OEM Bluetooth installed... by Boston Driver

For anyone wishing to do an install, it is really not that hard. Of course, I decided to make it more difficult for myself by building new customer wiring harness (similar to what TeddyBGame does for his customers on the NavPlus forum). The custom harness was becuase I was tired of using in-line wire taps to make connections. They work, but they are bulky, and if I wanted to remove anything, I would ahve to patch a wire. In addition, I was also connecting my multi-media adaptor for my DVD player which plays movies on the RNS-E, and that adaptor, like the OEM BT moduel, taps into the CANBUS wires...so two sets of other wires tapping into the same setup. 

The new harness has longer wires, which makes it much easier to slide the unit into place without the connector blocks getting in the way. The longer wires allow me to tuck the connector blocks in the space behind the climate control.

Custom RNS-E Harness

Here is a picture of my original wiring harness before surgery:

I decided to take this harness apart and use the connector blocks, since many of the normal sources (like europarts.us) were out of stock at the time. I removed the locking tabs on the RNS-E adaptor:

Although it was not that hard (I have a set of the pin extracting tools pictured below), a couple of safety pins or a small jeweler's screwdriver will work with a bit of patience. I have no patience. Here are the tools that basically depress the little fins that lock the pins into place. 

Once those fins are depressed with the tool, the pins can slide out of the housing.

Once the wiring harness was apart, I bought a few sets of pins and repair wires for my harness. The OEM repair wires were long enough that I could cut it in half and have two wires, each with one end having the appropriate connector, and the other end bare onto which I could crimp a new pin for the appropriate connection:

Here is one of the repair wires:

...and the pins:

I also spent a LOT of time studying NSX_JR's RNS-E adaptor chart over and over again, and came up with a custom configuration that allows me to connect the OEM bluetooth and the multi-media adaptor to the RNS-E adaptor with plug-in type connectors. No more "splicing" or "tapping" as I had done in the past. This way, if I need to reverse anything, I will not have to replace any wires, but simply unplug the peripheral device. Anyway, I will update this post later with my wiring chart, but it was pretty much the same as the one done by NSX_JR except I connected up to three wires to a single pin.

Here was my pile of wires ready to make all the connections between the RNS-E connector and the ones from the car.

Here are the connectors that I used, courtesy of the local DIY electronics shop nearby. They are mini-plug connectors, and although have different pins than the OEM pins, they use the same pin extraction tool that I have for the Audi pins.

Once I checked and double checked everything, I finished making the harness. 

I found a roll of cloth tape that worked very well for making the harness very OEM-like, cloth hockey tape at the local sports shop. Not as "sticky" as the OEM stuff, but very good for this application.

BT Component Installation

Once the harness was done, the easy part was the installation and making all the connections. Here are a few pictures of the BT components:

The module [part# 8P0-862-335-G, est. $440 retail] (playing card used for scale):

The matching black dome light, BT antenna [part# 8P0-035-503-E, est. $25 retail], and the BT microphone [part# 8L1-862-373-A, est. $175 retail] (snapped into the wrong side...I moved it to the other side prior to the installation):

I decided to use the location behind the glovebox for the module, which was currently occupied by the video adaptor for my DVD player. I removed the glovebox by removing five 8mm bolts. Three are here along the upper edge once the door is open:

And one each in the lower corners (sorry for the bad picture, but can see the holes where the bolts are located):

LOWER LEFT 

I cut the wedges down with the Dremel so the mounting tabs are now flat, and allow me to install the module in the bracket inverted (letters facing inward). Once the control module was reinstalled in the bracket, I did a test fit of the BT module mounted onto the inverted control module as you can see, there is enough room for the BT antenna (upper left of the module) and the wiring connector (lower left). You can also se the little black mounting tabs from the control unit underneath:

Note: According to NSX_JR, the OEM BT module will actually fit UNDER the steering column control module, within the raised braket, and secured into place with the steering column module itself. No need to alter the module and invert it in the bracket. I have not confirmed this on my own setup, but I have no reason to doubt this advice from NSX_JR.

Anyway, once I confirmed that the BT module fit perfectly under there, I pulled the lower dash panel to remove all the Motorola BT kits hardware, pulled the A-pillar to run the new microphone wire to the dome light, finished making all the connections to my custom harness.

Harness plugged in and the connector run behind the radio: 

I had to do a few things with the VAG COM, such as coding the BT module, the steering wheel for radio and telephone, and the instrument cluster. Once everything was done, voila! Called a fellow AWer to test things out...

...and I guess we talked for a LONG time, eh?

...Yeah, I know, the car is dusty...I am ashamed...

So after playing around with some of the features, here is a list of my likes and dislikes of the OEM BT kit:

Likes

1) Integration - Very slick integration with the car and the RNS-E. When a call is placed, I can see the number on the instrument cluster, and the name (if stored in the phonebook of the handset or the BT kit). I love the fact that everything is hidden from view. You would not know that there is anything installed unless you saw the microphone grille up by the dome light.

2) Steering wheel buttons - I can now place and answer calls without removing my hand from the steering wheel. The lower left (currently the (<) button but should be the (R/T)button) activates my phone's stored names, and I can then use the (v) or (^) arrows on the left to scroll the listings. If I hold the button, it skips by first letter of the listing, so I can jump quickly to the B's if I have a lot of A's lited in the phone book. Once I find the number I want to dial, I press the lower right button to dial (currently the (>) button but should be the little phone icon).

3) Caller ID - Often, I answer a call in the car without knowing who is calling. Not a huge issue sinci I could just have the handset sitting somewhere where I can reach it. However, having caller ID on the instrument cluster is a neat feature, adn the phone can stay in my pocket for the entire ride.

