Harmony replacement advice please - Page 2

jimn · 31st January 2014, 12:41

The bloomin atrocious weather means I haven't been able to get out and finish the job, but this is how I've attached the unit to the fascia. It's possibly a bit unconventional (read; bodge!) but I'm just using Duck tape (or the Aldi cheap equivalent anyway). It's been on a few days and there's no movement between the unit and the fascia, my only concern is how it might degrade over time. If it does come loose I'll have to revisit with araldite & brackets.

jimn · 2nd February 2014, 13:10

Progress update:

There was no way that the HU & fascia was going to fit back in the gap and I'd be able to fix the screws at the top, so I had to take the front off the environment controls & pull them half-way out to see if that would help. It made a bit more room but still not enough so I've had to hacksaw off the horizontal support that sits between the environment controls & the radio and I can now fit the HU!

BUT the connection for the steering wheel controls sticks out from the back of the unit too far! It seems to be a fairly standard stereo jack so I nipped to Maplins to see if the had a right-angle adapter, but the nearest they had were ones I'd have to solder myself and it's not worth buying a soldering gun just for that job. Therefore I have ordered some from eBay to see if it will help.

So it's mostly fixed in, but without steering wheel controls. The end is in sight.

Jim

MangoMan · 2nd February 2014, 13:50

Read your Post #5 and remind yourself something......

jimn · 2nd February 2014, 14:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by MangoMan

Read your Post #5 and remind yourself something......

Point taken, but it will look fantastic it's done :-D

jimn · 5th February 2014, 15:11

And it does look fantastic, and worth all the faffing around

There's a choice of a gazillion colours, but I've tried to match it to the dashboard orange but seeing as I'm colour blind it's probably not that close! Anybody know the RGB values of the dashboard orange?

Parts list:

Sony WX-GT90BT from Halfords - £129.99 (it seems to have gone up by £10 now)
Aerial adapter - £4.99
Double Din fascia adapter - £16.99
Autoleads pc99-x32 + patch lead - £19.75
Right angle stereo jack adapter - £3.00

In order to make it fit I had to pull out the air-con controls, remove the bracket from the back of the cubby-hole and the strip between the air-con controls and the head unit.

The steering wheel controls all work (although there are foibles) as does the bluetooth calls & music (I've not actually tried a CD in it, or the AUX!) and the USB music kind of works but not as well as I'd hoped as it doesn't seem to support playlists which is a PITA. I'm planning on doing a video review when I have a chance.

Jim

MangoMan · 5th February 2014, 15:39

And you're right, it does look fantastic! Nice one......

njb · 15th March 2015, 17:14

Just got one these Sony units, mainly for the bluetooth functionality and the app remote feature.
I have ordered the items listed above from Dynamic sounds, so I'll get to fit properly when that arrives. I have plugged it in to check it out.
I have had a harmony and then a symphony in my tourer, it has the 17 pin round BMW harness, I have the cheap non steering control ISO adapter at the moment.

Couple of questions?
Does the display dim with illumination control ?
Does the rubber pin from the factory radio fit on the back of the Sony unit ?

jimn · 16th March 2015, 09:17

Does the display dim with illumination control ?

Yes, you have the option to set different colours based upon whether the lights are on or not. I currently have blue for daylight, so the display can be seen in bright sunlight, and amber for night, so that it matches the rest of the display.

Does the rubber pin from the factory radio fit on the back of the Sony unit?

I'm not sure what you mean by 'rubber pin'.

As a general update, it's been in a year and the duck tape is holding strong, with no movement in the unit.

njb · 16th March 2015, 10:40

Cheers. So the dimming is day and night mode only. Had hoped it would track the dimming control on the dash.
I found rgb values that match reasonably well.

Do you know if it plays mp3 files from a CD? I whittled my car CD collection down to two 6 CD cassettes a while back. Be nice to put those onto one CD as I don't fancy a usb pen sticking out of the dash.

jimn · 16th March 2015, 12:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by njb

Do you know if it plays mp3 files from a CD? I whittled my car CD collection down to two 6 CD cassettes a while back. Be nice to put those onto one CD as I don't fancy a usb pen sticking out of the dash.

I've never used the CD, but there are USB sticks that don't stick out too far:

31st January 2014, 12:41	#11
jimn Avid contributor Rover 75 CDT Club Tourer Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Amber Valley Posts: 181 Thanks: 12 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	The bloomin atrocious weather means I haven't been able to get out and finish the job, but this is how I've attached the unit to the fascia. It's possibly a bit unconventional (read; bodge!) but I'm just using Duck tape (or the Aldi cheap equivalent anyway). It's been on a few days and there's no movement between the unit and the fascia, my only concern is how it might degrade over time. If it does come loose I'll have to revisit with araldite & brackets. __________________ Done Buy Rover 75 Tourer (27th March 2012, 119,473 miles) Replace broken window switches, fit warning triangle, remove mobile phone aerial & wiring, replace boot cover (now includes 'dog' net), new clutch (122,740 miles), Jules' plenum guard, replace Harmony, new Bosch MAF (129,597 miles) To Do Fog lights (bought, to be fitted), aux power (bought, to be fitted)

