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Installing Joying HU in a BMW 1 series car

I am considering installing a Joying Head unit in a BMW 118i 2008 car and know that interfaces are required to integrate Bluetooth and steering wheel controls, however after much research I can't any information about replacing the existing BMW Professional radio/CD unit which has a MOST bus fibre optic connection which communicates with other modules in the audio system.
Has anyone done a similar conversion and knows what is required to ensure that some existing features, such as parking sensor system, are retained?

ludemon said:
I am considering installing a Joying Head unit in a BMW 118i 2008 car and know that interfaces are required to integrate Bluetooth and steering wheel controls, however after much research I can't any information about replacing the existing BMW Professional radio/CD unit which has a MOST bus fibre optic connection which communicates with other modules in the audio system.
Has anyone done a similar conversion and knows what is required to ensure that some existing features, such as parking sensor system, are retained?
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Click to collapse
Have you asked joying? [email protected]
(Make your mail simple as their English is not too good.)
I assume you also checked the BMW page on their site? It doesn't seem to mention a 118i

Thanks for that surfer63. Yes I have looked at the BMW page and also been in touch with Joying using the [email protected] address. I did get some advice from them, but it was a bit lacking in technical content. I will try the address you gave to see if I get a different response.
Since my original post I have checked out what I've actually got on the car using diagnostic software and the MOST fibre optic bus is only connected between the head unit and the CD Changer at the rear of the car. So as I'm not bothered about keeping the CD Changer I can probably bypass the MOST bus.
There are lots of interfaces on the market for after market head unit integration; most are quite expensive and don't go into much detail of how they work. What I would like to do is get relevant circuit diagram information, buy the separate parts and make up my own interface(s). So if anyone would like to share appropriate information or links in this respect I would be most grateful.

2014 accord android head unit top screen question

Hello all, I'm very new to android auto and I'm still trying to figure out how this radio works. Some back story: 2014 accord comes with an "i-mid" top screen display for fuel consumption and trip info. This radio I purchased allows my to have an android head unit while retaining all factory functions including the top screen. Everything works great, but the top screen only appears in what I'm guessing is Chinese. If you go to "car settings" my fuel and trip info correctly appear in English, but that info gets lost in translation on its way to the top screen. I have searched up and down every setting and found nothing that affected to top display. I can provide more info if I am told what to look for, as I am still new to android auto.
Im not allowed to post a link, but if if you search "2014 accord android radio" on eBay, it will be one of the generic xy auto head units that is built into the a.c. vents.
Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!!!

Hey! I have the same car (mines the 2.4L manual transmission) and I just did the upgrade too... not really a fan of the iMid 'TFT Driver' that is supplied but it is what it is I guess... anyways to answer your question you definitely need to contact the reseller. The Sport version which I'm assuming is what you have, has OSD electronics in the iMid contrary to what a lot of people think... it is literally just a screen. As a result, these guys have created a device which can replicate the iMid and its controlled via the CanBus... but the device they chose to replicate the iMid is a really weak chip which can only support a few screens... it definitely doesn't have the program space for multiple languages (its a Intersil TW8825 mated to a Sony GVIF encoder)... and to the best of my knowledge it can't be flashed outside of the factory (or reprogrammed). Therefore, I think they sent you the wrong unit. They will have to ship you one that is in English.
Anyways, this is all assuming your car isn't the touring model or a model with factory navigation and subwoofer. If so it might be a different story.

