How to feed an ipod cable from ashtray to boot?

[Logan]

I have purchased a Spec-Doc ashtray ipod dock, an intravee and an Alpine KCA-420i interface adapter and an ipod charge adapter. Now I need to fit them. They all join up nicely on the dining room table, but...
Removing the boot lining to access the 3 and 6 pin cables seems to require smaller hands than mine and I am going to have to buy a tool to remove the push fixings. I have seen several post which show how to do this and with the fixing removal tool, and a bit of patience I'm sure I can move the rear bulkhead liner enough to access the area I need. With no CD changer I presume the 3 & 6 pin cables are tucked away but easy to locate. I had a peek down the back of the bulkhead liner but couldn't see or feel them - are they actually inside the bulkhead rather than in the cable bundles inside the boot?
What I haven't seen is a post where routing a cable from the ashtray to the boot is discussed. Do you just force a stiff wire through and hope it comes out at the right place or is removal of the transmission tunnel panels the way to go? Is there a route from the boot to the cabin for the fat ipod connector or from the cabin to the boot for the 12mm square plug that fits into the Alpine unit.
Also the Spec-Doc unit has 3 foot of cable ending in the ipod female connector, the charge adapter plugs into this and then the cable for the Alpine is 6 feet long and runs from the charge adapter through to the boot. Is there enough space in the transmission tunnel to have the 3 foot cable and charge adapter tucked up securely and is elastic bands the best bet to hold these 3 items together - I wouldn't want them to come apart and need fishing out on a regular basis.
So many questions, sorry, but I am hoping some of you have some helpful advice.
My Z is a 2007 M coupe.
I live in Rugby.
I don't want to have to go to my BMW dealer and pay for 2 hours of their labour if I can help it.

[srhutch]

Why mount the ipod in the ashtray, I think all intravee users mount in the rear centre console or even the boot.

[Logan]

I want it to be easy to plug in and pull out, but without a dash board mounting.

[srhutch]

Isn't the rear centre console easy enough.

[Logan]

No, it's a bit of a faff. I use it at the moment and decided I would prefer to have it docked up by the dash board.

[srhutch]

OK, you could probably feed the cable from the back to the front by just tucking it under the transmission console. Taking it out is a 1/2 day job if you haven't done it before and a PITA. When I removed mine to retrofit Sat Nav in my last car I forgot to install the cable so just tucked it in.

If you remove the ashtray and mount (with buttons) you should be able to find the end of the cable if you poke it up from under the trans tunnel. From the rear if you remove the cubby hole or sub cover this would be you best entry point.

[Logan]

Thanks, I'll have a go at this over the weekend and let you know how I get on - weather permitting.

[srhutch]

My interior is in bits currently due to fitting the Intravee but it's too bloody cold go finish it off at present.

[Logan]

I know what you mean - I was an hour today wrestling with the boot lining and succeded in finding 2 press in fixings I didn't know were there (which explains why I couldn't get the lining out) , scuffed the backs of both hands which I didn't notice as it was so cold - and now my hands look like I've done 10 rounds against someone with a face made of bricks.

[bcworkz]

You guys are terrible at making excuses. Everyone knows you can't do trim work in the cold because the little plastic fastening bits will break!

[pvr]

On the second satnav retrofit I removed the handbrake / gear lever cover and one side cushion at the front and removed the console screws. That way, I could fish / push the cable from front to back underneath it (all carpeted so no rattles) without removing the actual centre console.

[Logan]

pvr, I don't suppose you have any details on where and what type of fixings the side cushion and console has, or how to open up the hand brake and gear lever covers so I can try the same?

