What's Can-Bus? Do I need it for aftermarket navigation head unit?

All premium model cars are with can-bus system built-in, and many base model ones also come with can-bus nowadays, that's a difficult question of knowing if your car has can-bus or not, because this information is usually not listed in the user manual, and even some car dealers don't know if their cars have can-bus, well, if you want to know if your car has it, firstly let's take a look at what's can-bus.

CAN Bus is a multiplexed wiring system used to connect intelligent devices such as Electronic Control Units (ECU's) on vehicles, allowing data to be transferred in a low-cost and reliable manner. CAN means 'Controller Area Network' and was developed by Bosch in 1980. Most new vehicles use this system and it is becoming increasingly difficult to install after-market products without using a CAN Bus Interface.

If you have a Volkswagen vehicle, and you want to upgrade your factory radio and cd player with an aftermarket touch screen head unit with navigation system, there are many things you should know before buying aftermarket head unit, the first question you should know is if your car has can-bus or not, because if your car has it, you should choose the can-bus option as well for the aftermarket head unit, if not, the steering wheel control may not work or even you can not turn it on at all after installation.

Sometimes the seller for head units can tell you if your car has can-bus or not if you can send your car information to them, you can send your car's model, year model, and a dashboard photo, and sometimes they will ask you to find the information for your car.

If you still don't know if your car has can-bus, you'd better choose the can-bus option when you order an after market navigation system because it's not expensive, in case your car has it, then you can use it. The can-bus is usually connected to the power cable with a small white plug. Here is a picture showing how to connect the can-bus decoder with the power cable.

You can learn more information about can-bus from wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAN_bus

Buying Guide for After Market Car DVD Navigation head unit

There are so many after market car DVD navigation units in the market, and the number is growing due to different models of vehicles are growing. If you feel boring with your factory dashboard and want to make it look modern, you can replace the factory radio with a new in-dash DVD navigation system which has much more features than the original one, including playing videos, a large touch screen, Bluetooth hands-free phone calling, Bluetooth streaming music, navigation system, auto rear view display, and so on.

The first question you may have is which exact unit can fit my car? That's a good question before you buy the new dvd navigation system head unit, because that's a big trouble if you order the wrong product which does not fit the car. Firstly you can check the description of the unit to see if your car model is listed there, if not, you can contact the seller and send them your car model, manufacture year, and a dashboard photo would be great for them to check further. A professional supplier can answer your questions quickly and professionally, from their replies you can tell which supplier is the best.

As you need to remove the original radio and panel in the dashboard firstly before installing the new navigation/ DVD head unit, make sure your installer of yourself are able to install it, returning is not available in case you failed to install it. That's an easy job for a professional technician, but if you want to do it yourself, that's not difficult either because you can search online and find the installation guide, or the seller may ship the installation manual to you together with in-dash car DVD, while it does require some electronic acknowledge for installation, if you does not have such experience before, it will take a long time for preparing and installing such a unit. That would be much better to go to a car stereo shop and ask a professional tech to install for you.

There may be a problem after installing the new head unit, in most occasions the problem is from wrong installation or settings for your car and your area. For example, if there's no back light for buttons from the DVD unit, you can check a wiring diagram at the back of the unit so you should be able to find a wire labelled "ILLUI" which should connect with your light wire to get back light for buttons of the head unit. If your steering wheel control does not work after installation, check firstly if you connect a can-bus decoder with the power cable, or try to study steering wheel controls in settings. A reliable seller should also be helpful for any questions you may have. If you can not insert a CD disc into the DVD player, you may not take the 2 screws at the top of the unit before installing into your dashboard.

In some countries you may need to pay for the customs duties in your local customs, which is not responsible for the seller, because its' the buyer who import goods from overseas. However, you can contact the seller and ask them to declare much lower value in the invoice for customs, so that can lower customs duties if caused. You can also find customs duties information from your local government.

When the package arrives, you should check the package carefully before you sign for it. If that's possible you can also open the package and check all items to see if they are in good condition and not damaged during shipment. As there's a large screen for the after market DVD player, the screen may be damaged during shipment. In case there's something damaged, you can contact the seller in time so that they can solve for you.

All in all, if you pay attention to the above tips, you should enjoy shopping for the after market DVD navigation head unit, and feel happy after it's installed in your car.