01pewterbird

Hey guys,

For Christmas, my old man got me an I-pod adapter with a screen and a controller. Now theres two ways to hook it up, it has a set of RCA's for output, or I could do the radio thing. I really rather not use the radio because I know there will be some static. My question is, is there any way I can tap into the wiring for the factory CD changer. My car has the monsoon without the changer. Is there even any wiring back there for the changer, or would I have to buy a harness? I figure from that harness, there has to be 2 sound input wires I could tap for the RCA's. If there is any other way I can tap into the HU with RCA's/or splicing I'm open for suggestions.

Thanks in advance

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

Man...how often has this question been asked and answered. A little searching will do your heart good.

Since your car is an 01, it has the ability to control the external CD changer regardless of whether it's a cassette or CD head unit. There are adapters made by several companies that convert the CD changer port into an auxiliary input with RCA jacks. The most popular one is the GM9-AUX from PIE.

And no, even though your car has the changer harness already installed from the factory, you can't just tap into it to feed signal to the head unit. The head unit has to communicate with the changer before it accepts any signal through that port. Adapters like the GM9-AUX contain circuitry to simulate a changer.

01pewterbird

Thanks WhiteBird, and my appoligies for asking about an already discussed topic. I thought it might not have really been touched on considerding I was not just asking how to connect an I-pod to the Monsoon. Anyways, 60-70 bucks seems like a lot for a little harness/adapter, I was hoping for a cheaper anlternative. Maybe I'll just sell the unit my dad bought me and save for a new HU.

Thanks again

01pewterbird

Just thought of something. My car is wired for satellite radio(I never had one but the previous owner did) Is it possible I already have an adapter such as the GM9-AUX in my car already, or do some satellite radios have the same option of tuning in with a FM transmitter? Unfortunately the car is in NJ and I’m in VT so I guess I won’t know till I go home for spring break.

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

If you have a cassette head unit, you can use a cassette adapter to connect your iPod. They only cost about $10 and the sound quality is almost as good as connecting through the changer port (the dynamic range of the tape head isn't quite as wide but it's pretty good).

Another alternative is to get a wired FM modulator. They still use the radio for signal processing but they don't suffer from the static and interference the wireless modulators get because they go inline in the antenna cable and shut off the antenna signal while in use. Sound quality is like a really strong FM station which is okay considering how noisy our cars are inside.

The same options are used to connect satellite radio as for iPods or other MP3 players. You can use direct connection through an adapter to the changer port, a cassette adapter, a wired FM modulator, or the built-in wireless modulator that is included with most plug-and-play satellite radios. It's possible that the previous owner had an adapter but it's more likely that they used some other type of connection. It wouldn't hurt to look - it takes only a minute to pull out the head unit.

01pewterbird

Thanks for the suggestions WhiteBird. I do remember there were three wires for the satellite radio that I tucked away when I first got the car. I do remember that one of them was like a Male ended headphone wire, I suppose that could lead to a wired FM modulator, or something like the GM9-AUX. Guess I'll have to wait till next month to check it out.

Thanks again

01pewterbird

Well here is what I found after pulling the HU...


Tapped power wire...looks like they thought the Yellow was power then realized black was the one??

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This red wire comes from the modulator along with the black wire that gets tapped into the power for the HU in the pic above, not sure if this is supposed to be tapped in there as well, but right now it leads to nothing...

[/IMG]
Here's the modulator itself, the "12V DC IN" is where the red and black wires i reffered to above come from.

My questions for the experts:
1. Should that red power wire be tapped along with the black wire it comes out of the modulator with to the power from the HU?

2. Does the modulator need power to run the FM signal, or is that power just there to supply it to the XM radio that is no longer in the car?(the "6V DC OUT" on the modulator)

3. Can I just tune into the station on the modulator and plug my i-pod into the headphone jack with the wire from the modulator and have it all work?

Thanks again

LTLRDSS

iTrader: (2)

or you can do what i did, search ipod mod or look 3 or 4 threads down from this one

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

It looks like it was properly installed. The red wire from the modulator should go to the yellow wire on the radio harness and the black wire from the modulator should go to the black wire in the radio harness.

The power connection to the modulator serves two purposes - it powers the modulator itself and it flows through a step-down transformer to the 6V output wires used to power an XM satellite radio tuner.

Yes, you should be able to plug in your iPod and tune to the selected FM station to listen to it. I've used that particular wired FM modulator before and it works quite well at eliminating static and interference from broadcast FM stations. Just make sure that the DIP switches are set for a frequency that doesn't have a particularly powerful local station in your area.

01pewterbird

Thanks for the response. So, yellow is power and black is ground? Simple enough to fix that. I'll use this for now and sell the unit my father got for me then put that towards a new HU.

White bird, Just curious, where does the wire go that says "TO FM RADIO"?

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

That should already be connected. The two connections on that end of the modulator are antenna cable plug and socket. You unplug your AM/FM antenna cable from the back of your radio and plug it into the modulator where it says FM Antenna. Then you plug the short cable where it says To FM Radio into the back of your radio where you just removed the original antenna cable. This puts the modulator inline in the antenna cable and allows it to control whether signal reaches the radio from your satellite radio (or iPod) or from your original AM/FM antenna depending on which device is in use.

01pewterbird

OK, I think I recall seeing that in there. How would you say the quality of sound is compared to the PIE adapter? Now I'm thinking I might sell the Harmon Kardon unit to get the PIE, then pull this modulator all together. But I'm not exactly happy with quality now as it is, my front components are amped, and there is some static at low volume which I think is from the PAC box or the HU itself.

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

There are four ways to connect an auxiliary device to the factory head unit. The first (and worst) is a wireless FM modulator. These are convenient but sound terrible and suffer from static and interference from local broadcast stations. The second is a wired FM modulator. They eliminate (or at least significantly reduce) the interference and static. The sound quality is the same as a really strong local FM station. The third is a cassette adapter if you have a cassette head unit. The sound quality is excellent although the dynamic range of the tape head isn't quite as wide as a CDand you may hear some tape hiss during quiet passages. Finally, there's the CD changer port adapters. If your head unit is compatible they offer the best sound quality - virtually indistinguishable from a CD.

Bear in mind that sound quality of the source has already suffered because of the compression used in iPods and MP3 players. Plus the car is not the ideal quiet environment for listening to music. So, in terms of bang for the buck, I think you'll find the wired FM modulator you already have will sound pretty good.