[Logan]

Just thought I'd post to say how I got on with my install.
First off was the preparation - removal of the carpet from the rear bulkhead in the boot. 3 turn screw fixings to remove battery cover, two hexagonal bolts to take battery top cover thingy off, one stubborn press fit fixing in the floor holding the carpet in, and lift out the carpet panel fron the rear of the boot floor. pull carpet from rear bulkhead out of the way, one screw head fixing and one secret fixing. It turns out the easy way to remove the secret fixing holding the right top corner of the bulkhead carpet is to use a junior hacksaw - undoes this a treat (and I had tried for over an hour using screw drivers, fingers, bicycle spanners, brute force all to no avail.). Unfortunately the fixing won't go back - but to be honest, I'm not convinced it needs replacing. If I need to access the bulkhead again, at least now I have only one screw-out fixing so it will be easy.
The right hand side was all I needed to release as the carpet can be pulled out of the way over to the left side of the boot and taped there.



The 3 & 6 pin plugs were loose in the opening as all the other posts had stated. I used some strips of sticky velcro to attach the Intravee and the Alpine KCA-420i ipod adapter to the rear of the bulkhead.
Next was to remove the ashtray unit - popped out as described and I set it to the side while I worked out how to get a wire from here to the boot behind the trim.



I used an electricians "fish" and on the off chance I would "get lucky" pushed it down the drivers side of the transmission tunnel going round the Sport button.



It went in easily and then I could hear the metal tip bang into something metal by the bulkhead. Now I had to fish it out - where from though. I pulled the handbrake arm rest up but that was no use. I prised the coin cubby out from behind the hand brake - held in by these "teeth" front and back - prise out with wide thin bladed screw driver


- and what was hiding in there - the end of the fish.



Now I had to route it through to the boot - I removed the large speaker grill from behind the passenger seat which gave me a good view into the boot and I poked the fish up from the cubby behind the trim into the speaker space, easy, and then on into the boot.



The only trouble was the smallest end of the wire to the intravee is a 12mm square plug. This proved too fat to follow the route from cubby to speaker to boot. So I accepted I had to drill a hole in the rear of the lower center console storage box - 16mm dia. I was then able to feed the fish up through the gap between the hinges of the fold down rear console door into the storage box and through into the boot. I had to remove a plastic cover plate from under the rear console door - when I say remove, it came loose and I couldn't work out how to fit it back.



I have to leave this out as it won't go back in with the wire running through here. With a bit of tape (well, quite a lot actually ) to attach the plug to the fish I was able to pull the plug all the way through to the boot. Plugged in , ignition on, connect spec doc to the cable I'd pulled through and all worked when I put ipod in the doc. Excellent. So I followed the Spec Doc fitting instructions, clipped the ashtray unit back in pushed the Spec Doc in and all is fitted. Put back all the bits of trim and carpet and I have completed my first major mod.
Here is the SPec Doc in place.



Here is the Ipod in it. Snug fit with maybe 1mm clearance - but there is more if I take it out of its protective case.





Here is the cable running up through the hinged rear consol door. (and my stash of snickers bars for waking my brain up on long journeys )



Here is the cable and the 16mm hole I drilled.



And this is what the car looks like when Ipod removed - who would know?



I took the car for a blast down some bumpy back roads and the Ipod was as solid as a rock.
So I have also learnt how to post pictures tonight - and it is as easy as the instructions in the Newbie forum said.

[aquazi]

Wow thats a great install

Now you have me thinking.... would it be possible to fit a dock in the coin thing under the center box? ... My 4S has such appalling battery life i would like to wire it to charge with my intravee, without opening the cubby hole!!

[markeg]

Wow thats a great install
Now you have me thinking.... would it be possible to fit a dock in the coin thing under the center box? ... My 4S has such appalling battery life i would like to wire it to charge with my intravee, without opening the cubby hole!!

Does the Intravee support the 4S, as apple changed the security on the iphone for accessing the music/playlists? You will, at minimum, need a scorsche (or similar) for the 4S as the power pin also changed (good old apple....).

I use something similar to the specdoc (isopon, ashtray insert and a cablejive dockXtender cable) for my DICE (which cant handle the 4S), am sure you could do something similar for the coin holder?