Thank you so much. Neither Halfords or Pioneer have told me how to get my phone working with my radio, and by watching this I've now figured it out. Just need to know how to get the radio back out the car to install that extra wire and I'm good to go
After buying a camper and looking at stereo guides and installation info this is by far the best review I have seen. Going to install ours Wednesday evening. Do you know anything about needing to have a wire fitted to the fuse box to be able to have the radio on when the ignition is off?
I have ordered the SPH DA 160 DAB. Is that the latest model as the model numbers seem to go down with newer models, Hopefully I have ordered the newer version. Love your videos very easy to watch and understand.
Hi I got a Pioneer SPH-DA230DAB for Xmas ,watched your vid 👍.can you supply the additional parts I require to fit to a T5.1 2012 no steering wheel controls ,or advise what I need.Regards Dave.
Hi. Brill video. Really clear to follow. One quick question. I have set up as you showed but every time I start up the stereo has re-set. Any ideas. Thanks.
Hello, thanks for producing the video. I have bought this unit to fit to a CLK (year 2000) and have connected it using a Connects2 interface. When all connectors are in place the unit simply does not turn on - do you have any ideas?
Thanks for your reply. The factory Audio 10 unit works fine, however, I am told the power to it is derived via a can-bus signal. Could this the issue?@@AlexCarter-AscAudio
@AL-01 of course you need the right harness some merc stuff has fibre and requires the right products to work you can test to see if the cigar lighter is ign and use that as a switched source for the ign if not fuse box with a fuse tap will work .
Many thanks for your input. I have one more query; do you know if can you use both the RCAs and speaker level connections simultaneously? So, the RCAs will go to the 4 channel amplifier which will power a component 3 way speaker (all speakers at the front of the car, and then use the rear speaker level wires from the HU to the rear speakers... @@AlexCarter-AscAudio
Hi Alex, great informative video! Really helped me out as i’mmabout to buy this unit. I waa left with just one question; do you need to install the external microphone for sure, or is that just to assure better audio quality in phone calls? I’m considering leaving the microphone out as i don’t call that often in the car, but i do want to be reasonably understandable once i get an occasional call. When i use Apple carplay, won’t the microphone of my mobile phone help out perhaps? I would be really glad if you could help me out here!
I'm about to instal this to my transporter camper. Is it possible to cut the power cable and redirect it to my household battary? I need some music while camping.
Very helpful thank you! Just for knowledge purposes, I have seen a couple videos (American I think) that pioneers need a timed pulse for the parking break wire, so you need to fit a switch and won’t work straight to the earth, could I ask you opining please. I have no knowledge so please keep it simple, I just enjoy learning stuff. Thank you!
Yes straight in . Depending on the stereo currently some jzs run an amp make sure you check or you'll get no sound . You need to either bypass or adapt
@@AlexCarter-AscAudio I currently have a FH9100DVD but it's like full japanese and it's a pain in the ass to put my p30pro on it. Only have bluetooth, no android auto or anything... :(
Hi, i have just fit mine in my non Bose Audi a3,and all is working fine due to the help and your method watching the video. I only have 2 front speakers and have decided to add two rear speakers however i have the connects2 wiring harness and i am not sure were to run my new speaker wires to as both the pioneer harness and the connects2 as green and purple wire does it matter were i connect them..Thanks
Can this model work at all with a car that doesn't already have steering wheel controls installed? I acquired this unit a couple of years ago for my Daihatsu Copen convertible. After driving in bright sunshine with the roof down I've realised that steering wheel controls would be very helpful. I've recently bought an ebay steering wheel controller (bluetooth to a wired adapter which is then wired to the back of the HU using two key wires). I had also viewed various YT videos, including one where I mistakenly believed the RU-vidr was installing the same Pioneer model as mine, ( using the HU he was able to program each button on the SW remote). I now realise that I'm well and truly stuck. I'm aware of Connect2 adapters, but these only seem to be viable if you already have steering wheel controls. Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.
So it will accept a steering controller but this is more the digital type . Kenwood and some other chinesey ones have an analogue type it's basically seeing a voltage or earth trigger and you then assign the pulse /signal to the right button
Awesome video man I have a question I have a Pioneer DMH-A240BT but it only has 1 subwoofer on the harness to connect the amp so where do the RCA’s go ?
