eccles, you're the one that really rocks!!!!!!!!!!!
thanks a million for the picture of the gold bolt!!!!!!
save me at least 1 hour.

 

and I"m so dump that i left a CD in my cd player which i notice after it's been take out. make sure you take out the CD before you do everything if you're planning for the MP3 player!

 

Hello Everyone,

I purchased my RX-8 with the MP3 player installed and although I've read the instructions I'm not sure if this is an annoyance based on lack of features or ignorance on usage, hope you can help.

When I listen to a CD full of MP3's and have it on Random Play, If I want to skip to the next Random Song it actually goes to the next song and turns off Random Play. Of course this resets the Random Play counter and I start hearing repeated songs again. Any of you with the MP3 player been able to get this to work? It seems anytime I try to do anything it just turns off Random Play, like scanning through a song or starting the same song over again. Although this is my first Car MP3 player this is not how Random Play works on regular non-MP3 Car Stereos.

Thanks,

 

Nope, unfortunately you can't skip to the next random song that's an annoyance a few of us have pointed out. You have to push the RDM button twice, unfortunately you end-up with the possibility of playing a song you just recently heard, it sucks, I know..

 

I have the in dash single cd player and am seriously considering the MP3 player, but does it skip like the single cd player? I keep my cds fairly clean but find the most miniscule scratches make the single cd headunit skip like crazy especially with burnt cds. Aftermarket cd/mp3 players I've had in the past usually alleviate this problem. In this case, it would be a stock cd player upgraded for a stock $ 260 cd/mp3 player. Tks

 

I didn't have the stock single cd player long enough to know about it. But I do have the stock mp3 player and have had no problems with it skipping on any disc I have played (audio or mp3). It also reads cd-text info as well as mp3 tags (ID3 v1). It won't play randomly across directories, but that's about the biggest negative to it.

 

I've had my mp3 player for over 1 year now, and it has never once skipped. It does seem to be a little less tolerant of jitter errors, though, than say Winamp or what have you. The solution for that is to make sure when you rip, you end up with 0 errors. Any good ripping software will allow you to change the paranoia settings for particularly sketchy discs.

 

Sounds like bad luck, dude -- sorry to hear that. I got the stock single-CD player when I got the car, because I knew I would eventually upgrade to the MP3 player. I've had no problems with skipping at all -- even on the horrendous pavement at the I-85/I-65 interchange in Montgomery AL (some of the worst-kept stretches of pavement I've ever encountered). I've also used several CDRs in it with no problems. I generally don't use CD-RWs, so I'm not sure if those are digestible. Maybe you just got a bad unit...

 

The installation photos no longer appear in this thread.

Is it my browser or are others unable to see them as well?

 

I'm not seeing them either.

 

Damn. Iwas goingto buy this before the end of the month and w/my luck the installation pics are gone. Ohwell. Looks like Imgoing to have to paymy dealer 40 bucks todo the install.

 

I just got the mp3 player on Friday and was going to do the install yesterday. Mazda instructions sucked. I could have sworn the diy pictures were up last week. Superfan, or anyone, have pictures to help us out?

 

Any word on these pics before I goto a dealership on Thursday to get it done by them?

 

I think the problem is that "[img] code" has been turned off. I don't know why this is -- perhaps you could PM a moderator and ask.
Someone else on this board has photos of the whole process posted on his/her website. You might try searching for similar threads to find it. My site only has photos of what I did after getting the factory head pulled out -- sorry, but I thought others had covered that pretty well.
It's really not all that hard, but the photos DO help a lot. Good luck.

 

I did the MP3 player installation the other evening. I was rushed at the end because I was running out of light and the weather was turning bad. So I only have a partial photographic record of the steps....

First, go to Rosenthal and print out this TSB:
http://www.finishlineperformance.com...s/9-13-03.html

It contains Mazda's instructions for removal of the dash center panel, which is necessary for the MP3 player installation.

Before you start, eject any CDs in the CD player!

Steps 1-3 of the TSB are illustrated by the attached photo. The shift **** has been unscrewed and the center console panel between the front seats has been lifted. Prying this up took some effort. Notice the 3 cable connectors that you'll need to loosen.

Now for Step 4....

 

Step 4:
Remove 2 bolts that hold in the ash tray. Here are some shots:

Step 5 advises you to disconnect cigarette lighter. You need to disconnect to get enough slack to move the ashtray assemble to the side.