willston said:
Hey! I have the same car (mines the 2.4L manual transmission) and I just did the upgrade too... not really a fan of the iMid 'TFT Driver' that is supplied but it is what it is I guess... anyways to answer your question you definitely need to contact the reseller. The Sport version which I'm assuming is what you have, has OSD electronics in the iMid contrary to what a lot of people think... it is literally just a screen. As a result, these guys have created a device which can replicate the iMid and its controlled via the CanBus... but the device they chose to replicate the iMid is a really weak chip which can only support a few screens... it definitely doesn't have the program space for multiple languages (its a Intersil TW8825 mated to a Sony GVIF encoder)... and to the best of my knowledge it can't be flashed outside of the factory (or reprogrammed). Therefore, I think they sent you the wrong unit. They will have to ship you one that is in English.
Anyways, this is all assuming your car isn't the touring model or a model with factory navigation and subwoofer. If so it might be a different story.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the reply! I do have an automatic sport model. It looks like I'm out of luck because the reseller told me that there is nothing they can do. However, I found a company in china (Feeldo) that makes these canbus harnesses. I was thinking that they could sell me ine programed in English, but they haven't replied.
Thank you very much for the insight!!! I guess the top screen shall remain my back up camera screen.

Hey no problem! I have a Dasaita unit personally, they sell the harness with the TFT driver (they call it another CanBus). I’m the same, can’t post links but I can vouch for that unit. Wiring it might be a trick though.
I’m actually looking at hacking the iMid screen so it can take a normal VGA input, I ordered a wrecker component the other day. I wrote a dashboard software for the iMid using a Raspberry Pi and I’m hoping that will be running soon!
Anyways I’m glad I’m not the only one with frustrations with their Honda iMid haha!

willston said:
Hey no problem! I have a Dasaita unit personally, they sell the harness with the TFT driver (they call it another CanBus). I’m the same, can’t post links but I can vouch for that unit. Wiring it might be a trick though.
I’m actually looking at hacking the iMid screen so it can take a normal VGA input, I ordered a wrecker component the other day. I wrote a dashboard software for the iMid using a Raspberry Pi and I’m hoping that will be running soon!
Anyways I’m glad I’m not the only one with frustrations with their Honda iMid haha!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats awesome! I look forward to seeing what your project looks like when its complete. My idea was to use the reverese teigger wire in the canbus going to the imid and feed it ignition to always have it on amd somehow use the video out as screen mirror is something similar, but then I'm left with the dynamic reverse lines always being on. Your idea of converting to vga sounds very interesting! Keep me posted for sure!!!

I have the Dasaita px6. I'm looking for a tft driver I can connect a raspberry pi using HDMI to the imid. I currently have the canbus/driver box showing incorrect info also. Just looking for a passthru and maybe a switch for back up camera any help is appreciated

willston said:
Hey no problem! I have a Dasaita unit personally, they sell the harness with the TFT driver (they call it another CanBus). I’m the same, can’t post links but I can vouch for that unit. Wiring it might be a trick though.
I’m actually looking at hacking the iMid screen so it can take a normal VGA input, I ordered a wrecker component the other day. I wrote a dashboard software for the iMid using a Raspberry Pi and I’m hoping that will be running soon!
Anyways I’m glad I’m not the only one with frustrations with their Honda iMid haha!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the Dasaita px6. I'm looking for a tft driver I can connect a raspberry pi using HDMI to the imid. I currently have the canbus/driver box showing incorrect info also. Just looking for a passthru and maybe a switch for back up camera any help is appreciated

Sigh... the silver bullet hunt that is getting steering wheel controls working - 2008 Nissan 350Z

Seeing if anyone has any input here to possibly assist getting on of the new Joying Android 10 units working with the steering wheel controls on my 2008 350Z. I just cannot wrap my head around this. I don't believe my car has CANBUS but there seems to be no real concrete info. If not, I've read some conflicting items here. There's 2 plugs on the car harness that went to the stock radio that don't seem to have an equivalent to the aftermarket harness or unit. Can they be adapted somehow
There are universal adapters but I read that you have to splice and solder IN THE CAR for this **** to actually work? What a nightmare. Is there anything that I can pre-wire that just works? The AXXESS and PAC unit seem to require an engineering degree to figure out in addition to splicing the factory harness. This all seems so ridiculously difficult, there has to be a better way here.

level5music said:
Seeing if anyone has any input here to possibly assist getting on of the new Joying Android 10 units working with the steering wheel controls on my 2008 350Z. I just cannot wrap my head around this. I don't believe my car has CANBUS but there seems to be no real concrete info. If not, I've read some conflicting items here. There's 2 plugs on the car harness that went to the stock radio that don't seem to have an equivalent to the aftermarket harness or unit. Can they be adapted somehow
There are universal adapters but I read that you have to splice and solder IN THE CAR for this **** to actually work? What a nightmare. Is there anything that I can pre-wire that just works? The AXXESS and PAC unit seem to require an engineering degree to figure out in addition to splicing the factory harness. This all seems so ridiculously difficult, there has to be a better way here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is your unit, post info including MCU, joying means zip.

