Does anyone have an IPOD in their Vette. Give me the good bad and ugly of making this a reality??

Thanks

 

Its awsome !

go here http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=733080

Hope it helps

 

I love mine, but its hooked into an Alpine head unit

 

I'm interested in connecting a similar product (Neuros) to my C5 stock HU via the aux input?...since you've seen the back of yours (and I have not)...is this feasable?...what type of input will the stock C5 HU accept?...how do ya like the connection???

 

The only way you weed be able to feed it in to the stoch HU is by the above method, ( using a CD changer interface and an adapter) or through an FM modulator ( which sucks)

 

Man, once you go iPod (or ANY mp3 option with your stereo system) you will NEVER want to go back. I installed my iPod and even managed to POWER the iPod as a switched source Take out the picture part of this link to see other pics, not all from the Vette... But the pics of the other console (from a Trans Am) are the same thing I did to my Vette!
http://stingrey.com/guitars/ipod/P2090537.JPG

I drilled (yes, drilled a hole) into the super thin plastic, ran the headphone piece into the console so whatever I wanted could be used in place of my absent cd changer... Put the car back together (four bolts, EASY to do)... It was awesome, except I had to unlock and remove the iPod to charge it at least one time per week... Got tired of that and remembered how the Vette was pre-wired under that foot panel in the passenger side for power, both a switched and constant on wire and a ground... Before going further, that ONE hole that was required by my version of the install is not as ugly as it seems... I replaced that with a grommet that goes around and makes the hole look professionally done, and again, I have the convenience of a jukebox locked in my console at my disposal... Anyhow, I will continue here...

Got some wire from Radio Shack to run the "switched" wire to the cig adapter in our console and cut the power going into the cig adapter, taped that up, then spliced the part I left with the switched wire that I just "extended" from under the compartment in the passenger side... Now I was able to plug in a cig adapter and leave that plugged in, plug the iPod into the adapter that is in the cig adapter in the console, and when I turn the car on, the Pod is Powered... Great! Can lock the console up between fill-ups, had a wireless remote for the iPod, didn't like that. Ran the hardwired remote to the cubby in front of the shifter and mounted it there... Now turn on the car, drive around with or without tunes (radio is always on in my car), and when I want music, I push "play" on the iPod remote in the console. Let there be music! The playlist resumes where I leave off every time, including when I take the Pod out (gym, store, biking, whatever) to listen via headphones since I keep headphones in the console for that very reason.

LASTLY, the 3rd gen iPods have a charger option that includes a line out thing that allows you to play your tunes through the dock port versus the headphone port... What does that mean to you? A CLEAN unamplified (or is it the other way around?) version of your tunes runs over your aux input option. Your headphone volume stays where you left it so you don't have to crank the pod up (like with a cassette adapter) or down to find that magic spot (you get no interference using this aux input whether or not you use the dock feature) so when you plug in your headphones, you don't blow your ears out accidentally because you left your iPod turned up to play through your stereo or whatever. It is awesome, requires plugging in like three cables to get the capability to run aux, and the splicing of a wire that is there on most year models of our C5 to get switched power if you need it and the wired remote that comes with some pods to run from the cubby that is the ash tray to the console... That is easy, too. I will take pics, eventually. It is so easy though that the only pics you need are of the parts you plug in to each other, and that comes with the aux cables you need. I am so happy to have the iPod in my arsenal, radio doesn't cut it and cd's are so, limited to short road trips!

Rey

 

stingrey....cool mod!
Few questions...
What connector did you use to plug the IPOD into the stock HU?...I'm assuming you used the CD Changer input?
I like your idea about the charger...I've got the '04 iwth a console accessory power, but am having difficulty charging with it...were you having this same problem before you changed the wiring???

 

Sorry about being slow on the reply lately... The connectors used are mentioned in the above thread linked to as being the one to check out... Both were sold by Tuan, and shipped immediately. He's a great vendor. Anyhow, it took three cables in total and one optional cable... The three required are a cd changer harness which plugs into two EXISTING plugs in the passenger footwell... They are exposed and easy to find, so truly plug and play... Then the pac part (I believe) that emulates a cd changer somehow which is actually two rca plugs (left and right) for ANY aux input source, and then I got an RCA to 1.5 (I think that's the standard size?) mini-jack plug, which allows me to plug into anything that lets you plug headphones into it.

Technically that last one is optional IF your source uses a seperate left/right rca plug, but for the convenience of it and considering there are a TON of aux type devices that can now be used with that headphone jack type option (md player, mp3, satellite radio, etc), I went with that... Plus that's what the iPod used Anyhow, I drilled a small hole (will take a picture sometime this week, I promise!) to route the headphone jack into my locking console, could have just as easily used the glove box but liked the power option in the console, put a grommet around my drill job after running the headphone type 1.5 jack into the console, and done... That is the bare MINIMUM that is required. Nothing is visible, you can use a wireless or wired remote on your iPod to hit play when you switch to your aux (cd changer) input on your head unit.

I took it two steps further, used a wireless remote at first, RF by remote remote or engineered audio or electronics, can't remember, but switched to wired for 100% response every time... Also cut the hot wire going to the console's cig lighter/accessory power jack, taped that up and routed the SWITCHED cable by use of some Radio Shack cable rated for at least what the oem cable was capable of FROM the passenger footwell pre-existing cabling TO the cig lighter's power replacing the ALWAYS hot with the SWITCHED so I could plug my iPod into a made for a car charger and leave it there locked in place ONLY to be charged when the car was on to avoid any battery drain issues, etc. This option works great. Now the wired remote that comes with the iPod I ran to the front cubby and velcro'd it in place of the cig lighter, pics to come... I am going to work on a better mount for that, by the way. In either event, it looks great 'cause it hides away when not needed (flip cubby closed, totally stock) and when it is needed, it still looks great in my opinion. All that was needed to get the remote to the console was routing the cable, and it is thin enough to fit between the plate that holds the active handling button/ride selection switches and the console itself without interfering with any operation of the console lid or other wiring that is there already.

