Hello!

This is the first time I've posted... sorry the post is rather long.

I bought an '02 2.0 Fabia Elegance a month or so ago. The dealer agreed to supply and fit a 6 CD changer.

At the time they said it would be put under the front passenger seat, but when they were about to fit it they said it had to go in the boot :( Apparently only the ones fitted in the factory would go under the seat...

Well, not one to give up easily, I said I'd look into fitting it myself - I've a fair amount of experience.

I took the seat out, looked at the storage compartment and decided I could basically cut the back off it and fit the changer 'inside' it. It would be hidden by the door, plus there would still be room to store extra CDs. This all went very well

Now comes the grief...

Not having the head unit extraction tools, I pop back to the dealer to borrow theirs. I pull the head unit, plug the changer connection into the back (blue mini-iso) and... nothing happens. Much scratching of heads ensues. Someone then decides that the MS 402 head unit won't operate a changer This didn't really surprise me since there wasn't a CD button on it

So they pull a Symphony head unit from their showroom vRS but still nothing happens. CD changer won't even swallow the magazine. The CD changer is a 6 disc Grundig MCD-36. We try with the 10 disc version from their stores - still nothing.

In the end they decide to order me an MS 502 head unit plus another CD changer (just in case this one is duff).

Well I've got these now and after a bit more investigation, I've found that the so-called CD changer GND on pin 18 of the radio's mini-iso block doesn't go to ground. I put a direct GND connection to a screw on the changer and, hey presto, it springs into life and swallows the magazine

But the head unit still will not recognise that there is a changer.

Has anyone got any ideas??? Has anyone retrofitted a Grundig changer to a standard head unit, and if so can they remember the models? Has anyone got an MS 502 with a changer?

I've tried:

Grundig MS 502 head unit with Grundig MCD 36 changer

Grundig Symphony head unit with Grundig MCD 36 changer

I'm starting to think that maybe this Grundig changer is not the one for these head units. The additional changer I've been given, however, is not a Grundig one, it's a Panasonic changer. It has a short flying lead, presumably to plug into a harness. It looks very much like the type of unit that I've seen in the back of Octavias (Octavii???). It just says '6 Disc' on the door, and the magazine is curved (the Grundig changer say 'Grundig MCD 36' on the door and the magazine is square). But I don't have any sort of harness to connect it to the head unit.

Thanks for any advice.

Ivan.

Hi Ivan,

Welcome to Briskoda. :wave:

I can't really offer and advice I'm afraid other then to do a search on ICE and fabia. Have you thought about getting the dealer to sort it out ?

Just found this info on another thread

not sure on the manufactuer of the auto changer for VW/Audi but the Skoda ones are by Panasonic with a Blaupunkt type connector.

The Skoda HU are by Grundig with the forementioned connector type. IIRC the VW/Audi OEM HU are Blaunpunkt/Bosch sourced.

So sounds like the panasonic should work :confused:

Hi Ivan' date='

Welcome to Briskoda. :wave:

I can't really offer any advice I'm afraid[/quote']

Jane,

Yet again you took the words right out of my mouth

Perhaps the car/head unit needs telling it now has a cd changer via vag com\or equiv, maybe then a fault code my assist - just a guess

OK, I've been back to the dealer. First we tried the MS 502 head unit in an Octavia with changer that looks identical to the Panasonic one I've not been able to try - no joy.

Then we look at the parts list and find the harness for connecting the head unit to the Panasonic CD changer. Amazingly they have one in stock! (What they thought I was going to use in the first place, God alone knows.)

I use it to plug the MS 502 into the Panasonic changer and IT WORKS

In case anyone else manages to twist their dealer's arm into giving them a changer, here are the part numbers that work together:

MS 502 Head Unit: AAO 400 003

Panasonic Changer: AAP 035 001

Connection Harness: AZO 000 001

The connection harness even comes with an additional crimp terminal attached to the GND wire, to insert into pin 3 in the yellow part of the mini-ISO - see earlier post about lack of GND connection.

Thanks for the advice, particularly Jane's

Ivan.

You're welcome,

Glad to hear you've got it working !

Damn it to late. Was about to say they are now Panasonic changers in VAG cars, sorry.

Welcome to Briskoda, Ivan, and glad to hear that you got the CD changer sorted eventually.

The connection harness even comes with an additional crimp terminal attached to the GND wire' date=' to insert into pin 3 in the yellow part of the mini-ISO - see earlier post about lack of GND connection.

Ivan.[/quote']

Ivan, was this wire by any chance brown?

Cheers,

Brian