Yes, please post additional information. It looks like there should be an AXXESS module for your steering wheel controls. You have to indicate which trim option you have...base audio, standard audio or Bose. Here:
https://axxessinterfaces.com/products?Year=2008&Make=Nissan&Model=350Z&TrimOption[]=Base%20audio&TrimOption[]=BOSE&TrimOption[]=Standard%20Audio
You can update the trim on that page to be specific to your car. I took a quick look at the instructions and CAN-HI and CAN-LO so it looks like it's possible yours has a Canbus interface. If yours does, not sure if the AXXESS modules will help. If you don't need a canbus module for anything else, then you could possibly use the AXXESS module just for the steering wheel controls on the canbus interface.
I used an AXXESS module for my 2012 Kia Sorento as the amplifier and sound required it. It came with a steering wheel control module as well. Took a bit, but finally set it up as needed. The best thing you can get is a schematic for your car as it will show details about your steering wheel buttons and how they communicate / are wired to the head unit. Get the schematic and you can set up the buttons. Mine, however, does not have or require canbus.

marchnz said:
What is your unit, post info including MCU, joying means zip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't find this info anywhere. Not in the box, not in the Amazon order, not in any of the menus etc. I'm super surprised how difficult it is to find.

mastrv said:
Yes, please post additional information. It looks like there should be an AXXESS module for your steering wheel controls. You have to indicate which trim option you have...base audio, standard audio or Bose. Here:
https://axxessinterfaces.com/products?Year=2008&Make=Nissan&Model=350Z&TrimOption[]=Base%20audio&TrimOption[]=BOSE&TrimOption[]=Standard%20Audio
You can update the trim on that page to be specific to your car. I took a quick look at the instructions and CAN-HI and CAN-LO so it looks like it's possible yours has a Canbus interface. If yours does, not sure if the AXXESS modules will help. If you don't need a canbus module for anything else, then you could possibly use the AXXESS module just for the steering wheel controls on the canbus interface.
I used an AXXESS module for my 2012 Kia Sorento as the amplifier and sound required it. It came with a steering wheel control module as well. Took a bit, but finally set it up as needed. The best thing you can get is a schematic for your car as it will show details about your steering wheel buttons and how they communicate / are wired to the head unit. Get the schematic and you can set up the buttons. Mine, however, does not have or require canbus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info, but this is nearly impossible for me to understand. The tech docs for this AXXESS make zero sense at all. I don't see any of the items pointed out in the documents on my harness for either the car or the radio. They simply do not exist. I don't get how there are zero plug and play options for this. I don't see any options for Canbus for my car either. Whenever I Google this, I only find info related to LS1 swaps (meaning those who put an older Corvette motor into their 350Z). So frustrating.

Well, let's start with a couple of questions:
Sounds like you've already installed the head unit...correct?
What is the Joying model number?
Do you have schematics for your car? If not, can you get them? These will definitively inform what wires to use. With the buttons on your steering wheel, like volume up and down, they went to your factory head unit to change the volume. This information either went directly to the factory head unit for it to interpret or went through the canbus where the factory radio also obtained this information
Did the harness you used have a can bus module? It's a small box with a lot of wires going in and out.
Whether or not you used or need a canbus module is another question. What kinds of other things did your old factory head unit do:
Did you have bluetooth phone built-in?
Rear view factory camera?
Rear factory radar?
If your factory head unit was fairly basic, then you may not need a canbus module. Please post a picture of your dash...maybe a couple with the gauges and another for the center stalk where the radio and the climate controls go...also a picture of the steering wheel buttons. These will help inform the likeliness of having or needing a canbus module.
Not sure if you know what a canbus module looks like. This page shows 5 different types/manufacturers of canbus modules:
CANBUS settings
cc2.teyes.ru
If you don't need a canbus module, you need to figure out which wires to use to connect to the Android head unit.

