Dear Readers,

Im new to the jaguar and this forum ;-) I have read most of the forum concerning this topic, but couldnt find an answer to my question.

Like i said, i own a 1999 Jaguar S-Type. It has a Visteon 9000 europe premium unit in it (with cd changer). I want to replace that unit with a double din navi/radio unit. However, i cant seem to find the correct wiring harness to do this. I like to keep it integrated with the steering wheel buttons for phone/audio if (at all) possible.

Someone knows a solution to this ?

thanks in advance for your answer(s) !
Pat.

 

Ow, forgot to post the pic. Its attached to this post.



regards,
Pat

 

It was a pipe dream for me as well. No, there is not an aftermarket adapter harness for us. The only workaround is to get a hold of an old donor unit, remove the rear panel, and use the connectors to make your own rig. This is due to the power feeders to the external amps, CD changer controls, plus the steering wheel controls.

Companies like Sosche and Metra must believe that there is too low of a volume to develop one for us, with the premium sound option. I even asked a dealer if they could retrofit a new head unit....and he gave me a look like I was under the influence of a mind altering drug.

Another workaround is to start from scratch, by bypassing the external amps, and hardwiring power connections, and running new speaker wires, camera, GPS antenna, etc.

Bottom line: No plug and Play for us.

 

Hey Warspite,

Thank you for replying. Well that's a bummer, my thoughts where that it would be pretty easy to do, i thought wrong by the looks of it ;-(

So, If that's not an option, do you know if it is possible to replace the build in Motorola phone/unit with another ? The network used by that old phone isn't used anymore here in The Netherlands, most is on G4 now.

Too bad i cant replace the radio unit, that would have solved those problems.

Anyway thanks for replying!

Pat.

 

There's an older thread here by one owner who installed the ancient phone to make his S-Type as a rolling time capsule of old technology.

I don't think that's your goal. Therefore, you CAN go the "start from scratch" route, but now that I think of it, you may get stuck with a code that reports on the steering wheel audio control for your efforts. I would have loved a contemporary head unit, with cd, nav, reverse camera, Android interface, Bluetooth....and then I woke up and reality hit.

My workaround for the sat/nav was to mount a "clamshell" on the dashboard that can hold my Samsung Galaxy S6 (so I get my Android stuff, with audio via a good old cassette adapter) or a larger TomTom GPS.

Again, sorry about the bad news concerning a quick and easy upgrade. If its any consolation, Cadillac and other luxury brands have the same issues when it comes to audio. Weird shapes, wiring, and the need to "jury rig" the whole installation.

 

To a fair extent the problem may be that in 1995 the Jaguar car designers failed to realise that 20 years later mobile phones etc would have changed to what they now are. And in any case it would have been a very small concern among the thousands of others.

I'm a little surprised the aftermarket hasn't stepped in since quite a lot of S-Types were sold.

 

I think it's worse on even newer vehicles. Now, ALL cabin functions are integrated into the factory head unit. Within limits, they can be flash firmware updated, but not to the point that would keep up with the technology as in smartphones (which leapfrog every 18 months). To forklift upgrade the "comfort and entertainment " on newer cars, requires the upgrade of the whole vehicle.

With that in mind, if you're willing to spend a lot of time in splicing existing wiring (except for the antenna lead - there's an adapter for that), you CAN upgrade to a point.

A few years ago, I did upgrade a 1995 Cadillac, which didn't have the infamous series circuit that ran all of the electronic modules through it, and it took 4 weekends to run fresh wiring, modding of speaker brackets, removing door panels, etc. I was only able to reuse one factory plug!!! Worse, there was so little slack in the factory harness, that getting a soldering iron in there was tedious. The head unit I put in there (without rear view display) would be considered obsolete by today's standards, and you would have to consider making any new installation as "modular" as possible....since you may have to do it again!

 

Hi all!

