Finally managed to fit a unit I purchased a month or so ago and been quite please with it, so here are some install pics, details, thoughts and problems.

Being a Vogue spec, the RR already had a TV head unit and had been converted to digital by the previous owner and worked quite well. The nav system is a bit clunky and long out of date, as is the phone , FM/AM only radio.
I really wanted two main things from this conversion and that was DAB radio for Planet Rock and Google maps for nav and traffic , all without spending a ton of money.

Xtrons is a brand that sell the generic android head units with a seemingly decent reputation, plus some of these units are recommended to work better the the I-Bus app needed to overcome the DSP amp issue with these conversions.
There is no direct fit conversion for these cars, but as everything is lifted almost directly from a BMW E39 5 series, we can simply buy this kit. After checking what units they recommend, I found a new old stock unit for £150 all in. This is the head unit promo vid by Xtrons.

To fit this unit and to get everything working with the original amp, you will need an I-Bus app to turn the amp on. This also means the OBC dash display still works, the center panel clock still works and allows you to go in make some changes to the body control module. See here. https://www.ibus-app.de/index_en.html#

So here's the basic head unit as purchased.





Contents.









You will need the 6m long Xtrons extension cable part number EXL005. This will run from the location of the original radio box ( left rear boot ) along the floor and up to the new head unit.





The I-Buss app is downloaded to the head unit, but the Resler USB stick purchased with it needs wiring in.




Follow this vid to wire in the Resler USB stick. There are two of these head unit harnesses supplied - one square pin, one round pin. In my case the round pin part can be discarded and the squre pin one chopped to wire in.



A 6m long Fakra extension cable is also need for the am/fm radio. This runs from the back of the head unit and connects to the original cable unplugged from the radio unit in the boot.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Antennen-Verlange...TnhjisdZRg

With this all done, you can now test the unit without having to remove all the trim - the time consuming bit.
The 6m long extension plug in to the corresponding plug when unplugged from the original radio unit and will power-up the new unit. At this point you won't have any sound, but don't panic !
Use your mobile phone to give the head unit a wifi connection and download the I-Buss app. With this done and set up, you should now have a basic working system with sound on the tailgate testbed.




In the above pic I also have all the wiring for the DAB unit, a reverse cam and a power supply for the reverse cam to act as the power that the reverse light would supply for the switching.

I purchased the Xtrons DAB box and a 6m extension cable to connect the old twin aeriels that are for the original TV box.

At this point I would recommend to test your setup and make sure everything works and you have all the accessories you want . I also opted for a dash cam to fit at the same time.

The wiring for this is actually very easy and nothing to fear. The time consuming part is the trim removal and final fitting.
To this you will need to remove the dash top and glovebox , kick panels, sill trim tread plates, B pillar/ passenger seat belt trim, passenger seat and rear seat bolster. Use the YouTube videos for the dash and glovebox removal. Tread plates pull up and pry the B pillar trim off from the bottom and it will unclip.
I'd highly recommend a cheap trim removal kit if you don't already have.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CAR-DOOR-RADIO-...SwHvpa-~5p

If you don't have a airbag capable diagnostic tool, then when removing the passenger seat, you will want to remove the battery lead when disconnecting the multi plug or the light will come on and stay on. Same if you then connect the battery gain without the seat plugged in.

I was kinda rushed on the day of fitting ( took almost a full day to fit ) so didn't take pics of all the details, but here are a few that might help if doing the same.

Glovebox removed.







Sill tread plate and seat removed.



Same on the rear




Kick panel removed.




B pillar removed.








You'll need to lift the carpets front and rear a little to remove the cable coverings




Steel plate with 6 bolts needs removing to run the cables.




Seat bolster removed to allow harness to pass the the rear radio/tv box area.
This an 'after' pic and the new radio loom is the one on the right of the two.




The original box housing the radio is made only to fit the original head unit and will need cutting.








Somehow lost the pics of the cut holder, but it's pretty obvious what will need cutting out, so have a Dremel or to cut the plastic tray available to you.
The Xtrons unit I'm using has two removable covers on the fascia. Two of the original screw securing the factory head unit to it hold can be used here to secure the new unit. The new unit will actually stick out the back of the holder and sit on this.


I've run the cables down through the hold marked in this pic. They then are tucked behind the edge of the carpet behind the glovebox area, then follow the factory wiring along the sill and floor, up the rear wheel arch and into the rear.




