A4Philster

I've been mostly lurking on this forum for over a year, having purchased my A4 3.0 QMS at the end of 2003. I love what a lot of you have done with your A4s and I have plans of my own. However, with grad school and work and family taking up most of my time, I can't afford to spend time modding anything out for now. But I did want to connect my iRiver MP3 player to my audio system and, after reading up on what everyone else did, I came up with my own placement and install. I wanted my iRiver at eye level, where I can easily see what's playing and get at the controls. So I placed the iRiver just to the right of the steering wheel, connecting the audio to the stock Bose audio system and running power to the unit off of the fuse box. Below is how I did it. My contribution to and a "thank you" to AudiWorld members.

<img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/10-Finished/DSC02073.JPG">

<b>Materials</b>
Some of the below materials and tools were used in the installation:

- First off, the bracket I used was a <b>Bracketron PH-MINI 4</b>, Delphi Dashmount Docking Kit, purchased from Best Buy for $15. I didn't see it on their website, but I did find it at http://www.myradiostore.us/mounts-brackets-tools/bracketron/bracketron-ph-mini-4.html. I had to bend the bracket to work as I wanted. You may be able to do similar things with a different bracket or even a raw piece of metal if you're handy.

- Also got a <b>Blitzsafe Audi Aux DMX V.1B adapter</b>. The pictures here show a PIE adapter from AutoToys but they both connect the same way. I got two separate units from AutoToys and neither worked (one looked like it was tampered with). I finally gave up, returned the PIE to them for a refund and purchased the Blitzsafe instead from LogJamElectronics.com. Worked fine on the first try.

- Also from AutoToys are the <b>Audi radio removal tools</b> (FORDKEYS2). I had to bend these up for other uses (more on that below), but you can see the set of four in the pic below.

- I also used a Radio Shack <b>cigarette lighter power adapter</b> that is adjustable to various voltages (my iRiver needed 4.5V) as well as the <b>appropriate end</b>, and I got a <b>cigarette lighter socket</b> that had two alligator clips on it that I cut off (to hook up to the fuse box).

- Also from Radio Shack were some <b>wire taps</b> (red crimp tap in pic below).

- Last picture shows some tools I used, including 7mm and 8mm sockets and wrenches, an Exacto knife, 3/8" socket driver and a 3/8" socket wrench with 6" extension.

- Not pictured, I got a nice audio cable from Radio Shack that had a 1/8" stereo plug on one end (90-degree bend) and two RCA plugs on the other end (not shown).

- Also not pictured are other tools I used, such as a digital multimeter to find the right fuse to tap power off of, a soldering iron, a bench vise to help me bend the bracket, and a drill press to drill some holes in the bracket.

<img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/01-Materials%20and%20Tools/Pic104.jpg"> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/01-Materials%20and%20Tools/Pic105.jpg">
<img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/01-Materials%20and%20Tools/Pic102.jpg"> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/01-Materials%20and%20Tools/Pic106.jpg">
<img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/01-Materials%20and%20Tools/Pic108.jpg"> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/01-Materials%20and%20Tools/Pic101.jpg">

<b>Disassembly Left Side</b>
Disassemble the driver-side dash to get at the fuse box as well as some screws that hold the passenger side wood trim piece in place. First, remove the left panel (Pic 1) covering the fuse box by prying up at the bottom with a flathead screwdriver (there's a place for a flathead to go). The panel should pop right off. Next, use an 8mm socket wrench to remove the screw that's holding the kick panel in on the left side above the foot rest (Pic 2) and the screw on the right side by the gas pedal (Pic 3)

<b>Pic1</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/03-Disassembly%20Left/Pic301.jpg">
<b>Pic2</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/03-Disassembly%20Left/Pic303.jpg">
<b>Pic3</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/03-Disassembly%20Left/Pic304.jpg">


Once the screws are out the kickpanel should get loose towards the bottom, but still feel tight towards the top where it meets up with the wood trim pieces on either side of the steering panel. Be very gentle with these trim pieces as they are real wood and they do break (now I know). The best thing to do to remove the kickpanel is to not let it swing down, but rather holding it up and gripping it tightly, pull the whole thing back towards you so that the kick panel guides (Pic 4) move out of the guide holes (Pic 5)on the dash. Note that while I took pictures of only the right side of the steering column, there are two others on the left side as well. <b>Be very gentle</b> as you pull the kick panel out. A little rocking back and forth may help, but rocking it up and down may crack your wood trim grain, especially on the edges (see Pic 13 below for my bonehead move of cracking my trim).

