Anyone fitted the Citroen USB Box?

[logiclee]

One thing that's bugging me about my 2009 C5 is the single CD player. For the other spec of the car to be so high then to only have a single CD and FM tuner seems a bit odd. Sound quality is fine though.
Many rivals have multi CD, usb control, DAB, Bluetooth and voice control.
Citroen have upgraded the 2010 C5 but obviously doesnt help me.

So I've been looking at the Citroen USB box to connect my ipod and have full control and display, my dealer wants £230 to fit it.
But I can get the parts from a dealer on Ebay for £140.

I have removal tools for the RD4 and understand the usb box just plugs into the multi cd socket on the rear of the RD4

So anything else I should know? How does the cableing route into the glovebox?
I'm used to installing and swapping ICE components but this will be my first play with a Citroen.

Cheers
Lee

[hdi_man]

does this USB box have bluetooth as well for the phone ?

[wheeler]

You may also need to do a bit of reconfiguring with a Lexia to get it to work, im sure someone on here fitted one & the car seemed to be pre programed for it.

does this USB box have bluetooth as well for the phone ?

No Bluetooth on the USB box.

[logiclee]

I've emailed the sellar to make sure it's plug and play.

Here's the link.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-Genuine-Citro ... 3caab6acf8

Cheers
Lee

[logiclee]

Well I've fitted it and it works with all the controls working OK.

But the multifunction screen is not displaying the track info.

I'll have to ring Citroen on Tuesday and ask if it needs enabling on the Lexia system.

Cheers
Lee

[logiclee]

Well I read the manual and you have to do a bit of messing about to get the tracks up.

It's not that quick but I'm using a 120gb Ipod Classic full of every bit of music I've bought in the last 30 years. (Even ripped Vinyl)

Looks like the best way is to creat playlists and navigate through them.

Cheers
Lee

[viorelovidiu]

be carefully before ordering it! on my car is a blaupunkt RD4 connected with an JBL ampliff (factory fitted) from a very known seller in UK (cant remember exactly the name of website). Results? very bad sound - distorded, even too low... it has to do something with the ampliff I guess but no one knows.

instead of buying another usb box i`m looking for a solution to replace headunit with an aftermarket unit and somehow to retain all those buttons from CLIM, MENU, TRIP and stalk control...

any one succeded to do this?

[logiclee]

I can confirm the one I've installed is the Genuine Citroen USB Box that was an option on new cars and can be retrofitted by any Citroen dealer.

Looking at the cableing and box layout I'd say it's actually a Dension Gateway 300.

The volume is just the same as CD or Radio and the quality is excellent. I do have all my ipod tracks ripped at either lossless or 320kbs as a minimum though. No 128kbs or less tinny sounding rubbish.

£140 it's a very good upgrade but the integration could have been better such as pressing "list" instead of "1" to get the menu up.
Installation is not easy in the new C5 and if you are not used to stripping out panels and trim and repositioning cables in a multiplug then I suggest you pay the other £90 and let your dealer do it.

Cheers
Lee

[hdi_man]

one thing I find missing is how to change the Source from the steering wheel, ie. CD->radio etc. I could do this on my 207....not on the C5 it seems !

[Pak Mungkin]

I am just installing a Dension gateway 5 (update of earlier models including 300) and am having issues. It works well with the ipod... for a while then can't see it. Bluetooth connection to phone can occur but doesn't seem to link with cars controls on steering wheel and no sound. USB stick plays but no sound. Sound level in left and right speakers changes to correct then very low to nothing. Have installed and reinstalled numerous times. Does the car management system need to be tweaked?

[Kowalski]

one thing I find missing is how to change the Source from the steering wheel, ie. CD->radio etc. I could do this on my 207....not on the C5 it seems !

What year is your C5, my 2005 lets me do it....

[rmunns]

Call me old fashioned, I just got a radio/cassette in my Xantia. Cheapest upgrade I found was a £12 bit from ebay. Justplugs into cigar lighter.
You record your tracks onto an SD card, which this gizmo reads and transmits to your radio. Easy even for an old ****.
I've got 200 tracks on it. It has a remote control, just have to remember which track is which.

[vborovic]

I'd like to apologize for bringing up this old topic back to life, but seeing how I myself was searching for related information, this is often brought back in the search results. So, on to the problem ... but first, about my car (the testing rig if you will):

Citroen C5 Tourer, 2010, RNEG car radio (Harman Becker), big color screen for the navigation.

