I’m about 2 months in and no issues…the stains appear to be on the OEM boards only…the Mr12Volt board is clean…

 

Could it be the Mr12Volt piggy back board caused the main factory board to overheat and melt the board? Did you experience any unusual smells? Mr12volt is available for many different car brands. If it is Mr12volt surely you're not the only one experiencing this.

I did a quick google search and could not find anyone else experiencing a problem like this.

 

Is the picture from before or after your attempt at cleaning?
If it’s ‘before’, the blue pattern just doesn’t make sense (like the straight edge on the left side of the removed board).
When the unit is mounted in the car, which edge is up?

 

Installed in August, so far so good.

 

This is after my cleaning attempt. I got most goop away, (it was basically following the yellow line) still slightly visible below the Alpine chip but I couldn't get the blue stain out. Used Isopropyl alcohol & toothbrush.
The straight edge can only be explained by the metal frame touching there. There is also blue stain on the upper left corner of the lower pcb.
The screen is facing on the table, vehicle up is up on the pic and the low pcb is the OEM motherboard upside down (unfolded ribbons). No stain on the other side (the one you see when immediately see after disassembly.
Hopefully it's an isolated event and mr12volt irrelevant. I put the Jag to storage next week, so any attempt to fix will be postponed for March.

 

I've been following the Mr 12Volt upgrade for a few months. The company is legitimate and has been developing systems like this, for several vehicles, for years.
Installation does require removing the center console bezel and the existing head unit, but adding the adapter is plug and play. You also need to do a small modification to an optical audio connection in the boot. What the unit does is tap into the existing system bus and provide a path for the CarPlay related functions. If I were seriously looking to add that functionality to my 2012 XK, this would be the way I'd do it. Although there have been a few reports of issues, MR12V seems to be very responsive.
They have their own Facebook Page, so you can follow developments in real time.

 

Looking at the installation video, I wouldn’t exactly say installing the video adapter board is plug and play. That typically refers to something you plug in and it starts working. Sure, if you think not plug and play involves cutting circuit board traces, soldering bypass runs, and splicing various connections..yeah…it’s plug & play. But, even though I am an EE, what’s involved is not for the typical 300 pound gorrila. It’s easy to score up those fine circuit board ribbon cables.

 

I updated the boot logo from the generic Mr12Volt logo to a Jaguar logo…

 

What is the procedure to do this. I have a Mr12volt, but haven't installed it yet.

 

If you send Mr12Volt a message asking for the update file they’ll send it to you with instructions. You select the picture you want to use, put it on a flash drive, plug it into the usb and reboot. They give you very specific instructions on how to prepare the picture and it was a little trial and error…they recommend a picture 400 x 240 pixels. I found that to be too small…I used 640 x 400. The other thing I learned is that the jpeg file size has to be smaller than 60kb. They don’t tell you that…

 

I installed the Mr. 12 Volt adapter for CarPlay / Android Auto on my 2010 XKR. All works perfectly.

There are a few disconnect and reconnect steps that are skipped in their video, so you have to be aware of that and ready to notice that a screw or connector plug was removed or put back without them actually showing it in the video. Furthermore, the screen housing and mounting they show in the video is for an XF screen rather than XK screen. But if you can get past that and do the connections correctkly, you get an excellently modern interface.

I have my phone in my Qi charging ashtray doing wireless CarPlay to the OEM screen and it is all excellent. The sound is injected into the fiber optic MOST loop so the quality is as good as it gets. I have not yet tested video on the screen but CarPlay and USB audio files play perfectly.

Just FYI the installation requires a rebuild of the OEM screen, which I did on a spare XF screen I had from previous projects (I built and entire MOST loop of spare parts to test various ideas).

If you want to do what I did and do the electronics rebuild on a "spare" screen, the screen from the XF 2008-2011 (pre-facelift) is electronically identical to the XK 2007-2015 screen, and it seems the XF variant is much cheaper from salvage yards. (I have posted about this before in another thread.) The two screens are electronically identical and no reprogram seems to be necessary to swap them. That said the screens have >almost< the same external mechanical configuration, so close that an XF screen with the mounting frame removed, will mount in an XK. The XK has extra side flanges for two additional mountings screws not used on the XF screen, but it does not matter whether you have those two screws or not; the screen is plenty stable with the four screws that come into the sides.

