Hi There,

Recently acquired an 06 Bentley Continental GT and have found the following to no surprise.

a. iPhone 7plus connects, and the caller can hear me, but I can't hear them through the speakers. Know that this is because this vintage of car has rSAP. The quiet cabin makes using the speaker OK, but I don't like it. The thing in the armrest looks cool though, lol.

b. The iPod connector works great sound wise with the 4th generation Nano that I have, but only shows 99 songs and no title, unless I look at the ipod screen, which with the wiring in the glovebox is not going to work.

c. GPS unit, CD based is slow, among other shortcomings.

So I'm looking to replace the screen with something else and have come across the following by searching this forum and the web...


aa. https://www.nav.tv/products/bentley-head-unit-replacement-kit-benhur

The above unit is just plain ugly and I don't like losing the factory screens as I like them, particularly the trip computer and shock/ride height settings. Also a ripoff, not to mention ugly.

bb. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C18bg5HnBmA

I really like this one, as it keeps the stock look, which I like, including the plasti/chrome trimmed buttons. I even like the looks better than the new 'all screen' nav system. I also like how they preserved the factory screens. I live in NJ and they aren't even responding to my inquiries.

cc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEPMpYVPEvE

A korean similar to the above, but even better as it doesn't have the controls for the aftermarket radio, that look out of place. Tried contacting but also no response.

dd. http://advancedice.com.au/bentley-integrated-touch-screen-navigation-system.html


The above is the best of the bunch and a great price. Also no response.

I're reached out to all parties to request information, offered to ship my head unit, asked if they have a local affiliate, etc and no one has responded, likely because I'm not in the area or country.

So, given the above, my questions are as follows:

1. short term questions... IPOD Connector: Any way around the 99 file limit for the iPod connector? Would the USP connector be better? Any difference in sound quality between the 2?

2. On CDs burned with titles from iTunes, the names/titles don't show up. Any particular settigns to burn CDs so this doesn't just say Title 1, Title 2, etc?

3. Anyone know how the factory screens are being sent to the aftermarket units in options bb or cc above? Perhaps someone can provide or knows the wiring pinout or scheme?

Given the lack of responses from the various vendors, I'm thinking my best bet is DIY aftermarket double din, with the factory video being sent into it.

Seems that if the Bentley Factory screens could be sent on a 'channel' or input to an aftermarket radio, heck, even chinese android versions, one could get properly working bluetooth, attach front/rear cameras, no longer need an iPod, and most importantly get modern navigation/poi's with touch screen and better resolution.

Of course, I knew all of this going in, but I bought the car at an incredibly reasonable price mainly for the interior, exterior and motor most of all and there's no reason not to improve upon it if I can!

I also know I could get an iPhone mount, but I don't want to soil that lovely interior with out of place looking stuff.

Any help appreciated!

 

Alright, after some more searching, I found the following incredibly helpful thread by another forum member (lilo1980)

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...-headunit.html

lilo1980, pm sent!

Hoping to get get parts/firmware/instructions sources lined up and will be glad to post my step by step progress here.

 

Hi Sam,

Id love to help you with this project. I'll get back to your PM tomorrow. The system still runs well. I have all the information you needed to complete the project if you're tech savvy.

I had to abandon my tutorial plan as I ran into some unrelated issues with my car and also experienced personal breakup.

It will be nice if you could document some of the steps as you go along so it will help others.

the project requires some tech-savvy. For non-savvy users, I think there is a business opportunity for anyone who wants to start retrofit service where users can ship in their head unit to be retrofitted with the new system.

 

Thanks lilo1980!

Really sorry to hear about the troubles and hope things get better for you.

Somewhat techy as I've recently gotten into vintage turntable and tube audio and have soldering and test equipment such as oscilliscopes, multimeters, etc and also have an arduino that I've played with a fair bit as well as some wood working veneering skills/equipment. I've also posted several rebuilds and refurbishment pictorials online.

Regarding retrofit, I did see a gentleman who sells this on eBay but is in Germany and sells entire head units, mostly for Phaetons and are and few (looks like maybe 2 or 3 a year).

