why wont the sterring wheel controls (cd volume, radio ect) work after you install a whole new car system?

Question

i went to best buy to get my cars system (i have a new suv) and they told me that once i change from stock system to the one im buying.. that my controls on the sterring wheel wont work anymore.. like the volume ect thing. is this true??

by controls on the sterring wheel i mean the ones the car came with.. not the little remotes people attache to the wheel.

Answer 1

It's true. Steering wheel controls usually work with resistors built into the switches on the steering wheel. The factory head unit knows which steering wheel button has been pushed by measuring the resistance on the wire. However, no two auto manufacturers use exactly the same system, so there's no way an after-market head unit could be designed to work with every different vehicle's steering wheel controls.

You can purchase an adapter that will connect to most vehicles, which can be programmed to learn the steering wheel commands and transform them into an infrared output that the after-market head unit will respond to. To use it, you need to buy a head unit that comes with a wireless remote control. Also, an infrared emitter will have to be mounted somewhere in the vehicle with a line of sight to the new radio's faceplate; this usually means drilling a small hole in your center console area.

Here's the universal adapter: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-gQyWdid3xc1/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?i=127swix

Answer 2

Yes it is. Your stock system is designed to take input commands from both internal sources (the buttons and dials built in to it) and external sources (the buttons on your steering wheel). But the stereo systems that are aftermarket are just designed to take input commands.
If the designers of the new system you are buying were to make it compatible to do both, they would have to design it specifically to match your SUV. That means extra $$ added onto the total cost, and many people who want the same stereo but don't have the particular SUV wouldn't want to pay that extra $$$. So the designers don't add stuff like that, and they just make the stereo to be used universally by all buyers.

Answer 3

For 99.9999% of new stereos, yes.... the reason being that the steering wheel controls are piped in through rather proprietary wire harnesses (connectors) and often carry different signals, number of wires... etc.... In other words stereo manufacturers would have to invest massive efforts to make their systems functional for every car, so they just don't bother...

Answer 4

Sorry, yet they received't. the perfect project i will inform you is to purchase one which both comes with or has a upload-on to allow you administration it with their hardware. The stuff that got here at the same time with your vehicle received't artwork until eventually your OEM stuff in order that takes position to be made by technique of an identical business organization and is of an similar style with an identical port on the top unit.

Answer 5

It probably is true. The factory's want you to come to them or their dealers to get a new radio and this is a good way to do it. If you want the convience you gotta come back to them and pay the high price they have on their systems.

Answer 6

Do you really think company "A" will make something that will work with company "B"'s equipment when company "A" is the only one who makes sterring wheel controls?

Answer 7

PAC makes adaptors to let you using those controls and keep your chimes and all that stuff... if you post you vehicle I will get you a part number

Good Luck

Answer 8

different system different controlls