[dkaile]

Fitting Pioneer Android Stereo in Skoda Superb 2012 MK2 or any other Canbus VAG Car - 27-11-2024

So, I was already to looking to upgrade the stock Bolero stereo of my Skoda Superb MK2 1.8TSI 6MT 2012 and was always constrained by the fear of Canbus interference and lack of sound quality, in the aftermarket systems.

I had posted a Detailed DIY on - How to Remove the Skoda Superb's Bolero Stereo - A Guide Here - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...ml#post5756949 (Skoda Superb - A tryst with destiny)

Anyone interested can refer to the above post for detailed instructions for the stock stereo removal, so I am not posting that here again.

Also, in order to get Android Auto et al in my car, I had posted a DIY on - DIY: Getting ANDROID AUTO Screen on my Skoda Superb 2012 / BMW R1250 GSA for under 10k - 11-05-2024 - Here - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...under-10k.html (DIY: Get Android Auto in any Car/Bike for Free (or under 10k))

All this was done because I was not convinced by the after market Android Headunits. But once PIONEER, the leader in Car Audio Sound Quality, just recently launched it's own 9" Android Headunit, in the exact common form factor, for which car specific frames were easily available, I finally decided to take the plunge. And the best part of this headunit, was that it was FULLY CANBUS COMPATIBLE, though it supports only 3 makes of Canbus manufacturers for now, of which HIWORLD is the market leader and most common one available, whose canbus I eventually chose.

The model no. is Pioneer DMH-AP6650BT and it's MRP is 31,990/-. Though I received it for just 21,900/- with full bill and 2 years India warranty. The Hiworld Canbus and Frame was a Rs. 1900/- extra. These are the only items that are required. So in total it costed me Rs. 23,800/- net and I decided to go about the install myself as I did not trust their local mechanics for workmanship. Here is the Pioneer India Website Link for this stereo to look into many features that I may miss in this DIY - https://pioneer-india.in/buy/car-ent.../dmh-ap6650bt/

So here is what all I received from my friendly neighborhood original Pioneer Dealer -



A closer look at the 9" Skoda Superb specific frame. It is common with all generic 9" android headunits floating in the market -



A closer look at the Canbus and Wiring Harness along with the Antenna Adapter. As you will notice , that the antenna adapter is a single port Fakra Adapter whereas my car had a Dual Port. But in the end after installation, it was receiving crystal clear radio reception with the Single Port. Just ensure that you attach this adapter to the 'click lock enabled' port of the stock dual adapter (only 1 of them has the click lock) and insert it fully till you hear it click to lock -



This is the port that will be used from the wiring adapter -



This is picture of the Pioneer 6650's back ports from the internet ( I forgot to click one) -



And this is it's legend from the Quick Start Guide. The most important port being - Connector 4 (connected to CAN bus). It's a 4 pin connector but only 2 wires are used.



And this is my car's stock wiring harness that went into the stock stereo. Some important things to note here are that the 2 x 12 pin connectors at the bottom (in green and blue colours) are NOT USED by aftermarket headunits (they are for the CD changer and Telephone/Mic ports), Pioneer included. The 8 PIN Brown section is for the 4 Speaker Circuits (front and back) and 8 PIN Black socket (out of which only 5 are used, as visible in the picture) is where all the magic/trouble happens. Now all Pioneer Stereos (and stereos in general) require a ACC Red Wire, which provides switched current from the Ignition Key's ACC position (in Japanese and Korean cars). But there is no ACC position in any VAG car as all that is controlled by the CAN bus. So the wire was that was supposed to be going into the Red wire of the Canbus wiring harness and then into the Pioneer Stereo, was a major issue -



Because the wires supplying Current to Yellow (always on 12V supply) wire and the Red (ACC Ignition switched 12V supply) were common in my car's stock wiring harness (as is clearly visible in the picture) as they were both Red Wires (with a Yellow line) and both of them supplied Always ON 12V supply. This resulted in the stereo remaining ALWAYS ON!! even after switching the car off. This was supposedly a 'Pioneer' specific problem. As with most local Android stereos, their circuits were so designed, that the stereos turned off with ignition key THROUGH CANBUS, as was also the case with the stock Bolero stereo in my car.