Thanks for the reply's! Not the answer i wanted to hear, but at least i know that what i want isn't possible without a hell of a lot of work and rewiring. So, i decided to settle for a parrot system so i can at least phone handsfree.
Do you guys know if that is possible with a standard cable or does it needs rewiring also ?
I phoned the audio shop here, they told me that its no problem to use a standard cable to connect the parrot to the audio system, but i have my doubts now! ;-)

Thanks again!
Pat.

 

Update:

However, i did find http://www.connects2downloads.co.uk/...Guide_2015.pdf (Connects 2 CTSJG003.2 - Jaguar S-Type 1999-2002 Steering Stalk Adaptor) today somewhere.
It looks like that is what i'm after. Going to drop them a line to ask if it is for the premium system also, but by the looks of it, it is since they also sell one for non amplified non nav systems (the CTSJG002.2) so im full of hope it works.

(here is a link to one of them on ebay http://www.ebay.nl/itm/CTSJG003-2-Ja.../141757105363? )
Regards,
Pat.

 

By 2001 I quit caring so much about our vehicles' audio systems, finally admitting to myself that an automobile cabin is one of the worst listening environments one could experience. I still utilize whatever audio system comes stock in our vehicles, but whenever I want to do some serious listening it's nothing but my big home audio system for me....

 

Hey Jon,

I hear you, but its not just the audio. I need my phone in the car and some good navigation. The standard nav is out of date and pretty much useless, and i don't have hands free (which is prohibited here). But i think i stop my quest and accept that its just not possible without rewiring.

what i don't understand though, is why i can't send the audio from a new system to the amplifier, i just doesn't makes sense to me. To me, an audio signal is an audio signal, no matter if it comes from a new 2 dim radio, or the old one. It's fine if i need to solder some new connectors on it. But i'm pretty sure i'm missing something here ;-)

Pat.

 

Let us know what they come back with. Here in the states, no one has heard of this adapter! So, if it'll work with the stock Premium Sound distributed amplifiers, you've answered a million dollar question. Great Find!

 

You can do various of the things but it tends to mean DIY (and some would be very hard DIY).

I wish car makers would just open up their systems so we could stick any device on easily, whether android or anything. Maybe they will.... if we wait long enough.

 

Hi all,

Unfortunately, the store-owner replied that in order to get sound, the amp needs to be bypassed. So, this looks again a dead end. (although the steer buttons should work)

Is there someone on this forum, with more knowledge then me on this subject, who is willing to explain to me why a signal from an aftermarket radio is so different then the stock radio ? I really would like to understand that.

Regards,
Pat

 

The answer might be that the jag unit has more outputs than a generic unit. It has direct output to all four speakers in the doors and two separate outputs to the center fill and subwoofer amplifiers.

 

Hey Leaping Cat!

Thanks very much for replying, it starts to makes sense to me ;-)

So if i understand this correctly now, the mentioned cable should work but i would loose the amount of extra outputs the jag-unit has.

Do i understand it correctly like this ?

Regards!
Pat.

 

I do not know about that adapter you quoted but the point is that the amplifiers in the Jag expect not just a regular aux input but dedicated center and extra bass signals which a standard unit does not have.

 

There are JVC head units that have 3 sets of RCA low level (selectable between 2.4 and 5 volts), with one set dedicated subwoofer output (max frequency 4kHz), meaning that all low level outputs can be used, bypassing the head unit's internal amp. I don't recall if the Jag center speakers have a dedicated external amp, or if they get fed from the head unit...but if the aftermarket head unit has enough low level outputs, one of the unused high level outputs can be used to power the center stock speakers. A hybrid but workable solution.

Depends on what speakers have external amps, requiring low level signal, and which can be fed off the new head unit. Blue wire that signals aux device power, can be split between the external amps (as long as it's not for main power).

This becomes more of a possibility with each of your posts!

 

greetings has anything changed with this thread?

 

is this an idea or have you confirmed that this works? I would like to do this but what do you mean by donor unit?