retrofit steering wheel controls, not so plug and play???

got myself from the breaker some steering wheel controls for the radio (still have the original radio Phillips R770)

so I tried to fit it as described on many threads and internet videos,
cutting the steering wheel cover, nice tight fit



but after reconnecting everything, it's not working??? not even the horn???
must have forgotten to plug it in I thought, took the airbag off again just to realize it was plugged in...

unplugged it and realized the connections aren't the same,
this is the old one, only horn connections in position 4 & 6

this is the new one, horn connects on 3 & 4

connections for the horn will be easy to swap but what about the rest?

thanks in advance
Miguel Baptista

Which Rover did the steering wheel come from? It is possible to push the connectors out of the block and resposition them into the correct pin locations - something I've done before on my MGF

It was only the switches that I bought, not the whole steering wheel. I think it came out of a Td4 because I got it from the same breaker I got my center console from, so it might have been the same car...

still trying to make the steering wheel controls to work and I found this diagram on the internet

mine is not from 2002 but I guess it can be used as reference

I took a look at the connections on the back of the radio and there seems to be something missing


the grey plug is for power and according to diagram I'm missing connections in position 2&3 to steering wheel controls
and have an extra connection in position 6 for side light illumination
is there a different or an extra loom connecting steering wheel and radio if you have the steering wheel controls?
I couldn't find any other fotos on the internet to help me out

I really want to keep the original radio specially now that I've got the original CD player, anyone have any suggestions???
thanks in advance

Miguel Baptista

There could well be an extra link loom for the wheel controls. Have you looked at the plug under the clock spring to see how many wire's are in use?

This is from the manual

No I have not taken the spring clock of, always assumed that the loom would be the same and only switches would be added for extra features like radio controls and cruise control. Try and have a look later if weather allows, thank you Nodge.

baptista said:

No I have not taken the spring clock of, always assumed that the loom would be the same and only switches would be added for extra features like radio controls and cruise control. Try and have a look later if weather allows, thank you Nodge.

Click to expand...

Looks like the wires you need are black/red and black/white.
Edit:
But you know that already, so ignore me.

The sun is shining in the Algarve só I took the steering wheel facia of and this is what the clock spring connection looks like

Yellow plug is for Airbag


Only 2 wires in positions 4&6, just like original conector only for the horn. So I'm missing something to connect steering wheel controls to the radio, I've also tried connecting directly the controls to the back of the radio in position 2&3 of radio power plug but only thing that happened was when pressing Volume - , radio mode changes between tuner and CD...

Ok. So you will need to add the wires to the HU. It also sounds like the resistance values are different between you HU and the wheel switches.
Do you know what year and spec your switches came from?
I suspect that the later HUs use a different set of resistors by comparison to the early Plillips R770 HU.
You might well need to change the resistance to the correct values. Or use a set of wheel switches from a Rover 25/45.

Don't know from what vehicle switches came from, bought it on-line from a breaker along with center console, suppose pre- facelift Td4, since it's the most common in Portugal.

baptista said:

Don't know from what vehicle switches came from, bought it on-line from a breaker along with center console, suppose pre- facelift Td4, since it's the most common in Portugal.

Click to expand...

Can you measure the resistance for each button push and post them here.

Got no working multimeter but did some rewiring to position 2&3 on plug on radio unit and it's working like this:
Volume - is OK
Volume+ is skip back
Skip back & skip forward is changing mode between tuner and CD
Long skip is mute
Switches have a label saying:
P18133
02-03-01

Sorry, maybe it will be kind of rain in your parade but, instead of starting a new thread, I am writing here...
Are other model's cruise and stereo switches such as Discovery suitable for my 2001 Freelander? The parts seems to connect up and down sides of both switches are broken in the middle and the SET and (+) (-) buttons are swinging without functioning...
So, could part number: YUH100320 (Discovery 1999-2004) works elecyronically, disregarding the brass brackets, on 2001 Freelander? If so, I am planning to buy that from Ebay, since it is cheaper than ours, part number: YUH100751LNF...

It could work if the resistance values are the same. You could try and swap the electronic board that works to the discovery casing.

Thank you, baptista. So, I can buy the Discovery item with a clear conscience...
One more question... Can I fit any plastic part in between the two (+) and (-) switches to contact the circuit?

Casing seems to be the same so between your existing switches and new ones you should be able to make it work.
Don't know about fitting something on the switches but as long as contact is made it will send the signal.