Yes, the USB BOX is a simple gadget that works, and doesn't work. First of all, is it to expensive or not, it depends on each vehicle owner. I've managed to get an unused BOX for half a price of a new one, and had the car to the Citroen Dealer's Service shop, where they've wired it properly (goes to the handrest compartment behind the parking brake) and programmed it (my guess with Lexia) to be visible as a CD changer in the Music selection. IMPORTANT: USB BOX, was, is and probably will be in the future seen as the CD Changer ... You get 6 "Discs", meaning you can have up to 6 folders, and in each folder up to 99 songs. For that, a 2-4 GB USB stick/key is more than enough to store all those songs (depending on the bit rate of the songs). This for me is a great thing, a "virtual" CD changer, so no need for discs and a larger CD changer box that should be mounted in the back of the car (although that should be incorrect, the Tourer's can only have the Trunk Subwoofer installed in the back (HiFi additional option), the CD changer goes somewhere else ... not sure if by standard under the seats (I'm talking about the latest C5's, 2008 onwards).

The USB BOX doesn't show MP3 track names ... only Track 1/99 and so on, and the "Discs" (folders) also don't have a name, just Disc 1, Disc 2 ... Since I listen to Eurobeat, Italo Disco compilations, I really don't care about the track name ... plus, if you're always driving with the navigation map on, you don't see the tracks (and FM stations) name anyway.

The USB BOX has 3 inputs: USB for the stick (didn't try the HDD, but since the total recognizable songs amount to 594, I didn't bother trying), iPod (you get the cable that goes from thr BOX to the iPod ... don't know about the iPhone, don't own one ... I've read from other sources that iPhones tend to restart while being used by the USB BOX, so you loose the current song ... have to wait for the phone to come back on, etc) ... the USB & iPod ports can charge some devices. The third input is the AUX. When using the AUX input, you get ex. Track 1, the time counter starts, and it goes on, whether something from the AUX device is playing or not ... Conclusion, the USB BOX is a virtual CD changer, nothing more nothing less (I don't know if the CD changer displays the MP3 ID tags, the single CD filled with MP3s shows the titles just fine).

So, the USB BOX doesn't have Bluetooth, can't connect phones in any way (except the AUX, but of little practical use). One thing that remains unknown is, the first time you connect the USB stick, 2 system files get stored on the stick, one telling the current software version, the other is a database of songs stored on the stick! Now this is interesting, the filenames, song names & album names are stored in a hex file ... but, it seems the latest software V3.04 still can't read them (to be precise, send the data to the radio unit). I'm really hoping if they get one more software update out, they'll include the track names. If the CD itself can send the data to the radio, and more over if the CD changer can too (personally don't know this), then there is surely a way for the USB BOX to do the same.

I was not completely satisfied with the USB BOX, of course, but I'm not bashing it, because I know what to expect beforehand. And was willing to risk getting it, paying for the installation and getting myself an iPod to test how it works with the USB BOX.

I really hope some other car owners that think about getting the USB BOX find my post at least a bit useful.

P.S. There is an alternative to the USB BOX in a form of a cheaper device, it is an Car MP3 RDS Trasmitter (or that combination of words). I'm guessing most of you are familliar with FM transmitters, that usually get connected to the cigarette plug and by using a predefined radio frequency stream the radio signal to the radio unit ... RDS transmitters can send the RDS data as well, meaning you can see the song names where the station names and additional text would be shown. Keep in mind you have to change the songs on the transmitter (or its remote control). the USB BOX can manage the songs by the on-wheel buttons just fine, fully functional and practical.

[Stickyfinger]

https://www.isimplesolutions.com/product.aspx?zpid=542

I fitted one of these, got it via ebay, cheaper than here...works great...

Note: It is Bluetooth AND Aux input so better that the Citroen one as a retro fit.....plays Via a Dircet feed to a Radio channel (this is not a transmitter)

[vborovic]

Forgot to add, my USB BOX project is still not finished, I plan to place the flush mount in the handrest (empty round hole just asking for it, under the rubber L shape protection padding/cover, below the OBDII connector) ... so, the USB BOX will be hidden (usually people install it into the glove compartment, but since there is already a "box" mounted at the top, for teh audio/video input, I didn't want to minimize space further), and the only visible things outside the rubber cover in the handrest will be the flush mount (usb & aux input, the similar is being installed with the HI-FI option on the newer C5s at the exact spot, check the car booklet on the first pages, where the interior is being shown, part by part) ... and I'll have two cables going though the rubber cover as well, on for the iPod and the other a microUSB charger for the phones (I've purchased a 12V to 5V mini adapter, which connects to the cigarette socket/charger's 12V, and outputs 5V in the form of a microUSB cable), also will be mounted in the handrest, under the rubber cover. After I'm done, I'll upload some photos, maybe give people new ideas, with the process being shown as well.