Hi Alex, I recently bought the pioneer 230 and has been working well. Now for no reason when I connect my phone with the usb it doesn't recognize it, have tried phone in friends car and works in that and he has tried his phone in mine and does not work . Any ideas would be appreciated. Thank you. Philip
Bonjour , super ta vidéo . Je me suis abonné . J ai une question . De quelle couleur est le fil qu'il faut branche avec le fils vert ( celui qui est seul et pas branché ) merci Laurent
Alex great site, very helpful. I have a 2014 Defender 90 with a Pioneer AVIC-F960DAB double Din head fitted. It's never really worked on the DAB or FM side of things, although the phone hookup, Bluetooth and Aux are all good. It had a glass mount aerial fitted, but the vehicle has a heated windscreen so it never really worked. I purchased a converter to provide FM and DAB through the old stock aerial, however that doesn't work either. Does the head unit provide 12v or does the power wire provided with the converter need to be connected to a 12v source? I also have a replacement aerial with an FM, DAB and 12v feed which hasn't yet been connected which I could try. Do you know of DAB/FM issues with the older Pioneer units? Thanks and regards, Nick.
ello make sure the pioneer radios software is up to date you can do this by downloading to a clean empty usb and update the unit yourself , then yes boosters need power from the blue aerial/amp turn on wire, and when you restart the pioneer make sure it says aerial power on click yes
@@AlexCarter-AscAudio Alex, fantastic advice, thanks a lot. Connected adaptor to 12v with a splice connector and updated the firmware and it works a treat. The only drawback is that now it works, it proves that the Defender has rubbish speakers! Thanks again.
This is a great review, but I have a car specific question. I have a 2012 Ford Mondeo Titanium X Sport with keyless start. In most Pioneer manuals, it states their headunits cannot be fitted in cars without an accessory mode on the ignition. Most keyless cars do not have this, and as such are pointless to fit in these cars. Surely, there must be a way for me to fit a Pioneer Android Auto head unit in my car without issue......
@@AlexCarter-AscAudio, many thanks. I did think this was the case, so it appears my headunit is faulty then. I've had it 2 years trying to get it to work, but it keeps freezing and switching off randomly. Decided to fit it into a car with the accessory mode and a physical key start and the symptoms persisted. Time to try another one and see if that is faulty too. Fingers crossed the next one will work fine. 🤞🤞🤞
Do you have any ideas to why my Samsung won't find or connect with my stereo it is the same one in the video - I have connected the green/black as explained . I have tried to connect the USB in the back and it just charged my phone but does not pick up anything to do with andriod auto.
make sure you use a lead for data transfer not just charging. reset the unit to defaults make sure the software is up to date . make sure your phone has android auto on ii ready to use . then last of all make sure the settings on the radio are ready for android auto not pioneer app radio
Good evening. I managed to get the android auto working in the end via USB. Reset the settings and used a different lead. Do these sph dab230 stereos not support wireless android Auto?
The wiring harness that I have connects to my sp 230dab but has no wires for the handbrake or reverse gear coming out of the plug to the unit, would you have a picture of the configuration so I can connect these in
Hi, Had this unit about 6 months. Really happy. Had to disconnect the battery and now cannot get it to recognise my phone via USB for maps and stuff. Bluetooth works fine. Any ideas? Sure its simple but get a cannot accept message come up. Radio works fine
things to try different proper charging cables oe are always better . reset the unit re pair and re connect updates check the phone firmware and unit software are up to date
Hi Alex, Love the video's you produce. to the point and very informative. I like the look of this Pioneer. I have a Renault Master 3 2012 with a built in Carminat tom tom near rear view mirror and single din radio with steering wheel control. I would like to upgrade to the Pioneer. Would this be possible and have you come across this type before. Maybe you could suggest an alternative. I've converted the van to a campervan. Thanks in advance. Wayne.
