[Gannu_1]

The RCD 330, 340 series head units have a USB port at the front. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay users would connect their smartphones to this front USB port. But the USB cable connected to the unit is an eyesore especially if you have the entire cable dangling this way:



There is a workaround for this - solder a USB terminal to the same port on the PCB, lead it to the rear of the unit and connect the USB/Lightning cable to your smartphone. That way the cable is hidden and the dashboard looks a lot cleaner:



If you can source the OE USB port and the cable, you can even have the port installed in front of the gear lever like this:



Parts required:

1. Micro USB cable - A charging cable bundled with a device like Amazon Echo. Don’t rely on 4 or 5 thin bare cables as they may not work due to the lack of the braided shielding which reduces noise and EMI.
   
   
2. Female USB A screw terminal - You can get these locally from electronic spares shops. The terminals are numbered and you have to strip the insulation of the cables and screw it down.

Tools required:

1. Torx T8 bit/screw driver - To remove all the Torx screws from the head unit.
   
   
2. Mini Phillips screwdriver - For the screw terminal unit.
   
   
3. Soldering iron - For soldering the cables to the board’s terminals. A pointed bit will be helpful.
   
   
4. Soldering iron stand
   
   
5. Wire cutter and stripper
   
   
6. Hot glue gun - To pour hot glue over the soldered terminals to prevent wire movement and dislodging later.
   
   
7. Heat gun (optional) - To melt the hot glue poured over the soldered terminal so as to melt the glue evenly. If you can achieve this with the glue gun itself, you don’t need a heat gun.
   
   
8. Bench power supply - To test the functionality at home before installing it in the car.

Consumables required:

1. Solder lead
   
   
2. Soldering flux
   
   
3. Cable tie
   
   
4. Glue stick

Procedure:

1. Remove the head unit from the car and take it to your bench:
   
   
   
   
2. Using the T8 Torx bit, remove the Torx screws holding the top plate. There are 7 screws - 2 on each side and 3 at the rear.
   
   
   
   
   
   Remove the top plate:
   
   
   
   Since there are several variants of the RCD 330 and 340 manufactured by different OEMs, this may vary depending on the unit you have.
   
   
3. Once the top plate is removed, you have to detach the LCD unit from the main unit. For this, you need to remove the 2 flat ribbon cables connecting the motherboard to the LCD board.
   
   
   
   Push the tab on the ribbon connectors to the top and gently detach the ribbon cables.
   
   
   
   
4. The LCD unit is screwed to the main body with 2 screws on each side.
   
   
   
   Undo the screws and gently separate the LCD unit from the main body.
   
   
   
   
5. Remove the metal backplate from the LCD unit. 5 Torx screws hold the back plate to the main board:
   
   
   
   Undo the 2 screws and detach the SD card board’s metal enclosure:
   
   
   
   And lastly, 2 screws holding the back plate with the SD card board:
   
   
   
   Gently pry open the metal enclosure from the LCD unit:
   
   
   
   By now you’ve removed about 20 screws. Keep all the screws safe and segregated based on their size (there are only 2 sizes going by my experience).
   
   
6. Cut the 2 ends of the micro USB cable, shorten the length of the cable based on your requirement and strip the insulation of the 4 cables at both ends.
   
   
   
   
   
   A good quality USB cable will have a braided shielding around the 4 cables which acts as a shield to cut down the electrical noise and EMI. The cables will be usually color coded red, white, green and black.
   
   Red - +5V
   White - Data -
   Green - Data +
   Black - GND
   
   
7. This is the rear of the USB port soldered to the LCD board:
   
   
   
   They are numbered this way:
   
   
   
   Solder the leads of the USB cable to the port:
   
   
   
   This was incredibly hard for me because the solder would just not stick to the cables and the heat from the soldering iron would melt the thin insulation over the cables! Took a few tries and the end result wasn’t the best but it passed my test.
   
   
   
   
8. The other end is connected to the female USB A screw terminal:
   
   
   
   The terminal is numbered this way:
   
   
   
   Connect the leads and screw it down properly:
   
   
   
9. After the USB cable is connected, do a quick bench test to check if it is working as it should (Android Auto/CarPlay):
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
10. After confirming that the modification is working, add some hot melt glue over the soldered joint to prevent the wire(s) getting dislodged from the board due to the cable movement or pulling:
    
    
    
    Optional: Use a heat gun to spread the glue evenly over the joint but be careful not to melt the plastic like I did! Luckily it isn’t visible after the head unit is installed in the car.
    
    
11. Drill a hole at the back of the SD card board’s enclosure and route the USB cable the hole:
    
    
    
    Use a cable tie to secure the cable with the SD card board’s hole:
    
    
    
    This will prevent the cable from getting pulled from the soldered joint too.
    
