Finally got around to fitting my sat nav this lunchtime. I had toyed with what to do, including nearly buying a 2nd hand Amundsen+ head unit over the weekend, but decided to hold off on that purchase until I had at least tried to fit my existing Garmin unit into the car in  way that was tidy.

 

I don't want trailing cables, and I don't like having things stuck to the windscreen. In previous cars I've been able to feed the power cable behind the dash via a panel gap. However, the Rapid is pretty well screwed together, so panel gaps don't really exist. In the end I was able (quite easily it turned out) to feed the cable down by the drivers side A pillar. It now runs under the dash, where I will wire in a 12v socket, powered off a switched feed from the fuse box using an Add-a-Circuit adapter. From what I've read here, the rear wiper fuse seems to be a good one to run off.

 

For mounting the nav, I've dispensed with the Garmin suction mount, as even when attached to a dash disc, it loses suction after a week or two.

 

Instead, I've fitted an NKMOS Ultima S mount. I discovered this mount, made in Australia, on Kickstarter earlier this year when the creator was trying to raise funds to put it into production. I ordered one in black for use with my last car, but never got round to fitting it after said car reached its premature end of life and needed to be traded for the Rapid.

 

NKMOS Ultima S in-car mount by Chris Green, on Flickr

 

This is a great mount, made from a single piece of aluminium, with a suction cup on one end (allowing it to be fixed to windows, dashboards and dash discs) and a sticky flat surface on the other where you can press on (and remove) you item of choice - it has been tested with everything up to full size iPads without problem.

 

In order to get the suction cup to grip the slightly curved and textured surface of the Rapid dash, they include both a conventional stick-on dash disc, as well as a sticky rubber pad. I'm using the sticky rubber pad, which is the same size as the suction cup, and when placed between the suction cup and the dash, creates a grippy surface between the two and allows for a very strong fit. They have a video here showing how it works: 

 

Anyway, back to my fitting:

 

NKMOS Ultima S in-car mount by Chris Green, on Flickr

 

NKMOS Ultima S in-car mount by Chris Green, on Flickr

 

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NKMOS Ultima S in-car mount by Chris Green, on Flickr

 

NKMOS Ultima S in-car mount by Chris Green, on Flickr

 

The traffic receiver lump on the Garmin power cable is annoying as it does make the wiring slightly more untidy than it should otherwise be. Luckily, the extension TMC aerial is hidden behind the dash, below the windscreen (there's quite a gap there). It also gets a pretty good signal, which is encouraging.

 

Now I know that the nav can be fitted in a nice and tidy way, I've been thinking about getting a new one. Either upgrading to a newer Garmin with the new DAB-based traffic feed, or going for the TomTom Go Live 5000 or 6000 with the built-in data connection. However, I briefly owned a TomTom Go Live 820 which also had the built-in data connection for traffic etc. Not only did I find that unit to be very sluggish, it would often fail to connect to the traffic server for long periods of time, while TomTom's customer service absolutely sucked. I don't know if it's got any better.

 

But either way, I do like the idea of moving from my current 4.3inch Garmin to something bigger.

 

Thanks

Chris

 

 

 

 

That looks good. Nice and neat/tidy[emoji106]

I would recommend an Amunsden though [emoji6]

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Yeah - still very tempted by the Amunsden as an integrated, fully supported head unit nav would look good, but the aftermarekt does offer the benefit of more frequent map updates (and cheaper map updates), potentially more nav features and the ability to remove it. Will likely make a decision later today.

However, If I do stick with the Garmin and go ahead with putting in the 12v socket under the steering column, I need to find a good ground point - anyone got any suggestions on where I can hook onto?

Cheers

Chris

I believe in the side panel on the end of the dash (drivers side) there should be a stud with a nut on which is a great earthing point like on the Octavia [emoji106]

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Amundsen does not support speed camera POI's.  I hoped to be able to overcome this but it's a no-no.  If you're going with a factory item Columbus is what you need.

What non-factory options are there? Any that people particularly recommend? I saw a Kenwood stand in my local Skoda dealer but didn't think to enquire about price or fitting options.

Over £900 the Kenwood is and I've heard they are very troublesome [emoji107]

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Amundson+ sat nav crap mega expensive updates in fact you could buy a new Garmin for the price of the updates.

Over £900 the Kenwood is and I've heard they are very troublesome [emoji107]

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£900? Ouch. I already have a Garmin sat-nav, but really want a DAB radio for the car, and the Swing doesn't have DAB so it looks like I have to go for the Amundson+. I saw this upgrade thing, does anyone know if it works and if it's any good?

How about this, it's listed for a Mk7 Golf but would fit http://www.advanced-incar.co.uk/volkswagen-retrofits/vw-golf-mk7-navigation-retrofit-upgrade

Tidied up the wiring this morning. Installed a hidden 12v accessory socket behind the dash to power the Garmin. Wired into the fuse box using an add-a-circuit. Tapped into the rear wiper 15amp fuse (which is a switched live unlike the cabin cig lighter/accessory socket which is a permanent live on my car - which is weird), and found a screw underneath the fuse box that went straight into the subframe, which provided a ground point (didn't fancy undoing either of the two bolts accessible from the right side of the dash, looked far too structural).

 

Here's the wiring:

 

 

 

Removing the side panel on the right hand side of the dash was tricky. No panel gaps and unlike other Skodas (where this is the fusebox location), this cover isn't really intended to be removed once it is fitted. Managed to pop it by working three loyalty cards in behind it. All the wiring is hidden behind this panel, ensuring that everything is neat and tidy. Removing this panel also allowed me to tidy up the cable run to the A pillar a little bit, so it's all a bit straighter and cleaner now where the cable emerges at the dashboard level.

 

So - sat nav project completed. Next up is cleaning the car so I can get all those trim parts fitted and replace the number plates with ones that don't provide free advertising for the crappy dealer I bought the car from, then getting some mud flaps. After that I need to get the facia surround from the Swing radio off so I can fit the Dashmount phone holder bracket I've ordered. Should be more or less done personalising the car at that point.