Ipod in Factory Ford Explorer

[Childofthekorn]

I have just gotten my 30GB video Ipod (my first ipod) and would like to know what is the best way to connect to a Factory Stereo system in a 2004 ford explorer? i have been searching the forums all day, have seen many options, i know FM transmittors probably arent good for me being that i am in the country with not so good reception. thanks in advance (im trying to find a way with wires hidden) :)

[wesc011]

the console for explorers comes out easily so hiding wires will be easy. go to blitzsafe.com and look for an auxilary adapter for a ford explorer. for the best quality, if you find an aux adapter, get the blitzsafe universal ipod interface, which connects three wires easily to the back of your stereo giving you accessory power (red), constant power (yellow) and a ground (black). this adapter will let you charge your ipod and play it, and it also charges for 20 minutes after the car is turned off. the only wire that will show is the cord going to the ipod's dock connector. this is when the taking out the console part comes in. mine just lifts off with a bit of force but I have a '97 so it might be a bit different. if it lifts off, take everything off in between the stereo and the console lid thing and you should be able to easily lead the cord down from the stereo into your console compartment or something. again this is all hypothetical, you might have a different console that doesnt lift off and you might not have a little over 100 dollars to spend. sorry for lack of paragraph form but i'm lazy. hope this helps.

edit: http://www.blitzsafe.com/blitz_catalog/blitz_aux/blitz_aux_list/blitz_ford/blitz_ford.html

it says "coming soon" for 2004

http://www.installer.com/aux/#
scroll down to ford and see if any of these work.


if you do find an aux adapter anywhere, the simplest way to hook up is with the blitzsafe interface like i mentioned. it also gives the best quality. the next to best quality is a simple Y adapter, consisting of a cable that goes into the headphone jack converting into the red and white RCA cables to plug into the auxiliary input. this wont give you the best quality sound but its fairly simple, but if you want to charge your ipod in your car you will need a separate car charger.

i'd say that you'd be spending about $140 bucks for an AUX adapter paired with a blitzsafe interface, and about 110 without the interface, assuming it's 70 bucks for the aux adapter, 70 for the interface, 30 for a car charger, and about 10 for a y splitter (the monster and belkin ones specifically for ipods aren't necessary).

good luck :)

[Childofthekorn]

thanks, really appreciate the help. so i know what i need now, 140 isnt bad at all, the problem i ran into is getting the stero/console out. My stereo has carbon fiber around it, it seems ot make it alittle more difficult, and my console (cup holder and stuff) is a pain in the ### lol, but ima take it down to the dealership prob. and see what they say about taking it out.

[Childofthekorn]

another problem is, i dont have a SAT button on my stereo, so is it not possible to connect it to the factory unit? what about the Harman Kardon Drive and play kit?

would that work with a factory unit w/o SAT? cause id spend the 200 for it.