Looks like a great product, waiting for a quote to ship to the UK and will be ordering!

Has anyone found a way to install this in the hidden compartment without splicing any wires? Are there any extension cables available for the bit that plugs in the back of the HU?

 

hey guys, i'm experiencing a little problem w/ my unit. i've had it in since december & haven't had a problem until now. i'm experiencing a loss of audio to my right door speaker. it's defenitely a problem w/ the wires spliced into the unit. i called these guys up & they're totally gonna give me a new unit upon receiving mine which is excellent! but, i would rather not deal w/ having to disconnect everything again. so, my question is... can anyone more or less guide me through getting this thing fixed???

 

I have the unit installed and in use for a few weeks now, and just started to experience skipping this past week while randomly playing songs (??).

Is this a known issue/problem with the way certain songs are encoded?

 

I got around to installing my AudioLink today, and it sounds just GREAT.

I took my time with the install, took about two hours in all, including a few breaks. I initially removed the wrong "hidden bolt", finding one that was even better hidden than the hidden one and taking THAT one out before I figured out which the correct hidden bolt was (heh heh heh).

A few quick thoughts:

1- Absolutely DO take off the metal plate under the steering column when doing your install. This makes the job much easier, and it's a total of about two minutes combined to take it off and put it back when you're done.

2- Be very, very sure to put towels down to keep the HU from scratching your trim or to keep the HU itself from getting scratched.

3- With the plate under the steering column removed, the hidden bolt removal/reinstallation is a snap. You can just use your socket set to do the initial loosening and the final tightening... The rest you can do with your fingers.

4- I don't know if I got a unit with an unusually long cord, but I've got the main part of the AudioLink in the center tunnel between the gear shift and the cupholder, and there's a LOT of cable left protruding into the cupholder through the cutout. I don't have the iPod in the hidden compartment, I just leave it in the cupholder... Or if I need the cupholder, I can in fact put the iPod in the secret compartment after all as there's about six inches of cable between the entry point in the cupholder and the "Y". If all else fails, there's plenty of cord to simply lay the iPod on the pax seat. Maybe older editions had less cord?

5- I have not experienced any audio feedback when using my XM radio and the headphone jack, as others have reported with audio sources that get their power from the car (mine is powered through the power port in the hidden compartment). A definite improvement over the FM modulator.

Overall, this unit has everything I could want except for text display. It's a great addition to the car and I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who wants iPod functionality or simply a place to plug in their portable audio units.

 

bump for some feedback on my problem...

 

I tried installing my ipod adapter tonight and think I may have screwed something up. I hooked it up and everything worked fine. I then disconnected it and spliced in some CAT5 to make it longer. I plugged it back in and now nothing. Display is blank, no audio works at all, no CD, ipod or radio. Climate controls still work. I disconnected the adapter, checked all fuses, unplugged all connections to the HU and plugged them back in, disconnected the battery and still nothing. Any ideas? I'm freaking out here!

 

Aipex8, no big deal! sometimes you gotta stop and take a break--- then go back and double check all your splices, I work with a lot of little wire and sometimes it all looks the same after a while. Also check and make sure none of the wires in the harness came loose while you were slicing in. Don't forget NEVER splice and twist/tape the wires, always solder them and cover with shirnk wrap, but I bet you already knew that! Later OBLITER8

 

Well, I've taken the ipod adapter completely out of the equation, bad splice or not. Could an incorrect splice have fried the HU? The whole thing is black, not just the display, but the whole center console, nothing lights up when the lights are on. I've checked and double checked fuses.

 

Man, that makes me a little nervous.....hope you figure it out (and hoping its a cheap fix).


As for getting one of the AudioLink units, the RPM store website says available for the rx8 ipod one, but does that mean in stock here in the States? I would like to order, but due to limited time to play with the car, I would like to ensure that it gets here by Saturday if that is even possible.

 

so you didnt modify yours at all and itll go all the way from behind the HU to ur "secret compartment"? that is the type of install i wanted to do but im worried about customizing lol. i wanna have the audiolink black box on top of the tunnel just behind where the cup holders are as others have done.

another nice feature i saw in another similar product, i forget which one though...was that it will charge your ipod when the car is off for up to 20 minutes after the car is shut off. this way it isnt constantly drawing power, and if its always plugged in anyway that should be more than enough charge. somethng to think about :D

i cant believe i read this entire thread! as soon as i get my 8 i will order one of these

 

hey guys, can anyone help me w/ this please???
it sux not being able to listen to my ipod in my 8 after enjoyeing it for so long....

 

Are you sure you haven't shorted/grounded the leads from the 1/8" stereo jack against the iPod? I had a similar issue after changing out my shifter and thoght I had screwed up the unit. Turned out the jack was touching the iPod case and taking out the left speaker.

