I think this is a terrific mod. The only issue one can criticize is that its outside the ability of most on this forum (smile). We all wish the screen was larger and possibly is a more optimum location. That said, Jenninaj has done an admirable job within the constraints of the original screen along with making the process available for those who are fearless.

 

Also, for anyone who doesn't have an auxiliary interface in their car (I have a 2007 Vantage with the stock audio and no factory bluetooth) I tried a number of solutions, before stopping at what I have now.

Initially, I installed a Dension 500 gateway, that gave me the auxiliary input, then I installed a small bluetooth adapter that fed into the Dension, but always found that the switching of audio between the bluetooth adapter and the car’s original radio input was flaky.

Chatting with some guys over on pistonheads, we found this new, cheap MOST interface for Volvo’s. It’s cheaper than the Dension, the bluetooth is built in and it’s very reliable. It integrates into the car’s existing buttons for forward, back, pause etc and it’s got bluetooth, a separate auxiliary and a USB interface built in and you can easy disable it and the car’s existing radio and cd changer work perfectly and I can now use it to interface it into Jenninaj's brilliant design

Oh, and it was really easy to install too ...

You can find it on ebay UK here:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223506468749

Or on ebay.com, although that just takes you to the same supplier in the uk:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bluetooth-A...AAAOSwfSJbYn6j

I found it worked so much better than the Dension that I ended up selling it on ebay

 

Great info! Thanks for sharing! Here are the links to the YouTube and Pistonheads threads for everyone else's edification.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/...&t=1833221&i=0

Just bought mine thru their US reseller
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bluetooth-A...t/223506463490

 

Yes, it looks terrifying but if you take it slowly you can build pretty much everything before you even need to get into the guts of the car. Take your time and reach out with any questions. I'm not a mechanic or engineer but I'm a hobbyist, so the work here fits into that level of skill IMO.

 

This is very cool and very helpful - great contribution to the thread. Thanks!

 

Well, I for one am extremely grateful to Jenninaj for the really good write up on how to sort out the crappy sat nav in the Vantage. As everything is on lock down, I've had time to sort this and it took a while for the parts to come, the longest being the screen from china, which is important as Jenninaj is totally right in saying that it's a perfect fit for the old screen.

So, I followed the instructions bit by bit and everything went smoothly and as expected, thanks to some very well written instructions.

I did however, change a few things, mainly because I decided to use a different CarPlay solution. Even though I really like the idea of the Raspberry Pi, but I wanted a few other things, like switchable bluetooth, a fall back music solution if I didn't have the phone (and yes, no carplay), the option for Android Auto, video would be nice etc And I found a company which sold a linux based box which runs CarPlay/Android Auto, supports bluetooth, music via USB stick, Video via USB stick, reversing camera and another camera and comes with a very nice controller which looked pretty stock.

So, I built the screen and the RGB to HDMI as per Jenninaj's plans, but changed the HDMI switch for a simple one which takes it's power from the HDMI feed. I didn't need to use the more sophisticated one because the audio is fed out from the CarPlay linux box and routes the RCA audio directly to a MOST Aux adapter (mentioned before) I fitted a few years back.

Here are a few pics of my install, the controller stick in the centre console, the USB ports in the arm rest area one for the USB music/video, one for carPlay and Android Auto.

Many many thanks to Jenninaj for his expertise, without which, I would still be cursing the old Sat Nav (although if I ever need to see it, I put the HDMI switch button on the base of the CarPlay controller - you can see that in one of the photos, nice and hidden, but looking pretty stock - if you see what I mean).

The photos don't do it justice, the screen looks washed out but that's my crappy photo taking skills and iPhone in the dark It is so much brighter, better looking and better resolution !!

 

@madgadget do you have a link or brand/model of the linux powered box you're using to provide android auto and the like? I'm very interested in this mod for my 07 v8v and your setup looks great. Thanks Jenninaj for putting such an amazing how-to together. Also @Jenninaj quick unrelated question for you, is the top of your dash that is CF factory or aftermarket?

 

Damn fine work, madgadget. A round of applause!