So far I've got my parts list as follows:

1. Touchscreen 7" that is compatible with the openrtd2662 firmware and can accept RGBs signal (via firmware update) from stock head unit. Also should have inputs for reverse/front/side cameras (or do these go the car pc?), capable of tail light activation/switching for reverse and HDMI input for car PC.

2. USB port programmer to update touchscreen's rtd2662 controller firmware

3. Firmware requested from http://openrtd2662.ru/ (I'm assuming this is requested by resolution?) to allow screen to properly display rgbs signal from stock head unit.

4. Android or Windows based Device with USB Inputs and hdmi outputs.

5. 12V based Power Supply for car pc.

6. Side, Front and Rear Cameras (interested to learn where to mount the sides and what type of cameras work best)

7. USB Bluetooth to plug into car pc.

8. Haven't figured out this yet, but I need to figure out how to get audio out from car pc to the head unit. (perhaps via GROM?)

9. Some type of steering wheel control for answering phone, if stock can't be used.

Also need to figure out how to get stock microphone (for bluetooth use with phone) input into car pc. (also hopefully via grom)

Once I've learned some more and identified the specific units to purchase, I'll post the parts/sources along with an expected wiring diagram.

I'm going to start without the cameras at all just to get the unit working and stabilized. Once I'm comfortable with that I'll start with the rear camera and graduate to the front/sides. Also not sure yet, how the steering wheel inputs get to the screen to adjust the backup lines for reverse. Perhaps this means that cameras should go to carpc for an app that can do this and perhaps integrate the cameras for a 'top view' of all cameras.

Thanks!

 

ps.. also found this unit from bulgaria, which sell for $400 us to accept the stock units RGBs signal.

https://www.eldibg.com/resources/***...ion_eldibg.pdf

 

Hey Sam,

i highly recommend you not to install 4 cameras. I did that and wish I didn't. The amount of works involved is insane. Here are some potential complications (happened to me):

1. Broken window regulators (front and back). This could just be bad luck.
2. Realign quarter glass, front door glass, and rear door glass or you gonna get windnoise and water ingress (still haven't have time to fix this because I need to tear apart the front door and back trimming.
3. Removal of door mirror requires removing the entire door trim which is an insane amount of work unless you've done it before.
4. Running all these wires are the pain in the ***

 

1. Correct. My LCd board has 1x HDMI input (for android),1x RGB Input (for Bentley original system), 2x Composite, one can be trigger by sending 12V to the line (for reverse/360 camera system)
2. Yes, you need a usb programmer to update the firmware
3. Yes. Different lcd panel and controlboard require a different firmware
4. I used android tv box that has mike input so I can use voice command
5. I used a fusetap and some relay design to provide power to carpc/android and the new LCd screen and controller board. Right now, the system boots when the door handle is pulled and shuts off when I pull the key from the ignition. I will install a delay timer relay so the system can stay on for 5-10 minutes in events such as refueling or quick bank run where the system won't have to do a hard boot.
6. Highly not recommend 4 camera. Install rear camera only.
7. not sure what this meant
8. I used Grom unit via aux
9. Not used in my car. I got some tiny BT steering wheel controller but truthfully, it is pointless as the touchscreen (I customized the DPI so everything is huge in Android) is so large that you can scroll through songs in spotify easily without any distraction to driving.
10. Haven't done phone intergratiion
11. Keep everything simple for future maintenance purposes.


The eBay guy was the original guy who came up with a working solution at the Phaeton forum. There are many LCD screen choices. I do not recommend using a 800x600 screen as the resolution is very low even though it is better than original. The screen I used is 720P native and capable of 1080P.


Here are the basic steps:

1. Remove original LCD screen and replace with a new LCD screen + controller + touch panel insert
2. Fabricate a connector to connect original Bentley computer to the new LCD controller RGB input
3. Provide power source to the new LCD screen/control board.
4. Program LCD touch screen panel to work with whatever system you intend to use(Android/PC) . Due to my screen size, I had to flip the LCD touch panel vertically so I had to reprogram some Android OS parameter to work with this upside down touch screen.
5. Customize Android system (jailbreak + load touch screen driver + car optimized settings etc)



Tools you'll need:

1. 12v multimeter
2. Bench top power supply. I recommend one and not use computer PSU as I've fried some board accidentally using that
3. Soldering iron and supplies
4. Dremel to cut an opening in existing faceplate as new LCD screen is slightly larger.