In this pic you can see the 6m extension cable on the carpet with the DAB , GPS, and reverse cam and radio antenna extensions taped in with some Tesa tape to keep things looking neat.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TESA-TAPE-51608...n4C4n8_Ltw


There is also two USB cables fromt he back of the head unit I want to keep separate , one is the DAB box and the other with a USB hub attached. These will live in the space where the CD stacker lived and allow access to plug in any accessories.



Now is a good to to check again everything works and the refit all the trim.

End result is a neat looking factory install. You could remove the head unit fascia and paint it in the factory silver for extra sneaky points if you wanted, but I think the black looks just as good and fits in well.

Home screen





Finally ! The music I wanted.





The I-Buss app with visual PDC screen





Using my phone ( you can buy a 4g and PAYG dongle ) to provide an internet connection and checking everyone's fave forum





Points, notes and problems.

This install is appropriate to my 2002 Vogue spec car. HSE spec will be different.

I've used a 6m extension for the GPS supplied to run it to the rear. I'll try and connect that to the original GPS on the tailgate at some point, but is actually working just fine sat on top the the old nav drive unit, so may not even bother. I believe it would work just fine if sat under the dash top cover.

Using the existing antenna for the DAB radio is a bit mixed on reception. May need to look at other options.

You can pre install and check your unit in minutes without pulling everything apart first. The job is really mostly trim and running cables. Wiring is minimal.

The passenger seat weighs a ton, so having a helping hand to lift this out is wise, but doable by yourself.
You'll need the power on to move the seat to allow access the the securing bolts.
Don't for get the airbag light will come on if you don't remove the battery lead.

My main concern at this point is the powering off. It does this when removing the key, but even after an overnight ,starts right up without booting. I was lead to believe it would go to sleep mode for a time, then power off completely and require a 10-15 sec boot time on an overnight switch off. Any fitted one of these and know ?

I have the reverse cam wiring run to the rear, but yet to install the camera.

That should hopefully give you an idea of what's need to do this. I'm very happy so far but only used it for a few short hops to work, and most of yesterday on a trip to the south coast. The Google maps was a real boon in avoiding several traffic tailback spots, the DAB worked great when out on the motorway, but did drop out a bit in bit up areas.

The go to sleep function is part of the Android setup. settings - car settings - advanced / more settings or something like that. Should be able to adjust it from Never ( which yours seams to be set to) to 90 mins or so.

For DAB aerial, I used the old TV aerial - works a treat. No7 - 2003 V8 Vogue

Cheers, I did find it the other day and set it for 30 mins. That has lead to having to manually turn the DSP on via the I-BUS now after a boot.... so now need to find the setting for that.

Only when removing the old nav drive did I see the SMB connector on the back of this. This is hooked up to a 6m extension and the GPS is perfect.

I found a pigtail lead to join the two TV antenna leads from the old unit, into another 6m extension to the DAB box in the glove box.
It does work ,but not brilliantly and will drop out in built-up areas.

Still very happy with my purchase, the above are the two biggest niggles really

I use the Tasker app to start the ibus app on boot up. No7 - 2003 V8 Vogue

Does this start the DSP automatically, same a clicking the DSP tab on the I-Bus screen ?

Tried the DAB out a bit more than the short run from home in NW Kent in to SE London. Once I got past Maidstone on the M20 it dropped out completely and could barely pick up any of the Kent stations. Really disappointed by that.

Does this bypass the factory lear amp in the boot? I.e if it doesnt work ( due to fluid ingress) would that matter?

Neil 2010 L322 Autobiography Black Edition
1975 Land Rover

The I-Bus app and the Resler USB stick and switch the amp on. Without this you won't have any sound. To Bypass the amp and not need these, I believe you would have to do the same as Haylands did in his thread.
I really know little about these and was following others who used the I-Bus app to make things easy. Mine was really 3 wires to connect and that's it. It really isn't a wiring job as such, moe a days work removing all the trim, cutting the head unit holder and running all the wiring front to rear.


https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic29219.html

I fitted the reverse camera and all seemed OK. I took a live feed from the boot wiring to the reverse light and added a ground and tried it out. It worked perfectly with it switching the head unit on selecting reverse and the picture is pretty good for a £7 camera and was very happy. Coming home late last night and selected reverse and the picture on the screen started jumping. Tried it this morning and fine and all good. Seems having the headlights on is causing some interference, not sure what to do about that...

HI BMG

Thanks for the write up. I purchased the Eonon unit before I read your write up but looking at the pictures the units are almost identicle.

