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Blog articles 124 Spider Specs Tweaks Navigation
ameridan’s RADIO SILENCER
for
FIAT® 124 SPIDERS with FIAT CONNECT 7.0 Infotainment Systems
… can also be used in
All Mazda® vehicles with MAZDA CONNECT 7.0 Infotainment Systems
Since a primary function of the CMU (Connectivity Master Unit) is apparently to serve as a go-between device linking HS-CAN and MS-CAN protocols within the vehicle, there is no power switch. If your vehicle doesn’t have the 7″ touchscreen though, there is no CMU, so I gather that it isn’t necessarily a required go-between, but it does provide for a convenient interface to personalize many preferences, rather than having to go to the dealer to alter default settings for you.
To the typical driver looking at the display of their “tablet” radio though, that purpose and function is probably unknown, and begs the question…
“Where’s the switch to turn the radio off?”
Since no option currently exists to turn the “radio” off, other than muting the audio system, I’ve come up with an inexpensive hardware alternative.
Introducing Ameridan’s Radio Silencer:
- no surprise FM music when transitioning in/out of Bluetooth audio or Android Auto / CarPlay modes, especially as you shutdown/restart your vehicle
- allowing you to leave volume level alone to experience normal audio behavior of all other audio phone calls and messages (navigation guidance announcements have their own volume setting)
- no huge “Mute” icon obliterating your screen, resulting in the entertainment menus being inaccessible until canceled
- rather than turning the volume down to zero while a radio station is tuned in, with the station’s ID, advertisements, song titles and perhaps even album art constantly changing, enjoy your background image in the AUX screen mode instead
Instructions:
- Unless you wish to use the AUX input as an actual audio source, simply plug Ameridan’s Radio Silencer into your AUX jack and leave it there (it is minimal in size and there are no wires attached to clutter up your cockpit and get tangled with your USB cable(s), and the black color blends in well with your USB / AUX ports panel).
- Whenever you want your radio off, simply select AUX as your audio source. Besides using either the Commander knob or the touch screen, you can invoke the selection using voice command by saying “Ox” or “Play Ox” (interpreted as Aux) or “Play Auxiliary” or “Go to Aux”. The AUX setting will remain, even after shutting down your vehicle and restarting, until you select another audio source, as long as you leave Ameridan’s Radio Silencer plugged in.
NOTE: If you have your phone paired via Bluetooth for listening to music, it will override your selected audio source if within range and powered on – until it becomes un-paired, when your system will return to your previously selected audio source. If you have selected AUX in conjunction with Ameridan’s Radio Silencer, the only audio you will hear are your navigation guidance announcements (providing you’ve entered a destination).
Although I’ve had a link here for almost 3 years, giving these away to U.S. readers as thanks to donations to my coffee fund, after going through my initial order of 500 pieces, I’ve decided not to order another bulk lot of these 3.5 mm audio plugs.
As an alternative, you might consider cutting the 3.5 mm plug off of some old ear buds, but make sure it’s a clean cut, so that the pair of copper wires aren’t touching each other.
♦♦♦♦♦
If you are just becoming familiar with your 124 Spider, you might consider reading my introductory article, to get the best experience during your first drives – Pre-delivery Reminders.
Also, be sure to check out my tweaks page for other ways to improve your experience with your Infotainment Center, my control buttons blog page for more on the Commander interface panel, and my navigation blog page for more on adding/using that option to your Infotainment Center.
Thank you to all those that have donated to my coffee fund!
Hope you are enjoying your Radio Silencers and tweaks. I’m enjoying my coffee 😉
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hey! This all looks fantastic. Yesterday I picked up my Abarth 124, installed a £80 sat nav SD chip (that works, saving £400) and now I am going to tweak the Infotainment.
Thanks again for the hard work.
James
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Many thanks for the tweaks. Installed some today in my new 124 lusso plus and love the speedometer, touch screen and blue theme. SteveH UK.