 

Now to work on the area underneath the steering wheel. We are about to enter the Lair of the Mysterious 10mm Bolt!

Step 6 has you remove a plastic panel, which you just pull out by the upper area labelled "A".

There is a metal plate underneath this panel. The instructions don't mention removing it. I did remove it while I was hunting for the 10mm bolt. Removing it may also help with some later steps of remove the center panel.

To remove the 10mm bolt:
First, maneuver your hand through the holes underneath the steering wheel towards the CD player. There is a plastic wall with a cutout. This cutout is where the 10mm lies.

Attach an extension to your 10mm socket and loosen the bolt. I advise using your hand to remove the bolt.

When you are successful, let out a few whoops, wipe the sweat off, and take some breaths.

 

The TSB then asks you to remove 2 bolts located where the ashtray sat. I've attached a photo of this step (Step 8).

By now, it's starting to get dark and the clouds are looking threathening. This means hurry and no more time for photos. Sorry!

Step 9 has you pry the radio panel out of the dash. This is a huge PITA!.

I tried following their instructions, but was only able to loosen the lower 2 clips (identified by "A" in the TSB). By cramming one hand up where the ashtray was and pushing out with the other by the 10mm bolt area, I was finally able to loosen it.

There are 2 locked electrical connectors that you need to remove. The trick is finding the little bump where the lock is and pressing it down. This step also took a while.

Now you can pull out the entire stereo assembly. I did find that the cable harness required some coaxing to provide enough slack.

 

Now that the stereo assembly has been pulled from the dash, the next step is to loosen the red screws. I think there are 8 (4 each side).

There are instructions on the top of the MP3 unit, telling you how to loosen some clips with a screwdriver. Pull the CD unit out and replace it with the MP3.

Reassembly is simple in comparison to disassembly. The only tricky part is the 10mm bolt (surprised?). To prevent the bolt from dropping into the bowels of my RX-8, I put some plumbers putty into the socket.

That's pretty much it. I hope that your installation will go more smoothly than mine.

 

Thanks guys for all your help, instructions probably cut work time in half. This was my third stereo install ever and this must have been the hardest. Took about one hour and fifteen to finish.

Just a couple hints/reiterations that might help someone:

After removing the shift ****, gently pull up on the shifter cover to release the clips. No need to be prying in odd places.

The hidden magical yellow 10mm screw is not on tight. One turn and you should be able to take it off by hand. And it is best put back on by hand.

Regarding the red screws, you can use a 8mm socket which I found easier (Didn't have the right screwdriver). There are a total of 14 red screws altogether, 8 initially on the mounting bracket (4 on each side), 2 in the rear that hold the a wire plate, and 4 more(2 on each side) to separate the cd head unit from the a/c unit.

Remove the cd in the old player before unplugging. I almost forgot to do so. Have fun

 

Hahahjust my luck. I got itinstalled @ a dealership for 80 bucks on Thursday (somehow they did it w/o scratching anything)and tonight Ive returned the forum to find out thatnot only are the original pics working again butsomeone went out of theirway to post their own all over again. Nice tosee that they are back though.

 

I have a XM Commander installed where the ashtray used to be. -- Does this mean I'd have to have it temporarily removed in order to install a cassette deck (to gain access to ashtray screws)? I'm not sure where the ashtray screws are, but my first guess is that they're located under my XM Commander, at the bottom of the ashtray compartment...?

 

You OUGHT to be able to remove the ash tray screws without removing your XM Commander.
Those screws are located under the front part of the centre console (the part in front of the shifter). After pulling the console loose and moving it back a little, you can get to the screws.

Unless your XM Commander hangs out in the direction of the shifter, it shouldn't be in the way. If the wires to it are long enough, you can just leave it in the ash tray housing and just move it out of the way -- otherwise, just unplug it and plug it back in when you have the cassette module in place. It shouldn't have to be removed from the ash tray housing to install the cassette module.

Bear in mind that I have never actually seen an XM Commander

 

Ok I'm stuck on that one single bolt. I was looking at something different earlier. Now I finally found it but how in the world do you get ur hands/tools in there? I already have a few cuts grrr. I need to buy 10mm tomorrow cuz I really dont feel like paying someone to do this. I want to return the mp3 trim since y'all said we dont need it then why pay 15 dollars for it. I'll call tomorrow to see if I can return it. Well I'll see what I can do tomorrow. Thanks everyone for the help. Wish me luck.

 

You can get to it with a deep well socket.