Thread: Renault Megane Ideas please?

Neil,

I am also installing into a 2004 Megane II sport saloon. I have at this stage chosen to place my Lilliput 7” Touch screen on a home made slide beneath the standard radio. If you remove the tray unit under the radio (assuming you don’t have the factory fit 6 CD changer) you will find another standard din opening. I have filed away the bottom two sides to allow the Lilliput to fit within. If I was to do it all again I would get a motorized VGA monitor and put up with the expensive.

The Megane's a very light car and you will have problems with reflections on any screen you put in.

The audio I have eventually had to purchase the Connects2 VRNX001 @ £55.00 after trying FM modulators etc. The sound's very good and it allows the volume +/- , mute from the steering controls. This unit fits all Renault radios with the word ‘Tuner List’ on the front. Lift out your radio and you should see a blue connector where the cd changer connects.

Ill post some pic’s once I get time.



Les

Compaq EN SFF, P3 450Mhz pc
M1-ATX psu
Windows XP pro
GPS - Globalsat BU303 GPS Mouse − USB
GPS software – MapMonkey
Software front end – MediaCruiser - modified

Thanks for the pictures! I'm considering the same Connects2 interface to replace the stock 6 cd changer under my Clio's driver seat. I have a few questions:

If you switch to the cd changer with the stalk control, how does the interface behave? I mean, what happens if you try to select different cds or different tracks (all of which of course makes no sense). What is shown on the display during operation?

Is the interface just a black box or does it have any user configurable options (jumpers, dipswitches)? I assume it comes with a cable that plugs into the blue connector on the head unit. How long is the cable? Actually I'd rather put the interface under the chair, cause the wiring is already present and the carputer will be mounted there as well.

The Megane has a very friendly dash for a screen! It fits awesome in place of the stereo and the tray bellow it. It's also easy to fabricate. As for the sound, get an amp, and control the sound and other stuff through the steering wheel controls. The only downside to this is that the upper display won't show anything else but the outside temp, but that's a fair enough casualty. Also, that stock nav screen is way to small.

Mox,

The VRNX001 adaptor is simply a device to fool your radio a CD changer is inplace to allow the aux input to pass through. The box has no jumpers to set and in the pictures you will see theres a lot of electronics for what it does. In operation when you use the steering source selection it cycles through to you CD then to a second CD1. I understand this is the same as if a cd changer was connected. The track change when on CD1 has no efect.

The box come's with a short connector to the head unit approx 12" in length. It also comes with a stereo 3.5mm jack to two phono RCA connectors to allow you to plug-in a MP3 player or other audio device with headphone jack. This lead is approx 24" in length.

Regards
Les

Thanks for the info, I think I'll order one. My experience with inline FM modulators has just been awful!

Thanks for all your replys, Some great info there! Has anyone got any pics of there installs as i want to see what they look like before taking my dash appart?

Also what PC's are you using in the background of the install...

Originally Posted by Neil_Strudwick

Also what PC's are you using in the background of the install...

See my sig

In case you will be keeping your OEM head unit, I can recommend the VRNX001 aux interface from Connects2. I popped mine open and did some reverse engineering on the circuit board. It's a nifty piece of electronics. Worth every buck.

The OEM Renault VDO "Tuner List" HU's don't have an analog line input, not even for the external cd changer. Instead, the HU requires a digital SPDIF audio source. Therefore, the purpose of the Connects2 interface is not only to fool the HU into believing that a cd changer is connected (which in turn will activate the external audio input), but it also contains an A/D converter to convert the analog audio source to SPDIF.

It might be possible to even further improve signal quality by hooking up the HU's SPDIF input directly to the mainboard's SPDIF output. The RCA connector at the back of many (if not all) VIA mini-ITX mainboards can be configured to output SPDIF instead of TV-out. This will also eliminate ground loop noise. The "fooling" circuitry of the Connects2 interface will still be necessary of course, otherwise the HU's SPDIF input won't be enabled.

I haven't tested all of this yet, but I will post pin assignments of the blue 8 pin mini-ISO connector when I get home.

Originally Posted by mox

I haven't tested all of this yet, but I will post pin assignments of the blue 8 pin mini-ISO connector when I get home.

More info in this thread: Renault Scenic II - SPDIF PC