BMW iPod interface adapter

[Creatine Phil]

Hi,

Slightly unusual question here - I've got one of the BMW factory fitted iPod interface cables that goes through my Z4's glove box, but no iPod, so wanted to play the 100+ albums on my Sony Ericsson phone through the head unit instead.

Does anyone know if it's possible to get an adapter that converts the iPod connection to a standard 3.5mm headphone jack allowing me to run the audio from my handset into the head unit? I had a good trawl through Ebay and looked in several electrical shops, but with no joy.

I was actually planning to buy one of the new iPhone 4s at the end of the month and use that with the iPod interface. I tried a friend's iPhone 3GS with it though and found that the handset screen was blanked out with an accessory connection message preventing me from being able to change the track or album on the iPhone itself. All I could do was cycle through the tracks of the current album using the head unit and to change the album I had to disconnect and reconnect the iPhone again! Was I doing something wrong here, or is that as far as the compatibility goes?

Cheers,

Phil

 

[sk93]

it's really not worth the effort in getting a converter... take a look at the "DIY AUX Cable" thread shown in my sig


Also, to use the iPhone, you can't use the iPhone to select tracks etc - you need to set up at least one playlist, called "BMW1". (you can create up to five - BMW1, BMW2, etc).
Once you connect the phone, use the tuner preset buttons (1,2,3,4,5) to select the created playlists.
Preset button 6 allows you to play every song on the iPhone.. but I've not a clue what order it does this in.

Hope that helps!

 

[Creatine Phil]

Hi there,

Thanks for clearing up the compatibility issue with the iPhone - I like to select tracks at random from 100+ albums, so don't think I could deal with the whole playlist thing.

I'd like to go for an aux input, but not keen to take out the head unit or drill into the dash + would like to keep the iPod interface working for friends' iPods etc.

Has anyone ever seen a chassis/female iPod connection (i.e. the opposite to what you plug into an iPod)? Couldn't seem to find one on Maplin's website, but if one existed, surely it would be possible to build a simple converter from this to a 3.5mm headphone socket.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[srhutch]

Fitting the Aux connector is really simple, with regard to drilling the hole, if you fit in the factory location the hole is in removable cover under the dashboard so risk of damage is non existent, of you could put the socket into the glovebox the same as the ipod one.

 

[sk93]

Fitting the Aux connector is really simple, with regard to drilling the hole, if you fit in the factory location the hole is in removable cover under the dashboard so risk of damage is non existent, of you could put the socket into the glovebox the same as the ipod one.

+1 to this - and it works alongside the iPod connector.. so you can have the best of both worlds!


I don't think a female iPod connector exists for what you want to achieve

 

[Tweed]

Has anyone ever seen a chassis/female iPod connection (i.e. the opposite to what you plug into an iPod)? Couldn't seem to find one on Maplin's website, but if one existed, surely it would be possible to build a simple converter from this to a 3.5mm headphone socket.

I bought a dock extension cable from ebay for a couple of quid and butchered it to get the female end. This should do you (or, if you'd rather black) It'd be really simple to make this into an aux lead; take a goosey at this here info, looks like you want pins 2 (ground), 3 (right) and 4 (Left).

In fact, you'll probably find that they are the only pins actually connected to the cable (I did), so you may even be able to just snip the male end off and use the cable as a component. Nice and neat

 

[Creatine Phil]

Nice one, Thanks Tweed.

You'll have to excuse my fairly substantial ignorance when it comes to electronics - think I can handle connecting up the left and right stereo feeds from the female end cable, but where would I wire the ground into one of these 3.5mm sockets from sk93's 'how to' post?:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=1189

I like the idea of having an aux jack, just a bit worried of jamming a screwdriver through the fan vent or something . I'll give it a go if I don't get any joy adapting the iPod cable though.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[Tweed]

The ground is the outer edge, so the longest of the 3 pins, the one with the tabs on the sides that grips the wire

 

[klarky]

You can get a Bluetooth receiver that plugs into the apple connector and stream the music via Bluetooth if your phone supports it, I found a unit on bay whilst looking for something similar that would attach to an aux in, was just under £20

 

[Creatine Phil]

Thanks for confirmation Tweedy.

Bluetooth streaming is a nice idea, although I always find pairing two devices up more of a hassle than just plugging a wire in for music + I'm presuming I wouldn't be able to use a BT handsfree at the same time if I went for that option.

 

[Creatine Phil]

Thought I'd let you know what I ended up doing with this one.

Was keen to try butchering the iPod docking extender (that Tweed found on Ebay) into a 3.5mm adapter, but then realised it would need to be shipped from Hong Kong and got impatient, so dragged my arse down to Coopers in Croydon this morning and picked up a BMW aux cable instead.

Pricey at £45, I'll admit, but I don't have a soldering iron, so didn't mind parting with the cash. Found sk93's guide mega helpful, especially getting those bloody fans out (cheers for that!) and, as pictured below, I think the end result looks pretty tidy.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions - very happy to be cruising around now with 100 or so albums at my finger tips !

Phil