from Symphony II to RNS-D to RNS-E... a picture story... ("long" redefined once again)

[Avantéix]

alright, i've recently gotten ride of the RNS-D (CD Nav) and replaced it by an RNS-E (DVD Nav)... and well as part of the process of taking the RNS-D unit out of the Avant and in its new home, i thought i would document every single step... so here it is... in about 80 something pics...

this can be used to upgrade from Symphony II to an RNS-D, from a Symphony II to an RNS-E, and from a Symphony II to an RNS-D and then to an RNS-E... it may not be applicable to those upgrading from a manufactory installed RNS-D...

before going any further, let me do the usual, and well deserved, kuddos...
a big thanks to Proxus for setting up a great forum: NavPlus, from which i've gathered a sh!t lot of information... anyone looking at installing either the RNS-D or RNS-E should definitively have a look over there, it's an amamzing source of info!
another big thanks to AudiA4B6US who's been a great help answering a few of my questions and much more...
thanks to radef for an excellent write-up following the installation of an RNS-E in his All-Road...
and i also want to mention both TeddyBGame and fritzner for just answering my emails/PMs and volunteering help...

so first the units:


as you can see, and that's no surprises, the actual shape of the Symphony II, RNS-D and RNS-E is the same, i.e. both the RNS-D and the RNS-E fit right in the opening of the Symphony II, w/o the need for any kind of modifications... that's indeed another story of you've got a Symphony I...

here's the RNS-D vs. the RNS-E:


a couple of obvious differences btw the 2 units:
- the RNS-E screen is about ~7in vs. the ~4in of the RNS-D
- the RNS-E can not be oriented like the RNS-D can
- the RNS-E flips down to allow loading of the DVD and SD cards
- the RNS-D only plays map CDs while the RNS-E plays music CDs, MP3 CDs and the map DVD
on top of all of that and i'm sure you'll all have realised that, the layout of the controls and numbers of buttons is just not the same...

my RNS-E sytem is a Euro unit: 8E0 035 192 C, for a complete list of all the differences btw a Euro unit and a NA unit, please check this thread on NavPlus...

i'm using a patch NA map DVD... or i should say i'll be using a patch NA map DVD as i'm still waiting to receive a working one...

further to the RNS-E unit the following parts are needed:

RNS-E adaptor:

this adaptor is designed to work for a non-Bose system, and should be ready for the CD changer, although i still need to work out all the connections from the CDC harness to the connector/RNS-E unit...

Diversity and Radio antennas adaptor:




Note: there's another style of adaptors out there, but i would recommend not getting this one... if you do, you'll have to find a way to secure the diversity antenna in its connector, and the Radio antenna adaptor will need to be jammed in to stay secured... i had that adaptor at first, and decided to get the dual one, which fits perfectly...

imo... avoid this one...

also needed is a GPS antenna:


a couple of places where you can source these from:
- Euro-Parts in the States - run by BayrischerS4 from NavPlus
- Kufatec in Germany - beware of shipping costs...
- NavPlus classifieds

here's the back of the RNS-E unit and where each of these are going to connect to...

i also got myself some readings... had to get them in both languages too...








and all of these can be obtained from Audi of America and Audi Canada Technical Literature Ordering Center, and at US$5 per publication, these are quite cheap imo...

now on to the actual process of installing the RNS units...

i believe the pics are self explanatory, especially since i've annotated all of them... i also apologise in advance to all the purists out there if i have not used the proper terminology, i'm an ESL okay!!!...

if you're directly upgrading from a Symphony II to an RNS-E, go through the "Symphony II Connections", "Fuse Box Cover" and "Knee Bolster" sections and then scroll down to the "RNS-E Connector Adaptor" section...

one vital reference when installing the RNS-D unit, is the very useful original write-up done by CVT_A4 (& family) that can now be found here... please refer to it when installing an RNS-D!

- Symphony II Connections:



- Fuse Box Cover:







- Knee Bolster:









































if you're directly upgrading from a Symphony II to an RNS-E, scroll down to the "RNS-E Connector Adaptor" section...

- Cluster Instrument:











- Cluster Instrument - Blue Connector:







- Cluster Instrument - Green Connector:







- GALA Speed Signal & Illumination Signal:
(please refer to the "Audi Navigation Plus Information Site!" for further instructions)











- Illumination Signal:
(please refer to the "Audi Navigation Plus Information Site!" for further instructions)





- Lower A Pilar:
(please refer to the "Audi Navigation Plus Information Site!" for further instructions)















- GALA Speed Signal:
(please refer to the "Audi Navigation Plus Information Site!" for further instructions)





- RNS-D Connector Adaptor:





- "Take a Deep Breath...It's Okay" Time:









- RNS-D Connections:



now the next step is to VAG the car so that it aknowledges the RNS-D unit...

alright, this concludes the part on installing an RNS-D unit... now let's see what needs to be done in order to upgrade to an RNS-E unit...

- CAN Wires:





continue from here if you're directly upgrading from a Symphony II to an RNS-E...

- RNS-E Connector Adaptor:



- Diversity Antenna:









- Diversity and Radio Antennas Adaptor:





















- GPS Antenna:





- GPS Antenna:



- RNS-D Connections:





finally the next step is to once again VAG the car so that it aknowledges the RNS-E unit... accessing "Module 17 - Instrument Cluster" isn't necessary if you've already had an RNS-D installed and programmed before...

now time to put your car back together, so just follow the above instructions in the reverse order...

once i get a working map DVD i'll post a review of the RNS-E and do a quick comparison btw it and the RNS-D...

[needforsleep]

[turkey burger]

like whoa

[starting ...]

[audigirl07]

Thanks for contributing this wealth of knowledge, it helps out NoOBs like me =).

[Avantéix]

[Projekt 8E]

geeeeeze, after all that work I did on your old unit...lol what? half a year ago!! bastard! haha

[shadyraven]

[Avantéix]

i had to un-do all the crap you did just so that i could start all over again!!!

gimme my maple syrup bottle back now!!!

[Projekt 8E]

it has special memories attached to it. I couldn't eat it. lol