Android Radio Installed. Working, AC, Steering Controls, everything.

[RealFloopyGuy]

I put it in my wife's 2017 today.  The radio was $230 for a 4g 8core android 13 one.  They are universal android radios with canbus functions built in.  They are not specifically for a particular car but they put them in specific dash kits to fit a variety of vehicles. So you have to dig into settings that aren't obvious to figure out how to get things like the AC and the controls to work.  I made a video of it.  Ignore my shakiness and nasally voice. lol.  I lost my nostrils fighting as a kid. 

 

I'd assume most of the ones on Amazon would be the same but I wanted the one I found on eBay to get a newer android version.  In my experience they don't ever get updated so getting 13 over say 10 is a big deal.

 

I have a older one, 8 or so, in my Challenger SRT8.  It is good and has worked perfect.  However, this one I installed in the wife's car makes me a bit jealous.  I'm definitely going to have to upgrade my F150 now to keep up.

AC controls work 100%.  Heated seats and all that too if you have it.  Lots of things you can activate and deactivate outside of what the factory radio had I think.  It came with adapters for everything like the factory backup camera and stuff if you have that.  Mine was a stripped down version.  It came with a backup camera.  It retains the factory USB.  You have to use the plugs on the CD player and the Radio - I didn't realize this initially and didn't get why I didn't have power til I realized that the the plug with all the black wires was canbus only and not radio wires per say.

 

It came with the canbus box and all of that.  Everything was included.  The only wires that don't get used in the dash are the HSD cable(white with purple on it) that runs between the CD player and Radio in the factory setup.  It isn't necessary as it only runs between them though.

 

Well, here is the video.  I have to pop it back off to install the backup camera(she had to go somewhere) in the next couple days so I could take pictures of whatever if anyone is interested or needs help on what is going on behind the scenes.

 

This is one of the first videos I've ever made and it broke up in the middle.  I had to splice it together, so it is the first video I've ever edited too.  I'm not a professional, go easy. lol.

 

Here is the video.  I'd appreciate a like, comment, or whatever if you watch it.  I had a real tough time finding information on switching the radio out and I found little in the way of information.  Let me know if you decide to install one based on my experience.
 

If there is interest I'll do a walkthrough of the entire install when I pop it off to install the backup camera.  Using a tripod or anti-shake filtering and a better view of the screen to not make it so shaky and not zoomed in.

 

I had to put it on Youtube because it was more than 10mb. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjrhdv75w5I&feature=youtu.be

 

[RealFloopyGuy]

Occurs to me someone might actually want to know which radio I bought.

https://ebay.us/cZeQt7

[vivrance]

I wish I'd held off on my plans until I'd seen this! Great video and review.

I just received my module today that allows me to inject android auto/car play into the OEM screen feed. And I upgraded to the bigger 8.4 OEM screen the other day from a junkyard pull.
I went that route because I (apparently incorrectly) assumed you couldn't do the integrated climate controls on these cheaper android units.
The unit you got looks great. I truly wish I had just gone that route now! I suppose it's not too late but I'll probably just go ahead and try this one out and review it as well.

[John/Horace]

They supplied the bezel to fit the new screen . It a 9” versus 8.4 “ and shape looks a little different.

How large is the canbus box that came with this unit. There was no factory back up cam and it was added by the canbus box configuration? So new wiring to tail gate was also added for this purpose? Thx.

[RealFloopyGuy]

I ended up becoming an eBay partner, so I have to add a disclaimer to the link.  “As an eBay Partner, I may be compensated if you make a purchase”.  It isn't letting me edit it, if a mod could help me out there?

[RealFloopyGuy]

On 4/18/2024 at 9:12 AM, John/Horace said:

They supplied the bezel to fit the new screen . It a 9” versus 8.4 “ and shape looks a little different.

How large is the canbus box that came with this unit. There was no factory back up cam and it was added by the canbus box configuration? So new wiring to tail gate was also added for this purpose? Thx.

The canbus is the size of a deck of cards. 

It came with wiring to run to the tailgate.  The canbus just lets the radio deal with the AC and all of that in the car.  The canbus tells the radio it is in reverse and that prompts the camera to display on the screen. 

[Farson01]

I got the same radio that you did, but either they sent me a different one or the UI has changed because it does not match the video. Did you do a system update on your radio when you got it? 

[Farson01]

Update: the user interface of the radio that I got is different from the one that you mentioned. There are no specific CAN settings. After working with the seller for about two weeks, and tons of trial and error, I finally got everything working. To change the vehicle settings, I had to do the following:
Connect the radio to a wireless network->Settings-> Factory Settings-> Code 8888 for my radio -> Vehicle-> Vehicle Settings-> Let the system "Detect" any needed updates (mine had a 30mb update), reboot, enter the menu again-> Do the following settings: Manufacturer= Raise, Category= Dodge, Model= Coolway 2014, Configuration= High version->Reboot. I gained control of the AC controls finally and some of my SWC. If anyone else runs into the same issue that I did, I hope this helps out. 

[Which]

Thanks for the review. I'd been looking for anything that would work over the last couple of months and your review is what made me finally bite the bullet. I have everything working now except the SWC. If you have any advice on how to hook that up (key 1 & key 2 wires) I'd appreciate it.

 

Thank you!