Hi Alex,do you know is any chanses to connect it with original rewersing camera or I need to order the camera which going with that unit? The car is 2010 Toyota Avensis?
yea we dont use old aerials because of the age of cars new radio new aerial if the stuff youre replacing is already old why use a potentially faulty old piece of equipment
Hi Alex great video, can you tell me if I can watch Netflix off my iPhone 7 on the unit when it’s connected through USB cable, obviously when we’re not driving cheers 👍
the 230 doesnt mirror pal the 160 and 360 do using the auto link app the only way it may work is through a lead red white yellow phono and some kind of apple av out lead
@@AlexCarter-AscAudio hey can you help? I was on a call yesterday via Bluetooth. This morning it’s showing as still on a call but to myself. I have tried reconnecting Bluetooth and forgetting the device etc. It won’t let me end the call. My unit has been top notch until this morning. Very frustrating
do a firmware update from pioneers web site , make sure the phone has up to date firmware also , then delete pairing re pair and try again , the 230 doesnt mirror videos its just car play android auto device
Watched a few of your videos on this stereo, really useful info about the wiring - thank you. Have you ever fitted this to a Peugeot Boxer? I am struggling to find any help on how to fit it, bought a kit with all the right cables and facia etc but it comes with no instructions. Can't figure out where the fixing plates go and what adjustments I need to make as the Pioneer is slightly bigger than the gap which has been left by the original head unit. Please help 🙏 I really want to be able to fit this myself
joleen yes i have done loads so the peugeot boxer is the same as the fiat design its not that straight forward as some kits have the cage and facia as one and some rely on the cage being mounted and the facia just sits alone over the front . this can mean fitting the radio and then messing around with the radio angle to get it sat far enough back and at the right pitch that the stereo doesnt try to kick the facia off of the dash , the main focus is the cage mounting how it sits and secure s into the dash then test fit the facia to figure out the right angle and pitch then finalize the install by securing everything . if you have the fiat version it may show screws offset and hidden up top and sides and bottom to hold the cage in the oe position, sometimes you can modify the stock cage to hold the radio some times you cant just figure out what works best . the problem is if you use the oe cage to hold the radio you cant screw into the sides of the pioneer in the dash and then you cant fix all the cage screws because the pioneer is in the way it will require some thought what works best .
Hi I’ve got this exact same unit mate I have done hand brake by pass etc all good working but how do I watch videos or RU-vid? I don’t know how you get video to play or RU-vid etc I only can get music to play where do you watch video etc?
it doesn't have wifi for your phone so smart switch isn't available you can use a usb with videos loaded onto it or it has an av input for a dvd plaver unless your device has an av out you can't
@@AlexCarter-AscAudio argh man that’s why I brought this for lol :( & you know on iPhones how you can screen mirror where you can put iPhone screen on tv like it does what ever you do on the tv can you screen mirror with this radio?
@AlexCarter-AscAudio wicked thanks mate still getting a blank screen after activating it in the settings ect so at a bit of a dead end now lol. I'm usually pretty good with things like that too
brilliant review. not being car audio savvy, does this have enough power from it to run speakers and sound good or do you need to run separate amps from it?
Hey Alex, thanks for the videos. Adding onto what has been asked. I have a pair of VIBE BLACKAIR T12S-V6 12" Car 900W Passive Subwoofers on the way for my T5. Will the da230 be able to drive one of them without an amp? To drive the both of them what amp would you reccomend? I have an LWB and was thinking to place the subs behind driver and passenger seats. Any tricks on securing them to that area or any better ideas? Thanks for your hard work and videos!
I have this stereo. I connect it via USB cable to the header unit from my Iphone 13 pro. When it's handling Google Maps and Spotify at the same time, it starts stuttering a lot - to the point where it then looses the connection to Apple CarPlay. I haven't yet fixed this yet and am still looking for solutions.
@@AlexCarter-AscAudio Thanks so much for the reply. Firmware update option is greyed out Alex. I've ended up ordering an Alpine this afternoon as I just got fed up with it :). I love your videos by the way :).
Great video Alex! Does this unit display rear parking sensors by default? otherwise do you know if this display the rear parking sensors if i use a connects2 adapter in between?
