Camper Navigation

Kenwood DNR 992RVS Camper Navigation Upgrade

We have had our camper for 3 years now and it came with a X-zent F270 Navi pre- installed by the manufacturer with full European maps. I knew nothing of this company or device before, and during the 50.000 km of use there was quite a lot of frustrating km’s. The user interface is mildly complicated, the map updates are incredibly complicated and totally impossible if you use a Mac operating system, the firmware update is just the same, the touch screen not so responsive and with no Apple Carplay, somewhat frustrating. And factor in my deteriorating eyesight on a small screen and it was time for an upgrade.

I looked at many options currently on the market all ranging from around €700 to €2000 and as my requirements were for a Garmin powered system, a 10” screen and good quality sound, I was left with only one real option. The flagship Kenwood 10.1” Camper Navi coming in at a trouser troubling €1400. And as I was upgrading the stereo, I also wanted to upgrade the speakers at the same time as the Fiat Ducato standard speakers were literally not worth having installed in the first place, as my iPhone speakers out powered them!

What I needed:

Kenwood DNR 992RVS Navigation system
Emphaser EM-FTF2 Plug n Play Speaker system for Fiat Ducato
Universal 2 din head unit fixing cage
Fiat ducato 2 din dashboard surround
Ignition/override ISO dashboard switch
Steering link cable ISO for Fiat Ducato
Alubutyl 2mm self adhesive insulation panels
Acoustic 10mm self adhesive soundproofing mat insulation
Auto interior trim removal kit

Speakers

I decided on the highly recommended Emphaser EM-FTF2 speakers specifically manufactured for the Ducato van and with a simple plug and play installation. To install the door speakers, all of the trims first need to be removed which require a little care and patience, and as you are removing everything anyway, I recommend you add some sound insulation to the doors as Fiat provide nothing at the manufacture time. This will help enormously with the finished product and overall sound experience whilst driving.

The tweeters are slightly easier to install depending if you have integrated window blinds or not. Again just use care and attention as the blinds are very light and fragile. The plug and play was exactly as promised and both the speakers and tweeters fitted exactly into the available brackets and cable connections in the Fiat wiring loom.

Head Unit

Unpacking the Kenwood DNR 992RVS you get a feel of quality. Nice cabling, solid construction and a truly lovely display, so the initial feeling is of a good purchase. I am quite practical and have decent campervan and electrical knowledge, and after successfully installing our complicated Thitronik alarm system a couple of years ago, felt I had the skills to fit the stereo myself. So here goes!

Before installation I believed I had purchased all what I would require for a one afternoon fit, but I was to be disappointed with my lack of knowledge and expertise as the week dragged on.

First thing is the removal of the X-zent system and to make a note and label all the existing connection cables. I thought this would be quite straightforward but Etrusco had made a complete dogs dinner of the installation. Cutting cables too short, no protection to the external power switch, bypassing the harness connections to save money and time, and taking off all the labels from the rear of the unit connections. But after trying to get a grip on everything, I managed to work it out and remove the stereo. Then it was a journey the following day to purchase a correct override switch that would fit the Fiats ISO wiring loom and allow switching of the stereo either from the ignition or override it when parked.

Getting back to it the following day I managed to work out and install the 2 din housing cage and installed it to the correct depth around the main unit. Important note here. Do this before you connect any of the wiring as otherwise you will have to disconnect all of the wiring again to fit the cage as it mounts from the rear. This should save you a lot of wasted time that I cant get back…

The power switch is straightforward and fitted into the existing hole and wiring loom without issue. If you dont already have one then you will need to drill a hole somewhere in your dash which is convenient for you. The FM aerial, DAB aerial, GPS locator and microphone was also not a problem and as I had already installed a USB socket extension to the lower panel, this also just plugged in. The existing rear camera needed some modifications and requires a power and a ground feed which can be easily found at the rear of the unit and spliced in.

There are no other cameras on the van even though the stereo is capable of connecting 3 more, so the extra cables and connections are just taped up and left in place. There is also no electric handbrake and the mute technology is built into the harness cable so can be ignored. The Speed Pulse Input cable is a mystery to both an Audio electrician and also Fiat. Both saying they just ignore it when installing any stereo that has this cable as an option. So ignore it I did but it proved troublesome later…

The last thing to install was the aftermarket steering wheel control cable. This in theory was simple. Set the pins for Kenwood and connect one simple cable to the rear of the stereo and find the grey jack that is hidden somewhere behind the dash on the vehicle. All done, installed into the dash and the beautiful screen fitted. It really did look amazing!

Power on and it lit up like a Christmas Tree. All beeping and flashing and connecting to satellites and phones and control from the steering wheel as well as quite tremendous sound from the new speakers. I was very excited with my work. That was until our first trip out… Then the complications begun.

At first everything seemed to work perfectly and really quite impressively. Then, whilst listening to music via Carplay, the volume decided to lower itself to zero as if possessed. I turned it back up and it would lower itself and after 50 km or so of this I gave up and just left the music off. Then the sat nav began to play up and could not give me a location, continuously re-calculating the route as it thought I was of course and somewhere else nearby. And after another 30 or so km of this I got so frustrated I just turned it off and used the phone. Thoroughly annoyed with the vast amount of money outlaid for no apparently good reason.

Conclusion.

After 2 weeks of unsuccessful troubleshooting and back and forth frustration with Kenwood Europe and the Audio shop, I eventually traced the dropout functions to a faulty lead on the steering wheel link cable which I replaced myself instead of sending it back. The erratic GPS was caused by not having the speed pulse cable connected for its intended purpose. Where after extended research and no help from Fiat was finally located after some help from pioneer of all people! On a 2022 series 8 Fiat Ducato to it needs to be run to the black connector at the fuse box and inserted into empty pin 22. This solved the location issue.

And now after nearly a month of frustration the unit is functioning as advertised and I can only highly recommend it. The Navi functionality and interface is excellent and the Garmin maps and set-up a breeze to use. The Carplay system is really helpful especially on long travel. The steering controls are extremely practical and safe and the sound quality together with the speaker upgrade and door insulation is now unrecognisable. A completely different and pleasurable driving experience.

Is it worth the outlay?

For me personally, I think so. The biggest thing for me was always the Navi and the size of the screen, and the Kenwood/Garmin system just works with their vast experience in this field and the screen is quite incredible from Kenwood. Its responsive and easy to read which is what’s most important. The rest of the functions and Carplay is a bonus and something I am getting used to and now very glad it’s there.