I was wondering if you could help with a couple of questions as I seem to be getting contradictory advise/articles.

I have a 2004 V8 Petrol on which the sound hasn't worked since I got it, yellow light on, screen works but no sound. I've narrowed down to the DSP. An article published elsewhere suggests that installing the new unit would effectively bypass the DSP and you either hardwire into the speakers from the head unit or you install a new amp and wire that in as a replacement to the DSP unit.

Your install seems to keep the DSP - how did you do that and do you have the relevant parts you used?

Any help would be appreciated, I've been chasing the issue of no sound for a while now!

Thanks in advance

Hi, I'm far from an expert on these, so this is to the best of my knowledge, but when keeping or having the DSP system, you would beed the I-Bus app detailed above. As I understand it, this switches the DSP on and gives you sound, something the old head unit would be doing. If you keep the DSP, I don't know another way to switch it on. You do seem to be able to bypass it as you've mentioned by wiring the speakers direct.
The app is not expensive and has tons of options and keep the OBC functions too and allows you to code some functions.
If you have the android unit and 6ft cable , you can get it all working in minutes by plugging it in to the harness in the boot ( as per the pic above ) ,and if you have the I-Bus app installed, it should all work. Once you know it all works, the rest is just the install.

Thanks for the reply

Finally got the standard sound working in my FF today, turns out the amp did have water damage!

I also plugged in the Eonon and it all worked (keeping the original head unit also plugged in)

So I'll go ahead and get the iBus adaptor and app as it seems to be the cleanest way to keep the DSP. Others keep the original unit running in the glove compartment but that seems like a bit of a bodge.

Thanks for the write up - its the only one I've found thats as clear as can be!

think the I-Bus app is the way to go. Remember you need the Resler stick and DSP license when purchasing the app.
It's not a perfect solution as you need to wait for the system to boot ( when left overnight ) and then the app to open and switch the sound on. Mine still sometimes fails to start the app and you have to manually tap the screen, but the connectivity is well worth over the old system which I found near useless now.


On mine I used the original GPS antenna in the back and got a long extension cable. Others report using the android unit supplied one placed under the dash also works.
With the DAB , I used a Y cable and connected to the two antennas in the rear side windows. This doesn't work that well , I think because the tint doesn't help.
The signal is fine near S E London, but drops out when out in the sticks and something I keep meaning to change.

If you want a reverse camera, you'll need to have an extension cable and tap in to the power to the reverse lights.

Best advice would be to get everything you want and set it up in the boot and get it all working. The time consuming bit is runnings the cables to the front and pulling the dash etc, something you don't want to repeat to run another cable

I'm planning on installing a reverse camera too, didn't order one with the unit so have asked Eonon for a cost although I think any camera should work so might go for something generic

With the DAB - I've read somewhere that the splitters don't work so well with amplified aerials, I'm not 100% the FF is but it does look like it so my plan is to run another extension into the rear for a dedicated DAB aerial. My experience with DAB on my 2018 Ford is also a bit hit and miss, even on a factory install. So I'm not expecting too much.

The main thing as you've highlighted is a unit that you can actually use! Maps, Bluetooth and SD cards are must haves for me, everything else is a bonus. The reversing camera is becoming more important as I've not had it long but sometimes struggle to judge the driveway that I use when doing servicing/repairs.

In the middle of the install I now have the Suspension inactive come on so I'll need to recheck all cables etc and make sure something hasn't become disconnected. Let the games begin!

Quick question about the 6m extension for the GPS - what did you connect it to in the back and what spec extension cable was it?

I ordered one but it seems the connectors aren't quite right. So close yet so far!

Great Write-up.
Just installed the IA1239BL ,thats a unit with a toughtscreen, and allthough much newer, I could install with the above instructions.
Some observations with my unit:
- Without any alterations tot the I-bus App, when locking the car, the front door windows wind down.
not nice, when rain while wording on the car!
- Ibus-app has been revised and not all of the new features are in the you-tube movies taht are on the
ibus web page - so use the latest manual.
- There is a possibility to use the PDC as an overlay on the screen. Sadly not when using the rearview
camera. Would be nice to use both systems.
- rearview camera (also Xtrons) didn´t work very well - until I found a secrec menu where I could
change the video connection to PAL and it worked great. nowhere to be found ant the FAQ´s
Secret menu is settings in car entertainment last menu item - on the toothwheel Code - 8878 and
then to the back-up camera menu.

Great unit and love the sound!