2nd February 2014, 13:10	#12
jimn Avid contributor Rover 75 CDT Club Tourer Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Amber Valley Posts: 181 Thanks: 12 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Progress update: There was no way that the HU & fascia was going to fit back in the gap and I'd be able to fix the screws at the top, so I had to take the front off the environment controls & pull them half-way out to see if that would help. It made a bit more room but still not enough so I've had to hacksaw off the horizontal support that sits between the environment controls & the radio and I can now fit the HU! BUT the connection for the steering wheel controls sticks out from the back of the unit too far! It seems to be a fairly standard stereo jack so I nipped to Maplins to see if the had a right-angle adapter, but the nearest they had were ones I'd have to solder myself and it's not worth buying a soldering gun just for that job. Therefore I have ordered some from eBay to see if it will help. So it's mostly fixed in, but without steering wheel controls. The end is in sight. Jim __________________ Done Buy Rover 75 Tourer (27th March 2012, 119,473 miles) Replace broken window switches, fit warning triangle, remove mobile phone aerial & wiring, replace boot cover (now includes 'dog' net), new clutch (122,740 miles), Jules' plenum guard, replace Harmony, new Bosch MAF (129,597 miles) To Do Fog lights (bought, to be fitted), aux power (bought, to be fitted)

2nd February 2014, 13:50	#13
MangoMan This is my second home Looking.... Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: England Posts: 10,911 Thanks: 862 Thanked 1,111 Times in 868 Posts	Read your Post #5 and remind yourself something...... __________________ *Regards, Bill - (MangoMan).* (Member 00854) http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...d.jpg~original

5th February 2014, 15:11	#15
jimn Avid contributor Rover 75 CDT Club Tourer Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Amber Valley Posts: 181 Thanks: 12 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	And it does look fantastic, and worth all the faffing around There's a choice of a gazillion colours, but I've tried to match it to the dashboard orange but seeing as I'm colour blind it's probably not that close! Anybody know the RGB values of the dashboard orange? Parts list: Sony WX-GT90BT from Halfords - £129.99 (it seems to have gone up by £10 now) Aerial adapter - £4.99 Double Din fascia adapter - £16.99 Autoleads pc99-x32 + patch lead - £19.75 Right angle stereo jack adapter - £3.00 In order to make it fit I had to pull out the air-con controls, remove the bracket from the back of the cubby-hole and the strip between the air-con controls and the head unit. The steering wheel controls all work (although there are foibles) as does the bluetooth calls & music (I've not actually tried a CD in it, or the AUX!) and the USB music kind of works but not as well as I'd hoped as it doesn't seem to support playlists which is a PITA. I'm planning on doing a video review when I have a chance. Jim __________________ Done Buy Rover 75 Tourer (27th March 2012, 119,473 miles) Replace broken window switches, fit warning triangle, remove mobile phone aerial & wiring, replace boot cover (now includes 'dog' net), new clutch (122,740 miles), Jules' plenum guard, replace Harmony, new Bosch MAF (129,597 miles) To Do Fog lights (bought, to be fitted), aux power (bought, to be fitted)

5th February 2014, 15:39	#16
MangoMan This is my second home Looking.... Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: England Posts: 10,911 Thanks: 862 Thanked 1,111 Times in 868 Posts	And you're right, it does look fantastic! Nice one...... __________________ *Regards, Bill - (MangoMan).* (Member 00854) http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/...d.jpg~original

15th March 2015, 17:14	#17
njb Avid contributor Connie SE Tourer Automatic Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Kildare Posts: 120 Thanks: 41 Thanked 7 Times in 6 Posts	Just got one these Sony units, mainly for the bluetooth functionality and the app remote feature. I have ordered the items listed above from Dynamic sounds, so I'll get to fit properly when that arrives. I have plugged it in to check it out. I have had a harmony and then a symphony in my tourer, it has the 17 pin round BMW harness, I have the cheap non steering control ISO adapter at the moment. Couple of questions? Does the display dim with illumination control ? Does the rubber pin from the factory radio fit on the back of the Sony unit ? __________________ Jobs done : salvage many parts from the crashed zircon : On the Chagall; epoxied the intercooler, new Rainsports, new dampers,reseated loose injector,replaced windscreen sensor, new front suspension legs, new MAF, PCV, 4 Pagid discs, cleaned EGR, serviced, new sony head. To do: refurb injectors, body work, fan, thermostat.

16th March 2015, 09:17	#18
jimn Avid contributor Rover 75 CDT Club Tourer Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Amber Valley Posts: 181 Thanks: 12 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Does the display dim with illumination control ? Yes, you have the option to set different colours based upon whether the lights are on or not. I currently have blue for daylight, so the display can be seen in bright sunlight, and amber for night, so that it matches the rest of the display. Does the rubber pin from the factory radio fit on the back of the Sony unit? I'm not sure what you mean by 'rubber pin'. As a general update, it's been in a year and the duck tape is holding strong, with no movement in the unit. __________________ Done Buy Rover 75 Tourer (27th March 2012, 119,473 miles) Replace broken window switches, fit warning triangle, remove mobile phone aerial & wiring, replace boot cover (now includes 'dog' net), new clutch (122,740 miles), Jules' plenum guard, replace Harmony, new Bosch MAF (129,597 miles) To Do Fog lights (bought, to be fitted), aux power (bought, to be fitted)

16th March 2015, 10:40	#19
njb Avid contributor Connie SE Tourer Automatic Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Kildare Posts: 120 Thanks: 41 Thanked 7 Times in 6 Posts	Cheers. So the dimming is day and night mode only. Had hoped it would track the dimming control on the dash. I found rgb values that match reasonably well. Do you know if it plays mp3 files from a CD? I whittled my car CD collection down to two 6 CD cassettes a while back. Be nice to put those onto one CD as I don't fancy a usb pen sticking out of the dash. __________________ Jobs done : salvage many parts from the crashed zircon : On the Chagall; epoxied the intercooler, new Rainsports, new dampers,reseated loose injector,replaced windscreen sensor, new front suspension legs, new MAF, PCV, 4 Pagid discs, cleaned EGR, serviced, new sony head. To do: refurb injectors, body work, fan, thermostat.