[smc4C]

@smc4C did you try a generic bluetooth remote like this one?

Yes, I tried that exact one. Could not get the head unit to link to it. The head unit "saw" it on the BlueTooth list, but would not link. That's why I went for the other unit. Which I like better with the dial volume control.

 

[zr33]

Thanks! Save me buying the ebay one Do you have any pics of your remote mounted?

 

[smc4C]

Thanks! Save me buying the ebay one Do you have any pics of your remote mounted?

 

[zr33]

Looking good! hoping to get the Joying installed this week and will order the remote.

Nice coco mats btw

 

[zr33]

To anyone else experiencing this problem, look harder. The Alpine deck in the 2018 4C appears to have just an Alpine jumper, but it actually connects via an ISO harness. If you can't find it, dig deeper...it's there. Also, the remote wire pin in the 4C is in a non-standard position, so you'll find that you have no audio when you turn your Joying deck on for the first time. You'll need to connect the "AMP CONT" cable to the outlying amp cable in the ISO harness.

As others have pointed out, there's a couple of differences when replacing an alpine stereo vs a parrot. It seems like with either stock stereo, Alfa wired the car radio output with a standard ISO connector (nice and easy!) then added a "jumper" i.e. an ISO harness specific to Parrot or Alpine, depending on which option your car has. So to anyone removing their stock stereo and struggling with the connector - you must remove this "jumper".

quick pic below to help anyone stuck

You will also have to turn this on in the settings or it will not work. You can also use the antenna CONT (blue wire) this works and you do not have to go into the settings.

I just learned this the hard way after removing the unit about five times

I'll do a detailed post on my install trying to cover some of the gaps that haven't been mentioned yet. Looking for help on a couple things if anyone can advise:

1 - As mentioned in the quotes above, for the alpine stereo there's a (blue/white) remote wire which is in a non-standard position. Unfortunately there's no further information so I had to use some critical thinking 😂 appreciate the heads up though.

On the left is the Alpine "jumper" cable ISO connector. On the right is the standard ISO connector from Joying. The missing pin is the remote wire. On the Joying harness, the remote wire (AMP-CONT Orange/Black) is in the wiring bundle, but not installed into the ISO connector, hence the missing pin:

so question for wiring whiz's - is there a neat OEM way to get a pin connector for the AMP CONT wire and insert it into the ISO plug? Or should I just tap directly into the stock amp cable? Can you guys post up what you did?

2 - Some ppl have found that the newer Joying 8.8" units have a different screen mounting - it looks like this on mine:

I tried to move the pins up by one level to get a better view of the 4C toggle switches. Unfortunately the screen connector prevents the screen from being attached to the unit in this position. Anyone resolve this? It looks like with the new design, its the actual joying unit that needs to be trimmed to allow clearance for this. Might save this for a future project unless anyone can confirm?

 

[zr33]

To my first point above, i'd like to get a connector like on the blue/white wire below and slot it into the joying ISO for a nice clean install

Hopefully someone has a nice solution before I spend hours down the youtube/amazon rabbit hole..

 

[smc4C]

On my Joying unit, the Amp control wire was not in the ISO harness, it was an orange wire with a little tag on it "AMP (something)". Since I don't have an amplifier I wasn't concerned with it.

For the issue of the mounting pins, there was no problem adjusting them a bit lower (so the screen would be a bit higher). With the screen mounted, it stands out about 3/4" so the cable is not an issue. I did have to make a spacer to use instead of the light gray plastic one supplied with the unit. I made it the size of the one DIN opening so it covered all the head unit. Then I painted it black; and painted the back of the screen black. Came out great!

 

[sparky4c]

On my Joying unit, the Amp control wire was not in the ISO harness, it was an orange wire with a little tag on it "AMP (something)". Since I don't have an amplifier I wasn't concerned with it.

he means amplifier for the radio aerial which is blue. the orange one is for an audio amp

 

[smc4C]

he means amplifier for the radio aerial which is blue. the orange one is for an audio amp

OH. "Nevermind..."

I did think that wire was for a powered antenna. Do we have an amplifier for the antenna (aerial) in the 4C. If so, maybe I should hook it up; might get better reception.

 

[zr33]

Guys - I sorted this.

1 - Remote control - per my post above, the orange amp control cable coming out of the joying harness needs to be connected to the factory 4C wiring harness if you have the alpine upgraded sound system. Without this you will get no sound. I was just looking for the cleanest possible solution. With my car in pieces I didn't want to wait around to order the right ISO connector pin etc etc etc so I used a wire tap which did the trick

2 - The latest Joying 8.8 units are slightly different to earlier in the thread. Others have mentioned the inability to raise the screen a notch as the screen cable prevents the screen from seating into the head unit. Turned out there's a plastic shroud on the head unit which pops off. I will trim + paint this and reinstall it when I button everything back up (early on in this thread people were having to make their own shrouds).

Will post a write-up with pics soon.

 

[kazkioken]

Just got my Joying installed...like 3 years late! I've searched and read the thread so far but had a few questions:

1. turning on the main headlights doesn't adjust brightness of screen. I did go to the settings where you can adjust how bright daytime and nightime brightness is but had no effect. Also the two settings of how the light changes, the one based on time and the one based on light sensitivity? The light sensitivity one didn't change when it was in pitch darkness...and is there a way to determine what hours the brightness changes?

