# Best iPod solution for Mk5 R32 - yet maintaining 'as much as possible'



## biosci (Feb 23, 2008)

Okay, as the subject states, I would like to add iPod integration to my R32 with the standard 6 disc in dash changer head unit.
Currently, I use the Aux jack in the glove box.
I would like the ability to have the iPod charge which I think most adapters do. It would be nice to control the iPod from the steering wheel controls (track up and down). It would also be nice to see what's playing in the dash head unit. However, I think if it's a CD, it won't. I saw something about dice having an adapter that allows text but I also would like to keep my satellite radio.
Is there any good solution or if I want to pick the songs (view on iPod) and have the ability to select 'random' through all my songs, is AUX the only way to go?
I'm also planning on adding a BT solution to the car from Parrot in the near future. Not sure if that complicates things but thought I'd add that in there.
Mike


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## [email protected] (Jan 26, 2006)

*Re: Best iPod solution for Mk5 R32 - yet maintaining 'as much as possible' (biosci)*

you can have pretty much everything you asked for except track info on the radio (your radio can't display that type of info) with theUSA SPEC Pa11 VW6
http://enfigcarstereo.com/shop....html








be sure to order the sat pass 1 if you'd like to keep your factory Sat radio working http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 
and as far as the bluetooth goes it won't have any effect on the parrot kit or any other kit for that matter


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## biosci (Feb 23, 2008)

*Re: Best iPod solution for Mk5 R32 - yet maintaining 'as much as possible' ([email protected])*

So with the above, I can control iPod not only from the iPod itself but a quick up and down through the playlists on the head unit AND steering wheel controls?
And what you meant by text was the text on the head unit right?
Can you comment on this item:
http://www.diceelectronics.com...OD_VW
I think it's called the iVW Sat.


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## [email protected] (Feb 20, 2002)

*Re: Best iPod solution for Mk5 R32 - yet maintaining 'as much as possible' (biosci)*

That product has been a month away for over a year now. You can wait for it but i'm no sure how long you will be waiting.
The regular dice unit is my favorite for your car.


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## biosci (Feb 23, 2008)

*Re: Best iPod solution for Mk5 R32 - yet maintaining 'as much as possible' ([email protected])*

is there a difference between the dice and USASpec unit above?


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## [email protected] (Feb 20, 2002)

*Re: Best iPod solution for Mk5 R32 - yet maintaining 'as much as possible' (biosci)*

Main difference is that the USA spec lets your first 5 playlists from the radio. The dice lets you control your first 99.


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## biosci (Feb 23, 2008)

*Re: Best iPod solution for Mk5 R32 - yet maintaining 'as much as possible' ([email protected])*


_Quote, originally posted by *[email protected]* »_Main difference is that the USA spec lets your first 5 playlists from the radio. The dice lets you control your first 99.


So the dice unit will allow me to have full functionality of my stock radio (6 disc CD changer built in) w/satellite? Also, the aux jack will work too?
The iPod will be controllable from both the iPod itself, and the headunit? What about the steering wheel controls (important feature so I don't have to reach for the iPod all the time...? No Text support but will it randomize songs from the playlist? Is this controllable via the head unit or do I just select that from the iPod?
Finally, I'm guessing this is cable that just pokes/pulls out of the glove box? 
Can you please post a link to the exact kit I would need for my 08 R32. I just want to confirm the above so I know for sure what features I'm getting for the kit and don't want to be unpleasantly surprised.


_Modified by biosci at 4:17 PM 3-11-2008_


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## [email protected] (Jan 26, 2006)

*Re: Best iPod solution for Mk5 R32 - yet maintaining 'as much as possible' (biosci)*


_Quote, originally posted by *biosci* »_
So the dice unit will allow me to have full functionality of my stock radio (6 disc CD changer built in)

yes

_Quote, originally posted by *biosci* »_ w/satellite? 

the unit won't disbale your Sat functionality, however I do suggest using our MK5 sat radio pass thru to keep your SAT audio functional
http://enfigcarstereo.com/shop....html









_Quote, originally posted by *biosci* »_ Also, the aux jack will work too?

the Dice unit will disable your glovebox aux port, however it does have its own aux port you can use for your non ipod audio

