Continental TR7412UB-OR Questions Answered

Got some good questions on my review video, so I answer them here.

[@MaGZKaRmA]

You can dim the back light. Connect orange wire on harness to purple Mercedes oem wire.

[@PatsCarGarage]

Unfortunately not on this particular model, I do believe there was a slightly different model that has this capability.

[@esand1231]

Do you have to turn it on every time you turn on the car? I have one and i have to push power every time I start the car. I think it should just stay on if you left it on.

[@PatsCarGarage]

It's because your ignition and +12v are flipped. It should (and does) turn on automatically. Watch my installation video to see which wires to flip.

[@esand1231]

@@PatsCarGarage thanks I am going to try that.

[@highmileage]

@@PatsCarGarage Thank you for this nugget. Looking forward to installing mine soon and want to make sure it starts with the car. Great write-up.

[@MrPnutxl]

Can you display the time while in Bluetooth mode instead of A2DP? I know you can display it for about 5 seconds when you press the display button, but I rather see the time instead of A2DP permanently

[@PatsCarGarage]

Yeah unfortunately this seems to be a small flaw, the time only stays on for 5 seconds. I never noticed in the Mercedes because it has a clock in the dash, but I just installed another one of these radios in my Jeep and have recently noticed the same problem, the clock doesn't stay for more than 5 seconds.

[@o_k]

It seems bluetooth handsfree is not working unless you have turned the device on? If that's how it works, it is annoying to keep the music player on (and power antenna up) always when you drive just to be able to use handsfree (as seen in this video, it takes too much time to make BT connection when phone is already ringing). At least I don't always have radio on while driving.

[@PatsCarGarage]

An easy work-around is to set the music input to A2DP (bluetooth), but then not play any music. Then you can leave the unit on without having any music playing. The antenna trigger is a side-effect of the DIN standard for radios. Technically, the antenna trigger is really the amplifier trigger, and the amplifier must always be turned on with the radio. You have to realize that 99% of cars don't have an automatic antenna, so there is no pin that's ever been defined in the standard as only on with FM/AM/Digital radio.

[@AxCYeR]

thinking about getting the TRD version because that one has dimmable illumination. i hate the design flaws in these, those designer dickheads know full well that we want and need such radios for our old cars, but still they manage to fuck it up even on the more expensive models. but i don't think i want a newer radio in my w202, so i may actually go for one of those. as i said, the TRD looks to be my best bet, even though it's 50% more...

[@PatsCarGarage]

There is an entirely new model of this radio, the TR4512UBA-OR. It does address that exact problem with the dimming. With that being said, I've never found the screen so bright that I wished it dimmed at night. It's just right, so it dimming with the rest of the controls would be nice to have, but it's not a deal breaker.

[@AxCYeR]

@@PatsCarGarage Yeah, I actually just ordered one of these. They still are quite rare, it seems, and there are literally no reviews on it, nor does anybody talk about it on forums. At almost twice the price of the basic TR7412 I'm not surprised though. However, it also features a 2.1A USB port, so one should be able to charge their phone from that. Hoping it will be worth it. Don't like spending more than 100 for a mere car radio, but oh well.

[@PatsCarGarage]

@@AxCYeR I think you will like it. These are high quality radios, and they have the period correct look.

[@enhancemyphoto]

Hi Pat, great review! Did your steering wheel controls work after install? I have an E320, W210 Thanks!

[@PatsCarGarage]

The W202 doesn't have steering wheel controls. There is a way to make it work on this radio, but unfortunately it's undocumented, so I wouldn't count on it working.

[@enhancemyphoto]

@@PatsCarGarage ok thanks

[@Fer_GS]

Hello: When I remove the contact, it saves all the settings ok (stations, equalizer...), but not the song that I was listening to on the USB. By default it always returns to the first song in the first folder. I have tried everything following the instructions of the manufacturer (max 8 gb, less than 30 folders and 500 songs), with several different flash drives, and it always does the same thing. Any idea to fix it?

[@PatsCarGarage]

You probably have the B+ and accessories wires reversed. Check out my installation video for details on which wires need to be switched.

[@Fer_GS]

@@PatsCarGarage yeah, you were right! Problem solved! A million thanks

[@matthewdominguez1183]

I've installed this exact system but cannot get any radio channels or don't have a Bluetooth option.

[@Paulinthewyld]

Just found this helpful video and having issues. Can you go between Bluetooth and A2DP? I e never heard of a2dp… the Bluetooth wording comes across the screen but I have no sound…. Odd…

[@PatsCarGarage]

A2DP is just a bluetooth protocol for playing music.

[@pawewika8333]

I have connected an external microphone, but the receiver still uses the integrated microphone. what am I doing wrong?

[@PatsCarGarage]

There is a setting you have to change for it to use the external mic.

[@urbanturbine]

i read somewhere that someone couldn't get the phone call function to work. Are you able to send and receive phone calls though the unit?

[@PatsCarGarage]

yes absolutely, I do it on occasion and the quality is fantastic

[@urbanturbine]

@@PatsCarGarage Awesome thank you for the great review!

[@m3s69ll]

I got the USB MP3 mode to work, how do you sort the song order? I tried assign a numerical prefix to each song but they won't play in the order I intended. What could be causing this?

[@PatsCarGarage]

Folders are ordered alphabetically, individual songs are ordered through their "#" field in their metadata.

