Technical Blue&Me ... again!

[Nubber99]

Ok, a question on Blue&Me.
Car is a 2008 1.2 LHD. Pressing the call button on the wheel does nothing. If I put a USB stick with the update files on it, there is nothing. However if you search for bluetooth devices on your phone, Blue&Me appears, and when you try to pair, you are prompted for a code. However there is nothing on the display. I've tried disconnecting the battery for 10 minutes, but it's made no difference. And the mileage is not flashing, which to me suggests that the device is responding in some way on the CAN bus, or someone has configured the device out in the configuration so that the BCM (I think it's the BCM that handles all this?) doesn't flash the mileage because it doesn't believe it has a Blue&Me device on the bus.

I haven't tried physically inspecting the device to see if it's plugged in, but I think it must be as it's advertising itself as a bluetooth device. And I don't want to dismantle the car to get to it!

I want to add a reversing camera, so I want to replace the radio with an Android head unit. So the question is, as the mileage is not flashing, if I add a head unit a) will this cause a flashing mileage as there will be a new device on the CAN bus, and b) will the buttons on the wheel work? I've watched quite a lot of videos of people installing these units, and it seems that they can be installled without having to remove the Blue&Me device.


Oh, and any particular recommendations for head units?

 

[the green vanper]

Hello,

Removing the original radio will cause the mileage to blink. You'll need proxi alignment afterwards. Make a backup of the old config before removing the original radio. The backup procedure is described on the forum here.

If you plan an android unit with internet access, go for one with the newest possible android version as they are not receiving any updates. 4 GB of RAM is a minimum for an android to work properly. The basic ones have a standard low resolution LEDs. The FM reception will be much worse than on the original unit.

Normally it should be possible to make the steering wheel buttons to work.

I bought one for my Ducato 4 years ago on Aliexpress and it works fine. It needed some modifications in the central console, as there was some plastic divider supposed to hold the 1DIN unit in place. A fascia. And a FIAT-ISO adapter (although it is possible to connect without it just swapping the pins in the existing connectors).

 

[the green vanper]

In the meantime two docs that might be helpful.

 

[Zardo]

I had a bluetooth connection problem once. Solving it implied removing the paired bluetooth connection from the phone and soft-resetting the head unit (it's in the menu of the head unit somewhere), then re-pairing it, if I remember correctly. It actually took me quite some time to figure it out. If a code shows up, it means it isn't correctly paired yet.

The call button will do nothing if the phone isn't correctly paired. If the phone is paired, the GSM provider should appear in the display (maybe yours is different, don't know it shows up in the 500 version)

Edit: if the phone has been registered with the car before, but the pairing was deleted on the phone, but not in the car, then this might cause pairing issue, so in order to start afresh, remove the pairing in the car and in the phone and start the pairing process again.