4) Volume control - I can use the (^) and (v) on the right to increase or decrease the volume of the phone conversation. Previous Motorola BT kit had volume control, but it made this annoying beep when adjusting volume, even during a phone call.

5) Voice Tags - Voice tags are pretty cool, but this is also listed below as a disadvantage as well. The advantage of the voice tags is that you can dial by name, and that you the BT module actually stores a "tag" (i.e. - recording) of your voice. It can either be tagged to a number in your handset's phone book, or tagged to a sepeate number self-contained with the BT module. Simple process of pressing the lower right button to access the voice dialing menu, and very accurate selection of the phone number you want to dial. Kind of neat, although not stored in the phone. I can simply press the voice-dial button on the steering wheel (lower right) and say commands. For example, if I say "select name," BT lady says "please say the name," I say "Dave Press work," my voice tag is played for confirmation, then I just say "dial" and BT lady says "the number is being dialed. Pretty slick!

6) Cleaner wiring - Even if I did not pursue the custom harness, the OEM wiring under the lower dash is much cleaner, even if I had not tapped my custom adaptor for power and ground. The microphone wire has to run through the lower dash anyway to get up by the dome light:

BEFORE: 

1) Cost - I think some of the sellers list the plug-n-play kit for under $800 (which is about $700 in parts and $100 in labor for the custom harness). I believe the labor is reasonable, especially since it is based on the indivdual's expertise/knowledge, and not everyone has the right tools to do the job. It really comes down to the cost of the actual components, which themselves are just too pricey (IMHO). I paid about $500 for everything, plus another $50 in parts to customized my harness. Not outrageous, but ceratinly not as inexpensive as Parrott or Motorola BT kits.

2) Sound Quality - Once this setup was installed, I called a few folks that I frequently call from my car, and all but one said the sound quality was worse than my previous setup. I attribute that to the "hidden" microphone behind the dome light panel vs. the Motorola Microphone that was mounted right on the ceiling near the map light. I like the hidden microphone, but I liked the sound quality of the Motorola microphone better (pictured below). I'll still play around with VAG COM settings for microphone gains, and maybe upgrade the wiring harness to use a shielded wire (as suggested by the NavPlus gurus), but I am thinking that it is functional now and maybe I am overly critical of the sound quality because of the quality of the setup I previously had.

3) Voice dialing - As previously stated, an advantage AND a disadvantage. The major disadvantage is that there is a limit to the number of voice tags you can store (I have read that the limit is 50). The Motorola BT kit I removed allowed me to access my handset's voice-dialing feature, which did not require any recording of voice tags. Rather, my handset uses speech pattern technology to match up what is requested to the handset's phonebook entries. This basically allowed me to voice-dial anyone and everyone stored in my phonebook simply by saying their name. I will admit that the handset's voice-dialing feature had about a 75-80% accuracy rate, as sometimes it would pickup the wrong name (like "Dave Press work" vs. "Dave Press cell"), but it would always ask to confirm the selection before dialing. If I said "no" it would simply take the next closest selection. Not as accurate as the OEM BT setup, but not limited to 50 tags. 

4) Disconnecting (manually) - Every now and then, I do have to pick-up the handset so I can take a call private if others are in the car. Perfect example is if Jr. Driver was happily riding along, and I got a call about a birthday gift. Of course, it would be nice to take the call private without having to press a bunch of keystrokes on the handset. The Motorola kit had a button to press to disconnect from the BT kit. Once the call was finished, it would reconnect to the BT kit automatically. The OEM kit does not do this. However, as I must take out the handset anyway to take a call private, not a huge deal, but easier to reach for a button on the dash than navigating the menu on the handset. Eyes on the road, right?

5) Disconnecting (automatic) - When the car shuts off and the key is removed, the BT kit disconnects automatically, which means that before I take my key out, I have to open up the handset or I'll drop the call. In the Motorola kit, the call would stay in BT mode until I either end the call or hit the button to disconnect. I liked the way the Motorola kit worked a bit better, since I could still remove my key and stay on a call. Supposedly there is a setting that alows me to delay the time that the BT kit powers off after the ignition key is removed, but I have tried a few settings, but it continues to disconnect when I remove the key from the ignition. I did verify that the D-16 pin I used as a power source is constant, not switched. Still playing around with that...hopefully a solution will be found.

Muting - The Motorola kit has a mute button right on the control switch. One step to mute, one step to un-mute. The OEM kit, muting is a two-step process. Not a huge deal, but yeah, every now and then, muting the microphone is necesary. You have to press the Options button on the RNS-E while in Phone mode, then select Mute. It is a further reach to mute on the OEM (depending on where you mount the control button for the Motorola kit), and one extra step.

Conclusion

In the end, I would still highly recommend the Motorola BT kits (or the Parrott kits but I have no personal experience with those) for anyone considering a BT solution for their car IF all you need is basic functionality, since these kits offer the essential functions for a VERY affordable price. You can still place and receive calls and automatically mute the radio just like the OEM kit, but you can voice-dial anyone stored on your phone with no extra programming (if your phone is so equipped). 

However, you will not have caller ID on the instrument cluster, phone controls on the steering wheel, and visible access to your stored numbers on the instrument cluster or the RNS-E. I am not sure if everyone would think that it is worth hundreds of dollars for those features, but it is an individual choice. But, if you are a gadget junkie and must have the best available no matter what the cost, then by all means, buy the OEM kit.

If anyone is interested, I'll throw up another post with more detail about the harness (part numbers, etc.) but most everything you need is at www.navplus.us