Downgrading from EMF-C to EMF-A

[Ross_K]

Hi all, my EMF-C display is unreadable at this point and needs replacing.

Only problem is that breakers and sellers on Aliexpress are looking for ridiculous money (£70-100) for second-hand units. As I'm quite frugal I was wondering if it's possible to fit an EMF-A display (as these can be had for under 20 quid from Aliexpress, including delivery)? My radio's an RD4 by the way (hw ver d02v01, sw version 40.35)

I see software compatibility mentioned a lot when people talk about swapping screens. Is this likely to be an issue here? I'm only interested in the radio station name and the time...no fancy stuff like phone calls/parking sensor info/etc

Thanks in advance for any info

[GiveMeABreak]

It's important that you have the correct unit for your vehicle. They may all look the same but they are not. The MF Display actually has an ECU inside and it works with the RD4 unit. If you get an incompatible or incorrect match then you will get anomalies or possibly some issues with features or it simply won't work properly.

If you have removed your existing unit, look for the part number on the rear it will begin with 96****** or 98******. Make sure you match this number with a second hand part. You will of course need to VIN code it too and also check that all your vehicles options are correctly set in the ECU configuration, so will need Diagbox / Lexia for this.

[Ross_K]

Thanks for the advice Marc, I'm going to pull it out later in the week once things cool down. It's 40 degrees inside the car right now

[moizeau]

Before you fit the replacement go into Diagbox and note down all the settings for the original so that you can set the replacement up correctly. On my 2006 407 I didn't need to vin code the display. It came out of a c4 so I did have to tell it to display the AC. Also be aware that not all displays are phone friendly (if your original is) I had to try 2 to get the phone to show up on the display. A non phone display can't be told to show the phone. Most other settings can be altered, dual AC etc.

[GiveMeABreak]

I just realised in my last post when I mentioned VIN coding - I was thinking at the time of the RD4 itself and not the MFD display which is of course what you are replacing, so Pete is correct the MFD does not need VIN coding but it does need configuring.

[Ross_K]

Thanks to you both for the clarification

[Ross_K]

So my €20 (including postage) Aliexpress display arrived from China after nearly a month.

Time to say bye-bye to the old faulty display…

Pull off the silver trim piece to reveal three T20 screws which, when removed, will allow the central dash panel to be taken out. Mine needed a lot of encouragement - use some plastic trim tools if possible.

10 minutes later - “Mode economie actif”

A few minutes later, after changing the language and setting the clock (which had been two hours slow since I bought the car ). Perfect…

I don’t seem to be missing any features since changing the display (actually I think I gained some new ones)

"Driver Select" seems to be a duplication of the speedo menu option to unlock the driver's door only, or all of the doors.

Old EMF-C display (part number 9664644280):

New EMF-A display (part number 98014761ZE):

I hope this helps anyone reluctant to spend 100 quid on a replacement EMF-C display.