[yekat]

I am replacing my HU-803 in my 04 S60, which has a factory amp.

So far this is what I have:

Volvo Double din fascia
Volvo deep pocket storage
Scosche VOAB antenna adapter
Scosche VO03B wiring harness
Sony MEX-BT3700U

Will this current setup work or do I also need to add the aftermarket HU to factory amp adapter that I see mentioned on these boards?

 

[MrTippy]

Re: Aftermarket HU to factory amp adapter (yekat)

It looks to me that the VO03B will allow you to replace the HU-803 with an aftermarket HU--without the oem amp.

If you want to keep the oem amp, PA-200 or 300, you will need another adapter, like this, to connect the oem amp to the new HU.

Keeping the oem amp, you will only need to use 1/2 of the VO03B, the green iso plug IIRC; the grey iso is for the speaker connections which are are connected directly to the harness from the aux amp.

Don't forget to disconnect the battery, if you are going to disconnect the CCM when you remove the HU. Also, you will need a software download when you are done to tell the car that it no longer has an HU-803--it is part of the CANBUS network and will throw an error code otherwise.

And, you do know that you will lose your steering wheel controls unless you get the appropriate Dietz adapter? (Google these forums for "Dietz steering" and you will find plenty of references; ss60 is the maven for this application.)

The oem HU & antennas are a diversity system (two antennas, the HU selects the strongest signal). An aftermarket HU and Scosche VOAB will only connect to one antenna--be sure it's the window antenna.

And, the question that I should have asked first: "why do you want to replace the oem HU?"

 

[yekat]

Re: Aftermarket HU to factory amp adapter (MrTippy)

Thanks MrTippy.

I want to replace the HU-803 because I want to be able to plug in auxilliary sources (such as USB, etc.), particularly to add bluetooth audio streaming. I looked at the imiv and imii, but after the cost of the unit and cables (as well as a bluetooth ad2p receiver), I figured I might as well get an aftermarket hu that could accomplish the same thing for much cheaper.

I realize I will lose steering wheel controls as well as the center speaker, but to be honest, I did not notice a drastic difference between the three options (3-CH, Off, and Dolby-PL) anyways. The steering wheel controls aren't worth the cost of the Dietz adapter to me, especially when the aftermarket hu has an ir remote.

I do want to keep the factory amp, so I purchased the adapter you suggested. Thanks.

How do I know which antenna is the window one? I thought both antenna come into one connector (which the VOAB connects to)?

What happens if I don't do the software download other than the error message?

 

[MrTippy]

Re: Aftermarket HU to factory amp adapter (yekat)

You asked the obvious questions...

The (proprietary) antenna connector into the HU is a dual coax, one for the window antenna/amp combo and one for the bumper/amp. I really should have said that Scosche must have this figured out and will connect to the window--which is the only antenna in base models without the full diversity set-up. The HU does the diversity checking, two independent signals are input.

There are several posts on these forums about the software download and what does and does not happen. The HU (AUM) communicates with the car via the canbus for the speed dependent volume and panel lights of the HU as well as the steering wheel controls. There is some checking on start up and if the HU is absent, an error code will be thrown. I don't think they prevent the car from running if it's not there. It is best to get the s/w download that tells the car the HU is gone, but it's not an urgent thing.

Want to sell me your center speaker?

The Dietz adapters are very nice, but pricey.

 

[yekat]

Re: Aftermarket HU to factory amp adapter (MrTippy)

I bought the adapter from ebay and got everything assembled and working. Only problem now is that I get a high pitched whining that seems to get louder/higher the faster I go. As soon as I unplug the amp adapter, the whining goes away. It's not really loud, as when the radio is on, I can't hear it. But when there is silence, including when the HU is turned off, I can definitely hear the whining. I tried using RCA ground loop connectors, but it didn't seem to help. I heard others say it's a grounding issue, but I'm patched into the ground of the wiring harness. Anyone know what the problem might be?

 

[ss60]

Re: Aftermarket HU to factory amp adapter (yekat)

It is grounding. Had this from that same type of cable. The solution for me was to twist together the two wire ends (Front and rear channel grounds) at the far end.

 

[yekat]

Re: Aftermarket HU to factory amp adapter (ss60)

Can you describe this in more detail? I only have one ground cable coming from that adapter, which I patched in with the ground cable of the wiring harness.

 

[ss60]

Re: Aftermarket HU to factory amp adapter (yekat)

Mine had two black wires, which were the grounds for the front and rear channels, I connected them to each other.

If you only have one grounding cable, try grounding it to something else (i.e. not the wiring harness)

 

[yekat]

Re: Aftermarket HU to factory amp adapter (ss60)

Any suggestions on where I can ground it to? Preferably easy to access.

 

[MrTippy]

Re: Aftermarket HU to factory amp adapter (yekat)

I would think that you would want to ground it to the amp or the HU.

ss60: isn't the hu-amp din cable shielded and one or both ends grounded to the HU. So if you remove one end of it...

 

[ss60]

Re: Aftermarket HU to factory amp adapter (yekat)

There are three grounding bolts on the front edge of the driver's and front passenger's doors. IIRC the stereo actually grounds to one of these on the passenger side (big brown wire). Try going for that common point.

 

[yekat]

Re: Aftermarket HU to factory amp adapter (ss60)

I tried grounding it to the grounding bolts by the passenger door, but it didn't help.

Then I tried grounding it directly to the HU and it worked! Problem solved. Thanks for the tip Mr. Tippy

 

[yekat]

Re: Aftermarket HU to factory amp adapter (yekat)

Back to the error code of the missing HU. Is this something I can see? i.e. does it show up in the messages on the dash or is this only something that shows up when they hook it up to VADIS? Because right now, everything is fine. I can't see any error message, so I'm wondering if I still need to take it into the shop to remove the message.

 

[ss60]

Re: Aftermarket HU to factory amp adapter (yekat)

The error is just internal and stores a error code somewhere. There is no visible reporting. Dozens of cars on SS have been driving around for years like this.

 

[MrTippy]

Re: Aftermarket HU to factory amp adapter (yekat)

I am going to say it is an internal DTC that may not show. The dealer would see it next time the car is hooked up to their computer. The oe HU gets info off the canbus, e.g. speed, steering wheel controls, lighting. At some point (when the car is switched on?) it does some system checking and confirms that there is an HU. This would be when you get an error code. I am going to guess there is no oe HU, it just throws the code and tells whatever is hooked up to the HU not to communicate with it. It is probably of more importance if you have an HU and get this code, i.e. it is announcing that your HU is faulty or there is a problem in the canbus loop that the hu is on.

I am going to speculate that nothing bad will happen if you do not run the software immediately.