Flat battery problem after installing 9000-1 - any suggestions ?

[Transporter]

Boys, keep it on topic, please. I don't see how the last few posts help to OP.

[clip]

And the chinese knockoffs perform no-where near as well, for a start the screen can't be viewed in bright light, it has no hard drive, the audio quality is poor, the interface is rubbish, they don't integrate into the car, they don't operate correctly (as can be seen from this example) and you have to constantly mess around with them to keep them running.

Fair enough Transporter, but just to balance the record for others, Maverick's posts do need a response.

I've had my AVC9000 since the car was new and have not had a problem.

and to address some of his concerns:

"the screen can't be viewed in bright light"
- true, it is not great in bright sunlight (bloody awful actually!), but I did go into the dealer to check out the RNS and I wasn't overwhelmed at the difference, although it was much better (but positioning in the Tig is bad for viewing any of them really, would be better if they mounted them lower in the console).

"it has no hard drive"
- true, it does not, but it does have true iPod connection and control, USB connection and SD card access for music, video and photos

"the audio quality is poor"
~ very arguable, the audio quality is as good, and some have reported better than the RNS510. Personally, I run an amp using the line out on the head unit and generally listen to CD's only. The sound quality is outstanding and I'd be surprised if any other head unit would sound significantly better in this situation.

"the interface is rubbish"
~ well, it's not actually, it's just that the stock menus could look better. But everything is there and it works when you touch the screen (of course, they can be customized to your own liking if you have the ability or desire - as I have).

"they don't integrate into the car"
~ not true, the unit does integrate with the car and is supplied with the vw can bus inter-connect, so the car does talk to it and everything works with the exception that it does not link with the MFD, but all other switching etc does work inc. steering wheel button functions.

"they don't operate correctly"
~ mine does, always has.

"you have to constantly mess around with them to keep them running"
~ - not in my experience.

plus it has:

~ built in blue-tooth that works flawlessly

~ satnav that works flawlessly and fast

And, I did the installation myself, it took about 30 minutes and the unit worked perfectly when I switched it on.

Cost? well, you know the price. The difference I saved, paid for hi quality audio gear inc. 2x amps, sub, and German Maestro splits, and still have money left over.

So you'll never convince me that buying the RNS, and then bluetooth etc. to bring it up to the same "apple" as my cheap Chinese unit is a good choice.

Oh, and as for re-sale as someone suggested, adding an RNS to a Tig because you'll get it back at re-sale is the same as thinking that adding seat covers is going to add to it's resale value.

[Transporter]

To Clip

I like it.

That is a very good summary, I can see that something positive can come from this “battle ground thread”.
Could you do a write up? The Informative post for new buyers, which would help them compare both AVC9000 and RNS510 units, their features and differences including DIY install with pictures, if you wish. Maverick can help since he has a lot of knowledge about both audio units, of course if he would like to.
Once finished we can make it sticky in our section. Remember to be fair and keep in mind that not everyone can afford (or wants) to spend a lot of money on a radio.
Besides it is human nature to always try to save money.

It is the purpose of this forum to help others with information and advice. After all that is what brought everyone of us to VWWatercooled forum.

[clip]

It is the purpose of this forum to help others with information and advice. After all that is what brought everyone of us to VWWatercooled forum.

couldn't agree more with that Transporter

[G-rig]

what I can't understand is why all these genuine units are so cheap? A couple of those sites do look decided dodgy, and hate to have to try and get a claim from them. So lets forget these suppliers and stick with the real thing so we can compare apples to apples please.

I personally wouldn't buy this kind of thing from ebay, but had no worries purchasing from the other overseas vendors (ie Stu and Tommy).

The chinese made units come with pirated operating systems, pirated navigation software and pirated maps so why would you compare this against a unit with "legal" maps.

I'm pretty sure the chinese models have dodgy software anyway. Do they come with a manual and a CD?

Could you do a write up? The Informative post for new buyers, which would help them compare both AVC9000 and RNS510 units, their features and differences including DIY install with pictures, if you wish.

