Economy mode grrrrrrrr and audio

[iateyoubutler]

Hello all

New to this forum and my first post, so firstly - hello from me

Ok, so a year or so ago I inherited my 2016 C3 Picasso, this is a first for me as I`ve never had a French car before. On the whole it`s not a bad little car, but one thing that drives me nuts is this dreaded "economy mode". Had I been paying for this car, the economy mode would have stopped me buying it, no doubt about it.

I quite often have the need to sit in the car, and I really do not wish to do that in silence after about 5 minutes of radio, also the same when I am cleaning the car - the fact that I can`t have any music on really, really irritates me.

I have racked my brains on this, I get the impression that this economy cobblers cannot be altered, and neither can the original stereo without causing other problems including losing a lot of the menus and features etc. What I am considering is fitting a second head unit in the slot below the original one, connecting it directly to the battery while leaving the original connected to its power/data cables, and just swapping the speaker plug from the original to the aftermarket head unit. So, in theory it should work without effecting any of the original electrics.

Has anybody done anything like this, or come up with an alternative?

Thanks all, sorry for the long first post and hopefully it makes sense

[Gibbo2286]

Sitting in the car with the radio on doesn't bring on Economy mode on my C5 until 30 minutes have passed.

[vincentfishing]

you can go into showroom mode on lexia and turn economy mode off, but think you may have to find /option to set time lapse before it comes on again otherwise when you restart car next it will come straight back on .have turned it off myself but never adjusted time befor it comes on ..

[moizeau]

Eco mode can be a pain and there is no work round that I know of. Putting it showroom mode can disable some functions on the car. What you suggest seems a very good idea, a fused feed to a 2nd head unit. I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't work. The only downside may be that if you have a diagnostic session done it will say your speaker don't work.....but you know that....and why.
Be interesting to see if anyone says different.

[wheeler]

What I am considering is fitting a second head unit in the slot below the original one, connecting it directly to the battery while leaving the original connected to its power/data cables, and just swapping the speaker plug from the original to the aftermarket head unit. So, in theory it should work without effecting any of the original electrics.

The issue i can see with this is that the C3 picasso will have a quadlock style plug meaning the power/data/speakers are all in the one connector.
The bits can normally be seperated from the quadlock connector though. You might need to make up a few adaptors if you dont want to butcher the original wiring.
If this was the older style ISO plug it would work no problem.
You may be able to make something up using an SOT lead used for fitting handsfree kits.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171774706008 ... SwTrxfaXOP

[Dormouse]

What I am considering is fitting a second head unit in the slot below the original one, connecting it directly to the battery while leaving the original connected to its power/data cables, and just swapping the speaker plug from the original to the aftermarket head unit. So, in theory it should work without effecting any of the original electrics.

The issue i can see with this is that the C3 picasso will have a quadlock style plug meaning the power/data/speakers are all in the one connector.
The bits can normally be seperated from the quadlock connector though. You might need to make up a few adaptors if you dont want to butcher the original wiring.
If this was the older style ISO plug it would work no problem.
You may be able to make something up using an SOT lead used for fitting handsfree kits.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171774706008 ... SwTrxfaXOP

The quadlock connector was a pain in the bum when I installed an Xtrons DVD/SatNav unit in our Ducato. Every adapter I bought (3) didn't solve my problems so I made my own harness up and I suspect the C3 will be the same = for Ducato read Boxer/Relay.

[wheeler]

What the OP is planning is not really meant to be done so yes will almost certainly require a lead making up unless you want to butcher the original wiring.
I reckon it can be done with one of these > https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001214 ... 4895%22%7D
And the speaker lead from one of these > https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222435362691 ... Sw4A5YwpOF

[Dormouse]

What the OP is planning is not really meant to be done so yes will almost certainly require a lead making up unless you want to butcher the original wiring.
I reckon it can be done with one of these > https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001214 ... 4895%22%7D
And the speaker lead from one of these > https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222435362691 ... Sw4A5YwpOF

Yes. They look like the kind of adapters that would give a chance of being useful. I used the speaker part of the ebay harness and repinned one of the adapter plugs to suit the radio part of the harness. Still a faff when you can't get exactly the right adapter

[iateyoubutler]

Thanks all for the replies and the links to various connectors - I`ll have a good look at them shortly

I used to fit car audio/hands free kits etc for a living so know my way around (although maybe a bit rusty haha). I don`t want to butcher the original wiring as I would like to be able to restore the car back to its factory condition if I need to. I do like the idea of "grafting" together a couple of different adaptors to get it to work. I would have liked to get rid of the original stereo altogether but because of all the inbuilt menus etc it`s just not possible

Also does anybody know what type of aerial connector it uses?

Thanks guys

[Nickcc102]

Solved the economy mode, bought a small portable DAB radio for when I’m sat in the car for hours whilst my Wife goes shopping.