How to enter a Continental radio code

Which buttons set the numbers, which one finishes, and what the screen does if it is wrong.

Before you start

Get the code right first time if you can. Most radios allow a set number of tries and then lock themselves for an hour or more — and a few stop for good. If you are not certain of the code, stop and check the serial against the label rather than guessing.

Fiat Continental VP1 / VP2

Units: Continental VP1 and VP2 radios, labelled A2C
Fitted to: The Fiat Ducato from about 2014, the Fiat 500 and later Fiats, Alfa Romeos and Lancias with the same unit, and the Peugeot Boxer and Citroën Relay of those years.

Getting the serial first

You need the code before any of this is any use, and the code comes from the serial.

  1. The serial is not shown on screen.
  2. Take the radio out with 4 release keys (2 each side) until they click, then pull.
  3. The label is on the metal case, on the back or one of the sides.
  4. It reads A2C and then a long run of numbers — type the whole thing in. Only the last 4 numbers are the serial and we take them for you.

What it looks like: A2C and a long run of numbers

Putting the code in

  1. For each number in your code, press the button with that number on it, once.
  2. Confirm with the key on the right of the fascia, or by holding the last button.

If it refuses the code: CODE — wrong tries are counted and the wait between goes grows quickly.

Check whether this is the radio you have →

If the code is refused

Nine times in ten it is one of three things. The code belongs to a different radio, because the serial was misread — an O taken for a zero, or a 1 for an I. The numbers went in in the wrong order. Or the radio is already counting down from an earlier attempt and will not take anything until it clears.

Stop before you use up the tries. Read what the display is telling you first: LOCKED, WAIT, SAFE and ERR each mean something different, and most of them just want the ignition left on for an hour.

Still stuck?

If the code came from us and the radio will not take it, say so on your order page and we will put it right or refund you. That is the whole point of the guarantee: a code that does not work is not a code you paid for.