[Audi A3/S3] How to install an RNS-E in place of Concert II

[harddrive]

It’s been nearly a month since my RNS-E Sat Nav unit arrived and today the final part of the install into my A3 is complete.

It all started about 2 months ago while I was browsing ebay (as you do) when I found someone selling Sat Nav units for the A3 in Germany. A couple of emails to him later and a bit of bidding and I have purchased the unit.

Now most people who plan on upgrading to Sat nav would have bought their car with the double din stereo in place so it is just a case of removing the radio and inserting the sat nav….I unfortunately was not one of these people as I ordered my car with the single din Concert II. So with dilemma of buying a Sat nav unit that currently was unable to fit in the dash of the car I took a trip to the local Audi Parts department. After 20 minutes staring at the parts department computer screen we had ordered what parts we thought were needed to complete the job.

The next challenge was to locate the adapter cable and GPS antenna that were needed to connect the sat nav unit to the car and provide it with a signal. After speaking to a number of people on various forums I was pointed in the direction of www.kufatec.de who were able to supply all the required kit to connect the system to the car. They advised that in addition to the adapter and GPS antenna, I would also need an aerial adapter.

So just to recap at this point I had ordered the following:

From Audi:

1 x Double Din Dashboard Enclosure – Part Number:

1 x Centre Trim Panel – Part Number: 8P0 863 321 C 6PS

1 x Storage Tray – Part Number: 8P0 941 561 E 5PR

From Kufatec

1 x RNS-E Adapter for Audi A3 8P (33349)

1 x GPS Antenna FAKRA 5m

1 x RNS-E Antenna adapter Radio

After a week or so of waiting all the parts arrived and I was ready to install the whole thing with help from my father in law.

We started off by disabling the passenger airbag and removing the glove box.

Then we removed the console that is under the steering wheel.

Then we removed the stereo, climate control, all the buttons and the cup holder.

Then the grab handles needed to be removed

Followed by the gear leaver surround (at this point there is not much left of the inside of my car…Scary)

The next job was to get the current single Din enclosure out of the dash…This was not easy so to protect what was left of the dash we covered what we could with rags.

With everything now out we ran the cable from the GPS antenna down the left hand side of the dashboard and around to the centre of the dash where the sat nav unit was going to be installed.

With this in place we fitted the double Din enclosure; this was just as difficult to get it as it was to remove the single din. The installation of the other parts was easy as they just went back in the reverse order to there removal unit that is we got to installing the climate control unit. Now if we go back two weeks to me visiting the parts department, the main question I asked was “do I need to order a different climate control unit?” answer… “No sir as it is the same one”!!!! So why is it that it doesn’t fit!!!!!! The bottom of the double din climate control unit is slightly smaller in width to the single din. We looked at what the difference in shape was and made the decision to “adjust” my current unit…I handed this job over to my father in law and the result was spot on because you could not tell that anything had been done to it when he had finished (Nice One!!).

With this fixed we were back on track until we went to fit the centre trim panel. The panel fitted fine but all the buttons were sitting wrong. We looked at the buttons and they all sat at a different angle to what they needed. I decided to leave this as it was not a major problem and just meant that I needed to visit Audi and order some replacements…

We then connected the new adapter for the aerial and the wiring harness and the nav unit slotted into place. (HOW COOL DOES MY CAR LOOK NOW!!!)

Please look at the attachment to see the complete install...

The buttons that needed to be ordered are:

1 x Blanking plate – Part Number: 8P0 941 515 C 5PR

1 x Airbag deactivation lamp – Part Number: 8P0 919 234 A 5PR

1 x ESP Switch – Part Number: 8P0 927 134 C 5PR

[sevosa]

Great post.

[BeakerBuddy]

Great post thanks...I have been considering the very same thing, can I ask you how much everything cost in total and whether you had any experience prior to setting out on what appears to be a very scary project??

[bah35uk]

Id like to know the cost of all the bits to...and how long it took to complete...?

Also which satnave unit is it that u got of ebay there are a few differnet ones

[ctnw27200]

Again, great post! I'm too looking at doing the same upgrade.

How much of the hastle was because of the conversion to a double size unit? I'm looking at replacing the Symphony II, so hoping it could be easier!

You any pics of the car in pieces?

Chris

[harddrive]

I will have to check the invoices for the exact cost but:

- The sat nav unit cost approx £600 including postage.

- The latest navigation DVD should have cost £380 from audi but i picked it up for £30 off ebay. However alot of the units that are sold on ebay now do come with the DVD.

- All the parts that i order from Audi came to £100 and they did give me a discount when i asked.

- Finally the cables i.e. the adapters and the GPS antenna came to £80 plus postage.

All in all a lot cheaper than the dealership price and I was able to by all the items over 2 months which spead out the cost.

A good trick is to search on all items availble to the UK when on ebay as this shows more units..

***Important****

I forgot to mention that if you are buying a unit from another country make sure it is the european version. There are 2 different models of RNS-E unit, one for the US and one for Europe. The US unit will not work with the european Navigation DVD.

[harddrive]

I a havn't got any pics of my car in bits but I found this one that shows what has to be remove.

[harddrive]

Here is a picture of most fo the parts prior to the install.

[BeakerBuddy]

Thanks for the extra info...just one point...you haven't said if it works?

[bah35uk]

Do you have to subscribe to anything for the GPS...?

I notice that the satnav unit is rounded of at the top corners so it fits properly into the dash, all the ones i have found on ebay are square corners...who was it you got yours from...?

Also what exacly did u have to do to the Climate control unit...?