Hi guys,

Sorry if this has been answered before, but I've been looking all over the forums and google, and havn't found an answer yet.

I'm taking delivery of my new fiesta 1.25 zetec with bluetooth on tuesday (I hope!). However, as I didn't want to wait for a factory build I had to settle for a model without USB. My dealer has assured me that I can fit the usb option myself, by taking apart the radio and plugging a lead into the back of it, then running it down through the console. I've got quite a bit of experience with electronics, and have seen a post in how to remove the front fascia, but was wondering if anybody else has tried this yet, and could either point me in the direction of a tutorial, or just some part numbers.

If not, I will try it myself anyway and post back telling people how I got on; if it's only an hours work (as my dealer claims) it is certianly worth not having to wait 4 months for a factory build!

You would probably also have to reconfigure the software to accept USB devices.

Hi guys,

Sorry if this has been answered before, but I've been looking all over the forums and google, and havn't found an answer yet.

I'm taking delivery of my new fiesta 1.25 zetec with bluetooth on tuesday (I hope!). However, as I didn't want to wait for a factory build I had to settle for a model without USB. My dealer has assured me that I can fit the usb option myself, by taking apart the radio and plugging a lead into the back of it, then running it down through the console. I've got quite a bit of experience with electronics, and have seen a post in how to remove the front fascia, but was wondering if anybody else has tried this yet, and could either point me in the direction of a tutorial, or just some part numbers.

If not, I will try it myself anyway and post back telling people how I got on; if it's only an hours work (as my dealer claims) it is certianly worth not having to wait 4 months for a factory build!

Tell your dealer you will give him an hours labour and the price of the parts for them to fit it for you and see what he says. It's amazing what they say when they want a sale.

Tell your dealer you will give him an hours labour and the price of the parts for them to fit it for you and see what he says. It's amazing what they say when they want a sale.

My dealer has said this retrofit is not possible even though i made it clear i am happy to pay for parts and labour. but thats only my experience with my dealer

My dealer has said this retrofit is not possible even though i made it clear i am happy to pay for parts and labour. but thats only my experience with my dealer

Exactly, that was my point.

im 99% sure it can be done but no one will do it due to the hassles involved!!!

im 99% sure it can be done but no one will do it due to the hassles involved!!!

Anything can be done, it's all about the time and the costs.

Interesting stuff.

I'm sure it must be possible; I doubt that the dealer would lie that blatantly to my face; he said directly to me that he had done it himself, by ordering the correct parts through their spares department.

I think some people would be interested in it; for example, in my situation I couldn't afford to wait months for a factory order, and had to make do with what was in stock. If anybody is interested, I'll document the installation when I've taken delivery of the car, along with any part numbers etc.

I think some people would be interested in it; for example, in my situation I couldn't afford to wait months for a factory order, and had to make do with what was in stock. If anybody is interested, I'll document the installation when I've taken delivery of the car, along with any part numbers etc.

Id be very interested as id like a retro usb fit

Id be very interested as id like a retro usb fit

Yeah me too that would be awesome - more info' please ??

Id be very interested as id like a retro usb fit

I think everyone here would be interested because its been a hot topic for a while now :)

Good luck!

I'd love to know, it's make my car even more perfect! That's the one thing I'm missing. I can live without it, but it'd be nice to know if can be done :D

I was the person who took apart the front facia and put a guide up. Havin taken apart the facia and taken the head unit out there is no socket to put a USB cable into on the back of the unit. I really don't think a sales rep in a ford dealership as taken apart a new fiesta dash console, so he is not qualified to say it can be done in an hour. Also I have opened up the centre console where the USB and Aux socket sit and compared the wiring loom to a friends Fiesta who has got the USB and the wiring looms are different from a fiesta with USB and without USB, so there is no easy solution to fitting a USB.

As mentioned above I would also expect the software would be different.

However if you want any advice on taking the head unit out then I am your man, having posted the original guide and I have taken it apart with no damage 2-3 times now.

Ok so an update: I picked up the car today (!Removed! hell I love it!), and talked to the dealer about fitting the usb. The parts have to be ordered from the bodyshop they're not on the spares systems. Hes getting the part numbers for me by friday - I managed to get them for free after I pointed out that they handn't bolted my drivers seat down! The wiring loom has to be replaced, and wired into the back of the unit. It appears that once this is done, the software autodetects that it is connected to USB and reconfigures itself (apparently it plugs into the same port on the radio as the AUX in).

Steve, would it be possible to get a few pointers in how to remove the centre console? Cheers!

Did you get anymore info on fitting the usb, lots of us would be interested in the outcome.

Any more news on a usb fitting?

Did you get anymore info on fitting the usb, lots of us would be interested in the outcome.

Ok guys, update time:

Phoend the dealer today, using my angry voice. He recons that they need to lean on someone from the office; apparently this is something ford really don't want people to do, so there is no documentation from them. The whiff of bullshit is becoming overpowering, but as the option to fit USB was a dealbreaker when I bought it, I recon it is possible.

According to my dealer, I will need to take apart the centre console and remove the radio unit. The socket should fit straight into the back of the radio with no further modification, and the radio software should update itself to include it. If not, they can apparently update the software at a service.

On an unrelated note, NEVER park your car in Wembly Stadium's multistory car park; I folded the wing mirrors, parked in the corner furthest from any exit, and some w***er still managed to scuff up my front bumper :( Time for T-Cut!

Ok guys, update time:

Phoend the dealer today, using my angry voice. He recons that they need to lean on someone from the office; apparently this is something ford really don't want people to do, so there is no documentation from them. The whiff of bullshit is becoming overpowering, but as the option to fit USB was a dealbreaker when I bought it, I recon it is possible.

According to my dealer, I will need to take apart the centre console and remove the radio unit. The socket should fit straight into the back of the radio with no further modification, and the radio software should update itself to include it. If not, they can apparently update the software at a service.

On an unrelated note, NEVER park your car in Wembly Stadium's multistory car park; I folded the wing mirrors, parked in the corner furthest from any exit, and some w***er still managed to scuff up my front bumper :( Time for T-Cut!

Sorry to hear about the scuff. It's really annoying when it happens to a new car. Unless you feel T-Cut is necessary I'd stear well clear as it tends to add scratches. Personally, I'd use Meguiars Ultimate Compound. It's brilliant at cutting and removing scratches but won't add any more in the process.

Sorry to hear about the scuff. It's really annoying when it happens to a new car. Unless you feel T-Cut is necessary I'd stear well clear as it tends to add scratches. Personally, I'd use Meguiars Ultimate Compound. It's brilliant at cutting and removing scratches but won't add any more in the process.

any compound polish will add scratches if its not applied properly. as long as your remember to wax after polishing otherwise u will be left with no protection

Sorry for my English!

Could be that all head units have same PCB inside and same software, but some parts like USB and bluetooth is chips could be missing. Something like that could be seen on PC mother boards. Some mother boards could use same BIOS, same PCB but on some version you will have RAID controller firewire, LAN and etc. and on others, places for those chips will be empty. Similar situation could be with head units.

Other possibility is that head unit have some jumpers inside by which some options could be disabled or enabled. This is more likely if ford requested to be made by MCU factory, special deigned MCU for their head units which will have everything implemented in one chip.

I have also few other idea how ford could made head units but without comparing head units with or without USB will be very difficult to know, can USB be implemented after post-delivery. This means head unit must be extracted from car and needs to be open all the way to the main PCB.

Aston