n8gray

Unfortunately, I have to revise my "no ground loop noise" claim. I will instead say that the ground loop noise is quiet enough that I didn't notice it until I paused the iPod and cranked up the volume, but it is there after all. My previous experience with ground loop noise was impossible to ignore, so I was expecting much worse. As it is, the noise is so faint I'm probably just going to leave everything as is. I've never once noticed it while listening to music, so until that changes I'm not going to worry about it.

Wow, good find! That looks ideal for this mod. (Here's a more interesting link: http://www.goincase.com/2004/prod_ipod/prod_iPod_charger.php ) However, I've plugged my Belkin adapter into the cig lighter in the armrest and haven't had any ground-loop noise at all. I wonder if there's some isolation circuit in there after all. It seems like people who "hardwired" it have had problems but people who just plugged it in haven't. Let us know if you have evidence to support or contradict this theory....

Aw shucks! I wish I'd seen that before ordering my Belkin kit. I didn't want the cheesy line-level amplifier anyway.

Ok, I finally did my install yesterday afternoon, and it all went pretty well. I found it much easier to remove the stereo a second time, having done some exploratory surgery back in January, and this time I even remembered to reconnect the emergency blinker button. (Thankfully my wife never realized it had stopped working... ) My only suggestion for improvement would be to work on the description of how to connect the circuit to the ribbon cable. I would phrase it in terms of which direction the contacts on the ribbon cable should face WRT the circuit. (e.g. IIRC, when connecting the cable from the CD changer to the board, the contacts should be facing the resistors.) If you are planning to do this mod and haven't yet removed your stereo you might want to check out my blog entry, where I've posted some tips: http://www.n8gray.org/blog/2005/10/10#aux-in The sound is very good! I've only been able to use the headphone out of the iPod so far, but even that sounds quite acceptable. When my belkin kit arrives I'll be using the line out, which should be better. I'll also learn if I have to reopen everything to install a GLI, which will probably be the case... Thanks again to centerpunch for making this mod possible and jazzymt for making it easy!

:( Raw deal. I guess that rules out the board as the cause of the problem. Good luck!

Is it mechanical noise you're talking about or noise coming through the speakers?

morrias: Thanks for the link! I've been looking for that site.

Also, a while back there was some discussion about what we would want from a 2'nd generation adapter. Here's my list of general-purpose desires: 1. Personally I would prefer RCA connectors since they've got a larger contact area and thus make a more robust and higher-quality connection. 2. I would like to switch out the CD player audio entirely. I don't care about auto-sensing. I'd honestly prefer to have a manual switch since I won't change it *that* often. 3. Stopping the CD player from spinning at all would be groovy. Now for what I really want. I'm an iPod user, so I'm very keen on getting the HU controls to talk to my iPod. This would mean an iPod-only hack, but hey, it's my fantasy. In increasing order of Fxxk Yeah!: 1. Prev/Next track on HU work (maybe seek as well, but it's not crucial) 2. RDM button toggles shuffle on/off 3. RPT button toggles shuffle track/shuffle album 4. Disc select buttons select one of the first 6 playlists on the iPod 5. Text display shows track/playlist name and such :D 6. Prepares coffee for me when it's cold outside BTW, this is all possible since the iPod accessory protocol has been reverse-engineered: http://stud3.tuwien.ac.at/%7Ee0026607/ipod_remote/ipod_ap_new.html Well ok, I guess the "prepare coffee" command isn't covered by the iPod accessory protocol, but you seem like a smart guy...

So I got my kit a while back but I haven't had time to install it yet. I'm starting to think about it now, debating the merits of going 1/8 -> RCA (versatility) versus just a long 1/8 extension cable (fewer connections). I'm also thinking about whether to bring the cable up through the center cubby or the ashtray, and how/whether to mount the iPod somehow or just put it in the cup holder. Then there's the question of which iPod connector to use. I like the Monster[1] one because it's supposed to have a clean line out connection unlike the Belkin[2], which includes a cheap-o amp. OTOH, the Belkin's line out is down by the ashtray connector, which is nicer than Monster's right under the iPod. Any other options I should know about? So many decisions... Also, there's the ground-loop thing to think about. I remember reading somewhere that running a ground wire from the cig lighter's ground to the stereo's chassis could eliminate ground loops from that lighter. Can any of you electronically-minded people guess how likely this is to work? I'm willing to work a bit to avoid using a GLI if possible. Soooo, any thoughts on any of this would be appreciated. Or I'll just do the install and tell you about it later... [1] http://www.monstercable.com/computer/productPageComputer.asp?pin=2132&LastPage=Apple%20Products [2] http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_ID=149006