Ipod integration or AUX input to '04 Alero?

[thegoat54]

Any suggestions?

I don't want to swap the stereo because i don't want a break in.

[cherrington17]

cheap way? aftermarket radio

expensive way? aftermarket radio






Best way??? Aftermarket radio

[03Sleepr]

Any suggestions?

I don't want to swap the stereo because i don't want a break in.

get a stereo with a removable faceplate....problem solved

here, nobody will steal this
http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2008/04/ghettostereo.jpg

if they do you really should find a new neighborhood

[cherrington17]

get a stereo with a removable faceplate....problem solved

here, nobody will steal this
http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2008/04/ghettostereo.jpg

if they do you really should find a new neighborhood

if someone steals that... you need to get out of 1989 and back to 2010!

anywho..... seriously though. Unless your obnoxiously blasting your music and therefore putting a big neon sign on your roof that says "I HAVE STUFF TO STEAL" you'll be fine.

In unfamiliar(or bad) neighborhoods, I turn it down. I have stuff worth stealing and have never had a problem.

[Greencoupe2.2]

If you really want to keep that stock piece of junk you could get an FM MODULATOR with the two required antenna adapters one from antena to standard motorola plug and one fom standard motorla plug to gm plug to plug it back in try seaching metras website for the correct model numers. just seach fm modulator and you will see what it is, but like said before aftermarket is the most practical way to go

[cherrington17]

Just be forewarned... FM modulators... sound like CRAP.

your not going to get anything other than FM quality sounf from them. (which is 92kbps... regular CD quality is 192, and mp3 HIGH quality is 320)

if you have a discriminate ear, you'll want to kill yourself. If you don't, then by all means go ahead.

[jayson_waltz]

i hate fm transmitters. I do own one to use when i need to like old vehicles or work vehicles but it sounds horrible. just get an aftermarket radio with a removable faceplate. You can try some other options:
http://www.pac-audio.com/productSearch.aspx?Make=Oldsmobile&MakeId=26&Model=Alero&ModelId=1236&Year=2004&YearId=15
But for the price why not just get a good stereo.

[Shiwnath]

If your car has a tape deck, you could get one of those cassette to headphone jack adapters, but just like the FM transmitter, it'll probably sound like crap. It's a cheap solution if you dont want to change the deck. But like everyone else, I suggest an aftermarket deck. This is what I'm talking about:
http://www.newertech.com/products/images/cassette_adapter_400x250_2.jpg

[Gr1m]

actually those cassette adapters are better then the FM transmitters. thats probably the cheapest way to do what you want.

[Cliff8928]

LOL @ all of the comments...

It depends on what radio you have stock, but you should be able to add a iPod connection that can be controlled by the factory radio.

[jayson_waltz]

It depends on what radio you have stock, but you should be able to add a iPod connection that can be controlled by the factory radio.
Like the link I posted...

[Cliff8928]

Yeah, but not all of the radios have the 12-pin connector for the auxiliary devices.

[Greencoupe2.2]

Its not an fm transmititer its an fm modulator, It connects directly to the antenna port, so it has to sound better than a transmitter, but I doubt its the best, I wouldnt know how they sound because ive never used one.

[03Sleepr]

yea...but then you have no radio...and how am I going to listen to the news with no radio??

[Greencoupe2.2]

the radio passes through it the anntena thats why you need two antenna adapters, but again ive never used one

[Christato71]

Yeah just do what everyone else says, get an aftermarket radio with a removable faceplate. You'll be glad you did.

[jayson_waltz]

the radio passes through it the anntena thats why you need two antenna adapters, but again ive never used one
correct, you just turn the radio to a station the modulator is set too, say 88.7, and it will play the aux source plugged into it. better than transmitter, but its still limited to normal FM "quality". Gonna sound like crap to someone who cares.

[thegoat54]

Whoa! Back from the dead!

Thanks for the great replies everyone. I totally understand about the fact that the best thing to do is go after market for a radio. The problem is that I know multiple people (including my girlfriend) who had aftermarket radios WITH removable face plates and they've had break ins just to see if the faceplate is in there.

My girlfriend had her window smashed in and the contents of her glove box and center console thrown around the whole car. (her CDs were also stolen from the glove box). Yeah they left the stereo because there was no faceplate for them, but I still had one hell of a mess to clean, and an afternoon of changing glass.

Its just not something I want to do.

I like the iPod to Car option. I'll look into that.

[robalero]

you my friend live in a terrible area.

[thegoat54]

you my friend live in a terrible area.

I had a break in myself around Christmas time. I had a plastic bag in the back seat from "The Source" (Radio Shack). It had my dirty clothes in it. But they broke in anyway and took the change from my ask tray. I'm guessing they must have thought there was electronics in the bag. My fault I guess . . .

