Retrofitting radio controlled clock

[HPsauce]

Just to note that I've plugged in my antenna this morning, it was very easy to do.
I gained access by removing the drivers knee panel, which needs a trim tool, T25 torx and 8mm socket.

1. Prise off the curved plastic trim immediately below the steering cowl, just held by 2 clips.
2. This exposes a couple of screw heads (mine were T25) holding the knee panel, remove these.
3. Remove the 3 screws in recesses in the panel - bottom left and right and in the top right of the storage recess. Mix of T25 and 8mm on my car.

The panel drops down (OBD cable is connected!) and even my big arthritic hands could easily reach the socket on the back of the instruments to plug the receiver lead in.

It looks like this panel has been off before as the screw in the storage recess wasn't actually doing anything - just jammed into a clip that wasn't clipped anywhere and where it should go seemed to have been broken off. Probably removed incompetently before.
So I'm going to have a more careful look and see how it can be fitted better, none of the fixings were actually done up properly.

I'll get the laptop out later and do the coding then "await developments".

[notorious]

HP, The only thing that can be damaged are the clip's threads. Basically, where the bolts/screws go. Clips are available from audi and cost pennies. Just order some. The are used everywhere in car. Bolts/screws are also orderable and cost pennies.

You can now use cluster's adaptation channel 19 to switch on lower bit to make cluster aware of the receiver and then drive for some time without knee panel testing reception with procedure I provided. If you're happy with reception where car stays during night you're fine.

Because reception in my area is more challenging and/or my example of receiver can be a bit 'badly tuned' this is going to be a slow burner project for me.

I realised that if I open receiver case the antenna is separate-able from small electronic module that demodulates signal and converts it to electric pulses that go to cluster for further software processing. It is possible to change antenna to significantly more powerful one without cluster knowing of what I did. I want to try to do that, so it'll take some time.

[HPsauce]

Originally Posted by notorious

You can now use cluster's adaptation channel 19 to switch on lower bit to make cluster aware of the receiver and then drive for some time without knee panel testing reception with procedure I provided. If you're happy with reception where car stays during night you're fine.

Thanks, I just had a look with VCDS and channel 19 is currently set to 30000. Does that mean I set it to 30001?

I just had a look where the clips fit and only 3 of the 5 will be reuseable on my car, sadly. The two by the steering cowl and bottom right near the bonnet release. The other two were not secured anyway.

The other two clips should go onto plastic mounting bits of trim, but these have been broken off (not by me!) so there is nowhere for the metal clips to slide over. Fixing them is going to be tricky, so I'll live with it as it is for now.
Both of the unsecured screws are jammed into the metal clips, so I think someone probably used a power tool on them, got them cross-threaded and so rotated and ripped the clips through the plastic mountings, throwing away the plastic bits that presumably fell out.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by HPsauce

I just had a look with VCDS and channel 19 is currently set to 30000. Does that mean I set it to 30001?

Yes, this is correct. 30001 is what you need.

[notorious]

BTW, the 30000 stuff configures behaviour or your needles/dials:

[notorious]

HP, after you change adaptation channel to make cluster aware of clock receiver pay attention if you remove receiver from cluster for this or that reason.

If during synch session (see above when and how it happens) cluster won't see the receiver it will throw an error. Nothing major, but error will need to be deleted.

[HPsauce]

Thanks for all that info.

[notorious]

>> I think someone probably used a power tool on them,
>> got them cross-threaded and so rotated and ripped the clips through
>> the plastic mountings, throwing away the plastic bits that presumably fell out.

I'd pay a lot catching him doing this. Will kill him on the spot without hesitation.