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Thank you this blog is awesome and I have contributed and used it before…I do have a question that somebody out there may help me with…Has anyone installed an electric oil pressure gauge in a 2017 fiat 124 spider abarth? If so where did you connect to the engine, where is the sensor do I need a T- fitting ???? Can anyone shed some light.
Thanks
Oscar
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Perhaps this post might prove helpful: https://www.124spider.org/threads/log-of-oil-temp-and-pressure.32680/#post-483026
https://www.124spider.org/attachments/druckaufnehmer-temperatur-%C3%96l-jpg.68552/
https://www.124spider.org/attachments/20171208_154810-jpg.68558/
Other places to look are forums for other vehicles using the same 1.4 L engine, including Jeep Renegade, Dodge Dart, and Fiat 500.
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Dan I used your tweak to change the visual of the startup screen from Fiat to Spider 124. It’s worked like a charm…..but I was curious about another aspect of the info system. My voice on the navigation system stopped working a while back, and I don’t know if it was just a dumb move on my part while using it….or if there is a possibility that it is something involved with the tweak? If you could clue me in as where to look I would really appreciate it.
thank you,
norman
2017 Abarth124
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Norman, it’s not tweak related. It sounds as if you aren’t aware that Nav volume is completely separate from audio source volume. My guess – you probably turned it down while she was talking loudly 😉
See if this helps you…
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thank you Dan….you were absolutely right….I feel a little stupid….but it wasn’t obvious, so thanks for your help.
norman
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I am grateful that someone is trying to help us “navigate” these issues–I love the car, but certainly finding some design flaws –I can’t get my dealer to furnish an XM fin satellite –they say that they aren’t available for the 124 spider.
I have the LUSSO . I have made my $5 donation and look forward to receiving your Radio Silencer 🙂 I am a little nervous about the tweaks, but am annoyed enough that i might give them a whirl.
thanks
sue cook
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Thanks Sue. It sounds like you have a Lusso without the “Premium Collection with Sirius” package (which saved you $3800), and the dealer is right – you can’t just add a shark-fin antenna to get XM as the entire package of Bose add-ons like the extra amplifier, speakers and associated wiring harnesses are also required. You have the same system as I do, and I personally think that the non-Bose system sounds better anyways. You have plenty of other options to supplement your fun driving with music.
Just do one simple tweak to start and get comfortable with the process 😉
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A potential work-around that provides you with your Sirius/XM access… If you have XM set up on your smartphone (iOS or Android), you should be able to BT sync your device to the vehicle’s infotainment system and have your XM broadcast via your car’s existing sound system. Alternately, you could also patch it in using a DIN cable in the audio in jack for the system. The downside is that managing the XM system itself while driving might be difficult to accomplish in a safe and prudent manner (kind of like texting, but worse). As your system is the same as Dan’s, he’ll correct me if I’m out to lunch on what I’ve described.
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Thanks, yes I’ve done the BT and that was why i was looking for wired in — especially where i live and the trips I take the satellite is pretty handy. I appreciated the info about the bose and harness prerequisite –that at least makes it easier to understand.
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Sue, according to radio-locator.com,
so there must be something you like 😉 (only one classic rock?)
Also, just throwing out an “old school” idea – record 2 or 3 hours of a XM session onto a thumbdrive and when it gets “stale”, rerecord 😉
or are your trips daily?
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old school works –good idea, but my music taste is pretty eclectic and i don’t listen to the same genre continuously ; i have tons of thumb drive music –it’s the randomness and choice that xm brings – i have Pandora, but it’s thru my phone, so if i go out of cell range i’m out of luck- it’s the principal of the thing is all, just seems silly that i can’t add that without all this rigamarole 🙂 –i live in Idaho and our cell reception out of town is spotty. and it’s a long drive to any destination—i do appreciate your comments and love the blog!
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Would you be able to send the radio silencer to the UK? Please!
