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Sure seems like there is a lot of support required which is disappointing. I’m VERY interested in this technology but it still seem like it’s got gremlins. The Mr12V solution appears more advanced and current. Would be nice to get a comparison of pros/cons between them.
I have the burmester system with XM - so assume my scenario is perhaps even more complicated.
Sure seems like there is a lot of support required which is disappointing. I’m VERY interested in this technology but it still seem like it’s got gremlins. The Mr12V solution appears more advanced and current. Would be nice to get a comparison of pros/cons between them.
I have the burmester system with XM - so assume my scenario is perhaps even more complicated.
I have a 2014 Boxster with the Bose kit and XM. I just completed my installation yesterday. Was a bit tight, but with all the standoffs and a little bit of careful planning I was able to get all parts inside the unit within 40 minutes.
I was on the fence as well but am extremely glad that I took the risk. As the adage goes, no risk no reward. Only hiccup I had was the missing AUX, but that can be avoided by unhiding the option if you hid it prior to removing the radio.
I played with CarPlay Simulator with dashboard display recently. Would be nice to see this integration as well from any manufacturer. This should be simple another LVDS output from the board to the LCD. Some photoshopped pictures
this is why I haven't bitten the bullet and gone the carplay (or any others) route, I really like that feature
Does Kimi or Isudar have a problem with units bought from Aliexpress? Because they do not answer any emails that i sent. Or the units bought from aliexpres do not have any sort of support?
I also received the files from @Kimiiii and tried to update it. During the update, at 7% the unit rebooted/crashed (we can hear the PCM disk) and PCM never came back... I just have a black screen now and buttons don't work (e.g. volume), radio is still playing. As usual, I was recording the entire process - https://1drv.ms/v/s!AuvopMygERL0j5FcMieNgwBo7ZZQ0g .
Tried to remove fuse and nothing. Already sent email to Kimi... Not sure how the board is interfering with the PCM itself. Everything was working fine for the last few months (except random reboots when using aftermarket reverse camera). Any insights from this group?
She’s (Kimi) usually good to respond considering the time difference you might hear today. I installed the update with the help of Willy07 and had no issues. Now Isudar unit disconnects roughly 30sec after ignition off which is great. Good luck hopefully a fix will come today.
Last edited by Notmac1; 07-17-2022 at 09:49 AM.
Reason: Correction
Glad to hear updates are still rolling out. Has anyone who was having the backup camera reset issues successfully upgraded? This issue would be my only reason to do a firmware update
You have to set the PCM to "BT AUX". This way the isudar board will connect to your phone if BT is on on your phone. There some glitches to it... Santirx in this thread gave some more detailed instructions to this! Good luck!
My recent Isudar CarPlay installation thoughts and audio quality
Thanks to those on this forum and after conducting an exhausting amount of research, I took the plunge and installed the Isudar CarPlay unit in my 2013 Boxster this past week. Here are some observations and tips:
- went with Isudar over Joye Auto or Mr. 12V units as there’s no second box, no running power to the fuse box and I can use my OEM mic and their support seems a cut above the other two manufacturers
- I’ve done countless car radio/amp/speaker installs over the last 30 years in numerous vehicles but can tell you that cracking open the PCM unit was extremely difficult. Mine was super tightly put together and it took a good amount of force and bending metal tabs to get it open just to begin the installation of the new Isudar circuit board
- I’ve got Sirius XM, NAV, Bluetooth (but no BOSE), so the working space inside the PCM was very tight. Make sure all ribbon cables are firmly seated onto the circuit boards!!
- be EXTREMELY careful with the Isudar WIFI and BLUETOOTH antennas coming out the back of the PCM. I broke one as they are extremely flimsy. A very poor design by Isudar. Had to splice mine back together.