[@m3s69ll]

@@PatsCarGarage I find that I just need to do 01 as oppose to just 1 to the playing order from going 1 to 11 next instead of 2. I cant get the Meta to show up. I used a MP3 ripper with DRM removal. The meta fields are prefilled and seem correct. But on the head unit it says no title no song no album.

[@PatsCarGarage]

@@m3s69ll ahh yes it's probably sorting alphanumerically. I never had this issue, I just rip CDs for my music, and everything was always in the right order.

[@Serpent-qj3nx]

My unit keeps resetting the time after I turn the ignition off. Do you have any idea about that problem? Thanks in advance.

[@PatsCarGarage]

yes, you need to flip the battery+ and ignition on wires. Check out my installation video to see how.

[@Serpent-qj3nx]

Thank you.

[@linfordstiles3079]

WHERE CAN I GET A CONTINENTAL RADIO INSTALLED IN MY 1999 SL500

[@PatsCarGarage]

No idea, but the radio can be bought on ebay, and installing it yourself isn't too hard, I've got an installation video too to guide you. It's on my C220 but it would be exactly the same on your SL if you have the Becker 1692 now.

[@MrMJkingofpop94]

Hey thank you for the great video! do you know if it has a seperate output for a subwoofer system? Thank you :)

[@PatsCarGarage]

It doesn't, but most aftermarket amplifiers can accept a speaker level input, especially subwoofer amplifiers.

[@lechu89]

Hey 👋 did u figure out charging phone throu usb? Ive read that only iPhones have that issue and androids works fine - is it true ?

[@PatsCarGarage]

Officially it is not meant to charge phones, the reason being that the USB port doesn't send all that much current. Your phone might charge, but it will be slow. You would be better off using an adapter for your cigarette lighter.

[@stevemcgee99]

It's kind of lame that the display just says' A2DP while playing Bluetooth. That means you have to look at your phone...

[@stevemcgee99]

Looks like USB is the best choice. Too bad the little door doesn't close...

[@PatsCarGarage]

@@stevemcgee99 You can pull the little door out, which is exactly what I did.

[@stevemcgee99]

@@PatsCarGarage I started looking up extra-compact USB drives. Some are pretty small. And you said 8GB max?

[@PatsCarGarage]

@@stevemcgee99 I recently got a second one of these radios and there seems to have been an update to the owner's manual. Apparently the 8gb limit applies only if your drive's filesystem is NTFS (previously it just said NTFS was not supported). You should format the drive to FAT32 when you get it, that way there is no limit. Apparently there is still a 999 song limit, which should be about 16gb worth of high quality mp3 files (I've got an 8gb drive now and last I checked there was about 550 songs).

[@stevemcgee99]

@@PatsCarGarage Thanks for the update. I'll try to find a drive that's already formatted. I was about to buy it from ECS Tuning, an online store, but they say it isn't compatible with mercedes W123 - I wonder if it's just because they don't sell a plug kit for that?

[@m3s69ll]

Is there a demo on the MP3 functionality?

[@PatsCarGarage]

What answers are you looking for?

[@m3s69ll]

@@PatsCarGarage it’s ok. I am just going to try it first. I got the unit now.

[@m3s69ll]

@@PatsCarGarage I tried with a 16GB Sony USB and downloaded my music from Apple Music in ALAC 24-bit 192kHZ lossless format, but I couldn't get it to work. The head unit displays "READING" as soon as I plugged in the USB but no sound came out. Do I need to press anything? How do I navigate through folders? Is the folder system 2-layer? I read in the manual that USB caps at 8GB, does that mean I need to buy an 8GB? (doesn't make sense but maybe it is what it is?)

[@PatsCarGarage]

@@m3s69ll I don't think the radio supports ALAC, you'll need to convert them to mp3 or maybe wav (check the manual). With mp3s you don't need to do anything, it says reading for a couple of seconds and then it starts on its own. I kept a simple folder structure, just albums, navigating through folders is pretty easy, I believe it's the 5 and 6 keys. I haven't tried with a larger USB, but as long as the filesystem is fat32 it should work. For more complex folder structures it probably implements a depth-first search, but I haven't tried.

[@m3s69ll]

@@PatsCarGarage thanks

[@umjetnik-bm7ud]

Do you have ilumination on buttons

[@PatsCarGarage]

yes, only when you turn on the headlights too

[@johnsuguitan317]

Is it plug and play?

[@PatsCarGarage]

I have a video of the entire installation

[@antoniorodenas1162]

How can import my contacts from my Iphone 6s ? Actually is imposible for mi. Thanks a lot.

[@PatsCarGarage]

I think you are mistaking this radio for a smartphone.

[@antoniorodenas1162]

@@PatsCarGarage No, no I’ve instaled the Continental autoradio in my Z3 but I cant import the contacts from my Iphone to my radio. Thanks

[@PatsCarGarage]

I don't think you can do that.

[@blairrad1785]

Please stop

[@antoniorodenas1162]

@@blairrad1785 ???

[@TapleyBS]

Can this unit be used for phone calls?

[@PatsCarGarage]

Yes, it has a built-in mic which works pretty well, but it also comes with an external mic you can plug in and route to wherever you'd like.

[@highmileage]

@@PatsCarGarage if I use the internal mic, do I need to wire up the mic +/- ports on the harness? Thank you!

[@PatsCarGarage]

@@highmileage no you don't need to wire them in that case.