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Hi Betty,
I got a PM from Terry in the UK as well today also asking for a radio silencer. Unfortunately, it seems a rather difficult chore to send items from the US. The U.S. customs forms (4 pages) are 6″ x 8″, which are larger than the envelopes I bought to ship the silencer plug, so I would have to buy another batch of larger padded envelopes…
However, I did find a merchant on ebay.co.uk selling what appears to be the same item (3.5 mm audio plug) for £0.99 here (there may be others as well), and suggest that as a cost-effective alternative.
I find it amazing as to how inexpensively and hassle-free China & Hong Kong merchants can ship items around the world. The policies that the Universal Postal Union have kept in place is precisely the reason that Radio Shack and so many other ‘brick + mortar’ electronics and hobby stores have gone out of business. Also, their customs form is a simple little 2″ x 3″ sticker that can be printed and attached as easily as the postage.
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Radio Shack update: as of late 2020 they are up and running as an online-only corporate store in time for their “100th Year”. Plus a small number of privately owned franchise stores remain open.
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I see they’re selling these for $14.99 🙂 I’m thinking, that’s not too much more than they were 50 years ago.
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Great radio tweaks!
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I am getting an error message of ” cannot find file choose\wbusy\wbusy”. Is there a fix for this?
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I’m pretty sure you aren’t following the instructions. Re-read step 3, and do as it states.
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Got it! I had to get the program to format to FAT32. Worked like a charm after that. Thanks!
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Hi Dan, I wanted to drop you a line to let you know about my new 124 website – not because it’s another 124 site, but specifically because Im focusing on retrofits, modifications and add-ons, whilst trying to not repeat too much of what you’ve covered.
The first thing I’ve done is develop a retrofit reversing camera kit that can be fitted to any 124 with the 7 inch CMU screen. This is esepcially useful for people in the UK with the Abarth model, where a camera wasn’t even offered as an option to us. I’ve got the kits available to buy from my site and have posted the full (very detailed) installation instructions on the site as well.
I’d be very grateful if you could take a look at the site, and maybe write a short post telling your regular audience about it.
Thanks
Stu
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Done.
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Michael Brenner shared an image on the to 124Spider.org (2017+ FIAT 124 Spider) Facebook page, that I felt compelled to prominently post on my Welcome page, because many of us prefer the 124 styling over the 4th iteration of the Miata. 🙂
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THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!
I really appreciate the information on this blog. I have used your checklist for the delivery of the car. ( The chassis plugs were not installed). I have successfully installed the updates for my Nav and updated the Gracenote files.
I really appreciate the time you have taken to detail all the various instructions. I look forward to many years of happy ownership of my 124 and glad to have the support of the online community.
THANKS!!
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https://www.carscoops.com/2020/11/final-abarth-124-spider-for-japan-is-being-auctioned-off-for-charity/
Hope you’re not going to auction off your blog. We’re all going to need it!
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Unless WordPress goes under, the blog will always be there for all of us (I refer to it too).
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After reading an article about fire extinguishers in cars and some helpful facebook group comments, I found this for 124 Spiders. For anyone who feels the need to have one handy. https://auroraautodesign.com/products/blackbird-fabworx-fire-extinguisher-bracket-nd-miata-16-up-fiat-124-spider-17-up
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John, I started a new article, and used your comment as the first item 😉
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Where i can find file of firmware 70.00.100 for upgrade my abarth 124 ?
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The HiDrive share seems to have disappeared. I’m hoping someone that has already downloaded these files, helps start up another share with the 3 versions of 70.00.100 files (I’ll correct the links, as soon as I’m aware of a new source; I think I have the North America files somewhere, but it seems I recall they were too large for my free MediaFire account).
