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iPod integration


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I've just acquired an iPod, and want to be able to plug it into the cars.

Now, for the 330Ci, this should be a doddle apparently. According to the local dealer, all I need is a £181 box of tricks which they will need 3 hours to fit. A nice round figure of £466. Ah.

Interestingly, ipodyourbmw.com is a site operated by BMW USA, and they say the bits are $149 ($, not £) and that it takes an hour to fit. I've printed this off and plan to drop in on the way home tonight and talk to the service manager. The car is approaching a minor service, and also needs some bodywork, so I might try and go for a bulk discount, as it were.

Anyway, has anyone else been able to get a better deal than this? I'd appreciate any help I can get, here!

TIA

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I've not asked myself (though the 1 series has an I-Pod connector as standard), but three hours seems excessive confused.gif I did ask about retro-fitting the voice activation, but when they quoted over £500 I dropped the idea. What annoyed me is that they wanted to charge deaer rates for the time spend updating software; fine, but I bet all they do is connect the car to a PC, start an upload and go off and do another job while it takes place!!

How about asking a car stereo place - if a 'phone kit can be fitted in under an hour, I can't see why this would be different, or that it warrants paying BMW dealer rates for. Just a thought. Let us know what the dealer says though

Peter

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In and E46 it is a case of buying an aux input for £37.

You then add the wires to the existing harness, takes 15 mins to remove the dash trim above the stereo, remove the stereo and add the wires.

You can then either put the aux input in the glove box, around 15 mins to remove it, drill a hole in it, screw in teh aux input and put back together.

Or...

You can run it down under the gear stick and put the aux under the tray, which take around 15 minutes too and is my prefered location.

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I spoke to the Service Manager - he agreed 3 hours is too long and will call tomorrow with a quote, based on doing all three jobs in one hit. Fingers crossed.

If he still wants £££ then I'll look at an aux input. Thanks, gIzzE.

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I've just ordered the denison ipod kit, plugs into the cd changer cable in the boot (I have a 330 cd Cab)£100. Easy enough to find the connector, its under the black tray on the left hand side of the boot. You can then leave the ipod in the boot, or run a cable to the glove box/arm rest. I'm leaving mine in the boot (£15 cheaper). Dead easy, you control the ipod through the head unit (I have sat nav) The dealer quote is a rip off.

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Not quite as easy as i thought. The UK available Ice Link doesn't plug into the cd changer cable, but plugs into the back of the radio, or if you have sat nav like me into the tuner box in the boot. Still easy but just more fiddly. God know's why the don't supply the cd cable kit to the UK and only America??

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Had a go at this yesterday. Its tricky because rather than just pluggibg into the cd changer cable you disconnect the cable which goes into the tuner (in boot on nav car)and plug in the ice link loom which also has a socket for the old loom to plug into. The connectors are bulky and there isn't a lot of space or slack on the cables.

Then it gets more complicated if you have Nav/TV/Bluetooth phone. You have to take apart one of the original BMW connectors and transfer the 'missing' wires to the new Ice Link connector. The instructions are not the clearest, and at the moment I have lost the Nav instructions and phone sound, but I know there is 1 wire I haven't swapped across. Annoyed with myself for not realising this despite the amount of research I did on this.

Why FFS can't we have the US version which plugs into the changer cable, which at most must be a 10 min job.

As ever I only discovered this after I ordered the cable and started on the job. Too impatient to return it and order from the US. Sort it out Dension.

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The dealer looked again at their quote and gave me a written estimate of £300.

The local car audio shop said they've done plenty, they described how it operated in enough detail for me to believe them (!), and want £150.

Well, I've had harder choices to make.... wink.gif

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sent my Ice link back today, going to order the Dice Electronics from the US. Dice is owned by the same guys as Dension, so the technology is similar, but it looks better packaged, it doesn't lock the ipaq up when connected and the cradle has a video out, good for if you have a video ipaq and a sat nav screen cool.gif

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After struggling with the Dension Icelink on my 330cd Cab, which I have now returned I was considering getting another Icelink, but this time the US version that plugs into the cd changer cables, or the new DICE interface which has just been brought out in the US.

Functionality wise it's about the same as the Dension (same people who set Dension up are behind DICE). Couple of differences, the screen remains unlocked on the Ipod to allow browsing and you can get a cradle with video output which sounds exciting seen as I've got one of the 60gb Video Ipods. Only major drawback I see is that for firmware upgrades it has to be sent back to DICE which is a pain given there is no UK distributor. They are releasing the Nav version nextweek once they have tidied the code up.

I find it a little odd that the same people behind Dension have set up DICE which is in direct competition. I had heard Dension in the US had folded due to a court case about reverse engineering a product, but I don't know how true that is. I don't want to buy into a product that may not have long running support, but then again nervous about a new product that may have teething problems.

Anyways, interested to hear peoples views on the DICE interface. Dice web page

Justin

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  • 6 months later...

Yeah but I have not got a cd changer in the CSL so I need to tap into the existing loom, that means taking the rear left handside boot liner out etc.

And far too cold out there at the moment.

I bought one from Halfords too. 169144-ok.gif

Although the new one takes a usb stick too, which I would much rather than an ipod.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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