybe I'm bias because I feel the controls are in just the wrong place to be comfortable.....

[wozza]

For known brands i always prefer to go with Pioneer / Alpine more of an Alpine fan personally.

 

But then there are brilliant units by other companies, Becker, Nakamichi etc. Would love to get myself a Nak unit but just dont have the money and i would want to change the amps to something a little nicer first.

[LeoTheHamster]

Naks are gorgeous units - when they work :P

[wozza]

Yep thats what puts me off amazing SQ but the constant servicing and they like to keep CD's inside them.

[fac51]

Use of the steering controls would be prefferable, although I am open to suggestions ??

 

One of the key features would be the inclusion of DVD (less disks more mp3's).

 

Wozza was very helpfull on msn and suggested the blau las vagas.

 

They just look a bit iffy ??

 

However price wise they are spot on.

 

Whats wrong with the sony range ??

 

They get ok reveiws and they seam to sound ok in the shops etc.

[BigJohnD]

Use of the steering controls would be prefferable, although I am open to suggestions ??

I've been researching into this, and it seems that right now if you want to retain the Citroën steering boss controls, your sole choice is a Blaupunkt - probably because the standard OEM unit is one.

 

I personally have no real preference of head unit - the ideal solution would be to be replace and re-design the entire system - but any decent HU will make a noticeable improvement with the standard speakers.

 

If you wish to use a Sony, and want to have the controls near to your hands on the steering wheel, then you'd need to install Sony's own controls. :blink:

 

I like this site for info.

[lesmotor]

Hi

Had the same problem, been trolling the net for days looking for steering wheel adapters for the C4. I settled for the basic wiring harness because of the high cost of the stalk adapter.

 

Check with your local Halfords as they deal with these two companies’ - Connects2 and Autoleads. The guy in Halfords rang the suplyer and was told they had stalk adapters for a C4 to fit almost all aftermarket radio manufactures accept Alpine which is the one I wanted.

 

Below are some links you may find useful.

 

Les

 

 

http://www.caraudiodiscount.com/acatalog/Citroen.html

 

http://www.connects2.com/c2search.aspx?man...17&catID=24

 

http://www.autoleads.co.uk/audio_control.html[/size]

[wozza]

Im gonna email alpine again and get on to them see if anyone can tell me anything as there taking there time with bringing a lead out.

[lesmotor]

Check this out Wozza, The last one in thew list could be what you're after.

 

 

http://www.caraudiodiscount.com/acatalog/Citroen.html

[wozza]

80 sodding quid!!!

[BigJohnD]

Can somebody help me with regards to cables etc.

I will be changing the hi fi to a Sony mex-r5 (more mp3's per disk you understand)

This - http://www.incarexpress.co.uk/view_product...?partno=SCTS003 - could be what you need to link the Citroën/Blaupunkt Quadlock to the Sony/ISO connectors, and retain use of the control buttons on the steering wheel boss.

 

You need to check that your Sony has the small jack socket for the remote connections. I'm not familiar with your model, so can't say one way or the other. However, a quick look at the spec suggests it has.

 

It's £40 + delivery.

 

Let me know how you get on.