    
12. Secure the SD card board’s metal enclosure back to the LCD board (2 screws) and secure the metal backplate of the LCD unit (5 + 2 screws):
    
    
    
    
13. Secure the main unit with the LCD unit (2 screws on each side):
    
    
    
    
14. Connect the 2 ribbon connectors of the LCD unit with the board:
    
    
    
    
15. Secure the top plate back (2 screws on each side + 3 at the rear):
    
    
    
    
16. Secure the unit back in the car, connect the USB C/Lightning cable to the female USB port and route the cable suitably. Test the working:
    
    
    
    The result is a cleaner dashboard:
    
    
    

For those who prefer a video tutorial, here it is:

https://youtu.be/1E_CxNcDUMM

Thanks for reading guys. Trust this was useful. Let me know if you have any comments or feedback.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Ashtoncastelino]

Thanks a lot for sharing this DIY Ganesh! This is truly awesome, you have executed it in a brilliant manner. I too would love to do this on my Head unit (Blaupunkt new York 750). It has 2 USB ports, one at the front (Android auto and carplay) and another one at the rear which doesn't support them .

Will try this DIY once my exams are done.



Notice how irritating how the wire keeps dangling here and there. Yes that's my dad driving

Regards
Ashton Castelino

[TheLizardKing]

A DIY thread from you after a long time, Gannu. As usual, it is both very useful and very well-documented, and as usual I'm tempted to execute it on my GT TSI right away because I use Android Auto a lot and the dangling wire is really irritating. The only problem is that my soldering skills are next to non-existent, and I know I'll make a mess of it.

[SuperSuri]

AMAZING is the word, & the work!

Hats off to Gannu for executing this mod. Will help us getting a clean dashboard with no wires dangling.

Kudos!

[Sahil00090]

Another great DIY from Gannu. Even I don't like wire dangling near the gear lever but I highly doubt my soldering skills. Need some expert like you for this one

[Gannu_1]

Thanks guys.

Soldering the leads is indeed tricky since I couldn't get solder to stick to the cable leads in the first place and by the time I wanted the leads to stick to the terminals on the board, the insulation would have melted!

If you're not confident, take this to the repair shops that deal with audio equipment. They'll do it quickly.

Oh and someone pinged expressing doubts about the USB cable not working with OE Visteon systems. It works perfectly as this Russian owner has shown -

https://www.drive2.ru/l/567989566040966375/

Hope this helps!

[TheLizardKing]

As is my habit of many years now, whenever Gannu (whom I consider my DIY guru) puts up a new DIY thread, I drop everything else and copy it too.

Not sharing pictures, since Gannu has already covered that in his posts. Here are the major differences in my effort:

1. I have a Visteon unit made in India, and was slightly apprehensive about whether this DIY would work. Happy to report that it works perfectly with no problems at all.
2. In place of using a USB screw terminal which I was not able to source, I purchased a Type C to USB 2.0 cable from Amazon (link) and cut the Type C end off. Please note that the length of this particular cable is a bit short, so please cut it as close as possible to the Type C end. Also, please ensure that you buy a USB 2.0 cable and not a USB 3.0 one.
3. After trying for almost an hour and slightly melting one of the ribbon connectors (which, I will admit, stopped my heart for a few seconds), I gave up on the soldering and got it done at a car audio repair shop in my neighborhood. He took exactly five minutes to do a neat and beautiful job, and wouldn't even tell me how much I should pay him. I was so happy with the job that I paid him Rs. 200.
4. I cut a rectangular hole in the metal cap to get it to pass over the USB socket.

[SuperSuri]

Hello Gannu, can we use the following USB cable for this retrofit:

Limited-time deal: Amazon Brand - Solimo Charging Braided Micro USB Data Cable, Suitable For All Supported Mobile Phones (2 Meter, Black) https://amzn.eu/d/ah7Ze4O

And I found a link for the USB female connector too:

SDEPL USB 2.0 A Female Plug to 5 Pin/Way Female Bolt Screw Shield terminals Pluggable Type Adapter https://amzn.eu/d/5OjW2Jo


Will these work? Or if you could share a suitable link for the USB Cable, and the USB port please. This would be of great help to all wanting to perform this mod.

Thanks in advance. 🙏🏻

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by SuperSuri

Hello Gannu, can we use the following USB cable for this retrofit:

Limited-time deal: Amazon Brand - Solimo Charging Braided Micro USB Data Cable, Suitable For All Supported Mobile Phones (2 Meter, Black) https://amzn.eu/d/ah7Ze4O

And I found a link for the USB female connector too:

SDEPL USB 2.0 A Female Plug to 5 Pin/Way Female Bolt Screw Shield terminals Pluggable Type Adapter https://amzn.eu/d/5OjW2Jo


Will these work? Or if you could share a suitable link for the USB Cable, and the USB port please. This would be of great help to all wanting to perform this mod.

Thanks in advance. 🙏🏻

Both would work but Amazon grossly overprices some of the products.

Get this from Robu instead - Link

And solder 4 cables from this unit to the motherboard on the RCD unit. A 5th cable for the grounding would be good too. You must use a good quality shielded USB cable (say from the Fire TV stick or a mobile charger cable) for this purpose.

Be mindful that the front USB port on the unit would be disabled once you do the modification and connect the cable.

[SuperSuri]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Both would work but Amazon grossly overprices some of the products.

Get this from Robu instead - Link

And solder 4 cables from this unit to the motherboard on the RCD unit. A 5th cable for the grounding would be good too. You must use a good quality shielded USB cable (say from the Fire TV stick or a mobile charger cable) for this purpose.

Be mindful that the front USB port on the unit would be disabled once you do the modification and connect the cable.

Thanks for the help Gannu.

Can we use the charging cables from the ERD brand or some other local brand chargers? This is easily available in delhi.