During the aftermarket headunit installation on my 2012 Mazda CX-9 GT bose non-nav. I learned that an adapter is needed to install an aftermarket radio for these reasons:
-Control the oem bose amp system
-Keep steering wheel controls
-Ability to change the time and information on the center led display screen.
and other things.
So, I found two devices that can do the same thing: Axxes AXTC-MZ1 and PAC RP4-MZ11 Both can keep steering wheel controls and activate the bose amp system, but reading at the instructions, I found that the Axxess has these disadvantages:
-To adjust the clock or change the driving information like range, average mpg and so on, there is a service port where the original radio has to be plugged in back and then use the 3 buttons on top of it, to change these values.
-If the aftermarket radio doesn't have a built steering wheel interface like Atoto or sony, a separate device: Axxess ASWC-1 must be added for the new radio to accept the steering wheel inputs.
On the other hand, The PAC RP4 can do evertything without a separated device, and also has these advantages:
-Clock and driving information can be adjusted by long pressing the MODE button and then using volume and track buttons to make changes or pressing mode briefly to change driving information.
-It can control amplifier Gain level and Fader since these two inputs are controlled by the stock radio via canbus commands sent to the bose amplificator.
So, the PAC RP4 is clearly the better choice.
But there is a problem:
My Mazda CX-9 came from factory with a non-text capable LCD display like this:
When the car has this kind of display, the RP4 adaptor will only allow to adjust the time and the display information like: range, average consumption etc. but not other things.
A text capable display is needed to access the other functions, the most important, being to be able to control amp gain and fader levels.
So, just for testing purposes, i managed to get a center display lcd from a 2007 CX-9 with bose and navigation that have the text display area and replaced my original info display with it. It's easy since all these parts have the same shape and same connector for all years and it doesn't require any modifications.
Just swapped the new LCD info display and turned the car on...
AND IT WORKED!
Now have access to all the options the PAC RP4-MZ11 has and I can adjust the amp levels, the text displayed, user options like SWC text, and so on.
The climate and temperature indicators work like always, and the part that shows the remaing range now alternates between displaying dring information or the clock.
It's worth noting that my car is a 2012 year model, and this LCD display came from a 2007 CX-9 and it worked just like that. I can't tell if all info displays from later models would also work but it's worth giving it a try if you're in a similar situation to mine.
Greetigs.
-Control the oem bose amp system
-Keep steering wheel controls
-Ability to change the time and information on the center led display screen.
and other things.
So, I found two devices that can do the same thing: Axxes AXTC-MZ1 and PAC RP4-MZ11 Both can keep steering wheel controls and activate the bose amp system, but reading at the instructions, I found that the Axxess has these disadvantages:
-To adjust the clock or change the driving information like range, average mpg and so on, there is a service port where the original radio has to be plugged in back and then use the 3 buttons on top of it, to change these values.
-If the aftermarket radio doesn't have a built steering wheel interface like Atoto or sony, a separate device: Axxess ASWC-1 must be added for the new radio to accept the steering wheel inputs.
On the other hand, The PAC RP4 can do evertything without a separated device, and also has these advantages:
-Clock and driving information can be adjusted by long pressing the MODE button and then using volume and track buttons to make changes or pressing mode briefly to change driving information.
-It can control amplifier Gain level and Fader since these two inputs are controlled by the stock radio via canbus commands sent to the bose amplificator.
So, the PAC RP4 is clearly the better choice.
But there is a problem:
My Mazda CX-9 came from factory with a non-text capable LCD display like this:
When the car has this kind of display, the RP4 adaptor will only allow to adjust the time and the display information like: range, average consumption etc. but not other things.
A text capable display is needed to access the other functions, the most important, being to be able to control amp gain and fader levels.
So, just for testing purposes, i managed to get a center display lcd from a 2007 CX-9 with bose and navigation that have the text display area and replaced my original info display with it. It's easy since all these parts have the same shape and same connector for all years and it doesn't require any modifications.
Just swapped the new LCD info display and turned the car on...
AND IT WORKED!
Now have access to all the options the PAC RP4-MZ11 has and I can adjust the amp levels, the text displayed, user options like SWC text, and so on.
The climate and temperature indicators work like always, and the part that shows the remaing range now alternates between displaying dring information or the clock.
It's worth noting that my car is a 2012 year model, and this LCD display came from a 2007 CX-9 and it worked just like that. I can't tell if all info displays from later models would also work but it's worth giving it a try if you're in a similar situation to mine.
Greetigs.
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