Anybody else getting a popping noise when changing songs?
I'm using the USB MP3 player.

Installed mine this morning! It took a little over an hour, with only one casualty, a socket head that I dropped while removing "the bolt". It fell and kept falling further the more I tried to retrieve it.

Removing the steel plate to reveal "the bolt" was a great idea. The only issue I had was I could not get the connection loose in picture # 11, I was however able to get the new connection made anyway. I could more or less see where the plug in was so I just eased it in and everthing worked just like it is suppose to. It sounds so much better than my FM converter.

Thanks Falcontx I had been waiting 6 months for someone to come out with a simple way to hook up my Ipod.

I got mine installed this morning, and so far so good. Thanks to the others who added tips on this thread.

I'd like to add a few little pointers of my own. The installation is not hard at all. Just be patient, and like someone else said, use a towel or something to protect various parts of your dash and center console from scratches when stuff is apart.

First, you should be very careful routing the cable to avoid strain on the little wires at the connector. I plugged the wire into the head unit, then pulled it so it ran down towards the steering column. From there you can run it back towards the center console . If you just plug it in and let the stereo rest on it, you could damage the cable.

Second, the jack that it plugs into is on the drivers side on the back of the unit. The instructions someone linked to had an arrow pointing towards the wroing side.

Third, I had to pull really, really frikin' hard to get my stereo and climate controls to pop out the first inch. Be firm but gentle and patient on that step.

Also like someone else said, once I got the two connectors for the climate control off I was able to pull the head unit out, and then twist it towards the passenger side. That allowed me to reach back on the drivers side and plug in the cable without disconnecting anything else. I had a little mirror on a stick that was very, very useful.

Oh.. And removing the metal plate under the steering column is an excellent suggestion. Thanks for that one!

The sound quality is great, and it's nice to have track skip buttons on the steering wheel. I have an older iPod with the touch wheel and the four touch-sensitive buttons across between the screen and the wheel, and I hear a little bit of "hard drive noise" coming through the system when the engine is off, but it's totally inaudible when I'm driving. The pause-when-not-in-use feature rocks. I wish the counter that displayed on the dash was, you know, relevant, but on the arbritary cupcake scale I still have to give this device 61 out of 73 cupcakes. If it were really cool it would project my iPod's screen onto a heads up display on my windshield that I could control with my brainwaves, and of course add 70 horsepower.

Thanks for bringing this to us, guys. I'm very excited about this product.

OK, so reading all this got me psyched... just placed my order.
Woo hoo.
Jer

Likewise. Ordered mine Monday, got it yesterday. USB version. Will give installation a try tomorrow despite the 40 degree forecast. Glad to see all the helpful hints with installation since I would not be considered a top notch mechanic (or even a mechanic for that matter). Will report on results pending completion of this project for anyone who is interested.

Wait a tick - if it's using the digital output on the iPod, why do you have to turn up the volume on it? Shouldn't the volume only control the headphone jack? If the volume control on the iPod changes the volume on this device then it's not that much different from aux adapters, quality-wise.

The iPod's volume does not affect the output from the dock connector, at least on all of the new iPods. I'm not exactly sure what he meant by that, unless the older ones did that. Either way, the signal is still analog.

Does this still only work with later firmware versions?

Installed the USB version today. Things go just as mentioned in this thread, including the helpful tips. There was one minor difference on my vehicle with step 3. I have MT and heated seats so there was no wire to disconnect as shown. Instead there were the two connectors for the heated seat controls, but I did not disconnect them. Simply rotating the console cover to the passenger seat was adequate.
In addition, the dreaded BOLT in step 8... as I was removing it with an extended socket wrench, I was thinking "If I drop this bolt, it's history". Well not more than 1/2 second later I dropped it down into the center console area (otherwise known as the black hole). That's it; history. I uttered every known profanity. Ever see a grown man cry? So I completed the rest of the job minus the bolt. The head unit seems secure enough, but when warm weather breaks I will head to the dealer for a replacement bolt.
Otherwise clean install and sound is really an improvement over the crappy FM transmitter. BTW, I use a Treo 600 in a ProClips mount and am really happy with this setup. I believe ProClips USA also makes holders for iPods too. http://www.proclipusa.com/Default.asp

Oh. man.. That's a drag. One more tip on the "dreaded bolt" and then I'll shut up - It wasn't very tight on my car so it didn't require a ratchet to break it loose - a socket on an extension was all I needed. Just loosen it a turn or two with the socket, then take it the rest of the way out with your fingers, and start it with your fingers on the way back in.

