Electrics: V70 Aftermarket Stereo

[stuart bowes]

scrap the RS option the only good one was about £80 lol

maybe better off with this: amazon link

cheap enough to take a punt on I would say but you might prefer to find something of higher quality I suppose

it's even got an optional little dust flap

while on topic I also changed the ciggy lighter on the rear of the arm rest (for back-seaters) to a twin usb charger as well

[Bearintheair]

I also have an aftermarket head unit, not a dissimilar setup to Stuart. I went with an absolute cheapo amazon special with Android auto, I'd probably recommend getting a nicer one from a proper brand, but I just wanted a working stereo.


I still have my cupholder, the facia panel isn't a great colour match, but its functional. not sure exactly where the facia panel came from, but I did find it on ali express here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003136145481.html

I also ran the cables for the usb and AUX in to the arm rest, giving me a place to tuck my phone out of the way.

[Bearintheair]

Originally Posted by stuart bowes

other points to note:

being a volvo you dont turn the lights on and off therefore the dimmer option wont work (the map is BRIGHT white at night and dimmer turns it to dark mode) so I fitted a little rocker switch to feed a 12v signal into that wire on and off.

also the rear view camera needs 12v. if you use the reversing light then it only works when you have it in reverse. which is ok, but some people like to use it to monitor a tow hitch (and you can go into the menu and press rear view only to see a blank screen unless you are in reverse) so feed that from a standard switched 12v

dont forget the tow connecter by the spare wheel has a variety of useful cables to splice into for this purpose. that way you only have to run the video cable up front. i used this to switch my sub on too.
connecting to the reversing light may cause imbalance and a fault? unknown to me but possible (others can confirm)

The lights dimmer works on mine, flip the lights on to dim the screen. Might be a different wiring kit.

And re: handbrake: next time you're in just take the cable and tie it either to ground or 12v permanently (think its ground, can't remember) so you don't have the problem.

[Bearintheair]

Originally Posted by stuart bowes

Do love the fit on that sub, that's tidy.

Nice to see another one in the non leather seats base model gang.

[stuart bowes]

Originally Posted by Bearintheair

re: handbrake: next time you're in just take the cable and tie it either to ground or 12v permanently

I might have to give that a go, cheers. I did try permanent live I think? whatever I did didn't work anyway so it must be the other one, surprised I didn't think of it tbh

anyway the light switch dimmer isn't really a drama, you leave the headlight switch on all the time anyway don't you, so either way you have to go out of your way to dim the screen by switching one switch or another.. 6 of one half a dozen of the other I guess. what does annoy me is android auto is supposed to auto switch to map dark mode when the phone does it which is the only reason you need the dimmer. but they haven't sorted it out yet. white map at night is a problem

the only difference I can find between headlights on or off is the main beam stalk behaviour. and even with it set so it 'clicks' on and off I've kind of learnt how to flash it without it clicking anyway (just pull gently)

[stuart bowes]

Originally Posted by Bearintheair

Do love the fit on that sub, that's tidy

cheers took a bit of faffing around to get it bang on. as you may have guessed the sides of the box are actually just flat, and the curvy ends are just glued on to fill the gap above the arches. it's a bit of a wiggle to get it in and out

since then I fitted a black plastic mesh across the whole front of it to stop things hitting the cones or shorting anything on the amp connections (which are also taped over just in case)

[Bearintheair]

Originally Posted by stuart bowes

I might have to give that a go, cheers. I did try permanent live I think? whatever I did didn't work anyway so it must be the other one, surprised I didn't think of it tbh

anyway the light switch dimmer isn't really a drama, you leave the headlight switch on all the time anyway don't you, so either way you have to go out of your way to dim the screen by switching one switch or another.. 6 of one half a dozen of the other I guess. what does annoy me is android auto is supposed to auto switch to map dark mode when the phone does it which is the only reason you need the dimmer. but they haven't sorted it out yet. white map at night is a problem

the only difference I can find between headlights on or off is the main beam stalk behaviour. and even with it set so it 'clicks' on and off I've kind of learnt how to flash it without it clicking anyway (just pull gently)

Head lights are always on so the knob is just a dimmer control for me. The lack of a blacking out map is definitely a pain.

I agree, it is quite easy to just turn on the high beams when you're just flashing.