_Quote, originally posted by *biosci* »_
The iPod will be controllable from both the iPod itself, and the headunit? What about the steering wheel controls (important feature so I don't have to reach for the iPod all the time...? 

yes, you can control the ipod via the radio and steering wheel controls and via the ipod interface

you'll want to use the I-VW-R
http://enfigcarstereo.com/shop....html


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## biosci (Feb 23, 2008)

*Re: Best iPod solution for Mk5 R32 - yet maintaining 'as much as possible' ([email protected])*


_Quote, originally posted by *[email protected]* »_
http://enfigcarstereo.com/shop....html








you'll want to use the I-VW-R
http://enfigcarstereo.com/shop....html









So to do a full install, I need the above two items... will I need anything else (which pullouts) to pull out the stereo do I need or can I just go to radioshack for something?
Also, do I mount the dice unit stuff in the cabinet where the stereo goes or does that sit in the glove box? 
Overall, how difficult is a clean install for this? 

_Quote, originally posted by *[email protected]* »_
the Dice unit will disable your glovebox aux port, however it does have its own aux port you can use for your non ipod audio


This is why I was wondering if it sat in your glovebox... Also, if I were to get a bluetooth kit like the EGO, would the audio portion of that just plug into the dice unit? Just wondering. Basically, for the electronics of the car, I want to add this ipod solution which seems better than VW's docked incarnation, plus a bluetooth system for phone (#1 priority) in the near future.
Thanks for your detailed replies!


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## [email protected] (Jan 26, 2006)

*Re: Best iPod solution for Mk5 R32 - yet maintaining 'as much as possible' (biosci)*


_Quote, originally posted by *biosci* »_
So to do a full install, I need the above two items... will I need anything else (which pullouts) to pull out the stereo do I need or can I just go to radioshack for something?

your radio doesn't need radio removal tools per say in the traditional VW sense
but I do recommend getting this:
http://enfigcarstereo.com/shop....html









_Quote, originally posted by *biosci* »_Also, do I mount the dice unit stuff in the cabinet where the stereo goes or does that sit in the glove box? 
Overall, how difficult is a clean install for this? 


the brain will go behind the radio, you'll route the ipod cable to a location that suits you best (most likely the glovebox)

_Quote, originally posted by *biosci* »_Also, if I were to get a bluetooth kit like the EGO, would the audio portion of that just plug into the dice unit? Just wondering. Basically, for the electronics of the car, I want to add this ipod solution which seems better than VW's docked incarnation, plus a bluetooth system for phone (#1 priority) in the near future.
Thanks for your detailed replies!

the ego audio output for streaming audio can be cnnected to the DICE unit
for hands free call audio the EGO unit will import the audio into the phone input of your factory radio


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## biosci (Feb 23, 2008)

*Re: Best iPod solution for Mk5 R32 - yet maintaining 'as much as possible' ([email protected])*


_Quote, originally posted by *[email protected]* »_
for hands free call audio the EGO unit will import the audio into the phone input of your factory radio


And this would work with the Parrot kit too? I'm deciding between these two.


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## [email protected] (Jan 26, 2006)

*Re: Best iPod solution for Mk5 R32 - yet maintaining 'as much as possible' (biosci)*


_Quote, originally posted by *biosci* »_
And this would work with the Parrot kit too? I'm deciding between these two.

they both work almost exactly the same, except the EGO has streaming bluetooth audio capacity
also in my experience the EGO kit has a bit better audio quality as far as the person on the other end of the call is concerned


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## bmxvr6 (Dec 11, 2000)

*Re: Best iPod solution for Mk5 R32 - yet maintaining 'as much as possible' ([email protected])*

Where are people going for the ground behind the MK5 head units on these adapters? I am nervouce about taking my whole dash apart for the install and not finding an easy place to go for the ground.
Any pictures, the search wasn't any help.