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I think I found a new source for the files, and I updated the links in the article https://21stcenturyfiat124spider.wordpress.com/2019/02/18/universal-version-70-fiat-tweak/
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Hi Ameridan, are you aware of the possible limitations (LIM) that the ecu software has to protect the engine? specifically, it seems that if we exceed 130 degrees celsiuis of oil temperature, a LIM is activated but I cannot find any documentation in this regard. Thank you for your support
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As evidenced in many articles, including this one from Eurocompulsion, all of the parameter limits and variables that Fiat discovered while developing the engine, are programmed into the ECU. Would you believe that the ECU is programmed to adapt to CNG, as well? I’m not aware of documentation that spells out all of the parameter limits, but I would think that synthetic 5W-40 oil is capable of accommodating temperatures higher than
130° F (54° C ), so I question that limit.Oh you stated 130° C!! Yes, the kinematic viscosity may be negligible at that temp. 😉LikeLike
Ameridan thanks again for the quick response, yes the ecu manages everything, I would be curious to know if the LIM oil temperature intervenes at how much temperature and what it does to limit the temperature. This argument arose from some local pilots who attribute the drop in power through LIM to an excessive engine oil temperature, as a solution they think of implementing an engine oil cooler to not exceed 130 ° (celsius). Before starting an oil radiator modification I would like to collect more data, get more information on the management of this LIM. It is true that the temperature of 130 ° is not good for this engine / oil but just to give an example, the type of oil I am using Ravenol RUP 5w40 has an HTHS at 150 ° C mPа * s 3.9 value very good. Think that 3.5 already offers excellent protection against oil cutting. So before I throw myself into a modification that can make the car more fragile and heavier I would like to understand if there is really a need to cool down.
Thanks again
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Just wanted to thank you for all the hard work you put into making the infotainment more bareable! Will you please confirm if I’m able to take advantage of these tweaks? I purchased a used 2019 Fiat Spider Abarth OS Version 59.00.562
Music 00.07.000
Fail Safe 59.00.562
Platform NF (4 & 5 character in my VIN)
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No, your Abarth isn’t EASILY tweakable, unfortunately.
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Thank you for the confirmation! I had high hopes but wanted to be sure. Thank you regardless for all the hard work you put in for others to take advantage of these tweeks.
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It *IS* possible to tweak your car, there’s just a few more steps required before doing so. Please see mazdatweaks.com for more information
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Just did the infotainment tweak, didn’t pay attention it was on version 70.000.100 so now my whole screen doesn’t work properly. I bought the car at a dealership with CarPlay/AndroidAuto on it. Any idea how to proceed?
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Depending on which tweak you installed, the Uninstall might do the job. Another alternative might be to reinstall the entire 70.00.100 package. as described here (but not being that familiar with the process any longer, I’m not sure if you can do that with the new hub installed?). If you can get in touch with the original owner, it sounds like they are able to redo the firmware install…
Hopefully @68wooley chimes in.
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Nothing, even doing the Uninstall. Screen all in black.
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I have a 2017 Classica. Always looking for info on our cars.
Thanks
Bob Pelto
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Welcome Bob. You’ll find most everything you’re looking for either in my Specs section, or within the Blog section. Enjoy!
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Thank you 🙏
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Just picked up a 2018 124 lusso in bronze with early firmware. Have sent coffee payment in the hope of utilising some of these mods and look forward to receiving the AIO file link. Great fun to drive. The closest thing I could find to my old NBFL MX5 without Mazda’s horrific NC/ND styling. Thanks for all the info on your website. Very useful.
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Paul, thank you – check your messages in PayPal.
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Hi Ameridan, great page, lots of useful info, thanks for putting in the work to bring it all together.
I’ve sent a donation to your coffee fund so I can try some of your tweaks.
Thanks
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Thank you. I messaged you with a link via PayPal 2 days ago, since there was no email address provided.
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Have read all these threads many times, but confused on 2 issues.
is it definitive a 2019 Lusso with Nav can’t be upgraded to Car play/AA? Seems to appear that way since last version on OS is preloaded
and… NAV cards… Says now available but link gives no options for NA and vender not responding.
Thanks from a new owner.
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System can be upgraded, but not by the simple USB drive method. Nav cards are getting quite difficult to find now, but perhaps someone will recommend a source.
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Thanks.
so how hard to upgrade? I must be missing something with the warnings about the final OS blocking this and the tweaks. If it’s not worth the risk of bricking I’ll leave it alone.
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See https://mazdatweaks.com/serial/#process to judge the complexity for yourself.
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