Just bought one of these, and seen mixed things, is it possible to set up a rear camera and be able to choose to use it when I want and not be restricted to use it only while in reverse gear? Great review btw, very informative.
yes it can run cameras yes to controlling it use an ignition feed for the reverse camera power but run that through a switch on the dash then you can use the cam like a reverse mirror when you flick the switch . this would not work automatically when in reverse anymore but you can keep an eye on trailers and bikes behind you when driving normally instead
Top quality work, very informative video thank you! This is down to the £280 mark now with the release of the da250dab, wondering if you think the new model is worth the premium? Smaller screen but capacitive on the newer model is the main difference I think?
Alex Carter just watched your 2 da250 videos, it’s a nice looking unit but I agree the 230 looks nicer and you can’t beat physical buttons but I’m getting swayed by the capacitive screen. I’ve found the da250dab for £325 so roughly £40 more, priced so closely which would you pick and does the different screen technology make much of a difference eg pinch to zoom on the da250. Sorry for the questions but with lockdown it’s hard to go and see them in store and you definitely know what your talking about, any helps greatly appreciated.
Thanks for a very thorough detailed review Alex. Just a few q's if you don;t mind. I'm one of those old people that gets confused. My centre console illuminates in an Orange kind of colour, does this unit have an option to change its display to match my cars interior console lighting.. Will this unit fit directly into my cars inbuilt microphone. It's a 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage. Many Thanks.
Super Video. Is there any solution to use a USB Y Cable or a hub on the USB? I want connect my phone and my USB stick. When you connect a hub or a Y Cable it shows Hub error. You only can use one source.
Hey Alex very good video. I went for the SPH-DA-130DAB. Q1 Does the same brake bypass work on that? Q2 After cutting the green and black wire which cut black wire do I attach it to 1 the black wire on the car side -or- 2 the black wire on the radio side. This is probably a dumb question but I'm no electronics expert ;) thanks
Hi.. I have my 230dab connected up and everything is working as it should except when the phone rings and I answer it the phone isn’t putting any sound through the car speakers and the person on the other end can’t hear me either.. Mic is connected up as it should be as well!? Any ideas?? I should add, it is fitted to a 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee and I have fitted the steering remote magic box as well.. 👍
Hi excellent video thanks, just a quick question regarding the bypass wire for the hanbrake,i have been told that some units cannot udate the firmware and you will have to use a bypass cable that uses the power amp feed,however i want to use that to power a amp my question if you can help is can i spice in to this and use it to also power the amp.Thanks
@@dennisgreenwood867 Hi Alex, after watching your video and the advice on the pioneer parking brake bypass(which i did and was working fine) i have now replaced that unit with a Sony SONY XAV-AX5550D 6.95 i don't receive it until next week and i was hoping you knew if the same procedure applies to the Sony or if there is a different way any help would be appreciated. Ps i got rid of the pioneer solely due to having a faulty pico fuse that was giving me grounding loop issues ,returned it for repair and i have just lost faith in it..Thanks
Hi: put the pioneer dab130 into car with a halfords reverse camera. The camera is connected to live reverse light and and connected to bodywork for negative. Camera works on ignition but when started it goes fuzzy or dosent display. Is there something I am doing wrong. Tia
the classic ecu problem . when the ign is on the cars voltage is enough to show /power the camera. when you start the car the camera reverse light voltage drops bellow the cameras working range use a relay in the loop to trigger a higher voltage then youll be right
@@AlexCarter-AscAudio wonder if you can provide more help. Hi I have the SPH-da130 and I have got a camera from halfords my mate has wired it up and it works when ignition lights is on when started picture goes off or fuzzy. So he wired a relay in the circuit but it still doing it. Is there a reason why it’s happening or do I buy another Pioneer camera ? Help would be appreciated
I'll make a video showing what to do all cameras are the same its a picture through a phono and a power and ground from the reverse signal . The head unit will need a feed either ground or live depending on what's available and the setting on the stereo and that's it . No hocus pocus
Hi and thanks for the video, one question: when you link the green wire with the black wire, is the black the grounding mass (minus -), in other terms do you just shunt it? I wouldn't want to make a short circuit.
Hi Alex thanks for the vid. I have this stereo but I am missing the power lead. Is there any chance you could send me a link to one online? I'm having so much trouble finding the correct one. Cheers
This has been brilliant, and very handy the last few days helping my friend install. Is it possible on his 2004 Transporter, than pin 4 and 7 are the wrong way round. Every time he comes back to it, it asks for language and has to re-search for DAB stations. I’m gonna get myself one soon!
