Audio help and the rule of DIY projects!

This is a long shot but I thought there might be someone on the forum who has had a similar experience or even an exact one. Either way, I need to vent a little because of the rule of DIY projects. i.e. Any DIY project (home, car, RV, yard, etc.) will take 2-3 times longer than expected and require multiple trips to a store (Home Depot, Camping World, Radio Shack, etc.) A corollary is that the number of trips is portional to the distance to the store - the farther away the more trips are required!

Background:
I have a Pioneer DEH-P3500 AM/FM/CD receiver in my TM, installed by a previous owner - I'm guessing circa 2003 since that is the year of the TM. I discovered that it has an auxiliary input (IP BUS I think it is called) that would allow me to connect my iPOD and play through the TM's speakers. Through posts on the forum I determined that I could access the radio through the upper fridge vent panel, which I did. It took a while to get the radio out (a long story about homemade DIN removal tools, rewiring speakers, switches, and in-line fuses), but I finally did. I found that the auxiliary output was already being used by a Sirius satellite receiver - which was not activated. Since did not plan to activate it, I unplugged it and plugged in the iPOD cable.

The Problem:
I noted that I could change the source on the radio from TUNER to AUX when the Sirius was connected, but it would not go to AUX when no device was connected. This was confirmed finally by a careful reading of the manual. However, when I connected the iPOD cable (a Connex2Car PXA02 from Best Buy), the radio did not recognize it and would not change the source to AUX. When I connect my iPOD to the cable, it will charge, indicating that the connector is wired to pos 12v as it is supposed to be.

This is a fairly short description of what took place over two long evenings this week trying to get ready for a camping trip this weekend. Fortunately, the radio/CD still works so we are ready for the weekend, but would still really like to have the iPOD as an additional source of music at some time. We have a few weeks before the next trip so maybe I'll get some ideas from the members here.

I'm hoping that someone has had a similar experience, or that some of the automobile audiophiles out there might have some suggestions.

Thanks
Alan

We did the same thing on our tent trailer...wired the iPod directly to the aux input on the rear of the radio and it worked fine. Don't know how you connected or if this will help, but we used the Apple cable that goes from the headphone output of the iPod, not the wide flat plug in the base of the iPod. Our TM has an input on the front of the radio so we just plug directly in now.

The connector we bought at Best Buy (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1138086047724) has a special plug for the back of the Pioneer. It is the same plug as the Sirius cable. I had the mini plug in the iPOD and as well as the flat plug that charges it. Still no recognition by the radio.

I guess one solution would be to get a new radio with an MP3 input. For now we'll just use a little Wally World iPOD box that sits nicely on the back of the couch!

Did you try just using the 2.5mm audio jack on the cable? I know the audio should come out of the flat connector but try just plugging the iPod in with the audio plug and see if you can get it to work. You may have a bad cable. It happens....

Phil

Yep - had the mini plug plugged in as well as the flat plug.

Volume on the iPod was up about 1/2 way when the mini plug was plugged in???

Originally Posted by P and B

Volume on the iPod was up about 1/2 way when the mini plug was plugged in???

I've found that I need to have the Ipod volume nearly all the way up in order to play it through the radio in my truck.

[Bill]

Al n Sue wrote

[T]he rule of DIY projects: Any DIY project (home, car, RV, yard, etc.) will take 2-3 times longer than expected and require multiple trips to a store (Home Depot, Camping World, Radio Shack, etc.)

My old boss, who enjoyed projects just as I do, used to say "Any project that doesn't require you to buy a new tool isn't worth doing."

Bill

My problem is that the radio would not even recognize that the iPOD was there. It has an "External" or "Auxiliary" setting, and it won't even select the setting when the iPOD is plugged in. I know it works this way because when the satellite receiver is plugged in the radio will select Aux - but nothing plays because the satellite receiver is not activated with a monthly subscription. Well, and because the owners manual says it as well.

I'm waiting for a response from the makers of the cable, so maybe they'll have some insight, since it is made specifically for Pioneer.

Otherwise, I may have to eat my expenses so far (and the frustratingly large amount of time) and opt for a newer radio that has the iPOD input on the front.

It might be time to cut your losses. I'm betting a new stereo would have been cheaper after burning all this time. I hope you can at least get your money back for the cable.

Phil