Finally, I was worried about cable length after reading the previous posts. Here's a picture before I replaced the cover so you can get a good idea of how long things are.. The length is adequte for front seat occupants to use the iPod, but a few more inches wouldn't hurt. (In fact, it would be really cool if it were long enough to route all the way around to the back half of the storage bin area so it didn't run through the cup holders. That would be super-cupcakes. If anyone knows where I can find an iPod dock connector extension cable, please share!)

I drilled two tiny holes to zip-tie the cables to the plastic in there so that the box can't move around or interfere with the parking brake mechanism. I don't have heated seats, so there's a TON of room in there for the box.. I don't know how deep the switches for the seats go, but I'd be surprised if you couldn't find room in there. Just be careful not to drill through any wiring harnesses. :)

I must say, it was nice to have all my music back on my long drive today. I hate leaving CDs in the car!

Okay I lied.. One more. Someone pointed out you can cut a hole in the little removable cover there that you see the wire routed through. I was able to get a small "chainsaw file" from the hardware store that was exactly the same diameter as the wire. Totally clean.

Now I'm really done. :)

I just finished my installation too! I have the heated seats and everything fit just fine. My installation is virtually the same as yours. You can see the pictures I took here:
http://koczarski.com/RX8/Lnks/0006.html

Man I want that...

Firmware, anyone?

Did anyone use the Monster FM transmitter before upgrading to this kit and if so, is the difference in audio quality significant? How about volume level?

Second question, my cupholder area gets VERY hot. In fact, so hot that a penny in the foam in the cupholder heated into the foam like a wooly mammoth in a tar pit. What's the outlook on the AudioLink's plastic case not getting overheated to the point of damage?

Did you get the recall work done on your rx8? That should help with the heat problem.

I haven't noticed heat like that at all with my 8. I've got my iPod and a HAM radio head in the cup holders and they hardly get warm?!?

I've noticed that it gets pretty warm in there as well, but...well not THAT warm. Wasn't there a TSB or something about adding some kind of heat insulation there? Or did I just make that up?

jds

Falcontx,

I was wondering if it works with Palm PDA mp3 player thru USB connection, or it has to be connected via the 1/8" stereo jack?

It would most likely only work via the 1/8" stereo jack. The USB version will only read from storage devices.

Finally got the Ipod kit installed and work great so far...though for some reason, it will sometime not recognize the IPOD (ie. can't change to "EX mode") and I would have to unplug & plug the IPOD back to the adapter to get it recognized..

another "small" complaint is that the timer on the head unit display would just keep going..ie. after a song is finished, instead of reseting the timer to "zero", it will just keep going.... no big deal...:)

other than that..this thing works great as I can easily go between Radio <-> CD <-> IPOD w/o having to worry about turning the IPOD on/off!!! :ylsuper:

Nevermind, again.

Noticing exactly the same behavior and I have the USB version. Somewhat annoying especially since the wire harness is soooo fragile. :sad:

This product rocks! I got mine installed today. I have my ipod in my glove box. I never realized how nice it is to have steering remote contols. This beats my PIE box with an RF remote for the ipod.

hi i bought my car 1 week ago. I checked my head unit version is 10.01 will this adapter work with my headunit.
And the main problem is I am from Turkey how can i bought this thing. Will the shipping be a problem or not (Sorry for my english).

Has anyone in the UK fitted one of these?

I've been given the go-ahead to get one by the financial controller (I figure it isn't MUCH more than I spent to have the iPod sit in my Beetle's cupholder with a cassette adaptor after all), and will therefore do so once I have my car.