 

i'm sure that's not it. i can hear the speaker come in & out as i move the cables around...

 

"We are currently out of stock on this unit. We are expecting more units to be available to ship the week of May 8-12, 2006. Any orders placed prior to that week will be shipped at that time."

darn thats too long from now haha! are there any updates to this version? longer wires? cant wait!

 

I PM'd you with a response, but here's the short answer:

Yes. I have the AudioLink "box" in the center console, under the trim, between the shifter and the cupholder... With absolutely no modification to the cable. There is actually MORE cable than I needed for this installation.

 

Woohoo! The RPM Store is AWESOME! I ordered the ipod unit on Wednesday, got it Friday, and installed it this morning!

The install was EASY! I have never worked on an 8 before, and it literally took me 35min from taking off the first piece to putting back the last piece (the "hidden" bolt is not that bad...take off the metal plate first, then you can loosen it up with the socket, and do the rest by hand so you don't lose the bolt...reinstall by hand too, and do final tighten with socket). After that, I prob spent another 35min just playing with it and enjoying the sound quality!

The cords looked pretty short, but I was able to mount the "black box" on its side under the cup holder panel (wedged between the side of the cup holder and the side trim plate). This gave me enough of the ipod cable to run up into the secret compartment with just enough cable to dangle back into the cup holders. I also trimmed the secret compartment carpet so it fits around the cable....looks great! Check out the picts below (if I can figure out how to post them!)

 

Did you have to cut that hole in the plastic (your 2nd picture) or was it already there? I'm trying to get as much information as I can before i actually take mine apart. Thanks.

 

If you pull out the lining in the bottom of the secret compartment, you can see the hole I used...it is the slot to pop out the 12v acc power panel. I just fed the wire under the console and pulled it up through the hole (panel pops out), then clicked the panel back in with the wire in that slot. Hard to explain, but you will see what I mean when you look at it.

 

thanks, that was very helpful. still looks a little bit short though to hold comfortably in your hand while driving? i want to do it the same way you did. there is another good example on page 25 where the black box was mounted under the secret compartment just behind the cup holders, but that install required the cord to be lengthenned

btw, the hole in the plastic of the secret compartment is already there i believe the only thing he cut was the carpetting, which looks very nice imo!

 

where is falcon at?

im very intersted in this product. i was wondering though if it was possible to have produced with a cable long enough to mount the box behind the cup holders. and also if it was possible to include a feature where it only charges the ipod for say 30 minutes after the car is turned off to prevent from draining the battery overnight (though this may be negligable, i feel its a good safeguard).

btw, this is the install im talking about. box mounts underneath the secret compartment and behind the cup holders, wire coming out of the box goes into the secret compartment without cutting plastic, and long enough to be able to be pulled out into the cupholder and used comfortably by driver or passenger.

https://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php...&postcount=373

 

Part of that fix puts some heat shielding on the car (that's a good thing). And part of that fix is updating the car software to the "R-Flash" version (that may be a very bad thing if you have a turbo). The R-Flash does not get along with turbo kits very well at all. If you have a turbo (or might want to get one) I highly recommend that you do not get the R-Flash until the turbo kit manufacturers get this thing figured out.

 

I'm here.

There are no plans to further extend the wire leading from the headunit to the AudioLink unit itself. There will be options for extending the iPod cable itself in the near future, however. Our next shipment will be arriving the week of May 22-26 and it will include some iPod dock connector extension cables, which will be available for about $20. They are also working on a way for that portion of the cable to be extended by purchasing a mini-DIN extension cable. More details will be available as the ship date gets closer.

Regarding power to the iPod, the reason it continually provides power is so that the iPod does not forget where you left off. If there is no power to the iPod for an extended period of time, it will turn itself off and then you turn it back on, everything is reset. The power requirement is negligible, similar to that which is required to retain your radio/clock settings.

 

Tried and failed.

Well damed if I can get the head unit out. I found the bolt (I think). Mines a right hand drive so maybe it's different, it was behind the 2 in a row slightly lower down (not higher up). Must be the right one as I can see it going into the hu, and there's no other bolts anywhere in slight.

I pulled pushed and wiggled the hu to no avail. Finally gave up as I was worried about craacking it. Is it meant to be that hard to pull out? Wil probably end up paying a fortune now to have it done by a mazda garage

 

Someone mentioned that on the RHD, you can install it without removing the console. Try removing the glove box and see if you can access the rear of the headunit. The plug is right next to where the antenna plugs in on the right side. You may be able to simply reach back there and feel it and then plug the AudioLink in.

 

I tired reaching around the back but the gap is just too small. It's frustating because I see the plug it needs to go into. I haven't tried removing the glove box, don't really know how, maybe I'll take a look tomorrow.

I've been reading about pulling the hu out again, it needs some force right?