2016 Outlander MMCS to SDA Head Unit Swap
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 1
Hi Steve,
I assume those settings relate to the PHEV. I have a diesel.
Assuming you do a PHEV, you probably need to change the vehicle type via the secret squirrel settings screen.
To access the hidden menus:
1. power up the head unit,
2. turn the screen off using the Screen Off icon,
3. touch the top left corner of the screen for about 5 seconds,
4. touch the bottom right corner of the screen for about 5 seconds until there is a beep.
5. stop touching the screen and the hidden menu should appear.
One of the menu options relates to vehicle type.
I can't say I know what each one is, but you will need to select a PHEV version.
Save the selection and the head unit will reboot.
You will have lost your Bluetooth pairing and phone book and will have to redo those, but hopefully you will be able to see your heater options.
My suggestion is a SWAG.
Cheers,
Bob.
I assume those settings relate to the PHEV. I have a diesel.
Assuming you do a PHEV, you probably need to change the vehicle type via the secret squirrel settings screen.
To access the hidden menus:
1. power up the head unit,
2. turn the screen off using the Screen Off icon,
3. touch the top left corner of the screen for about 5 seconds,
4. touch the bottom right corner of the screen for about 5 seconds until there is a beep.
5. stop touching the screen and the hidden menu should appear.
One of the menu options relates to vehicle type.
I can't say I know what each one is, but you will need to select a PHEV version.
Save the selection and the head unit will reboot.
You will have lost your Bluetooth pairing and phone book and will have to redo those, but hopefully you will be able to see your heater options.
My suggestion is a SWAG.
Cheers,
Bob.
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 1
Hi, Thanks for your notes. With regard to the MICROPHONE : I got it working but I wondered if the unit you have is different from mine.
Mine is the 2016 Smartphone Link Audio Display Unit (MXL015ELG4) - which I got from a breakers yard with no cables at all. The old connectors were plug and play and worked fine except no mic, and no usb (so no CarPlay) .... so then it was the DIY to make it work....
I found the HFM (the unit with a green label below the MMCS) pins used for the microphone were 14 & 28 Mic Signal, and 27 Mic Shield (3 of the 4 required, the 4th is a ground which you use pin 57 on the 16pin connector of the SDA)
On the SDA it was the 16pin connector, which is numbered 51-66. So here 57 SNSE (Mic detect) - is Mic Gnd - which can attach to a headunit case screw or other ground. HFM pin 27-> 56 is Mic Shield, and 63, 64 are Mic Signal. Important to note polarity of signal is important ie 28 -> 63, 14-> 64. If you connect the other way round it simply does not work.
Other NOTE .... you can wire directly for the USBs, far cheaper than buying the elusive Mitsubishi cable cable (8755A296- £140 from a main UK dealer, and 3 week wait). It is a four pin connector same as you find inside a computer PC for USB. You can therefore get a USB extension cable then remove the computer end of it and rewire with connectors straight onto the pins. It works a treat. Looking at the 4 pin usb socket on the sda... it goes top left 5V (Red), top right Gnd (Black), Bottom left White, Bottom right Green.
The DAB/DAB+ appeared to work but kept saying NO DATA and dropping sound. I think it was interference so moved the DAB (FAKRA) cable away from the other cables and wrapped the other cables in electrical insulation tape and that seems to work fine too.
The ONLY THING NOT WORKING is the TIMED AIR CONDITIONING & TIMED CHARGING on the SDA. It says "No item found" (or something like that) and no option to make any settings. The remote app still connects and appears to make the settings but the SDA doesn't. All the other PHEV information such as energy monitor etc all works fine - plug and play. Does anyone have any ideas with this ?
Mine is the 2016 Smartphone Link Audio Display Unit (MXL015ELG4) - which I got from a breakers yard with no cables at all. The old connectors were plug and play and worked fine except no mic, and no usb (so no CarPlay) .... so then it was the DIY to make it work....