Hiya mate, would love to get a link to a video featuring your chaser! Idk if you could help point me in the right direction... Bought a car with this already installed. It always used to 'hum' (from the actual unit not from the speakers) and suddenly the headunit stopped working and has not powered on since. I'm going to try and see if it's just a bad earth or a fuse but would love to get some pointers as to what it might be if not any of the aforementioned. Thanks in advance.
Some chasers have amps . Go through the wiring end to end make sure that its wired up correctly and not bodged . If all else fails just add a power earth and ign and run four new speaker cables . This way you know end to end its good
Hi, I have this exact unit, I had it in my fiesta and it worked fine, now have a 06 Ibiza and every time I take the key out of the ignition it goes off like it should, put the key back in and it will reset every time. Can you help? I’ve done it the same as I had it in the fiesta and it just doesn’t want to work properly with me. Cheers
Hi Alex another Question you maybe able to help me with .....I’ve got a Pioneer SPH-Dab 130DAB & I’ve never been able to watch stuff off my iPhone, even with the green & black soldered together, would you know if it’s compatible to watch Netflix cheers
Nope its blocked from the phone . Only WiFi screen sharing units will do it . Some Apple phones also measure GPS movement and can stop playing if they recognise a car connected really annoying
2 questions, Is it gonna fit a Toyota Aygo 2010? My bet is yes, with a different dashboard frame. Second is how can I connect the usb to my phone? How will I redirect the wire to my air vent holder without it being a massive mess?
www.ebay.co.uk/b/Interior-Fascia-Plates-Panels-for-2010-Toyota-Aygo/108815/bn_7017244867 it fits. Also, just route the cable down toward the center console.
Good morning, just a question about Pioneer Dmh A340 DAB. Re USB drive, The head unit does not shown the music in artist order, I think it's in the order of when they were put on the USB (my PC shows them in the correct order) , is there a way around this or will I have to redo my USB drive? Thank you. 🤔
My guess it's when the computer moves the data to usb its doing either alphabet listing or duration there will be a reason .I'm sure we had this mentioned before its a setting somewhere to retain the original list and not re design the list
Great review but i still have a few questions left. -is the navigation only working through the smartphone? -can u mirrorlink the smartphone to this head unit by bluetooth or does it only work by pluging it in by cable? The reason behind my questions is that i would like to listen my music from a usb stick and still being able to listen to it when using navigation. I dont want to fill up my phone with all my music because there wont be any room left for something else, it will also become slow too. I hope to get an answer to my questions Thanks in advance anyway
Yes the mapping only works through the phone being connected . You cannot mirror link on this one . Look at an upper level pioneer with wifi then you can link via wifi and have music on usb
@@AlexCarter-AscAudio could you provide me the model of a radio who can do what i want, i also want a radio without a cd player. If you own a webshop i might order my headunit there since you can help me getting exactly what i need, Normaly i would go to a shop and go through the options and radio models with a guy who works in the shop that sells headunits but it is not possible during this corona period.
Hi Alex, I've now installed my Pioneer da 250 dab unit but tieing myself up in knots with the options with installing a reversing camera. Everbody seems to have an opinion and I am wondering what is the correct way. Can you please cover this, The camera I bought has a red and black from the camera in addition to the yellow video line. There is the long yellow video cable inclusive with what I would call a red trigger line, presumably this goes from the camera to the back of the Unit. Do you run a separate live and return to the camera or feed it via another cable from the unit? Any advice appreciated
Hi Alex, Just installing the pioneer in a 2015 Vauxhall Vivaro. I'm also fitting GreenYi E358 Car Brake Light Rear View Camera. If I'm connecting to reverse gear signal input(purple and white to red cable from camera 12v) Can I earth it to the same place/connection as the handbrake wire (green) to earth black. Or is it best to find another place to earth it? Any help greatly appreciated :-)
so simply put and earth is an earth you can use a body earth of a wired earth but make sure its a good earth . power for a camera usually comes from the reverse 12v feed but in some cases the power level ie 12v can fluctuate not high enough to keep the camera powered so you may need a relay to add more wiring , if you are lucky some steering control leads have a reverse trigger output too this can be used to switch the stereo to camera and power a camera too if need be hope that helps
Hi Alex, I’m just trying to fit one of these in my sons 2012 Polo, and we purchased the harness, however we aren’t getting power to the unit ? Can you suggest what’s best to do?