2. I don't think there is a solve for this, but was hoping to keep my bluetooth earbuds connected to my phone while the phone is hardwire connected to the Joying in AndroidAuto...I know that mode basically turns everything off on the phone. But for some reason I couldn't pair these earbuds directly to the Joying either, will try again. I don't use the speakers ever it's too loud in the car to hear anything so I usually have the Sony XM-1000M3's on.

thnx for any help!

 

[Me!]

Hi guys - I'm not a 4C owner, but I'm working to install this unit in my Exige (Hi @JWA!) and found that this thread might be the best installation resource on the internet for this unit. I'm in the middle of installation and have a few questions:
1.) How do you remove the plastic decorative shroud so I can move the screen up?
2.) This system has soooo many wires because of the many functions. I'm hoping to reduce the mess of wires behind the dash and one of the main offenders is the SIM card cable (Which I will never use). Has anyone cut the cable or know if I cut that cable if it would create a problem?

Thanks!

 

[zr33]

Hi mate - quick response as I'm literally finishing up my install right now.

1 - the plastic shroud just slides off - though this may be dependent on the version of the unit you have:

I purchased mine a month ago so should be the latest 8.8". You can see the 2 black lines I've marked on the shroud where you need to trim

just did a test fit and its perfect now. I can raise it up another notch if I want

Next project will be to paint the shroud and clean up the cutout, and paint the backside of the screen black as others have done, and bend the tabs on the joying to push it even further in, though it's pretty flush as it sits.

2) had the same thought as you about the bundles of wires. Fortunately the 4C has lots of space so I tidied up all the cabling and tucked it in neatly without hacking the unit, in case I ever want to sell it in the future. For a surefire answer - reach out direct to Joying support, they're good at replying and will be best to answer you question

 

[Me!]

Hi mate - quick response as I'm literally finishing up my install right now.

1 - the plastic shroud just slides off - though this may be dependent on the version of the unit you have:

View attachment 116294

I purchased mine a month ago so should be the latest 8.8". You can see the 2 black lines I've marked on the shroud where you need to trim
View attachment 116295

just did a test fit and its perfect now. I can raise it up another notch if I want

View attachment 116296

Next project will be to paint the shroud and clean up the cutout, and paint the backside of the screen black as others have done, and bend the tabs on the joying to push it even further in, though it's pretty flush as it sits.

2) had the same thought as you about the bundles of wires. Fortunately the 4C has lots of space so I tidied up all the cabling and tucked it in neatly without hacking the unit, in case I ever want to sell it in the future. For a surefire answer - reach out direct to Joying support, they're good at replying and will be best to answer you question

View attachment 116297

You are a life saver! I didn't realize it was held on with an interference fit via the 4 mounting posts. I also have decided to do what you did with the wires and bundle them up to make the install a little cleaner.

Also one thing I learned, for those who are integrating the USB, make sure you use the OTG USB plug if you want CarPlay or Android Auto to work.

 

[smc4C]

So, here's what I did to hide the back side of the Joying unit.

With nothing, it looks like this:

So I made this:

Stuck that around the complete head unit -

So now it looks like this -

 

[zr33]

Looks great mate. Assuming yours didn't come with the removable shroud from Joying?
Also looks like you painted the back of your screen - any worries/issues with paint dripping into the mounting holes?

 

[sparky4c]

if u bend/snap off the little metal tabs it'll sit flush without that big gap

 

[smc4C]

Looks great mate. Assuming yours didn't come with the removable shroud from Joying?
Also looks like you painted the back of your screen - any worries/issues with paint dripping into the mounting holes?

Yes, but you could still see some of the head unit. The one that comes with the Joying is smaller; it just goes around the mounting posts.
No worries about the paint, just do several light coats.

if u bend/snap off the little metal tabs it'll sit flush without that big gap

I thought about that, but I like the way in snaps into place now.

 

[kazkioken]

FYI if anyone is wanting to use 4G with their Joying. I just got mine installed few days ago (Los Angeles area)...a Verizon sim card WILL show up as giving signal to the unit but for some reason it wouldn't pull down any data. I then tried ATT and it works perfectly. I already have my main mobile account with ATT, so it only costs $15/month for the extra sim card, and it pulls from our unlimited data plan. I was planning on just wifi broadcasting from my phone but it's just easier to just have the system working by itself. Also decided to NOT use Android Auto, just easier to have the Joying just do it's own thing.

Anyone know how to remove the top status bar until you tap the top of the screen?

 

[695c]

Hi Guys - not a 4C owner (yet). Driven one for a day and absolutely loved it. I writting here because it seems that the 4C community has really embraced the joying 8.8 and I have a few questions that Joying is having difficulties solving.

One of our 'play cars' is a Abarth 695C Edizione Maserati and I bought and installed the Joying radio after seeing it in a 4C. Install went fine and the unit looks good. FM radio reception is not great, a lot of noise. The main two issues I have is

1: Phone calls. Sound quality at the other end is not great. Even if you hold the microphone close to your mouth it is still a little low/distant and the other person can hear an echo of his own voice. It's the same on Bluetooth, CarPlay and Android Auto.

2: The cars ignition needs to be on for the radio to work. You could turn on the standard radio even with the car shut off, but not with this - have any of you found a way to turn it on without turning the car on.

Other than that, I really like the unit and especially internet based services like Spotify and internet radio works really well and sounds great.

One minor thing - launch screen or UI. I've tried a few apps, but they do not work that well with this units size. What are you guys using?

Just being on this site makes me want to go drive a 4C again - just so rare in Denmark due to high registration taxes.