VX stereo ugrade and steering wheel control question.

[carbs]

This might have been asked before or a variation of this question. Sorry for being lazy on finding the right thread (there's so much thread to look at).

Anyway Im planning to upgrade my stereo on my VX exec, so just I can put in CDs and play mp3 on them and maybe upgrade my speakers as well.

My question is, is there a stereo that will work like a "plug-and-play" on my VX that I will still be able to use the audio controls on my steering wheel.

I found a thread about mod of a stereo to work with the s/wheel but its to technical for me. So next I thought of was to just removing the audio controls on the wheel since its useless.

IS it possible to have a new stereo/head unit and remove the audio controls from the wheel?
What will the wheel look like after removing the controls? (please provide pics if possible)

Thanks for looking. Any help or information will be appreciated.. Thanks again.

[scozz76]

You'll need a head unit that has a steering wheel interface input... There's quite a few on the market now.

I bought an SWI-PS Steering Wheel interface unit for my sony head unit - easy to install (3 wires + programming) and works without any problems.

I just bought another one for a mate who has a WH Statesman, as far as wiring it seems the same. except where I used mode 3 (vy commodore), I'll need to programme his for mode 9.

Your VX should be the same resistance as his so yours would be mode 9 aswell. You can check this by measuring the resistance.... I think this is also covered on this forum, hopefully someone can confirm this.

[michaelw]

I am working on a prototype of the converters myself. But if you want something that works out of the box then yes, more head units will have the electronics built in to them. More knowledgeable people than I will tell you which ones to buy. Expect to pay about 100 more for the radio, but that still works out to be cheaper than the converts on the market. One other thing depending on where and if you are getting it installed you will pay to install the radio and the converter as two separate things so there is an added cost for the two units.

hope this helps.

Mike

[scozz76]

The SWI-PS cost me $84AUD from USA..... Including postage.

[michaelw]

The SWI-PS cost me $84AUD from USA..... Including postage.

Cool, I didn't know they were that cheap, with our dollar at the moment you could probably get a better deal.

When I asked JB to install one they were going to charge me extra to install the converter over and above the cost of the radio install. Personally if I had the choice I'd get a stereo that could read the controls straight out of the box without a converter.

Mike