My dealer also did not know how to solve this issue due to the very few VAG cars he had worked upon. So after speaking with a Pioneer Technical person who directed me to a VAG specialist installer in Delhi, who was helpful enough to guide me to take a separate wire for the Red circuit going into the Pioneer Stereo harness. This wire needed to be taken from the car's fuse box after searching (with a multimeter) for a spare circuit which would cut off power on turning the key to the OFF position. This wire can also be used to install any after market Dash Cam products in VAG cars. Also note that even the Cigarette Lighter port supply in my car was always ON.

Car's Owner's Manual and Fuse Wiring Diagram was referred to and after testing with a Multimeter, this Fuse No. 41 was shortlisted. It was a standard size fuse and it cut off the 12V immediately on switching Ignition OFF. And it was marked as "Not Assigned" in the wiring diagram -



The Car's Fuse Box is besides the Driver's seat on the side of the dashboard. The cover was easily removed and the same fuse was again shortlisted -



Here is the Actual Inside Fuse Box and the required point to tap is marked in Red after due testing with the multimeter -



And here is the Wire actually Tapped with a proper connector of 5mm width (same as the standard fuse specs). May change it later to a Fuse Tap (already ordered), for absolute peace of mind from jerks and bumps.



The Canbus Wiring Harness was MODIFIED, with the new Red Wire going into the Pioneer Stereo harness modified with a socket, as is visible in the photo. I also added a separate 15A in-line fuse in between this circuit (not photographed) going into the Fuse 41 to the Car's fuse box, for total protection of the car's wiring. Also notice that the Green Wire from the Parking Brake connector was given Earthing from the Black wire circuit. This is CRUCIAL to activate Steering Wheel Controls (they will remain greyed out, otherwise) and also to see any Videos on the move (not advisable and I never watch videos in the car on the move). Rest of the wiring is very standard as on any other android car stereo and it is just a matter of connecting all the connectors in their appropriate ports, as marked in the legend, I had posted earlier (like USB, Mic, Aux In, Reverse Camera and Front Camera Inputs, though not connected any for now as I am comfortable with the car's stock front and rear parking sensors - this stereo supports dual cameras, Pre-out Supply, Aerial Jack, GPS Antenna Connector and Steering Wheel control wires).

Please note that NO steering wheel control wires are to be connected anywhere in these VAG cars (neither in canbus wiring harness nor in Pioneer wiring harness). They are all controlled by just the 2 wires coming from the stock connector's wiring harness (shown in the earlier photo).



Rest of the job was easy and the stereo was fitted in the frame by the 4 supplied screws. They were in fact not needed, because the stereo fitted very tightly into the frame, but I connected them anyways. And then just sliding the stereo into the stock stereo space and VOILA!! It was a Perfect FIT -



Wireless Android Auto, as visible, worked perfectly and immediately after connecting it with bluetooth on 1st go (WiFi connectivity happened automatically after that), with my Samsung S22 Ultra. And boy oh boy, the SOUND QUALITY was at least 20% better than stock (which I rated pretty highly to begin with).



Here's a look at the Stock Pioneer Home Screen. Note the Album Art of the music playing on Spotify through Android Auto being displayed on the screen. And now the stereo turned off immediately with the key, preventing any battery drain possibilities -



The Steering Wheel Controls needed to be programmed.



Just remember, on 1st startup, after selecting the proper Can Bus manufacturer (HiWorld, in my case) and proper make (Skoda) and Model (Superb Mk2 2012), you need to select 'With Adapter' setting (never the 'Without Adapter' one, because that is for Japanese and Korean cars and that needs the steering wheel control wires to be connected appropriately) when the steering wheel menu pops up and give it a few seconds to detect the Canbus without touching the steering wheel controls. Once this below Steering Wheel Control menu pops up, you need to program the appropriate buttons by pressing them for 1 second. In my case these 6 buttons were programmed (highlighted in Blue) as there is no Mute Button on my car etc. And it's working perfectly -



Here are some Canbus related controls now visible like this Vehicle Information, on the Pioneer Stereo screen, some of which were not even visible in the stock Bolero stereo, like the Battery Voltage that is being shown here along with which door is open. Fantastic -