This is now four upgrades on my XK since I bought it:
1. The White XKR / Jag Wrangler convertible top upgrade.
2. My substitute ashtray Qi charging phone mount.
3. An aftermarket backup camera in the trunk lid connected to the back of the screen via a Fakra cable -- and enabled with the required CCF change (2010s did not have a factory backup camera).
4. And last, this Mr12Volt CarPlay / Android Auto screen modification.

I think I'm keeping this car forever at this point.

 

twhumphrey, I'm interested in updating my 2009 XKR Portfolio for the Mr12Volt; however, I've checked and I have the 30-pin connection (instead of 40-pin) that Mr12Volt says their device won't accommodate. Did you originally have a 30-pin connection and changing to the XF screen provide the required 40-pin? If so, can you provide a little more detail on what you said was an "electronics rebuild"? I'm happy to hear that reprogramming was not necessary for the screen swap.

 

Hi @twhumphrey . Can you provide the part number for the XF screen? All of our previous research indicates the screens are not interchangeable. The XF has a different climate control module so the XK climate controls don't function using an XF screen. Appreciate you sharing the part number please and thanks!

 

I did not use the screen from the XF in order to have the 40 pin connection…. I used it because I didn’t want to be opening up the dash on my car until I was sure I could get the screen electronics rebuild work done. I daily drive my car and did not want to be driving a car with a torn up dashboard.

Perhaps I was lucky but the XF screen I had did have the 40 pin connection.

Note - the screen that I took out of my car is from a 2010 car and so it would also have the 40 pin connection. PM me if you want to buy it as I have no need for an extra at this point.

 

Unfortunately my XF-originated screen is now bolted into my car so I am 8 screws and a lot of annoyance away from being able to give you its part number.

However I remembered that this topic came up once before and Cambo did a post on May 2, 2017 on point:

“There are two different touchscreen/climate systems for the X150, 2006-2009 is not the same as 2010 onward.

As you have a 2010 onward car, it would appear to be compatible with the XF. What we tried before was putting a 2010-onward XK, and an XF screen, into a 2006-2009 car, that is not "plug n play" and did not work.“

So 2010 is a magic year when the XK changed and apparently became the same as the XF. This probably explains why Mr12Volt has a disclaimer that their retrofit may not work on 2009 and earlier cars (the “30-pin connector” issue). Mr12Volt says “If your Jaguar is 2009 or earlier, we strongly suggest to open up the screen and check the video cable, make sure it is a 40pin cable before purchasing. Some older screens are using a 30pin cable which will not fit our product.”

My impression is that if you have a 2010 or later XK then a pre-facelift XF (2008-2011) screen will work, BUT if you have a 2009 or earlier XK, the XF screen may or may not work in your earlier XK, depending on the era of your electronics; the way to know if you have this problem appears to be to open up your screen and verify it uses the 30-pin or 40-pin bus.

As I mentioned if anyone wants to buy the screen I just took out of my 2010 XK PM me as I have no use for it now.

 

Here is the video showing the electronics rebuild. It's adding a video board to the OEM board. twhumphrey has a 2010 model year so he did not have to flash his touchscreen (reprogram). XF Touchscreen swap is not compatible on US models 07 - 09.

 

Thanks, Sean W. I used this video when I disassembled my infotainment center to determine how many pins my board has. Unfortunately being a 2009, I have the 30-pin that is not accommodated by Mr12Volt. Even though twhumphrey has kindly offered to sell his 40-pin XF scrreen, I cannot use it without reprogramming and losing some of the original functionality of the infotainment center - so I'll pass. Thanks guys for the help!

 

So why would this guy put a picture of a 4.2 car on the ad and then state it won't work on them?

 

AFAIK it works on 4.2 but only some 2008 and all 2009 model years (that have 40pin and not 30pin ribbon in the main unit).

EDIT: I now see 2009 is mentioned. Maybe not all 2009 4.2s are created equal...

 

2009 in parts of the world are 5.0 models.