Thanks for your continued responses and help mastrv. I'll answer your questions as best I can:
Sounds like you've already installed the head unit - Yes. I had an older Joying unit since 2016. The same harness can be used so it was a simple swap out after the not-so-simple task of pulling the entire center console away from the car.
What is the Joying model number? - I don't see this anywhere at all. Not in About Device, not in other menus, not on the box, not on the unit, not on the Amazon order, not on the Amazon product page. I cannot find this info whatsoever, and I have looked for it thoroughly.
Do you have the schematics for your car? If not, can you get them? No, and maybe at best. I don't know what I'm looking for here. There are two plugs that went to the factory CD player that go unused on the aftermarket harness. It's absolutely mindboggling there isn't an adapter for this.
Did the harness you used have a can bus module? I don't know, but I don't see anything resembling this in my car.
Did you have bluetooth phone built-in? Nope.
Rear view factory camera? Nope.
Rear factory radar? Nope.
As for the rest, I'll need to do so over the weekend. The entire cernter console has to be removed in this car to replace the head unit. This is why it's absolutely not possible for me to do things like solder inside the vehicle, and majority of these items are tucked away. How does AXXESS or PAC expect users to install this garbage? There isn't any space for it, and they label wiring that doesn't even exist in this car! Why not just made a single adapter and be done with it?
mastrv said:
Well, let's start with a couple of questions:
Sounds like you've already installed the head unit...correct?
What is the Joying model number?
Do you have schematics for your car? If not, can you get them? These will definitively inform what wires to use. With the buttons on your steering wheel, like volume up and down, they went to your factory head unit to change the volume. This information either went directly to the factory head unit for it to interpret or went through the canbus where the factory radio also obtained this information
Did the harness you used have a can bus module? It's a small box with a lot of wires going in and out.
Whether or not you used or need a canbus module is another question. What kinds of other things did your old factory head unit do:
Did you have bluetooth phone built-in?
Rear view factory camera?
Rear factory radar?
If your factory head unit was fairly basic, then you may not need a canbus module. Please post a picture of your dash...maybe a couple with the gauges and another for the center stalk where the radio and the climate controls go...also a picture of the steering wheel buttons. These will help inform the likeliness of having or needing a canbus module.
Not sure if you know what a canbus module looks like. This page shows 5 different types/manufacturers of canbus modules:
CANBUS settings
cc2.teyes.ru
If you don't need a canbus module, you need to figure out which wires to use to connect to the Android head unit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

From the information you've provided, it's most likely that you don't need a canbus at all...especially since your old unit didn't have one.
The only thing you're concerned about is the steering wheel controls, right?
Only thing that needs to be determined is which wires to be used for the steering wheel controls.
OK. I think I've found some good info for your model. The info doesn't have 2008 but it's for a 2007 and I think the 2008 is the same. This has information about the wires to use from the factory harness that connected to the old stereo:
https://my350z.com/forum/attachments/forced-induction/360447d1390787670-finally-repurpose-your-steering-wheel-buttons-for-forced-induction-infiniti350zradiobuttonboxgeneralinstallguider1-7.pdf
It's for something called a Radio Button Box for racing applications. The install details the wires to use. On pages 2 and 3 it shows a piece of a schematic and identifies wires for Remote Control A, Remote Control B and Remote Control Ground. These would directly attach to Key1 and Key2 on the Android Head unit and any ground. On page 3 it also talks about how to test measure with a multi-meter to make sure these are the correct wires. The wires are in M39 connector:
Remote Control A is pin 22 and coloured R/G, Red and Green
Remote Control B is pin 23 and coloured OR, Orange
Remote Control Ground is pin 25 Y, Yellow
There is also a picture of the connector and it shows the wires from back and front. I think it shows the connector for an Infiniti G35, which is identical to the 350Z except for the wire colours.
I think you may not need any module and can connect those directly to the Android head unit...and then use the steering wheel control app to map them as you like.
FYI, the picture of the steering wheel controls includes a rocker for Volume up/down, buttons for Mode beside a Power button and a Prev/Next rocker.
FYI, the my350z site has much information and there is an Audio/Video section:
Audio & Video - MY350Z.COM - Nissan 350Z and 370Z Forum Discussion
Audio & Video - 350Z Mobile entertainment and other electronics
my350z.com

