FISCON Bluetooth Retrofit – Audi A4/S4 with RNS-E

By Nick Roshon / 12 August 2012 / 23 comments

I recently picked up a FISCON Bluetooth Retrofit kit from OEM Plus and wanted to share the installation instructions and do a quick mini review of the system – it’s a great way to retrofit bluetooth to your Audi that can be easily installed at home. They offer a kit for Audis equipped with both RNS-E (Navigation) called FISCON Handsfree Audi Basic-Plus and Symphony head units called FISCON Handsfree Audi Basic. It’s a super straightforward install that takes maybe 20 minutes to complete the hardware, and another 5 minutes or so to complete the coding. You will need access to a VAG-COM tool to update the coding of your head unit to accept bluetooth, and you’ll need radio removal keys – otherwise this is very straightforward to install…once installed, it works just like the OEM bluetooth functionality, plus it has A2DP Audiostreaming so you can play wirelessly music over your phone (such as Pandora, iTunes, whatever) via Bluetooth, which is slick.

As you can see in the above screenshot, this kit will display your phone information right on the RNS-E screen and is also compatible with your multi-function steering wheel buttons – exactly like OEM. If your car didn’t come with Bluetooth and you’re looking for OEM-like integration and the ability to stream music, this is the kit for you…

Installation Instructions

Kufatec/FISCON is the manufacturer of the kit, and they provide instructions on how to install it (download it here). While the instructions are okay, I’m going to give much better information and pictures to walk you through this process so that even the most novice modders can handle this.

First, start by removing the radio using a set of radio removal keys. You insert the four keys and the radio will simply pull out – you may want to put a towel over your shifter or beneath the head unit so it doesn’t scratch anything.

Next, remove the wiring harness from the back of the radio. There is an arm that you have to unfasten so that the harness unlocks from the back of the radio, so be sure to unclip this before tugging at the wire – it should slip off very easily so no need to yank at it.

Unpackage the FISCON kit and take out the wiring adapter for the back of the radio. The plugs look nearly identical and it basically goes between the factory wiring and the back of the harness to give you the wiring you need without needing any splicing or wiring necessary from you.

Like I said before, the factory wiring plugs in to the female end of the FISCON harness, and then then the male end of the FISCON harness plugs into the back of your radio. All plugs of the harness have similar locking arms, so loosen the arm, plug the harness in, then clamp the arm down to lock it in place.

In the picture above, you can see the swinging arm lock – press it all the way down and it should “click” into place, holding the wiring harness securely in place.

Next, you’ll want to remove the trim piece below the steering wheel so you can run the wires properly. If you don’t know how to remove this panel, consult the step “Step 4 – Headlight Switch Trim Removal” in this post - it’s just three bolts and the panel drops.

The FISCON wiring harness from the back of the radio should have a longer cable that you’ll want to run underneath the steering column and then out the fuse panel, like below. The long end of this wire plugs into a square box which is essentially the brain of the Bluetooth unit. I mounted the box/brain above the fuse box for easy access in case anything ever goes wrong. The wiring also has a headphone jack coming out of it, which is what you’ll use to rig up the microphone

Now that the wiring has been ran for the bluetooth unit, and you’ve mounted the box/brain of the unit above the fuse box, you just need to run the microphone wiring. The FISCON kit comes with some clips & adhesive to mount the microphone. I started by mounting the microphone first, then tucking the extra wiring inside of the headliner and A pillar all the way down to the fuse box. There is plenty of extra wiring with this kit, which is nice if you have somewhere else in mind you want to wire the microphone for.

You should be able to tuck the microphone wiring in using a flathead screwdriver, much like you would for hardwiring a radar detector. Tuck in any extra wire where the FISCON unit is above the fuse panel, and then reinstall the dash panel, fuse cover and push the radio back in. Time for some light coding!

Connect your VAG-COM cable and go to Instruments – Radio (56)
Go to coding and change the fifth number to be a 6 – mine reads “0309637″
Save the settings
Next go back to Instruments and go to 17 – Instrument Cluster
Go to Channels and select Channel 62, then add +02
Lastly, go to Instruments then select Steering Wheel (16) to program the multi-function steering wheel (assuming you have one, if not, disregard)
Change the coding so the second digit is a 3 – such as 03xxx

You’re done coding…now restart the RNS-E. To do this, hold down the power button for 45 seconds with the car on. Wait 45 seconds, and then hold the power button for another 45 seconds. It should cycle on/off while you’re holding down the button.

Lastly, connect the bluetooth from your car to your phone. In the iPhone, go to Settings – General – Bluetooth and you’ll see “KUFATEC FISCON” as an available option (if you don’t, recheck your installation & connections). When you connect to it, enter the password “1234″ and you will be connected. You should now see the phone in your RNS-E and use it just like you would the OEM bluetooth feature.

All done! Test and enjoy…

About the author: Nick Roshon

Nick Roshon is a blogger who is passionate about Audis and European cars in general. He owns a 2006 S4 and also races for team Audi Style Racing in a race-prepped Audi Coupe GT. His driving experience includes numerous track days throughout California, Nevada and Arizona. In his day job, Nick is a digital marketer.

Website: http://nickscarblog.com