JulianHicks

Sorry; missed this due to what I thought were duplicate posts.

The analogue TV 'supports' Aux inputs but they're not the simple plug in ports. They're really AV ports - i.e. video and stereo sound - but you can just plug audio into the sound connections.

The tricky thing is that you don't get simple phono sockets; you have to find a convertor lead with phonos on one end and pins that have to be inserted into the red electrical connection plug on the TV unit in the boot. Thus cheap, but not straightforward and not elegant [no control from the MMI].

Julian

P.S. As you're new to A8s, If you'd like to talk A8s, I could always PM you my phone number.

Tom Perkins

Thanks for the info Julian, doesn't sound like that's the best option then.

Duplicate post was due to having to wait for approval on replies for days at a time and thinking the original had got lost so re-posting.

Tom Perkins

Thanks Julian, very helpful. I'll keep an eye out on ebay then.

Interesting, how would I upgrade?

JulianHicks

The MMI updates were supposed to be done by dealers; they came on 'dealer only' CD but many people [myself included] did the update themselves by acquiring the CDs from Audi parts departments. [I did my Oct 2004 car, which was at level 0890, in Oct 2009].

The MMI 2G was last updated in late 2008, when Audi put out a 3 CD set for dealers - UK part number 4L0 998 961. This set contains CD1 - MMI level 5150, CD2 - Bluetooth Phone ECU upgrades, CD3 - MMI level 5570. I don't have a Bluetooth phone unit so I only needed to use CD1 and CD3. Not sure if you can get them from the dealers these days,but you'll see people selling these sets on ebay for £20 - £30, often with 2 Navigation CDs but the Nav CDs are not 'legitimate' copies.

You put the CDs, one at a time, in slot 1 of the CD stacker and run the upgrade from the control panel of your car. The car's MMI system reads the CD, checks what updates are available for the components in your car and applies the updates over the car bus. Can be lengthy [up to an hour] and should be done either with [Audi recommended] 30Amp power supply connected to the battery connectors in the boot or with the engine running [the way I did mine].

There are YouTube videos [and other help files] showing / describing this - search for MMI 2G update.

Julian.

BTW; the update feature is an option off a 'hidden' menu known as the 'hidden red menu' in the car's system which is also useful for identifying what media devices you've got if you don't have VCDS. See attached note

Tom Perkins

Super helpful, thanks Julian!

Tom Perkins

I've started looking at used AMI units, if the product code has a D or an F after it does that mean it will still be compatible with my 2005 UK A8?

Also, does anyone happen to know the product code for the cables I'd need to wire in the new AMI unit? The ones on eBay that have the cables seem to be about £100 more so wondering if it's best to buy without and get the connecting cables separately.

Thanks in advance,

Tom

JulianHicks

Hi Tom; although for some units the HW part number suffix indicates different functionality [the Control Head aka Interfacebox, for instance, uses it to indicate whether it has a video input or not], all of the AMI units are functionally the same. You can also use units from the US market as the firmware was the same [unlike BlueTooth phone units and Control Heads].

Whichever unit you buy, unless it's labelled V850 - the last version - you might need to update it with the MMI CDs described previously. But note too, that a unit with a previous version may have been updated already; the label indicates the version it left the factory with.

Don't know about 'y cable' part numbers, though, as my AMI was retro fitted using a new 'dealer parts' kit that included the required power and data cables. I'm not sure the cables were ever available in the UK as a separate part and even if they were, would probably now be unavailable.

A company named kufatec sells lots of parts and cables for Audis; but although they seem to have the complete AMI available, I'm not sure I could see a cable kit for an AMI on their web site.

Julian

PS Don't forget you need three cables; the optical and power 'y cables' and the AMI to device cable. Check what you get when you bid/buy. [For info. the price of my update kit when it was on sale by Audi Uk in 2009 was £399 fitted].

Tom Perkins

Super helpful as ever Julian, thank you