Parking Assist working and displaying perfectly -



As is the Climate Control Screen -



All these Car Features can be viewed -



Alert Settings can be turned on or off in the settings -



Other Info that is also now visible (not visible in stock stereo screen) -



Driving Data shows the Odo reading -



Fuel Consumption screen -



And this 'cool' full screen Tachometer in the Gauges screen -



The GPS Antenna and External Mic were discreetly placed besides the Driver Side dashboard area near the windscreen -



The USB Cable and the Aux In cable was routed to the glove box -



A Frontal View. A fantastic upgrade I would say. All done inside 2 hours at the comfort of my home. 9" of real estate now really looks good compared to the stock 6.5" and now with so many added features. Zero Errors on the dash and now an even better sound quality -



Cheers...

[AKSarkar1]

Flawless Execution! Very detailed work and instructions that undoubtedly will help many VAG owning BHPians spruce up their cars. A couple of months ago, when I wanted to upgrade my bare bones RCD300+ music system on my 2012 Jetta, I had considered Pioneer but dropped it due to the installation efforts. Decided to go for RCD340+ as it was a simple plug and play as compared to the Pioneer. Price wise also relatively similar (slightly more expensive) than the Pioneer. Thanks for documenting this, will provide a good option to the RCDs! Happy driving and music listening!

[Jeroen]

Great job. Is that GPS antenne working ok, as it sits very close to the A-pillar? I can imagine it might occasionally not see the satellite signal?

Those members of a more “mature” disposition will remember the days cars did not come with even a radio. So fitting an aftermarket radio was common. And there was a massive industry to cater for your car-audio needs. Specialised shops would have literally hundreds of different radios, speakers and antennas to choose from.

And of course, endless wiring looms with various connectors. And more often than not, those would have to modified to get everything to work properly.

I have installed (and removed) dozens and dozens of car audio systems in my life time. But to date not yet anything with a CANbus. Great job figuring it all out.

Jeroen

[RaghavEvoX]

Great Work !! Apart from the frame, how much was the cost of the installation kit / wiring etc. ?

[dkaile]

Fused Wire Tap added

I received the wire taps today and added a 10A in-line fused wire tap -

A set of 12 wire taps recd from Amazon, of all the possible types of fuses -



A standard fuse tap with a 10A fuse made ready -



Original tap wire with connector removed -



Fuse tap ready, properly crimped -



And fitted. Do pay orientation of the fuse tap for proper working -



Tested and all was OK.

Cheers...

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Is that GPS antenne working ok, as it sits very close to the A-pillar?

The GPS antenna is working perfectly. It was working even when placed inside the dashboard as it had a special magnetic back, which can be attached to any metal part inside the dash or placed over a conventional metal cage that holds a stereo. Antenna technology has grown by leaps and bounds.

Originally Posted by RaghavEvoX

Apart from the frame, how much was the cost of the installation kit / wiring etc. ?

The frame and wiring harness comes as a package and costed me 1900 bucks, as already mentioned.

Cheers...

[RaghavEvoX]

Had been waiting to upgrade AVN in my 2017 Verna for a long time.
Somehow after seeing your post, went ahead and just upgraded mine to the same.
Thanks to your post and thanks to Thanksgiving day, I had some free time today.

Old OEM one. Served nicely for last 7 years.



New Pioneer 6650BT ( Thanks to dkaile)



Very smooth to operate



Picture clarity is great. This photo doesn't do justice.



Sounds far better than my OEM one



Reverse camera is decent enough. But no steering guidelines. Came as a free accessory from the dealer.



Total came to 28k.
Again, after a long wait, an impulsive purchase after seeing this post

[vijay_jambu]

Originally Posted by dkaile

All done inside 2 hours at the comfort of my home. 9" of real estate now really looks good compared to the stock 6.5" and now with so many added features.

As I read through your post I felt it would’ve been multiple days job, pleasantly surprised that it just took 2 hours. Maybe that’s because you had already done all your research well before installation.
Always great to read DIYs like this. I wonder if the neighbourhood “accessory shop” guys would ever go this deep and precise…

Thanks
-VJ