_Modified by bmxvr6 at 4:20 PM 3-14-2008_


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## [email protected] (Jan 26, 2006)

*Re: Best iPod solution for Mk5 R32 - yet maintaining 'as much as possible' (bmxvr6)*

personaly I've used the small bolts on the metal chasis of the radio, other people choose to tie into the main ground in the harness of the radio


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## biosci (Feb 23, 2008)

*Re: Best iPod solution for Mk5 R32 - yet maintaining 'as much as possible' (bmxvr6)*


_Quote, originally posted by *bmxvr6* »_Where are people going for the ground behind the MK5 head units on these adapters? I am nervouce about taking my whole dash apart for the install and not finding an easy place to go for the ground.
Any pictures, the search wasn't any help.









_Modified by bmxvr6 at **** PM 3-14-2008_

Oh I thought these were just plug n play so you don't have to worry about a ground etc (as it's built in)


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## bmxvr6 (Dec 11, 2000)

*Re: Best iPod solution for Mk5 R32 - yet maintaining 'as much as possible' ([email protected])*


_Quote, originally posted by *[email protected]* »_personaly I've used the small bolts on the metal chasis of the radio, other people choose to tie into the main ground in the harness of the radio

That sounds like the easiest way.
Thanks as always!


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## biosci (Feb 23, 2008)

John, again, I need that splitter for sat, and the dice module? I should also be able to tap in that parrot bluetooth too right? And everything is plug and play?
Just about ready to order! Plus, when I route the iPod dice unit into the glovebox, do the wires seemlessly get fed in there or do I need to drill? (hope not!)
Also noticed one thing.. On the website it says that it's only for the 2004 R32 and not the Mk5 R32. Any idea if I need a different/updated unit?


_Modified by biosci at 12:37 AM 3-18-2008_


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## [email protected] (Jan 26, 2006)

*Re: (biosci)*

there should be a plug you can pop out to get the cable into the glovebox without drilling
the Dice I-VW-R will fit nicely with your MK5 R32, and will work with the parrot kit as well 
(the parrot will connect to the phone port next the port the ipod will use behind the radio thus keeping their independant function)
you will also need the sat radio splitter


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## biosci (Feb 23, 2008)

*Re: ([email protected])*

Okay just got everything in okay. How is install now for all of this? Is it all plug and play or do I have to start pulling wires out and reconnecting everything? I'm hoping that I just unplug the sat, plug in the passthough, connect the sat to one end of the passthough, the Dice to another end, route the cable to the glove box and thats all... I saw some other installs online but they look daunting with the pulling of ground wires and special $45 tools etc.
Also, do I have to disconnect the battery or anything else special that I should be aware of before I start? Any good threads someone can point me towards?
Mike


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## biosci (Feb 23, 2008)

*Re: ([email protected])*

John, this is what I'm going to attempt today now that I got everything from you guys plus the parrot kit. Can you let me know if this sounds like a proper procedure step by step?
"The Brown Ground Wire of DEATH"
My other question is that with the Dice unit and sat passthrough + parrot, do you have to unplug the infamous 'brown ground wire of death' and replug it somewhere? Or is everything done magically through all this wiring? As you know, I'm simultaneously installing the parrot bluetooth kit as well. So I'm actually going to do these steps:
1) Unplug the whole mess of wires from the back of the radio.
2) from those, pop out the blue connectors (I'm assuming this is for sat)
3) Connect the sat passthrough to the appropriate slot in the female end of the parrot bluetooth kit wire harness
4) connect THAT into the back of the radio. (So now Parrot is connected to radio).
5) Connect the mass of wires that USED to be connected at the back of the radio to the other part of the parrot bt kit. (so now car harness is connected to the parrot which is connected to the radio)
6) with the sat passthrough already plugged into the radio, plug the blue sat connectors into one appropriate end and the Dice box into the other appropriate end. So now Sat and Dice are connected.
7) Connect ground wire from connector that runs between Sat passthrough and dice box to the screw underneath the rubber protrusion looking thing on the back of the radio.
Test...
I think those are the steps I've worked out from reading included instructions and some pictures and other writeups around here. Does that all sound right? Hopefully, I don't have to do the 'brown ground wire death' procedure. And from the looks of things with your wireing harnesses that you include with the DICE box, it seems like ANYONE who is installing a dice unit can just ground to that screw and NOT have to mess with that stinking brown wire. Only people who buy the OEM vw adapter have to mess with all the wiring unplugging and replugging for sat capability + ground (these are based off observations in other threads such as http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2953841 which I also posted the same above list)Can you or someone please confirm as I'm going to be doing this today and want to do things right! Hopefully my step step hypothesis above will work and help others out too! 
I will also be doing this by not unplugging my battery and not unplugging fuses... Should I do otherwise or as I'm careful with reconnecting etc, I should be fine?