I found the HFM (the unit with a green label below the MMCS) pins used for the microphone were 14 & 28 Mic Signal, and 27 Mic Shield (3 of the 4 required, the 4th is a ground which you use pin 57 on the 16pin connector of the SDA)
On the SDA it was the 16pin connector, which is numbered 51-66. So here 57 SNSE (Mic detect) - is Mic Gnd - which can attach to a headunit case screw or other ground. HFM pin 27-> 56 is Mic Shield, and 63, 64 are Mic Signal. Important to note polarity of signal is important ie 28 -> 63, 14-> 64. If you connect the other way round it simply does not work.
Other NOTE .... you can wire directly for the USBs, far cheaper than buying the elusive Mitsubishi cable cable (8755A296- £140 from a main UK dealer, and 3 week wait). It is a four pin connector same as you find inside a computer PC for USB. You can therefore get a USB extension cable then remove the computer end of it and rewire with connectors straight onto the pins. It works a treat. Looking at the 4 pin usb socket on the sda... it goes top left 5V (Red), top right Gnd (Black), Bottom left White, Bottom right Green.
The DAB/DAB+ appeared to work but kept saying NO DATA and dropping sound. I think it was interference so moved the DAB (FAKRA) cable away from the other cables and wrapped the other cables in electrical insulation tape and that seems to work fine too.
The ONLY THING NOT WORKING is the TIMED AIR CONDITIONING & TIMED CHARGING on the SDA. It says "No item found" (or something like that) and no option to make any settings. The remote app still connects and appears to make the settings but the SDA doesn't. All the other PHEV information such as energy monitor etc all works fine - plug and play. Does anyone have any ideas with this ?
I have a 2015 PHEV (in UK) with the MMCS and wishing to upgrade to the new SDA.
A friend is able to get hold of a 2019 SDA (Model: MXL015KLG4, Part: 8741A006) from USA, together with the usb and mic adapter. He has already checked with someone there and they are saying all should be good to go.
Just wanted to check if there is something i should be worried or prepared for?
Thanks in advance for the advices.
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 4
someone from Australia here.
i got mine working only difference was the color code on the wiring diagram was different. dont know if that was a regional thing or a year model thing but i have successfully got it working.
i got mine working only difference was the color code on the wiring diagram was different. dont know if that was a regional thing or a year model thing but i have successfully got it working.
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2021
Posts: 2
Hello,
I recently purchased a 2016 outlander phev 5hs, the dealer put that it had car-play on it and once i got the car home realised it didn't Dealer said nothing they can do i can return the car or they will give me freebies. I love the car so i think im just going to accept the freebies.
So my question is how easy is this to do, i can find a few radios on ebay for about £500 is it pull out old one plug cables into new one and works?
Is there anywhere in the UK i could take it that offer this service?
Any helps would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Colin
I recently purchased a 2016 outlander phev 5hs, the dealer put that it had car-play on it and once i got the car home realised it didn't Dealer said nothing they can do i can return the car or they will give me freebies. I love the car so i think im just going to accept the freebies.
So my question is how easy is this to do, i can find a few radios on ebay for about £500 is it pull out old one plug cables into new one and works?
Is there anywhere in the UK i could take it that offer this service?
Any helps would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Colin
Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 2
Seems like your car equipped with the factory navigation. That means you have all the accessories to install the SDA CarPlay unit.
However, you need to rewire the microphone from the Hands-Free Device 28-pin connector to the 16-pin gray one. I'm sure the good audio shop could do that, there is nothing difficult. But I heard some of them refuse to do that work.
In your case you need only the radio unit and the new USB cables.
The second problem is the wi-fi antenna won't see the new radio, you will need to replace that too.
More info you can get in the Facebook UK PHEV Group. I know few members installed the SDA unit on their 2016 PHEVs and gone through all that problems.
However, you need to rewire the microphone from the Hands-Free Device 28-pin connector to the 16-pin gray one. I'm sure the good audio shop could do that, there is nothing difficult. But I heard some of them refuse to do that work.
In your case you need only the radio unit and the new USB cables.
The second problem is the wi-fi antenna won't see the new radio, you will need to replace that too.
More info you can get in the Facebook UK PHEV Group. I know few members installed the SDA unit on their 2016 PHEVs and gone through all that problems.
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 3
Hi all, I'm looking at replacing the unit in my 16.5 Outlander with SDA. I picked one up - Model MXL015XRG4 which i'm told is from an '18 Outlander but appears to be used in at least late '19's as well with some quick research.