yellow perm 12 v red ignition black earth thats all it needs for power to turn on check you have those working . also with vws you have some times two power wires on the vw quad lock plug make sure the blue wire from the pioneer isnt going to the vw power wire 1 or 2 because the central locking fails
Looking to buy this unit alex, touching on the note about grounding the HB wire for video, can i watch full length video via usb on this unit? And if so what are the formats, thanks, great video, your answer will determine purchaseol
This is the old model look at my new 250 review and yes films via usb . Google pioneer sph da 250 dab that's the new one specs online for mp4 blah blah
@@SuperCotter123 Plays• Your iPod, iPhone, Android Smartphone • Bluetooth audio Via USB: • MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV and FLAC audio files • H.264, MKV, FLV and MPEG4 video files in Full HD • Mpeg2, DivX video files • JPEG image files
Hi I've the same head unit and its in a vw t5.1 I want to add rear speakers do I just connect to the rca out puts for it or is there a kit you could recommend. Thanks rich
@@midnightmover2329 it can be . Use a VW facia kit from connects 2 . Install your mic and aerial safely away from air bags and moving parts the rest is fairly straight forward
Anything lower end I use alsorts kenwood jvc Sony and pioneer but for anything of any integration or phone capability I only use pioneer . The staff are very proactive at sorting problems . I bought kenwood top of the range wifi unit to test in 2 hours it completely crashed and kenwood response was send me an email and we will look into it . After 3 weeks I got a reply . The kenwood went back the next day and I've stayed with pioneer ever since support is key
Quick question mate, I have this unit and wanted to know, do I need to buy a cable so that my reverse camera will work when I install it or can I just unplug it from the current unit and plug it straight into this one ?
Could you put that in a transit and still have it work from the multi function steering wheel ? It would be replacing a factory for 6000 rds double din head unit.
What's the voltage on the pre-outs mate? I used to have a sph da120,really good sound quality,but there's a huge issue with them,the OS is on a sd card and the slot that the sd card slides into it simply breakes after a while thus giving you a software error and the HU will fail to boot up.
I've never had that problem or seen it happen . If you are concerned about output levels you could use a speaker feed to raise the output voltage and match the gain with the amp or a pro line driver
Hi Alex I've recently purchased this unit for my sons vauxhall corsa 2011 and hopefully the correct iso harness. Is it a simple case of plug and play ?
as long as you have the right leads . the vauxhall corsa is a funny one some need a power and ground fly lead connecting too depends on the version . but follow the harness instructions i'm sure you can do it
@@popesta72 the power and ground comess from the fuse box take the 4 torx out drop the glove box ground to chassis metal ign feed is a purple with a yellow stripe test before connecting
Hi Alex. Finally got round to installing the head unit using the connect 2 iso harness. As you mentioned it did need a 12v ign switched feed which I took from the ignition barrel. It also needed the smaller cage but now it's in he absolutely loves it. Sound is amazing too with the cars speakers. Thanks for all your advise 😉
Hi I have sph da230 dab unit everything was working fine and sadly the keyboard button stopped working this happened after I left my car in a workshop for a repair. Could it be from settings???
Hi mate, great video! I just have one question in regards to the handbrake cable, the black wire you attach it too, do i just snip it in half and just connect the green wire to 1 half off the cut black wire leaving the other half of the cut black wire not attached too anything or does it all need to be connected together? Thankyou
This “trick” no longer works for bypassing the parking brake safety check on modern Pioneer units. You must either install a switch inline with the green parking wire and ground that then has to be flipped on and off a few times when you start the car, or, you can buy/build a small device that does the bypass for you when the car is turned on.
Alex are you shop based you sound as if you know your stuff looking to fit a 230 into an rcz trying to keep the parking sensors and steering wheel controls is this something you could take on Cheers martin
I would use a durite 5v twin usb charger and use the stereo purely for inputs CarPlay or android auto . The voltage is limited to a usb but a 5v charger is more powerful
