Let's talk Sat navs! (RNS510)

[Betty02]

So decided if all goes through with the gold fine then for xmas I will get the RNS510.

Been reading as much as I can, the car currently has a crappy aftermarket alpine HU in it and 6x9's which will be coming straight out!

Like i said been reading and I have read some models get battery issues (canbus or something) and when I buy 510 I will need it to be coded? So two main questions are -

1) How will I find out if I will have the battery drain issues or not?
2) Is it possible for me to code the HU itself? Easy to do?

And if you have time whats the latest FW and Maps? Is the FW free and maps cost? And does the HU have built in Bluetooth or is it an additional module

Thanking you!

[Norbreck21a]

Hi,

The battery drain issues only occurs if you have an old CAN Gateway fitted to the car. They went up in revision as the MK5 matured. AFAIK, if you have a Revision K or L (someone please correct if wrong) or newer (i.e higher letter in the alphabet), then you will have no issues. If your gateway is older than this (i.e.Rev A to J) then this could be an issue. To find our what rev you have fitted your either need to have the vehicle scanned by VCDS (aka VAG-COM) which is by far the easist way, or by physically looking at the sticker on the side of the unit. However, depending on where it's fitted in your car, it can be a pain in the ar*e to get to !

Again, coding of the unit will require VCDS to do it properly, but if you don't have it, there are plently of good folk on here that will do it for you depending on where you are located.

As for firmware and maps, well VW just launched V7 a few weeks ago. The legal and proper way is to buy the DVD disc from the dealers, but at over £120 a pop it's not cheap. The most common maps are V6.1 which have been out for a while. Just ask whoever you buy the RNS from what version of the map discs it comes with (or are installed on the unit).

Again, there's a brand new firmware floating around (3xxx series) that a coupl eof the guys on here are evaluating, but I think the lastest general release firmware is 28xx series.

There's some real geniuses on here when it comes to VW Nav systems including Darren (mortygttdi), Stu (vrStu), Eddie (Eddie_NL) and the moderator (182_blue) to name but 4, but there are plenty more. These guys can pretty much answer any questions you may have. Darren is also an excellent source for the RNS units themselves.

Finally, no, the bluetooth module is a £350 add on (normally using Skoda harware). There's a few varieties depending on the phone protocol and hardware fitted ot the car. Again, best bet if you want to add the bluetooth module onto the car, is speak to one of these guys above.

[calculon]

As for the bluetooth module, I'd go for a kufatec basis or basis plus one. About the same price as the skoda solution, but you get a few extras and it's compatible with more phones as well.

You'll definitely like the RNS, it's a nice product.

[danishmkvgti]

Canbus gateway K had me have the drain issue so i would say L or newer.
Reg. BT i chose the 729B skoda module as it pairs to most phones, and again with the revision K gateway i lost the phone in my highline when fitting the RNS-510 rev. B but after fitting a rev. AH gateway from march 2010 it came back to my highline along with being in the RNS-510.
Also when i fitted the new gateway my "ok" button on mt mk 6 MFSW started working to cancel a phonecall.
So my advice is fit the newest canbus gateway you can lay your hands on

[vRS Carl]

Some K revision gateways will give you battery drain.

However i have a K revision gateway and do not have battery drain. Im running 276X firmware in my vRS with the K gateway and that is fine. I've left the car for nearly a month while on honeymoon and it started first time on my return.

There is however a 276X firmware that has the VUCI file from the 110X firmware. This firmware, for 99.9% of people, stops battery drain no matter the revision of gateway. I do know of a couple of people that it hasn't worked for. But the majority it does.

The latest firmware is 276X. If you are not bothered about Voice Control then there is a later 130X (don't worry about no's) but you don't get voice control with this firmware. You also require bluetooth for Voice Control.

If you get a Skoda Rev B or VW Rev C RNS-510 then there is a leaked factory beta firmware (380X) that is currently the most up to date. However to get the features over 276X you need V7 maps.

Just so you understand No's the firmwares go in the following order (X is replaced by a no. depending on unit it goes on. So for example 2760 is VW & 2764 is Skoda) However all the Firmwares for all makes of RNS510 are on the same disc. The unit just recognises it and installs the correct firmware for that unit.

100X (Original for A Rev Units)
102X (Rev A Units)
090X (Rev A & B Units)
110X (Rev A & B Units)
116X (Rev A & B Units)
120X (Rev A & B Units)
266X (Rev A, B Units & Beta for Rev C)
268X (Rev A, B & C Units)
272X (Rev B & C Units, Support dropped for Rev Units)
276X (Rev B & C Units)
130X (Rev B & C Units Voice control removed)
380X (VW Rev C & Skoda Rev B only)

There is Modified 272X & 276X firmware for A units (I am using 276X modified on both of my Rev A Units) which enables you to have the latest on A units.

