C4 Basic Stereo Upgrade

[amjl2000]

Hi all

I have just bought a 2005 C4 SX. The stereo is pretty basic, and the flimsy manual gives no indication of which model it is.

 

I would like to know if it is possible to get an aux-in. This gives me two options:

 

Can anyone tell me if there is likely to be an input into the rear of the stereo for an input (imo v.unlikely)

 

Or, if I purchased a new stereo system, are they modern enough to directly replace the existing stereo, with full control of the LCD display (not essential) and steering wheel control (very essential)?

 

Description of my current stereo:

cd slot

power/volume knob on left

ok/up/dn/l/r pad on right

6 presets along bottom

source/band/music note icon/list buttons along middle

There is also a mode/dark buttons on left side near power knob

There is esc and menu buttons on right side near navigation pad.

 

(The source button changes between cd and radio only which makes me think that no other sources are possible)

 

Thanks for any advice, I'll try to answer forthcoming questions if I am not making myslf clear enough!

 

Alex

[wozza]

You can buy an input for the standard system should you wish to hook an iPod or similar up. Full iPod hookup is around £100 but will charge the iPod and give full control of it from the steering wheel.

 

You could change the head unit and depending on which model you purchase depends if you can use the steering controls. LCD will still work as it does now minus track information but the new head unit will display all that anyway. The standard screen will still display mpg info etc.

 

If you want to upgrade speakers they are 6.5" up front and 5" in the rear.

[amjl2000]

You can buy an input for the standard system should you wish to hook an iPod or similar up. Full iPod hookup is around £100 but will charge the iPod and give full control of it from the steering wheel.

 

You could change the head unit and depending on which model you purchase depends if you can use the steering controls. LCD will still work as it does now minus track information but the new head unit will display all that anyway. The standard screen will still display mpg info etc.

 

If you want to upgrade speakers they are 6.5" up front and 5" in the rear.

 

 

Thanks Wozza

I hate the way that *everything* in life is able to have only an iPod connected to it... apple have managed to go the same way as micosoft. (I have a creative zen, and only require a line-in)

 

Anyways, thanks for the info.. I will probably get a new head unit, and get a connection for the steering wheel control (i found today that halfords do conectors for £35 which means I should get something for half the price on the internet).. the finished job including the head unit should be less than £100.

If anyone has done this, and can put a link to what they used, then that would be a great help to me. I understand that the connections are different depending on stereo manufacturer.

 

 

 

Alex

[wozza]

Well you can buy a normal input cable which is around £17 which is just a standard 3.5mm jack to plug into the headphone socket. The one I said was specifically the iPod control box and USB port so you can use USB sticks etc to play back through the headunit. Not sure how the zens would work as I have an aftermarket headunit and my zen is an old 4+yrs 60gb jukebox xtra.

 

Thing with the zen's is they aren't as popular and creative aren't as good with the software for developers as apple are. Hence next to no support from anyone else for them. Creatives fault they are the same with PC sound cards.

 

Which has held them back by the drivers now being utterly rubbish.

 

I have an after market headunit in mine. You will need a few adaptors to get it to fit. Can spend £100 on adaptors alone getting it sorted depending on headunit you buy as some headunits only support a certain adaptor. I know the one for my headunit is £80 alone for steering controls. So I decided not to bother with it.

 

Connects2 do a range of adaptors though. will also need an aerial adaptor. And a quadlock to ISO converter. Not a simple job in most modern cars swapping radios around the adaptors can cost more than some of the cheaper headunits.

[amjl2000]

Ah hah!

I have just found out about the 9706AG Cable adaptor. There's a great guide at http://www.c4owners.org/plugins/content/co....php?content.17

on how to install it... I reckon I could do a better job though!

It certainly seems like the cheapest option to me, I'd rather not buy a new stereo head as the one provided is good enough for me, just lacking the aux in. From the details in the guide, it looks like my stereo, so I shouldn't have a problem. I hope.

 

Thanks wozza for your input, your advice has been appreciated.

 

Alex

[wozza]

That is the part I was meaning forgot the part number though and was too lazy to go and find that thread. But that thread has loads of information on it I posted KFK's guide in there about what the dealers have to enable to get the headunit working with it.

[BigJohnD]

I have just found out about the adaptor. There's a great guide at http://www.c4owners.org/plugins/content/co....php?content.17

on how to install it... I reckon I could do a better job though!

It certainly seems like the cheapest option to me, I'd rather not buy a new stereo head as the one provided is good enough for me, just lacking the aux in. From the details in the guide, it looks like my stereo, so I shouldn't have a problem. I hope.

For full iPod connection (sound, track/playlist details, remote control and charging) with the standard C4 RD4 head unit, fit the Citroën USB/iPod Box 9702.EZ. This device also has USB port which will accept and play MP3s, and it's a variation of the Denison Gateway 300.

 

It uses the unit's CD Changer interface and costs about £100, plus fitting (which can be DIY) and activation by the dealer (mine was done free during a service). Some dealers want over £200 to suppply, fit and activate - that's just daylight robbery.

 

It works well, and the sound is very good, though there are a few limitations - the display has only two digits and more than 99 tracks or playlists can cause problems, though it looks like the latest software update has partially resolved this. Track and artist details are not constantly displayed via RDS (pity, really) but viewed by pressing Pre-set 2.

 

Pre-set 1 brings up the playlists/tracks from which selections are made using the cursor keys on the right of the radio fascia, some of which are replicated in the controls on the upper right of the steering wheel boss. (The USB/iPod Box is shown as CD4 of the CD Changer). Sometimes the display needs refreshing by cycling through MODE, but that doesn't affect the sound or continuity of play.

 

As the USB/iPod Box uses the CD Changer interface, it's not possible to have both simultaneously - it's one or the other. However Denison may have an adaptor on the drawing board. The head unit's CD player is not affected.

 

There's pages of info and discussion about the merits of the 9702.EZ, fitting it, dealer activation, cost and its operation at Http://C4Owners.org - you'll need to register if you haven't already

 

The 9706.AG Cable is no more than an additional sound input (AUX1) providing a jack and phono input. The maximum output from an IPod headset socket is just enough, and requires the RD4 to run at almost full volume. Clearly there's no charging of the iPod, no display and selecting a track or playlist has to be done from the iPod. The AUX1 facility also has to be enabled by the dealer.

 

If you're an iPod user, get the Citroën USB/iPod Box 9702.EZ

[CE08LDB]

I am liking my Citroen MP3 Compatible CD Player in my C2. I got 159 tracks on one CD already.