mastrv said:
From the information you've provided, it's most likely that you don't need a canbus at all...especially since your old unit didn't have one.
The only thing you're concerned about is the steering wheel controls, right?
Only thing that needs to be determined is which wires to be used for the steering wheel controls.
OK. I think I've found some good info for your model. The info doesn't have 2008 but it's for a 2007 and I think the 2008 is the same. This has information about the wires to use from the factory harness that connected to the old stereo:
https://my350z.com/forum/attachments/forced-induction/360447d1390787670-finally-repurpose-your-steering-wheel-buttons-for-forced-induction-infiniti350zradiobuttonboxgeneralinstallguider1-7.pdf
It's for something called a Radio Button Box for racing applications. The install details the wires to use. On pages 2 and 3 it shows a piece of a schematic and identifies wires for Remote Control A, Remote Control B and Remote Control Ground. These would directly attach to Key1 and Key2 on the Android Head unit and any ground. On page 3 it also talks about how to test measure with a multi-meter to make sure these are the correct wires. The wires are in M39 connector:
Remote Control A is pin 22 and coloured R/G, Red and Green
Remote Control B is pin 23 and coloured OR, Orange
Remote Control Ground is pin 25 Y, Yellow
There is also a picture of the connector and it shows the wires from back and front. I think it shows the connector for an Infiniti G35, which is identical to the 350Z except for the wire colours.
I think you may not need any module and can connect those directly to the Android head unit...and then use the steering wheel control app to map them as you like.
FYI, the picture of the steering wheel controls includes a rocker for Volume up/down, buttons for Mode beside a Power button and a Prev/Next rocker.
FYI, the my350z site has much information and there is an Audio/Video section:
Audio & Video - MY350Z.COM - Nissan 350Z and 370Z Forum Discussion
Audio & Video - 350Z Mobile entertainment and other electronics
my350z.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again mastvr! Still really confused on this. So, my harness to the Joying unit has a pink Key 1 and brown Key 2 wires. What I don't get here is how I'm connecting to the car here. Soldering is pretty much off the table. I'm also very leary of cutting anything factory in the vehicle, although I guess if I HAVE to, maybe I would. My apprehension here is that if I cut something, and it's wrong, I'm going to end up with a hacked up factory harness that I neither have the skills, space, equipment or otherwise know-how to fix. That's why I sincerely wish there was something I could just adapt in a plug-and-play fashion. So completely frustrated with this.

If you don't have a connector for the plug in the link I provided, you can always use a t-tap connector so you don't have to cut it...or maybe there's some module you can use.
Anyway, there's enough info to make sure those are the correct wires. So, good luck with the rest.

Navtree Head Unit Battery Issue

Hi, New to the site and a greyhead who knows nothing about the electronics of these things. I installed a Navitree Y1E Android 11 4core 2+32GB Car DVD player for Ford Focus 2 2004-2011 audio for car video AM FM RDS 4G WIFI BT in my 201 Ford Focus. All appeared well as fitting was easy. All looked great and now I have found there is a constant live feed to the unit that is the possibe cause of a flat battery. My son is a mechanic and accepts he is not electronically knowledgeable, but he tested the wires and found a Yellow wire that was live and for memory, but there was a red wire that was permantly live and should be a switch feed. Can anyone advise if they have had experience with this model (Direct from China) and what is happening? Appreciate any help.