You can Plug & Play the unit with no coding. However if you have highline it won't show the Nav Instructions until properly coded. But it will still work as intended but on the screen only. If you get Bluetooth that will need to be coded.

Again with the phone not showing in the Highline. Some K gateways will some wont. As Danish has said get the latest CAN Gateway you can get your hands on. They go for around £85 off eBay or about £130 from a dealer (expect more when the 20% VAT kicks in).

My advice would be get a C Rev LED RNS510 and fit that. Fit either the OEM Bluetooth or the Fiscon Basic Plus. I have the Fiscon Basic Plus and am very happy with it. Benefits over the OEM BT is that you can do AD2P bluetooth streaming. There is a newer version of the OEM BT that does this but i'm not sure on the compatibility with what cars etc at the moment.

If you want Firmware i can provide or point you in the right direction (VWNavi.com) where you can get it from.

Maps can't legally be downloaded. However there are ways of obtaining them if you know where to look/who to ask.

I'm Kent if your nearby and can do all the coding etc. Im also in Wiltshire Mon-Thurs (but not from Dec 10 - Jan 3).

Any other Q's just ask away

HTH

Carl

[apollo13]

Brilliant info as usual Carl   

Heres a link to some very cheap 'AF' can gateways even with the crazy delivery price!!

 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350392462622&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.co.uk%3A80%2F%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm570%26_nkw%3D350392462622%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

I got mine from here no problems.

Lee.

[Betty02]

Guys this is great information! Should be made a sticky as I guess enough people ask!

Thanks for the help, I have the VAG-COM software guessing I just need a USB to obd port now.

Hopefully I get the golf asap and will see which version 510 I can afford for Xmas!

Appreciated

[TonyZed]

Canbus gateway K had me have the drain issue so i would say L or newer.
Reg. BT i chose the 729B skoda module as it pairs to most phones, and again with the revision K gateway i lost the phone in my highline when fitting the RNS-510 rev. B but after fitting a rev. AH gateway from march 2010 it came back to my highline along with being in the RNS-510.
Also when i fitted the new gateway my "ok" button on mt mk 6 MFSW started working to cancel a phonecall.
So my advice is fit the newest canbus gateway you can lay your hands on

Hi Mate

I have a 2005 Gti with RNS 510 version C (2680 firmware I think) together with 729B Skoda bluetooth unit and Highline display. I have fitted a Mk6 MFSW but not yet managed to get the channel/track buttons to work, or the left/right buttons on the right hand side of the wheel. The button in the middle on the left side with a picture of a phone doesn't do anything either.

I had to fit a later can gateway to prevent batter drain, but I'm not sure which version it is.

I am trying to find out if these buttons, or at least some of them, can be made to work with this setup. Yours seems pretty much the same, so I am wondering if you can tell me which buttons work and what they do!

TIA

TonyZ

[Norbreck21a]

Brilliant info as usual Carl   

Heres a link to some very cheap 'AF' can gateways even with the crazy delivery price!!

 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350392462622&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.co.uk%3A80%2F%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm570%26_nkw%3D350392462622%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

I got mine from here no problems.

Lee.

Lee, those do seem crazy prices. Are these units all ok ? I only have a rev E in mine ( albeit with older firmware for the RNS) and have been thinking about upgrading the gateway for some time, but just couldn't justify the over £100 mark. Would an AF rev be ok for most things that the later RNS firmwares do ?

Cheers

Andrew

[apollo13]

Hi Andrew,

I have one of those AF gateways and its fine. As far as Im aware they are the one of the latest versions. They stop the battery drain and allow you to run the newer f/w. Im running 2760 with no problem at all.

But Im sure someone with more knowledge will be able to tell you for sure.

[Betty02]

What's you opinions on this -

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VW-GOLF-PASSAT-JETTA-TOURAN-TIGUAN-EOS-GPS-SAT-NAV-DVD-/300497350707?pt=UK_Audio_TV_Electronics_In_Car_Entertainment_GPS_In_Car_Audio_Players_PP&hash=item45f709b033

Reason being I really can't afford a RNS 510 (budget of £300) so this looks like a smart alternative.

Anyone got this? Peoples thoughts on this?

[rich83]

My CAN p/n is 1K0 907 530 K ...  would i have to replace it to upgrade to the 510 without issues?

[apollo13]

Rich,

A K gateway is a grey area. Some suffer and some don't.

I'd say L or above to be sure mate.

But if your getting it off Darren, ask him to put the newest firmware he can on it that wont cause battery drain 

[Betty02]

So even if you have a CAN that has drainage errors you can bypass this just through the latest firmware?

[apollo13]

Not quite.

You can use an older firmware or a modified version of a newer firmware.

But I posted a link to some very cheap can gateways above so you might aswell change it!!  

All the info regarding f/w, can gateways and battery drain have already been posted above in this thread in detail by vrs carl.