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## [email protected] (Jan 26, 2006)

*Re: (biosci)*

sounds like you're got your install pretty set there
I couldn't have told you much better than that
it sounds like you already picked up on this, but I'll say it again for you, or anyone else
the Parrot Quick connect harness acts like a T harness going between the factory wiring harness and the the radio, there will be 2 possible locations where the sat pass thru can be located, one in the orignal factory harness, and one in the parrot kit harness, you must connect it to the parrot harness so it connects direcly to the radio
as far as grounds, tie the ground to the chassis of the radio securely


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## biosci (Feb 23, 2008)

*Re: ([email protected])*

Thanks John for all your help! I'll go and start this procedure and let everyone know how it goes!!! I hope my list of steps help people out! Heck, I gotta bring my laptop down with me now to follow them myself as I go through it!!


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## biosci (Feb 23, 2008)

One more quick question. The blue 'sat' plug originally form the cars harness plugs into which end of the sat splitter? The one with 3 wires coming from it, or the one with multiple wires coming from it?


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## [email protected] (Jan 26, 2006)

*Re: (biosci)*

I think we already discussed that via phone, but for future refference, you need to connect the blue factory connector which houses the SAT lines to the white female end of the SAT Pass Thru with the 3 wires, the aftermarket interface connects to the other female plug of the pass thru


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## biosci (Feb 23, 2008)

*Re: ([email protected])*

Alright! Everything installed and working well!! Definite thanks to John for giving me pointers too over the phone!! For things like this, you know you can trust a company when they have outstanding customer service. And John was able to walk me through some things and give me some pointers to make sure my experience worked out well! Thumbs up to John and enfig for having such awesome products and service for our cars! 
I 110% recommend this over the OEM VW kit simply because you don't have to deal with the ole 'brown ground wire of death'. It's already a PITA just to carefully remove the trim. That's the only reason why my self install took me all morning. I wanted to take each piece out as carefully as possible because lord knows I don't want any rattles in this car!
Here are a few pointers that I've picked up on during this process.
As stated above, for the sat pass connector, the end with the 3 wires connected to it reconnects with the original blue terminal from the old harness. The end that had multiple (more than 3) wires connected to the dice unit.
On the dice unit, for our VW's, you'll see 4 dip switches. 2 on the left, and 2 on the right side of the dice box. The ones on the right side are labeled for the iPod, you want those 2 switches to be in the down position. I forgot to put mine down and it wasn't working right/well.
Make sure ALL connections snap into place, ground is secure to one of the screws on the back of the headunit, and once again, ALL connections snap into place! Did I mention that you should make sure that all the connections are good and tight??? Very important, otherwise, you'll hear this weird ticking or electrical interference type of sound in the background. Carefully route wires and stuff them down behind the climatronic. Again, always being careful as to not put too much pulling force on any wires.
When testing... I didn't even have to stick the key in the ignition. Pushing on the volume knob turns on the radio for testing. No undoing the battery, no blown fuses (Thank god!).
Always test before putting on all that trim back! I hope I never have to go back in there again! It really irritated me because I'm scared to death of snapping a stupid tab off.
Now, I also installed the Parrot kit. To test the parrot bluetooth kit, you need to turn the ignition to accessory mode. Make sure all connections including the airbag/hazzard switch (I didn't undo this as there was enough slack to put that vent piece off to the left of the upper dash), and the light sensor switch that connects to the top vent piece are connected prior to putting your key in. From my research here, it looks like if they're not in, you may get some faults.... I don't know first hand, but didn't want to find out...
Again, everything in this was plug and play! No pulling out brown ground wires and or reconnecting individual wires!
A+ Solution and now my car is so much better! I better share this will all my R32 friends in the forums here!

_Modified by biosci at 7:06 PM 3-21-2008_


_Modified by biosci at 7:07 PM 3-21-2008_


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