My iPod install

[shabbaman]

Hey y'all, here's a Bimmerfest exclusive. Let me know what you think.

This is the Dension ice link.

[shabbaman]

[shabbaman]

[bmw325]

Very nice.

[jvr826]

Hey y'all, here's a Bimmerfest exclusive.

Probably won't be "exclusive" for long, now that you've posted these pics. :thumbup: Very nice job!!!

[tom@densionusa]

Probably won't be "exclusive" for long, now that you've posted these pics. :thumbup: Very nice job!!!

I'm amazed how close the fit is in the factory ashtray - good work. I love to see custom installs with the iPod in the vehicle - it just shows you went that extra step to make it all work.

Two points to note though - How secure is the iPod in the cradle - does it move around? I've heard stories of the dock connector wearing loose on other models with vibration. Have you thought about the iPod turning into a projectile if an accident occured?

[Tanning machine]

Very nice.

Yeah, top notch. How was it getting the wires to that location?

[bmw325]

Out of curiosity, would it have been possible to "submerge" the IPOD more (If you were to have cut out the bottom of the ashtray?

[jtg]

:jawdrop::jawdrop::jawdrop::jawdrop::jawdrop::jawd rop::jawdrop::jawdrop:

[shabbaman]

I'm amazed how close the fit is in the factory ashtray - good work. I love to see custom installs with the iPod in the vehicle - it just shows you went that extra step to make it all work.

Two points to note though - How secure is the iPod in the cradle - does it move around? I've heard stories of the dock connector wearing loose on other models with vibration. Have you thought about the iPod turning into a projectile if an accident occured?

Thanks Tom. Appreciate the good word. Your questions are very good and very accurate. I'll answer the easier one first. My iPod is a 6.2oz projectile in case of an accident. That's why I don't plan on getting into one :angel: . If I do get into an accident, I think the iPod is low enough that it will only do damage to itself and or some of the buttons on the center console. At that point insurance would take over and I'd be out an iPod which I would replace with a new one. That being said, in 14 years of driving I've only been in one accident.

The first question that you ask is a little more complicated. You've obviously played with enough docks to know there's a little slack. Currently, my answer to this is a business card folded in half. In effect this means that the dock is about half a millimeter too large. I've been thinking about a solution to this problem and I'm leaning towards a "masking tape" solution. In essence, I have to make the backside of the dock where it bottoms out half a millimeter thinner. Ideally, what this would entail is 4 or 5 strips of white masking tape on the back part of the dock. The reason for this is partly YOUR fault ( :D ). Here's the problem: The dock connector that you provide is a little short for passing through the dock. The dock connector that is on a regular dock extends out about 2 or 3 millimeters more than the standard connector, this to make up for the thickness of the dock (OK, so it's not your fault but I gotta blame someone). The other problem with the dock cable is that it's designed to lock to your iPod, not exactly something that was acceptable in my install. So I dremeled out the 2 locking clips on the connector and worked off about 1 - 1.5 millimeters of plastic off the dock connector to expose more of the metal. Still, this leaves me about a millimeter short of ideal when I dock the iPod but it's OK.
To my knowledge, this is the first time this has been done in this way so it was a trial and error process to a certain degree. If I were to do this again, I would do it better and much faster than the first one, but then again, isn't that always the case?

So I guess the answer is yes and no. You could "submerge" it but that would require surgery. Practically, it's not possible.

[shabbaman]

Out of curiosity, would it have been possible to "submerge" the IPOD more (If you were to have cut out the bottom of the ashtray?

Did you say cut? :thumbup:
I put about a quarter size hole in the bottom of the center console and the ashtray mount. If you look at the ashtray mount on the 5, there's a plastic anchor that clips on to the astray. That's where I ran the cables through, right in front of that. I also dremeled out the backside of the ashtray and that's where I snaked the dock connector into the ashtray. Once inside the ashtray, I mounted the connector at about a 75 degree angle (towards the radio). Since the ashtray on a 5 is a moving part, I wanted to isolate the connector from movement so to do this I bent the connector at it's connection point with the wire so basically, the connector's wire is sitting on the surface of the ashtray. I then ran the connector through the slot of my donor dock and epoxied that into place.
I built a balsa wood frame on all four inside walls of my dock (Even worked around the little light on the left side of the ashtray) in such a way that when I placed the dock on top of the frame it would also secure the connector to the floor of the ashtray.

Then I epoxied everything carefully and let it cure overnight and voila! iPod ashtray Dock.

[shabbaman]

Yeah, top notch. How was it getting the wires to that location?
It was a b!tch :rolleyes:

Getting the wires under the carpet was even worse. The carpet has about an inch of padding and insulation and is about as rigid as George W. talking about Saddam

[swchang]

You should write a DIY. Nice install! :thumbup:

[White525]

Can someone help me out with a link to some instructions on how to install a 4g Ipod into my 2002 525i without navigation. I need to know the right stuff to buy and some step by step instructions on how to install it. Thanks.