I've read as much info as i can find here but I still have a couple of questions I need answered to feel confident in the swap
The unit in my Aussie Outlander is the one with Sat nav so I have the GPS antenna - Tick.
I probably need a DAB antenna? Even though the current unit has DAB, there is no separate connector for it.
The little box underneath (and attached to) the existing stereo with the Green connector - Do I need to retain that? I got some loom with the new one and it still has a green connector too so i assume I do.
I can see the wires i need to swap from the HFU, is that all I need to do and the HFU stays otherwise connected or should I be removing the connector from that?
Edit: So after some more research it would seem the box underneath the existing unit (with the green connector) links to the CAN bus, presumably to be able to show navigation on the dash. However, looking at the pinouts of the SDA i have found, they do not show the pins being used which go to the green connector (possibly and presumably just an incomplete diagram, based on the fact that the bit of harness i have does have them populated and off to the green connector). Making some assumptions here but it would seem that if i keep the can box in, it should work to show navigation on the dash like the original MMCS unit, but probably only in native navigation mode and not AA/ACP mode - Can anyone confirm? It's just odd that the connector is there, but the module is not mounted to the unit like on MMCS - Perhaps it's just mounted somewhere else in the newer models?
Further to that, it would seem my best option is to disconnect the HFM module, otherwise it would still activate Bluetooth on that, as well as the SDA. If that's the case, all I need to worry about is the DAB antenna!
I've read as much info as i can find here but I still have a couple of questions I need answered to feel confident in the swap
The unit in my Aussie Outlander is the one with Sat nav so I have the GPS antenna - Tick.
I probably need a DAB antenna? Even though the current unit has DAB, there is no separate connector for it.
The little box underneath (and attached to) the existing stereo with the Green connector - Do I need to retain that? I got some loom with the new one and it still has a green connector too so i assume I do.
I can see the wires i need to swap from the HFU, is that all I need to do and the HFU stays otherwise connected or should I be removing the connector from that?
Edit: So after some more research it would seem the box underneath the existing unit (with the green connector) links to the CAN bus, presumably to be able to show navigation on the dash. However, looking at the pinouts of the SDA i have found, they do not show the pins being used which go to the green connector (possibly and presumably just an incomplete diagram, based on the fact that the bit of harness i have does have them populated and off to the green connector). Making some assumptions here but it would seem that if i keep the can box in, it should work to show navigation on the dash like the original MMCS unit, but probably only in native navigation mode and not AA/ACP mode - Can anyone confirm? It's just odd that the connector is there, but the module is not mounted to the unit like on MMCS - Perhaps it's just mounted somewhere else in the newer models?
Further to that, it would seem my best option is to disconnect the HFM module, otherwise it would still activate Bluetooth on that, as well as the SDA. If that's the case, all I need to worry about is the DAB antenna!
Last edited by Elnino; Aug 15, 2021 at 06:57 PM.
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 3
Got it working - I am in the process of writing up a complete howto with photos etc.
To answer my own questions - YES, you need to retain the little box under the MMCS otherwise you get a CEL (Bus error) and I left the HFU disconnected. Everything works as the factory would have intended - Reverse cam, Wheel controls etc but I forgot to see if it gave directions on the dash as it did with MMCS (it probably doesn't).
Going to see what I can do for the DAB antenna as I don't have one for the moment.
It's so weird that the SDA has GPS but no mapping...
To answer my own questions - YES, you need to retain the little box under the MMCS otherwise you get a CEL (Bus error) and I left the HFU disconnected. Everything works as the factory would have intended - Reverse cam, Wheel controls etc but I forgot to see if it gave directions on the dash as it did with MMCS (it probably doesn't).
Going to see what I can do for the DAB antenna as I don't have one for the moment.
It's so weird that the SDA has GPS but no mapping...
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 3
I get that (and was aware of that prior), it just does not make sense why you would put a GPS in the unit when there is no mapping - Why not just rely on the phone all together since you can't really choose as you state. I guess perhaps in other countries or if this Kenwood unit is used in other cars they might include a local mapping ap.