Subbieatspal said:
Hi, New to the site and a greyhead who knows nothing about the electronics of these things. I installed a Navitree Y1E Android 11 4core 2+32GB Car DVD player for Ford Focus 2 2004-2011 audio for car video AM FM RDS 4G WIFI BT in my 201 Ford Focus. All appeared well as fitting was easy. All looked great and now I have found there is a constant live feed to the unit that is the possibe cause of a flat battery. My son is a mechanic and accepts he is not electronically knowledgeable, but he tested the wires and found a Yellow wire that was live and for memory, but there was a red wire that was permantly live and should be a switch feed. Can anyone advise if they have had experience with this model (Direct from China) and what is happening? Appreciate any help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Guys asnyone able to help. No help from supplier and looks like I will have to ditch the headunit..

Why would you ditch the head unit? It needs the permanent power on the yellow wire and a switched feed on the red wire. Your vehicle is currently not providing this so either you have wired the unit to the wrong feed or there currently isn't one so you'd need to find a connection in the vehicle which does switch with the key and run it to the red wire. As the red wire is only a sensing input it doesn't need heavy wiring.
It is not a head unit fault.
Note some vehicles supply the switching information to the stock head unit via the CANbus, yours may be like that and would explain the lack of a switched feed at present but you can easily overcome this.

Mr.TT_NZ said:
Why would you ditch the head unit? It needs the permanent power on the yellow wire and a switched feed on the red wire. Your vehicle is currently not providing this so either you have wired the unit to the wrong feed or there currently isn't one so you'd need to find a connection in the vehicle which does switch with the key and run it to the red wire. As the red wire is only a sensing input it doesn't need heavy wiring.
It is not a head unit fault.
Note some vehicles supply the switching information to the stock head unit via the CANbus, yours may be like that and would explain the lack of a switched feed at present but you can easily overcome this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks
Mr.TT_NZ​Thanks for replying..appreciate comments..The red wire is going into the canbus via a 20 pin connector if it is cut the problem seems solved, so are you saying that I should have a switch cable run to that? See image for wiring.

Ah so you do have a CANbus module, I believe there are some issues with switching via those modules but I've never had one to play with.
You could try removing the red wire from the CANbus module and connecting a switched feed to it instead (not as well as) so the head unit only gets its switch control from your new wire. Maybe that CANbus module is not exactly correct for your model of car, there are so many variations even within a certain model that it is hard to see how the people who write the software for the modules can keep up with all of them.

Mr.TT_NZ said:
Ah so you do have a CANbus module, I believe there are some issues with switching via those modules but I've never had one to play with.
You could try removing the red wire from the CANbus module and connecting a switched feed to it instead (not as well as) so the head unit only gets its switch control from your new wire. Maybe that CANbus module is not exactly correct for your model of car, there are so many variations even within a certain model that it is hard to see how the people who write the software for the modules can keep up with all of them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again. I will try this...did a bit off research on the canbus and there is no UK retailer who will sell me a Ford canbus and guarantee it will work! Most said it would be a sale with no return.. Hey Ho..

Android 13 head unit - no way to reach Volvo Sensus

Hello!
I recently bought and received one of them aliexpress android head units. Not sure what the name of it is though but it looks just like the rest of them with the capacitive buttons on the left side.
Model Link
I got the one called "F 4G 64G".
I have a 2015 Volvo S60 and I managed to install it in the car with canbus etc. Haven't managed to get the sound working as it seems I need some sort of adapter to the factory amp for it to work.
Today I changed to summer tires triggering the TPMS system and discovered that there's no apparent way to reach the Sensus system without pulling the head unit out and connecting the old original screen.
Pretty much all of the head units I've seen have some sort of app to reach the original Sensus UI, like a passthrough of sorts, but I can't find anything like that on this one.
Does anyone know how I can reach Sensus? Is it possible to download an app from play store or sideload it somehow, or Is there some magic button combination to press on the AC dash?
Kind of an hassle to reach vital functions that the Android unit doesn't seem to support, like TPMS, service information, oil level etc...