- the biggest challenge was finding room behind the PCM to put the huge brick of a wiring harness that the Isudar unit comes with. There is very little room behind the PCM itself and after spending an hour or two trying to fit the PCM back into its mounting cage, I gave up and decided to remove the glovebox so I’d have access to the massive amount of wires coming out of the PCM and so I could find a place to tuck them in securely. (I decided to go this route as a few times I tried pushing the radio back into place, several of the wire connectors came loose from their housing). With the glovebox removed (which took another 30-45 minutes) I was able to grab the back of the new Isudar wiring plug and harness and pull it out from behind the PCM and place all the wires below the PCM unit, under its mounting cage as there is plenty of room there. This allowed me to safely push the radio back in all the way so I could screw it in place.
- pairing my phone was easy just following the settings menu of the Isudar unit.
- AUDIO QUALITY!!! I am an audiophile and currently have the Stage 3 system from MusicCarNW in Portland, OR which consists of an 8 channel Mosconi amp (90W RMS x 8) going into Morel tweeters, midranges and woofers up front and also into the Burmester midranges and tweeters behind my front seats behind the speaker grills there. Center speaker is disconnected and the car has been professionally tuned using the built-in DSP on the Mosconi amp. It sounds phenomenal. Blows away BOSE and BURMESTER by a mile. I mention this, as the most important aspect for me in upgrading to CarPlay was for WAZE, Google Maps and to use my Tidal and other music apps. For the best sound quality I plug my I-phone into the factory OEM USB port in my glovebox and select I-pod from the OEM PCM screen. This gives the best possible audio connection in the car. The CarPlay unit will still stream the video portion for Tidal/Pandora/Spotify, etc…on the screen, but the audio goes through the factory OEM USB. Now, if you want to go wireless via CarPlay, then you have to select AUX on the PCM, and the audio will then play directly through the Isudar unit. The sound quality however is not nearly as good as running it through the factory USB port in the glove box. Again, if you don’t have a great audio system in your car, you may not hear much of a difference. The only issue with this set up is that you won’t have audio for WAZE/Google maps, etc…if you’re running your audio through the factory USB. Personally for me, it’s a small price to pay to retain top notch audio quality. You also won’t have audio for WAZE, etc…if you’re listening to Sirius XM, AM/FM radio or a CD as the Isudar unit can’t output two simultaneous audio signals, one from the PCM and one from the Isudar unit.
- other observations. The system is definitely glitchy. It will randomly drop its wireless connection and then reconnect. It also doesn’t like it if you turn your car off while still connected to WIFI. I’ve had several issues with trying to get it reconnected to WIFI when I get back in the car after stopping for gas/food/etc…and it won’t reconnect without me having to turn my WIFI on and off and the same for the Bluetooth. As previously mentioned here, the unit remains on for hours after I turn off my car. This is not good for the battery. I’m currently in discussions with Prince and Kimi about trying to get that latest firmware update to rectify this.
- final thoughts. It’s only been a week, but given how glitchy this Isudar unit seems to be, I’m not sure I’ll keep it. When it works, it’s wonderful to have CarPlay on the factory OEM PCM screen. Picture quality is very good and there’s no glare issues whatsoever like you will see in an aftermarket radio with a glossy screen. It definitely brings the in-car tech into 2022 and makes the dash look more current. (As does the sport Chrono clock upgrade which I did). Would love to hear if anyone else has these same connectivity issues when using the wireless CarPlay. Isudar CarPlay unit installed in factory OEM PCM 3.1 (along with Sport Chrono clock upgrade)
@Prince.Lu I've been waiting for the update on backup camera problem - it is only working for me when the car just started after parked for a long while. All other times (like backup to parking space..) did not work, not even waiting after 60 sec. It's much worse than what's on @danby video https://photos.app.goo.gl/qxcLTiMtLQU7HvxT9
FYI- I ended up giving up and just wiring my backup camera to be powered by the reversing light instead. So far no resets. I'm thinking the iSudar can't handle the inrush current when powering on my camera. It seems to be marginal since it works when it's cold, and generally components will have lower current capability when they get hotter. I'll post here if the issue returns, but might be worth a shot for you as well.
07-08-2022, 03:24 PM
