Advice On Connecting iPod

[KevinH1990]

I spent Sunday afternoon installing an auxiliary input for an iPod in my 2000 and my friend’s 2002. We used these instructions: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=5190 The cars have Becker CDR-220 radios.

Both of our cars have the dash storage bin as shown in the attached picture. (My friend’s car has cup holders, so he doesn’t have the CD storage device. In addition, his climate control is at the bottom of the stack instead of the top.

Originally, I was going to run the iPod connector up through the ashtray as shown in the referenced post. However, I didn’t want to carve up the bottom of my ashtray. The cable and connector are currently running out the back of the center console, and around the right side to the front.

Instead of running the connector to the ashtray, I’m considering cutting a hole in the top of the storage bin and letting the connector through that way. It seems to me that the only way you could see the hole is by lying on the floor and looking up. When I’m not using the iPod, I could tuck the connector up in the top of the bin and it would be out of sight. I’m wondering if anyone has done this or would like to comment on this approach.

Also, when we did the install, we used the un-switched power supply due to an oversight. (The instructions above suggest using the switched supply.) I’m thinking that it would be better to use the switched power supply to avoid having the circuit powered continuously.