<b>Pic4</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/08-Reassembly%20Left/Pic804.JPG">
<b>Pic5</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/08-Reassembly%20Left/Picture%20016.jpg">

After you remove the kick panel, note that you'll have to unplug two items from the kick panel. A light and the VAG plug (Pic 6). Put the kick panel somewhere safe where it won't get dirty or crushed.

<b>Pic6</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/03-Disassembly%20Left/Pic307.JPG">

<b>Disassembly Right Side</b>
Disassemble the passenger-side dash to get the wood trim strip off and find a place to attach the bracket. Remove the panel on the far right (Pic 7) by prying up at the bottom with a flathead screwdriver (there's a place for a flathead to go). Then use an 8mm socket to remove the screw holding down the far right end of the wooden trim strip (Pic 8).

<b>Pic7</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/02-Disassembly%20Right/Pic201.JPG">
<b>Pic8</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/02-Disassembly%20Right/Pic203.JPG">

Next, open up the glove box and find the two screws that hold the wood trim piece and remove them (Pic 10).

<b>Pic10</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/02-Disassembly%20Right/Pic204.JPG">

Next, you need to remove the plastic trim piece that sits at the top of the center console, just above the Hazard Lights button. The only way I found I could remove this piece is to slide a trim removal tool between the wood trim piece and the plastic trim piece on either side and gently but forcefully pull towards me. If you don't have a trim removal tool, you can make a crude one from a thin piece of metal (such as the un-needed sides of the radio removal tools). See pics at the very top and you'll see that two of the radio removal tools (top left and bottom right) have a little bend in them at the tips. I used those to pull the trim piece out. Again, be gentle as these crude tools can do damage to your wood trim if you slip or pull out too forcefully. You could try to protect the wood and the plastic trim pieces by lining them with blue tape or other tape (that won't leave glue residue behind).

With the plastic trim piece out, find the two screws just above the center console and tucked away on either side and remove these as well (Pics 11 and 12).

<b>Pic11</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/02-Disassembly%20Right/Pic206.jpg">
<b>Pic12</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/02-Disassembly%20Right/Pic205.jpg">

And finally, find the screw holding down the trim piece and remove that as well (Pic 13). You should now be able to <b>gently</b> remove the entire passenger-side wood trim piece. Put the trim piece somewhere you won't step, lean, or sit on it.

<b>Pic13</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/08-Reassembly%20Left/Pic803.JPG">


<b>Bracket</b>
Now that we have the wood trim off, we need to fashion our bracket. The spot the bracket needs to go is shown in Pic 14. We want to use the screw and the screw hole (A) that we previously removed to hold the bracket in place (use the hole on the bracket marked "D" in Pic 16 below). Also, the bracket after it's bent should be flush with the vertical surface (where the screw hole is) (B) and then bend forward and follow the contour of overhang (C). Once you bend the bracket to fit the area (see below paragraph along with Pics 16 and 17), use your Exacto knife to cut the vinyl adhesive in the same shape as the bracket (Pic 15). I placed the bracket on the vinyl and cut out the outline. Multiple test fits and some trimming (especially just a tiny bit off of the overhang) finally got the bracket to fit just right.

<b>Pic14</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/04-Bracket/Pic408.jpg">
<b>Pic15</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/04-Bracket/Pic409.jpg">

Pic 16 shows the trim piece as it comes out of the packaging, and Pic 17 shows the trim piece after it's been re-bent to fit our needs. I used a bench vise and a mallet (you can also use a cloth covered hammer) to bend the bracket exactly where needed to fit inside the above mentioned area. Try not to mar the finish of the bracket too much. Most of the bracket will still be visible after installation. The angle of the left bend (in Pic 17 below) needs to follow the contour of the mounting surface and the overhang (so that the wood trim piece can be re-attached without an issue). The angle of the right bend is your preference. I angled it back a bit so that once my iRiver is mounted it affords me best view. You'll have to play with it to your liking once you do the install.

<b>Pic18</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/04-Bracket/Pic404.jpg">
<b>Pic19</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/04-Bracket/Pic410.jpg">

<b>Radio Connection</b>
Many posts on AudiWorld have already been written about how to get an Aux audio input on the factory stereo using either a PIE VWR-AUX adapter or a Blitzsafe Audi Aux DMX V.1B adapter. I had to use the Blitzsafe since I couldn't get two PIE adapters to work properly. So, in brief what I did was remove the radio (Pic 20), unplug the factory harness from the top plug (Pic 21), connect the factory harness to the Blitzsafe harness adapter (Pic 22), and finally plug the entire Blitzsafe harness adapter back into the radio (Pic 23). I then ran the L/R RCA wires from the Blitzsafe adapter back down thru the center console cavity (behind the radio and climate controls) and out thru a little opening on the driver side of the console, just above the gas pedal (Pic 24).