 

Ahem,I must bow to Jenninaj's genius solution in the first place and I thank you for the round of applause

The box is from a company called real media and it's called a universal RCA/HDMI CarPlay and Android auto box:

https://www.realmediashop.de/Univers...r-Controller_1

It's a bit pricey though at around $200, but what you get is a custom designed board in the box (yup, had to open it up and soon as it arrived) which runs a linux variant, can't find out what though. But it boots up within 5 seconds, or just after the screen rises, and it goes into the menu that you see in the screen shots above. From there you can play music via USB or videos, and then it can connect to a backup camera, other RCA video feed, bluetooth and then automatically start up CarPlay or Android Auto when you connect a phone, so if you have already connected a phone, when the screen rises, the unit starts up and goes to CarPlay instantly.

It also has a connection for steering wheel controls (although no info on that) and a touch screen?? The unit comes with a very comprehensive wiring loom and that great little ****/switch unit.

It also provides audio and video out via some RCA lines, so I have the HDMI going into my simple switch and then I take the RCA audio to the MOST adapter's auxiliary input.

There is a good manual on the website that shows you the connections etc.

 

Hey @madgadget I'm looking for a US Supplier for this interface - do you know if the firmware / wiring is different between the various versions of these for different volvo vehicles? This one lists the XC90 and looks the same in the pictures, just not sure if it's identical and compatible with the vantage - https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bluetooth-A...UAAOSwzI5ba96c
The listings you linked didn't seem to mention US shipping, this seems like a great option if I can get a hold of one here.

 

Same one I bought, works fine with my 2007 V8V

 

Hey Picklz, I think that they are the same for all Volvo's.

Looking at the (limited) instructions that comes with them, the dip switches are adjusted for whatever volvo you have, so that seems to show that they work in all volvo's. The only thing it said that you need to have is the 6 cd internal player (or that the head unit has been enabled for cd's, which i think is a volvo thing as the Vantage has the 6 cd player as standard).

Thanks bavvarianinstance for confirming

The only thing I have found that doesn't work on this MOST interface is, you can't switch off the bluetooth, which if you end up doing this fine mod work, you may want to. The instructions say that DIP4 is the bluetooth switch, but that doesn't seem to work. Having said that, it's still a great way to get audio into the older volvo based system.

 

Hi All,

Just to add a bit more info to this brilliant thread about the infotainment upgrade, some have asked me where I installed the various modules in my car which is a 2007 model.

So, the 12v was taken from a similar place to Jenninaj's, the one I found stays on for about 1 minute after the car is switched off and then shuts down, and the GND from the back bolt of the aluminium fuse box cover as can be seen here:



In terms of the location of the MOST interface, the HDMI switch and the RGBHDMI interface, they are placed down the side of the passenger footwell, behind the carpet as there is loads of space there. Keep in mind that my pics are from a UK right hand drive, but you should have a similar setup for left hand drive in the passenger footwell.

You can see in this pic that the RGBHDMI box (mine is similar to Jenninaj's, just smaller as I need less) is actually tucked up inside the leather panel, there was just the right amount of space for it



In terms of the case for the RGBHDMI box, I followed Jenninaj's plans and cut a smaller case as I just needed to hold the RGBHDMI converter, the Sync module and two 12v to 5v power adapter boards.




In terms of the CarPlay adapter, I placed this inside the fusebox hole, there was enough space to easily put the main box and then route the cables out through the side:




And lastly, in terms of the cable routes, I followed Jenninaj's plan:




sorry about all the pics, but thought it might help anyone else who is embarking on this great upgrade. It's definitely worth it.

 

Thank madgadget! Very helpful. I got my Mr12Volt MOST adapter a few days ago and installed it today. So far it seems to work very well. Drove the car a bit afterwards and the blue tooth just seems to connect right up after starting the car. It was a pretty easy install for me. Little fiddly fishing the wires around. I ended up putting the box in the glove compartment for now. I'm going to do some of the other modes in this thread and will move it then.

 

Thank you MadGadget the additional pictures and details are super helpful. It's great seeing different applications of the same basic idea. I ordered the MOST adapter tonight and am working on sourcing the rest of the parts as we speak.

I am leaning towards going with the RealMedia box like you did, can you share what HDMI switch you went with? And did it come with the remote push button source selection switch that you attached to the RealMedia controller or did you mod that in after the fact?