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-   -   VW Polo HU Upgrade (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-entertainment/109134-vw-polo-hu-upgrade.html)

I've seen a lot of questions on this forum about upgrading the very basic Polo HU to an RCD310/510 but not a single clear answer. I can confirm now that it is possible with a little bit of effort. I picked up the RCD 310 a couple of weeks back because i needed a HU that was cheap (paid 55 pounds for it on eBay), looked stock, was able to display track names and most important, have an AUX-In.

On pulling the OE HU out, the first thing I realised was that the connectors were different. The OE HU uses an ISO connector but the RCD systems use a quadlock connector. Luckily, I was able to make the same connector fit with some slight modification. The biggest problem I faced was that the RCD HUs need an infotainment CAN line to function properly. After a bit or digging around, I found that the lines are missing in the harness but the pins are present on the BCM (Body control Module). After locating the right pins, I connected the can lines, and to my surprise, it worked flawlessly without any coding. I now have a fully functioning HU with extra features like cd-text, AUX-In, Speed Dependent Volume and the option of adding a bluetooth module both for calls and streaming music, which looks like a factory option and was relatively cheap.

For those looking for something slightly more fancy, th RCD510 might work. It uses the same connector and has the same pinout as the RCD310.

Ive attached a few pictures of the HU and the BCM with the pins circled.








Pinout:
BCM Connector B (White Plug) Pin 20 - CAN-Hi (+)
BCM Connector B (White Plug) Pin 21 - CAN-Lo (-)








Here's a video showing the HU functioning and its features.

[youtube]SJiOrPE6DHs[/youtube]

Feel free to PM me with any questions.

So indian polo/vento models come with iso layout on the BCM, if so then rapid would also be the same thing right? I recently purchased a witson HU for my yet to be delivered rapid. It has the quad-lock connector, what do i do now? Can you shed more light on what are the changes needed to fit a quad-lock connector to an ISO socket? Did you use an adapter sort of thing to map the quad-lock pins to an iso plug? Is that available in the market or is it something like a DIY job?

Thanks

Also apart from my previous post, In the BCM of the polo/vento, are there leads which point to reverse gear engaged status and head light engaged status?

I did not use any adapter to convert the ISO lead to Quadlock. I trimmed the plugs to fit and then rearranged the pins on the harness side to match the pinout. All signals from the car are transmitted through the CAN bus wires from the BCM. As far as the rapid is concerned, I am not sure if they are using the same BCM/Software as the Polo/Vento.

Do you have a diagram of the BCM pinouts, can you please share it with me. I tried google but couldn't find anything relevant

Thanks

The pin numbers are given in the opening post. I have also circled them in the images. The pins on the BCM are numbered. I have made the OP as detailed as possible. I do not have any pinout diagram with me.

Pardon me for ignorance,

Where is the BCM located in Indian Polo?

And hey, great job in identifying all this....

The BCM is located above the acc and brake pedals. You will see two large connectors, one white and one black, going into it.

Hi Folks,

I was looking to upgrade my RCD030 in my polo 1.6 to RCD 310 or RCD 510. The RCD 310 already comes with the Vento highline. You get very good deals on the ebay's uk site for them.

When i enquired about fitting a RCD 310 into my polo the service engineer in the VW showroom said the connectors are different and that it is not compatible with RCD 030. He also said that it would require a lot of re-wiring and that it would void the warranty.

Have any of you VW Polo owners tried to upgrade them? If so can you post your episodes and if possible some technical details on them?

Mods: I was not sure if this is the right forum to post this. So pls change it to the relavant one if not.

@MSP9994 How did u get the existing one out? Who helped you out? Did the VW service guys help you or you got it done through some outside electrician?

Hi MSP9994 - I am facing a similar problem with my Jetta trendline, the CAN connectors are missing and I have purchased Blaupunkt Philpadelphia 835 to which I would like to connect the CAN cables. I am not clear how you connected the BCM CAN wires to the HU? Do you need any specific wiring harness? Any help on this is appreciated. Thanks.

You need to fabricate your own cable to bring the CAN bus out. Simple matter of getting the right crimp-type pins on either side, and 2 wires or a 2-core cable. A good HU installer should be able to make the cable for you if he looks at the BCM connector. On the Blau HU side, the connection diagram on the HU sticker (or User Manual) should tell you which connector / pins is CAN bus on.

Before you make the cable, check whether CAN bus is already brought out to the HU harness connector. For that, check if the BCM module connector has wires connected for the CAN bus pins. The harness in your car just might be slightly different - you are lucky if so.

Hi MSP9994,

I have a polo 1.6L high line that came with the old MP3 only OEM stereo. I switched that out with the RCD510 using a wiring adapter I bought from Sugesh @ Vagtune.in. Now I know I'm supposed to take the CAN bus + cable to PIN #20 on the BCM, which Sugesh asked me to do to ensure the system shuts on n off along with the ignition and so that the stereo backlights work (they don't right now). What he didn't mention was connect the CANbus -ve cable to PIN #21 like you've mentioned. So do I need to do so or not?

Also, I had the BCM extracted and to my surprise the pins aren't numbered! So while from your pictures I was able to identify which 2 pins I need to connect to, I was unable to figure out which one was 20 and which one was 21. Any help or a pin diagram would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Think indian polos and ventos use bcm pq25.
This is the a general pin diagram of a bcm pq25. Not sure if it varies with different part numbers

based on this diagram pin no. 20 is the fourth pin from the start of that line (starting with no.17).