Audi S4 (B6) removal of phone cradle

[bazzabear]

My S4 had the standard fit phone cradle that's on the side of the centre console. We've never used it, and have an aftermarket radio now with bluetooth, so we never will.

I've been meaning to go around to getting rid of the cradle for ages, and have finally got around to it. Cradle came off easy enough, leabing us in this state:

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/u364/bigrich69...

(Not my picture - someone on the net who was going in the opposite direction to me!)

I intended to get a trim repairer to fit the holes I knew would be left in the dash - but the problem is that the two connections you can see in that picture are too big to just push back through the holes as I'd hoped.

The question I have for you clever chaps is (and I feel daft even asking it, because it sounds like a BAD idea):

Can I just cut off those connectors, or will it do major bad juju to my electrics?

The annoying thing is that I'm sure when the guy fitted the radio he said he'd disconnected these wires so I could get rid of the cradle if I wanted ... but I'm not sure enough to be confident doing it if it might kerblamo the car...

Any advice gratefully received!

[bazzabear]

OK, I've been thinking a bit more about this myself.

I wondered if I could find the other end of those wires and disconnect them there. I assume they will be wherever the actual bluetooth module is (sure I remember reading it's under the drivers footwell, but can't find that info now).

That led to another idea - checking the fuse plan, fuse 8 is for the telephone and nothing else. Removing said fuseresults in "Audi UHV 8287" disappearing from the list of bluetooth devices when I search with my phone, and putting the fuse back in brings it back.

It therefore seems logical to me that as long as I remove that fuse, I have decommissioned the bluetooth device, and cutting those cables off will not be an issue.

Can anyone confirm my thinking?

[catso]

bazzabear said:

Can I just cut off those connectors, or will it do major bad juju to my electrics?

The large black plug has push-in connectors that if you find a 'tool' that will fit, will come out of the black housing, thread the cable back through and re-fit the housing inside the dash.

The aerial connector should push through as is IMO.

That way they're still there should you need them in the future.

Alternatively if you absolutely will never need them again then cut the wires but unless you are certain that they are not live then cut them singly and be sure to insulate them with tape or shrink wrap afterwards so that they can't touch each other either during cutting or afterwards.

[bazzabear]

Cheers, good tips! I'd been thinking about it myself overnight and come to the same conclusions.

In fact, I'd set off to do exactly as you suggest - pull each pin individually and insulate it. But what I found when I started was that the block connector was some kind of adapter set around another, smaller, block connector. With a little tab pressed down, the smaller one slid out of the bigger complete.

That smaller one was small enough to thread back into the hole in the dash - so problem solved.

Now IO just have to hope that the trim repair looks reasonable (although, to be honest, I reckon even with holes in the dash it looks better than with that cradle!)

[catso]

You could get some kind of custom made grab handle to sit in the holes...

[phil y]

I'd be looking at getting a replacement centre console off eBay and swapping it over, rather than a repair. Max of a couple of hours of your time if you've never done it before

[bazzabear]

I may go down that road, depending on what I hear about how good a job the repair will be.