Hi guys. I'm finishing up a DAB/Bluetooth radio install, and I'd like to place the microphone behind the grill in the dash if I could. Does the grill just pop out from the front? Secondly, I need to run the DAB aerial up behind the LH A-pillar trim, so how does this come off?

Does this grill just clip in from the front?


How does this trim come off?

 

The A pillar piece has clips. Not positive about the grill, but I would bet money that it also uses clips as nearly every trim piece on this car does.

 

The A-pillar trim has clips that attach it to the actual sheet metal; you will need to pull the interior door seal away from the covering piece prior to levering it away from the pillar. The cover piece also has a tab which engages a slot in the demister panel at the base, so be gentle. The trim piece has cloth tethers which keep it from launching when the airbag deploys; these can be left in place while you run your aerial.

I believe the grille piece is a cover for a sensor for the aircon system, so you may want to be careful and research this prior to attempting to pry it open...

JR

 

Thanks JR. Good info. You are indeed right about the grille. Seems there's something else going on there. I'll leave it alone!

 

its a temp sensor for the climate control.
also the s type has the mic pre wired and sometimes even pre fitted in the roof console .

 

That picture is an excellent reason to remove the grille and clean the sensor.
See the mung on the wires? That's the interior temperature sensor which tells the climate control what the cabin temperature is.
They do get dirty especially if the car has been smoked in.
.
.
.

 

Good info. The cabin does seem to be hard to regulate, and doesn't seem to match the temp setting. I'll do that right away. I'm guessing some electrical cleaner and a soft bristle brush would be OK?

cheers
ian

 

 

I hope you can share the install ian? I need a decent USB / MP3 / DAB digital radio set up. The base model cd radio is not great.
The correct harness adaptor is critical, can you advise us of the right choice? Thank you.

 

Also, please be very careful with over-spray as some brands of MAF/electrical contact cleaner can remove the surface sheen, or discolor your dash...

JR

 

Sure thing. I had an installer friend help me out with acquiring all the right leads and so on, so everything went OK. Just fiddly getting the head unit aligned in the dash opening. In the end I bodged the facia that came with the unit, as the Jag spec fascia didn't work for me. Something to do with the curved surround I think?
Anyway. I chose a pioneer FH-X840DAB double DIN unit because I was only looking for a DAB+ radio, along with bluetooth for the phone, and something I could play Spotify on. Haven't used a CD in about 10 years I reckon ;-) The first step is a patch lead to get from the unit to the vehicle harness, while maintaining the steering wheel controls. These are specific to each unit/car combination, and we got these from a firm called Aeropro (https://aerpro.com/selector) and found I'd need CHF013C steering wheel control and APP056 power loom with steering controls. Surprise surprise, these parts also fit some Ford models. There's even a Ford logo on the rear of the Jaguar branded head unit ;-) Ordered these through a regular Aftermarket Parts shop (Autobarn here in OZ). The adhesive DAB aerial was included with the head unit.
I spent most of the time trying to get the unit to look good in the dash, coz it's a bugger to align. Ran the mike up to sit on top of the steering column boss, dead easy. I had to remove the glove box and A-pillar cover to run the aerial up to the windscreen , but not hard, just fiddly on the glove box.
All-in-all pretty straight forward.

Excuse the dust! early morning sun shows it all up. That's my excuse ;-)


Head unit installed

mike stuck to column

Aerial on windscreen

 

Ian, Very clean install. I'm looking to do the same on our S type Jaguar 2001 vintage. Could you post the part numbers for everything you purchased? That would be super. I'm just looking for blue tooth and wireless connectivity.

John

 

Thanks John. That was my motivation as well. The Spotify software was just a bit of a bonus ;-)
To some degree, the parts you need are dependant on the head unit you want to install. There's a fairly comprehensive 'calculator' on this site: https://aerpro.com/selector which allows you to select your vehicle and then head unit, and it will list the parts you require, including the steering wheel control unit. It's an Australian site and company I'm afraid, but they may have an ebay store? Either way, if you determine the part numbers, you should be able to search for them locally?

good luck
ian