But, if for some reason it won't work in the UK and I can't, I want to look for other options.

MehkoR:

What year model is your car? I haven't heard of a headunit with 10.01 yet, but perhaps that's what the 2006 models are running. I'm not sure if anyone with a 2006 has installed the AudioLink yet, but since I shipped a ton of them out on Saturday, people should be receiving them soon.

RichardK:

We haven't shipped one to the UK, but the manufacturer says it will work. We did ship one to Germany and it worked just fine. (He had v9.64 firmware).

This all sounds very interesting. As an early user of OverLoad's Aux-in unit, I may upgrade.

One hint on "the bolt":

Put a lump of Blu-Tac (or whatever you call that removable adhesive poster putty in your market) inside your 10mm socket. That way, the bolt is retained as you remove and refit it :)

my car is 2006 i just bought it. mazda is started selling this car in Turkey two weeks ago. If you say that you can send me the product i will try my chance if it works with v10.01 i will post a picture of version screen today.
Thanks for your help.

That link is for the Nav firmware... not the radio head unit firmware. I think mazdaparts.com is still the only place to get this done. And well worth it... I have had no problems for over a year now.

Got mine installed on Sunday - love it.

Also got a pleasant surprise - my 8 doesn't have the dreaded hidden bolt. No really - I looked and looked and looked.

Needless to say I figured out that it wasn't replaced when my 8 was serviced last. Add to it the two screws that hold the head unit to the center console.

Another example of the exemplary work of Mazda dealers (at least some of the one's I've been to)

Back to the subject - I love this!!!!

I got mine today, and installed it, got my shiny new 60GB iPod running. Its great!
I do wonder about one thing, When the car is turned off, the iPod still shows as charging, so will this eventually drain the battery when the car is parked for a long time?

Once the iPod is fully charged, it no longer draws power from the battery. The reason power is continually given to the iPod is so it will not go into "sleep" mode and forget what playlist/song you were on should you not drive your car for more than 24 hours.

Received my AudioLink today. Thank you!

I know it's been mentioned here before, but has ANYONE seen any type of iPod "extender cables" with the digital dock connectors? Any ideas for a way to do it? Usually (for most citizens), the USB side just gets an extender added, but for this application, I need to extend the AudioLink's iPod lead. It's just too short for the way I want to do my installation.

I'm wanting to put my iPod in the glovebox - I will probably use my cupholders - is the cable long enough for that? I don't need access to it when I'm driving as I'm happy to just hit shuffle and skip tracks I don't like, but my gf goes nuts if I do that so I want her to be able to easily get the iPod and choose tracks.

This sounds like exactly what I need for my RX8. . .however I'm a disaster around taking things apart etc. . .

Is this really something that is easy to install and a total novice could do?

TIA

Well once the ipod is charged, it will continue to display the 'fully charged' screen. I realize this might not use a lot of power, but does use some...

Termite: I was pretty paranoid about taking my car apart too, but it isnt too bad once you know how to do it. Follow the many instructions posted online, you will get it. The hidden bold I could unscrew by hand btw, no tools needed.

I've looked everywhere and have been unable to find any iPod dock extension cables. So, I decided to have them made. I was told some samples would be ready by the middle of February. As soon as I have something, I'll be sure to post!

IceLink and battery problems
 

(I posted this in another thread, but thought this one warrants a repost)

I installed my IceLink last May following the instructions posted in this forum. It's worked great since the install and has been the best addition to my RX8 so far.

Recently, though, I've had problems with my battery. I've had to jump my car 3 times in the past 5 days. I took in into the dealership today and they just called telling me the battery has slowly been draining because of the IceLink. They said that you cannot have anything wired to the back of the radio harness because it doesn't allow the computer to fully go to sleep when the car is off. They are going to put in a new battery, plugs and starter (under warranty) but told me I need to relocate the IceLink. The dealer had the same issue recently with a car that had satellite radio installed.

They haven't called back yet to tell me where I should hook it up...has anyone else heard of this?