Is your PM disabled? I can't seem to send you a private message. It will be the best if we can chat on skype so you can ask me question in real time. The project should be relatively easily if you have someone to guide you to tough spots. I had to bang my head on the every step of the way because everything was new to me.

 

I got a similar system from NavTV which cost a lot as well. Not applicable for the purpose of installing a touchscreen system. This system is good if you want to add a rear view camera.

 

Thank you! I will check out my PM settings. Perhaps my low post count is preventing me.

Also, really appreciate the excellent advice on the cameras! I'll change my plans to do reverse only after I've got the basic setup working.

I'll get set up on skype and send you my info.

Sam

 

Thanks Just PMED you.

 

After about a month of effort and tons of help from lilo 1980, here's an initial instruction set. I'll post updates as I make improvements and let me know if you need the files and I'll zip them up. If someone knows how to post the pdf and files online, please do.

Trying to attach now...

 

And some vids...

 

The possibilities that I can think of are as follows:

1. The LCD controller switches to the video input when 5V is applied to one of the terminals, and then switches back (for the reverse camera feature, 5V taken from reverse light, so works a charm). I don't know the controller well enough to know if this is possible for the RGB input as well. If so, it might be possible to trigger the switch to the hdmi input (new car PC) as well to return.

2. The LCD controller has an IR remote receiver that allows switching inputs. If it was possible to generate/beam that signal to the lcd controller, that might be another possibility. One could theoretically control the button presses with wire extensions from the existing switches the the little remote that comes with it and place the remote 'in view' of the sensor.

The other complication that would have to be figure out is how to have it switch back to hdmi. For a third option, perhaps a small circuit board could be built to do the above using an arduino or raspberry pi and programming the logic, as I think they have programmable logic, and you could also add an IR transmitter, if one isn't already on board, or even perhaps feed the digital signals via wires directly to the LCD controller if the right pins can be found (or the righht point int he circuit).

Unfortunately, my electronics experience is limited to restoring vintage tube era equipment with all point to point wired connections and no transistors, let alone logic/digital signals. Perhaps there are members on here more adept who can chime in.

 

Thanks for taking this on Dark Green. One other thing I should mention is that lilo1980, who explained how to do this, mentioned he a good starting point from the VW phaeton forums, where I believe this was pioneered for VAG cars. I've not looked but, perhaps one of the enterprising folks there may have figured this out.

Looking forward to what you find out as this would help my 'startup' process. Right now the minor annoyance I have is flipping back and forth using the ash-tray button for things like AC adjustments and in daylight, checking the suspension stiffness. (not a problem at night, as it turns yellow in sport mode, and even in the day, the motor on the main **** tells you when you've gone all the way right after pressing the shock button, with it's motor controlled resistance. Another reason I wanted to keep the stock unit since that's really neat.)

There may be a way to force sport mode on start, but I haven't yet been driven to explore that.

One other thought I had is if this could be done with the LCD controller's firmware or the car PCs operating system. For instance, if it had picture in picture mode, that popped up a smaller window when there was a screen change detected on the rgb signal. Not sure if the android OS or the controller support that though.

 

Getting the basics working first is certainly a priority and not without some trial and error. Your button selection seems reasonable. (edit. I would add the shock stiffness select button and think just AC and shock would be enough for most every day)

My startup sequence is usually.... car on... flip to native screen... acknowledge nag screens... set shocks to sport... ac off & windows open (unless it's raining or winter) ...flip to back to android screen. A bit annoying, and the android os does take a few seconds to boot.

Once I've done that, I've found little reason to go back to the stock screen on a regular occasion. Once in a great while, I'll tweak the audio settings. For the rest, the up/down/auto buttons for the AC work just fine. Hardly ever use the trip computer other than the one in the center dash, or the other buttons/features.

Be glad to share all that I have. (one more post and you will be able PM me your email address and I can send you the file - Funny, I had the exact same problem when first attempting to contact lilo!)