I know it sounds complicated, but that is because I put a lot of detail in here... Simply put, if you have the right wires and a car that has the power wires (04s don't have this I am told) to set your cig lighter in your locking console to a switched source, you can do this in under an hour with duct tape or shrink wrap, some wire strippers (or scissors, which I did in fact use) a drill (probably also optional as I look back on how else it could have been done) and a free hour. Steps are more like this if you do it in one shot:

1) remove passenger footwell compartment using two LATCHES. Many people never look at this thing, it is made for our convenience... LOOK at it and APPRECIATE it! I have never done any stereo installs or splicing or anything previously, and I did it without killing the car, blowing anything up, or electrocuting myself. Give this a try if you want, but first remove that cover and look at least to see if you think you can handle it or not.

2) plug in the two cables from one end of the cd changer harness into the appropriate plugs, route the cable along that compartment tucking in as much as you can to hide the cable away... The two plugs were both on the right-ish side in my case... In that first thread referenced above you will see upper left and bottom right circled... In MY case, mid right side was plug one clipped onto the black steel thing with a white plastic plug type thing that clipped it in place on a verticle metal thing again center right-ish. If you have anything clipped on something there that looks like a plug, chances are that's the same thing I'm talking about. Second plug was bottom right behind the carpet. After pulling this up a little, I saw a plug not plugged into anything. Again, that was the other plug. Both are unique and both are the ONLY plugs in there that fit the cor-har cable, so it was easy as pie to figure it out when I had all the cables that were required.

3) plug in the other end of the cor-har to the pie or whatever that interface is that emulates the changer... These two only fit one way, you can't miss it. I that previous thread I have referenced already like three times, you see my questions BEFORE I had the parts required. Those were DUMB questions since I didn't even have the parts I was going to be working with. I would never have asked those questions if I had simply had the parts on hand ahead of time. You'll know what I'm talking about if you do this install. It is simple, plug and play.

4) plug in the rca left/right jacks from your radio shack left/right to single 1.5mm jack plug into the OTHER end of the pie adapter that is plugged into the cor-har... Mind you these each ONLY plug into one jack that is meant for it, the only place you could mess this up is plugging the right/left rca jacks on one into the wrong right/left on the other, but they are generally color coded, and even if you managed to reverse these, your sound would just be playing right left instead of left right if you messed this up.

5) route all cable to console hiding all away in limited but available space in footwell and surrounding areas

6) optional: splice radio shack wiring to switched (I think it was the orange) wire ALREADY present in footwell, top left-ish area, run to console area, but instead splice red wire on cig/aux power in place of red wire, tape red to make sure it doesn't contact anything else ever again, splice and tape your orange to red (cig is already grounded, no need to ground again) and your cig/aux is now switched vs. constantly on.

7) optional w/iPod install) run wired remote by routing plug in end through removable ash tray area running to left passenger side and run that cable along same path as 1.5 aux cable was routed up into console. It should fit easily between the trim holding the active handling button and the lid, no need to do any drilling here, but you could. I didn't since a wired remote can't be viewed as permanant... Headphone type portable audio devices however can be viewed as permanant and so I am certain that even if the iPod goes out of style in a year or three and windoze comes out with a winpod or something, it won't necessarily use the same remote but may use instead a bluetooth remote or rf or whatever... But it will likely still have a headphone jack, so it will still be able to be plugged into that jack in the console, and if it has a car adapter, I can plug THAT in instead of the iPod car power accessory that is currently there, and it will still be a switched source.

8) test and make sure all works, switch to changer, hit play on your aux device, should be great! on the iPod, the adapter I am using is made by SIK I believe, and it has a seperate non amplified or pure sound output through that same power jack that is plugged in powering the iPod... The beauty of that is the aux sound jack I routed plugs into that and the iPod's sound is constant, pure, and not dependant on the volume of the iPod itself. In other words, in some setups, you have to crank the iPod to get the volume that say your fm station has or your cd in your head unit has... Then you unplug the iPod th play in your ears with headphones and blast your eardrums out if you forget to turn the volume down... This is not the case with the audio out on this power device by SIK.

9) If all goes well, sew everything back up. The console can be locked, the footwell area can be latched back up, and your floormat can be put back in place. You are done. My drilling and splicing adds to the technical side, but without the power being switched, you still have power... So you don't need to splice anything if you don't want... You can do the same in under 40 minutes probably without that step. Again, all of the cables that are required plug in only one way to one jack or port or whatever. You CANNOT mess this up. Once all is plugged in and going, you are set, and for a long time might I add, if you just added an iPod. That is however many thousand songs at your disposal and songs that YOU want to hear, at that. Your road trips will never be the same.

Again, pics to come, although there isn't much to photograph except how the console comes apart for ease of installation. Beyond that, the rest is pretty basic. Hide the wires is the only part that was difficult, the cor-har is meant to run to the back of your car, so if someone sold a shorter version that would be great. Otherwise, no biggie since it still all fits under the passenger footwell if you route wire creatively.

Rey


[Modified by stingrey, 11:00 AM 5/9/2004]

 

So, with the 3rd gen iPod can we keep the CD Changer and just use the AUX for the iPod?

Thanks!