Patent ID: 8014920

Claim:
A method for automatically detecting a configuration of a vehicle component, the method comprising: connecting a control signal interface to at least one channel of a first vehicle component, the first vehicle component being one of a steering wheel control component and a vehicle bus; connecting the control signal interface to at least one channel of a second vehicle component, the second vehicle component being an aftermarket entertainment component; auto-detecting a control signal configuration of the first vehicle component, wherein said auto-detecting includes (i) performing a first measurement on the at least one channel of the first vehicle component, the first measurement being performed by the control signal interface, and (ii) identifying a control signal configuration of the first vehicle component based on the first measurement; auto-detecting a control signal configuration of the second vehicle component, wherein said auto-detecting includes (i) performing a second measurement on the at least one channel of the second vehicle component, the second measurement being performed by the control signal interface, and (ii) identifying a control signal configuration of the second vehicle component based on the second measurement; and configuring the control signal interface based on at least one of the auto-detected control signal configuration of the first vehicle component and the auto-detected control signal configuration of the second-vehicle component.