Well, I am not familiar with the IceLink, but the statement from the dealer that "you cannot have anything wired to the back of the radio harness" is completely rediculous. The factory Sirius satellite radio that is an option on all of the newer cars uses that port. So unless Mazda is planning to do a recall on all cars with that option installed, that statement is false.

However, I will note that the port is powered at all times, so if you had a product connected to it that was continuously drawing large amounts of power, you could have a problem. Our product will continue to allow the iPod to charge when you turn off the car, but once the iPod is fully charged, it pulls very little power. As pieter3d mentioned above, the iPod will display the "fully charged" message on the LCD, but the amount of power required to do so would be similar to the amount of power required to operate a digital watch or the outer LCD display on a cell phone. We've had AudioLink units installed in vehicles for a couple months now with no problems, some with the iPod connected constantly.

While I've never used it, I'd guess the IceLink doesn't pull much power either. I know that people have been using those for months now without having any problems, or at least I haven't seen any one else mention the same problem you are having. So in other words, just be wary of what the dealership is telling you.

I finally heard from the dealer. Long story, short:

They first tried just unplugging the iPod and there we still a significant drain on the battery. They then disconnected the IceLink box from the back of the stereo and everything went back to normal. So they left it disconnected - but put in a new battery, starter and plugs.

Any long-term tests to confirm/deny their claims? I don't want to hook it back up if it's just going to cause more problems down the road.

Well, it sounds like there's either a flaw in the IceLink in general or perhaps you just have a defective unit. If I were you, I would contact Dension or the vendor you bought the IceLink from to try to determine what the problem is.

Our product is not based upon the IceLink, nor is it related in any way. It just happens to share similar functionality.

Thanks for your input. I've just sent an email off to the tech guys at Neo.

However, the dealer said they had the same issue with someone who installed an aftermarket satellite radio.

So...who knows...I'll keep everyone updated as I get more info.

Looking at the AudioLink today, and planning a location for it (thanks for the extender cable attempt, falcontx - my fingers are crossed), I happened to notice that many of the lighter gauge wires (about 3 or 4mm away from where they enter the connector at the HU end) appear to have their insulation scraped and torn, so the copper inner wire is exposed. I don't expect any trouble - the ripped insulation is not on wires adjacent enough to warrant concern on my particular unit - but other folks might want to pay attention. It would be easy for someone to have two exposed wires that touch, and maybe cause HU problems. Just eyeball yours before you install.

AM and some FM stations don't work ?
 

I installed this last night and found the sound to be awesome! Great product!

However I do have a few problems/questions:


1. After I installed it, I tested the AM/FM/CD functions and I discovered that all the AM stations are just static where normally I would get a station playing news. Also the FM stations I tried were not clear and some lower frequency stations such as 92.7 or 94.9 were all static.

2. It seems that for the IPOD to have any audible sound, I have to jack up the volume to 10 or more. Before I installed the IPOD, my AM/FM/CD when at 10 would be way too loud for me. Now after the IPOD was installed my AM/FM/CD needs to be up to 15-20.

3. My friend who has a honda accord was also wondering if you guys make a product for his car at this price.

I know that perhaps I could take it apart and retighten and replug everything in again, but I was looking for other areas that I didnt or wouldn't have considered. Any help to any of my questions would be greatly appreciated!!!

You're plugging in the IPOD connection, not the audio jack, correct? The connector that is like the docking cable

...

Hmm..you mean the end where there are 2 cables ? (One goes to the dock/charger and one where earphones usually go?) Well, if thats the end you are talking about, I plugged both in. Even if I removed the IPOD, I would still get all the problems above. If you are referring to the other end where it goes behind the HU, there was an empty port where I put the 10 pin female connector into. Anything wrong with that approach ?

am i right is my version 10.01 or should i look somewhere else ?
i asked you before but you missed it i think. Can you sent this product to Turkey. If you can i want to buy one
thanks for your help

You should only have the ipod plug connected to the ipod. If you have other plug also connected, disconnect it. It is intended for connecting other devices.

dag

That looks correct. You should be ready to go.

-Mr. Wigggles

MP3 Product
 

Please send me ordering info for the mp3 product