<b>Pic20</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/05-Radio/Pic401.jpg">
<b>Pic21</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/05-Radio/Pic402.jpg">
<b>Pic22</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/05-Radio/Pic403.jpg">
<b>Pic23</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/05-Radio/Pic404.jpg">
<b>Pic24</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/05-Radio/Pic406.jpg">

<b>Power</b>
I wanted to provide power to my iRiver, but wanted to make sure that the power adapter (converting 12V down to 4.5V) wasn't always on, draining my car battery. So I did some poking around on the fuse box and found a switched circuit that is only providing power when the ignition is on. First, disconnect the negative battery terminal from the battery. Then unscrew the fuse box off of it's mount (Pic 25) and gently lay it flat, bringing the top down to the right so that the fuses face the ground. Be careful not to pull tight on the wires. Open up the little door on the back of the fuse box to expose the wiring. Again, treat these wires with gentleness.

<b>Pic25</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/06-Power/DSC02015.JPG">

Get your cigarette lighter socket ready by stripping the insulation off of the two wire ends about 3/8". See Pic 26 and I highlighted the circuit I used to tap into (switched circuit). Use one of the wire tap crimpers to slide over this wire, then slide the positive wire (you'll have to figure out which one) of the cig lighter socket wires into the receiving hole. Use pliers or such tool to squeeze this all closed so that the wires stay (Pic 27).

<b>Pic26</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/06-Power/DSC02048.JPG">
<b>Pic27</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/06-Power/DSC02052.JPG">

Close up the fuse box, running your new wire back out thru the area where all the other wires run out, and remount it back in its place.

The negative wire of the cig lighter socket needs to be grounded somewhere. I decided to ground it to a screw that was on a second fuse box mounted above the clutch pedal (Pic 29). So I soldered the negative wire to an eyelet spade (Pic 28), bent it a bit to 90 degree angle, made sure the hole was large enough to go over the screw, used a washer to hold it on, and screwed the nut over the whole thing (Pic 29).

<b>Pic28</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/06-Power/DSC02055.JPG">
<b>Pic29</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/06-Power/DSC02057.JPG">


<b>Final Steps</b>
Finally, route the cig lighter socket where you can under the dash, connect the cigarette lighter power adapter to the cig lighter socket, set the proper voltage for your MP3 player, and run the wire from there all the way up to your MP3 player (Pic 30). Tuck all the wires in nicely, use Velcro or wire ties to hold all cables properly and neatly. Then route your audio cable up the same path up to your MP3 player (Pic 31). You have to really wedge the power and audio cable in well to the side so that the kick panel can fit back over fine.

<b>Pic30</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/06-Power/DSC02061.JPG">
<b>Pic31</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/06-Power/DSC02063.JPG">

Before replacing the kickpanel, reconnect the light and the VAG plug. Then gently slide the kickpanel back into the guide holes, doing the opposite of what you did to remove the kick panel. Screw in the screws along the bottom to hold the kick panel in place. Finally replace the left-side panel that covers the fuse box. Pics 32 and 33 show the path of the audio and power plugs with everything closed up. It's tight there and took me a long time to get that kick panel closed up.

<b>Pic32</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/10-Finished/DSC02074.JPG">
<b>Pic33</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/10-Finished/DSC02077.JPG">

<b>Results</b>
So here are some pictures of the finished product. I'm very please with the way it turned out, especially with the easy within-reach placement of the MP3 player. Hope you all enjoyed reading this.

<b>Pic34</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/10-Finished/DSC02081.JPG">
<b>Pic35</b> <img src="http://www.cherbaka.com/interests/audi/iRiverMount/10-Finished/Picture%20121.jpg">

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boysan

Wow, lurker or not, that is an excellent writeup...Good job!

mcpath

2nd. truely a step by step. nice job.

USP

good job.

hehateme

Dayuuuum, that's one hell of a writeup!

oatzel

it would have taken me a year just to write that post

boysan

Who knows? It might be his graduate thesis ;^) j/k/j/k

Schlampenschlepper

<img src="http://www.proclipusa.com/core/framework/scripts/image.asp?path=/media/images/products/852870-4.jpg">

MB The Body

so its not in the way... and when im not in the car i tuck away the wire in between the seats and it was like it was never in the car... also with the iskin the ipod doesnt slide... there is enough wire so that anyone in the rear of the car can change songs, i could hold it up in front of me if i chose too... and then it just slides back down in between the seat leaving it barely noticeable


but i do think yours came out awesome, nice job, nice write up!

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/39591/hardwired_2g_ipod.jpg">

swz

yah that mount looks more plausible...very good write-up tho.