Maverick has done a nice write up with install pics here on the RNS-510 and OEM Bluetooth for those interested:

RNS-510 and factory bluetooth

[ploz58]

apreciative

thanks folks for the "balanced" discussion,
i had just ordered an AVC through rob apparently a new shipment arrives tuesday which has the usb port on the front.
Rob was very honest had mentioned that some people have had trouble but a new head unit had been sent up to help investigate the battery drain.
so no blab blab blab sales talk he appeared to be right behind his product

after reading the current thread and going to all the other sites, i thought id done the wrong thing, but getting a balanced view restored my faith.
Im fully aware of you get what you pay for.

Thanks again, and keep up the good work and i appreciate the experience out there
regards
Phil.

[G-rig]

Back on topic, what was the problem vincent?

[Maverick]

Back on topic, what was the problem vincent?

From the post I saw on golfmkv he had returned the car to stock and returned the AVC9000. I assume the replacement had the same problem???

[G-rig]

We will never know except that the stock head units don't have a problem

[Arctra]

From the post I saw on golfmkv he had returned the car to stock and returned the AVC9000. I assume the replacement had the same problem???

I contacted Vincent on Friday (21 Aug) about it and he's waiting for Rob to send a replacement unit to be installed. FHRX pretty much isolated that it was caused by the headunit, even though it was actually the CANBUS multiplexer that wasn't turning off and was drawing about 0.2A per 12 hours. Once they have the replacement they'll be able to tell if it was just that particular headunit which was the problem, or if it's a fundamental problem with the design of the headunit (therefore all AVC9000-1/WD6050 headunits will cause the same multiplexer problem).

So in summary, it's still a "watch this space" case here...

[ploz58]

interested

ive just purchased one of these units from rob,
but as yet had not had it installed,

Im hoping this is an isolated issue,

Any suggestions on how/where to locate the GPS antenna,

kind regards
Phil.

[Transporter]

Do some search in Golf5 and Audio section there is a lot of info there about the unit and from my reading it is not all the gloom and doom only. Some owners are quite happy with it.

[mattyb]

Reading

Hi one and all

Ive been following this post and a few other, re the AVC9000-1/WD6050. There are about 188 and counting pages of info on the golf markv forum. My take on the power drain issue is it is a CANBUS issue with certain model VW's.

[Maverick]

Hi one and all

Ive been following this post and a few other, re the AVC9000-1/WD6050. There are about 188 and counting pages of info on the golf markv forum. My take on the power drain issue is it is a CANBUS issue with certain model VW's.

It's actually an issue with the aftermarket headunit not the car.

VW send signals via the CAN bus to switch devices like the headunit on and off, if the receiving device does not power off that is the fault of the headunit or the installation of it.

Poor reverse engineering of the CAN bus signal is the reason for many of these problems. Other problems can come about during installation with poor connections to the CAN bus network. There's information here on repairing the CAN bus network which gives an idea as to how wiring and connections should be made.

http://www.my-gti.com/991/performing-repairs-on-can-bus-wiring

The only problem with factory headunits is where an older model series PQ35/PQ46 (MY08 onwards is fine as are quite a few MY07) has a third generation headunit (RCD 210, RCD 310, RCD 510, RNS 310) installed (excluding the RNS 510) and this requires a CAN bus gateway upgrade which is a $300 project.

Remember that the third generation headunits didn't appear until the MY09/MY10 models so the ability to fit them to a MY06/Previous Series is something you generally wouldn't see from other vehicle manufacturers. But as I said don't confuse this problem with issues with aftermarket headunits.

Info on the problem is in more detail here.

http://www.my-gti.com/1101/upgrading-2nd-generation-radios-rcd-300-rcd-500-to-3rd-generation-rcd-210-rcd-310-rns-310-rcd-510-power-drain-issue

[NZTiguan]

Hi one and all

Ive been following this post and a few other, re the AVC9000-1/WD6050. There are about 188 and counting pages of info on the golf markv forum. My take on the power drain issue is it is a CANBUS issue with certain model VW's.

Is there anything wrong with the vehicle prior to installation of the aftermarket head-unit ?? Answer NO

Therefore there is NOTHING wrong with the CANBUS, there IS something wrong with the aftermarket head-unit in that it's installation does not work correctly with the manufacturer's (in this case VWs) system.

You can't expect the manufacturer of the vehicle to set it up specifically for some aftermarket unit, you CAN expect the aftermarket unit to be engineered to work within the system provided.