Install in Saab 9000 - sweet

[cressers]

Firstly, I did not want wires showing, I hate that about my carkit even if it is bluetooth!!

I bought a Belkin auto charger, an Apple dock, and a cable from crutchfield that allows RCA inputs to my CD Changer connection on the head unit which is free.

I bought a female cigarette lighter thing and wired that into the ground and ignition sense +12v line going into the head unit.

I was worried this may overload this line, but so far no issues.

Sorry, but I didnt think to take photos of the dash out, but I managed to do the installl by simply removing the head unit.

The line in to the head unit was a simple push fit, the mini plug goes into the dock, and the charger also goes into the dock.

I made a plastic cover for the tray but it looked messy so I used black electrical tape to finish it off, it looks OK even close up, but I am sure that it will wear!!

There is slight hum in the sound, so I am looking for a ground loop isolator, either eBay or Radioshack.....

So comments please, I am real happy with it, it is in a great location, I can access all the functions and dash and see the screen easily!!!

Pictures (http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/andrew_cresswell/my_photos)

[nathanchong]

really great .. something i will work on when i get new car
to put dock in ashtray is a great idea .. very clean

can you give me more detail on the female cig adapter ?
it is something i'm planning on doing also

ground loop isolator at radio shack would cuz you about 15 bucks .. not bad

[mdobilas]

where do you put your cigs now?

[navfett]

Hey thx for the reply back, btw how goes it on getting your
Saab? i read your other post about it. Wish u luck on getting
it going. Oh yea i have a 2004 accord with stock radio, have
no idea about head unit.

i kno target has the the 30 bux off also, plus u can get their credit card & get a little
more extra of on it. So i m going to look into that.

I m not as mechanically inclined so i m thinking i might have to get someone
to install an fm trans in my car. Need to check & see what i should get
& what its going to cost me on that. Btw any advice on what fm transmitter to use for a 2004
accord with stock radio?

nice pics btw.

[cressers]

The pix came out well, took them with my Nokia cameraphone, its the new 6230. The quality is great!!

As for transmitter, the monster icarplay was good, nice and simple, but depends where you are living!!

The transmitter simply plugs in the ipod, so instal doesnt have to bo so complex.

[thabenksta]

Great idea, if my car had an ash tray I'd do the same.

Nice pix too, especially for cellphone.

[cressers]

insatalling the cigarette lighter was simple. Got the kit from radio shack, $6. All you do is connect the to either:-

The positive coming out the cigarette lighter, and the ground, simply splice in. This method will likely require a ground loop isolator due to using different ground locations and thus setting up a voltage drop.

Or you can connect to the positive going into the bacg of the stereo and theground in the same place. This should be better in terms of grounding, although there is no guarentee.

Lastly you could connect to the ignition sense going into the stereo and the ground. You have to be more careful here as the load on this line has a lower fuse, so check you current drain!!

When I say splice, I cut the wire and installed one of those white screw cable blocks.

You have to be REAL careful not to leave exposed wires as the whole inside of the dash console is exposed metal and is grounded. So if there is an open wire on the positive, it will short if it touches pretty much anything metal!!!

[dbett]

That's cool. That's similar to what I originally was trying to do with my Maxima install (keep it totally hidden when not in use). Unfortunately (although it turned out pretty well), the Maxima "ashtray" flips out instead of sliding out, so there's not enough room.

Here's mine:

[cressers]

Looks great, did you spray the dock black???

???

I am getting a new car soon so will have to do it all over again, but it was worth it!!!

[dbett]

Originally posted by cressers
Looks great, did you spray the dock black???

???

Yeah. That was actually the most time consuming part. Had to sand it with fine grit wed/dry sand paper. Clean it off with alcohol. Then about 4 light coats of plastic-safe spray paint, with light sanding in between each coat.

The hardest part was the edges which had to be sanded pretty well or else the paint would not stick. You can see that there are still a few areas of the top edge where the paint didn't stick. I was going to resand I do another coat, but the delay was driving me crazy. :D

[cressers]

Life is funny......

One day after all this is completely finished, working sweetly, the car dies.

Just spent 2 hours ripping it all out again as the car has been scrapped....

Now have an 04 s60 volvo, any ideas?

[Outro]

Originally posted by cressers
Life is funny......

One day after all this is completely finished, working sweetly, the car dies.

Just spent 2 hours ripping it all out again as the car has been scrapped....

Now have an 04 s60 volvo, any ideas?

Man thats some tuff luck..that was a pretty slick install too. Sorry bout your car.

[cressers]

me too, i spent $400 the previous friday getting the A/C fixed.

Got a grand total of $300 for the car, but considering the repair costs were $1700 and the car was worth $1400 trade, it wasnt so bad. It still sucks, but thats life I suppose.

i was running it till it died, just died sooner than I expected.