Also, my friend that had a break in before my girlfriend just kept his faceplate under the passenger seat . . . they found it and proceeded to destroy the dash board to take the stereo out.

Again they broke in JUST to see if it was hidden in there. This is why I'd rather just keep the factory stuff and hook my iPod into it.

[robalero]

where on earth are you living? I know its canada due to the whole source thing. but where? ive been to montreal, ottawa and left my GPS in the window and never once had an issue ( I live in NB )

[wrestlingandrunning]

Get really dark window tint

[clutch1]

WHOAH.

Aftermarket radio is NOT NOT NOT the cheap or easy way.

FM modulator is the absolute best way.... get this. Dont listen to that "FM modulators sound like crap" nonsense... they sound fine. I have one in my Aurora and it sounds just as good as a CD.

http://isimplesolutions.com/ipod-adapter/TranzIt.asp

Costs like 70$ or so on ebay. Then get the 2 antenna adaptors you'll need on ebay (small to big and big to small), too. Finally get a pair of RCA cable Y splitters so you can but both the Aux jack and the Ipod cable in.

Then you dont have to fsck around with a new accessory wire and losing chimes, or paying for the GMOS harness, or anything.

[Stickybuddz420]

WHOAH.

Aftermarket radio is NOT NOT NOT the cheap or easy way.

FM modulator is the absolute best way.... get this. Dont listen to that "FM modulators sound like crap" nonsense... they sound fine. I have one in my Aurora and it sounds just as good as a CD.

http://isimplesolutions.com/ipod-adapter/TranzIt.asp

Costs like 70$ or so on ebay. Then get the 2 antenna adaptors you'll need on ebay (small to big and big to small), too. Finally get a pair of RCA cable Y splitters so you can but both the Aux jack and the Ipod cable in.

Then you dont have to fsck around with a new accessory wire and losing chimes, or paying for the GMOS harness, or anything.

Agreed the FM modulator doesn't sound like "crap", But 320kbs if you have the ears is gold against copper (128-220kbs), I mainly notice the clarity difference when it comes to rock/rap, as in i prefer higher kbs for rock and lower (around CD quality) for rap. I'm not completely sure why but I know that I love music and I love it loud, and if your like me, you will want an aftermarket HU. I have used all the stock HU's in the cars I've owned and even with converters and adapters there is no comparison between running stock HU with CD quality and running A $100 HU with 320kbs clarity, Sounds to me like you need to invest some into car security before you spend anything on drawing attention to it :p And honestly u can get the harness for $15 w/ antenna adapter. And if u really want the annoying ding chime back just put your stock HU back in, no running new wires or anything, whats easier than plug & play?

[04inprogress]

Heres what I did, Best solution by far if you have the knowledge

Heres what you need:
3.5mm jack-5 conductor normally closed(left and right input-left and right output and a common ground)
some small wire- I used wire from an ethernet cable
soldering iron and solder

Take out the cd player unit-there are 2 plugs-the one you are after is the bigger one
Its been a while since ive done this but i think its the last three wires on the plug on the side with a black wire-the rest are white (an easy way to check is to touch a wire to each wire while its on and you will hear a tap in the left or right speakers and then do a continuity for ground)
cut the wires going between the deck and mainboard and run them to your 3.5mm jack- the wires to the board go to input and the wires to the cd player go to output
mount you jack wherever you want- since mine didnt have a tape deck i mounted it on the front of the stereo

In the end heres what you end up with-with a cd playing, when you plug in a cable the sound will cut off, you can then plug that into your mp3 player for a crystal clear input that sounds great

http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z474/04inprogress/0408001526b.jpg
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z474/04inprogress/0408001526.jpg
http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z474/04inprogress/0408001525.jpg

[clutch1]

Fkin awesome ^^^^ I never knew the CD player actually outputting an analog music signal. That's great work son.

[lonnie]

I'll go out on a limb and say this guy doesn't use a soldering iron on a regular basis. If you aren't going to buy an aftermarket radio with the aux included then your best bet is the fm modulator. That is what I got my wife to run her ipod on and she hasn't complained yet....lol!

[zzyzzx]

Yeah just do what everyone else says, get an aftermarket radio with a removable faceplate. You'll be glad you did.

Problem with that is that all the aftermarket head units look like crap in this car. That and the stock units are actually pretty good. Just lack the MP3 player option.

That and I've never actually seen a CD only head unit. I'm sure that they exist, but are extremely rare. I'm speaking of the 1999-2000 model head units. I suspect that the above example is for a newer Alero (a 2004 as per their username??).

Mental note: If I ever see a 1999-2000 with the cd player only at the jy, get it. Right now I am using a MP3 player that's in the form of a cassette case that you put into the cassette part. No external wire, but it's not particularly good.

[zzyzzx]

Update on the MP3 player in a cassette case. Now that I have been using it a lot I can say it sucks because battery life is awful. I charge it up overnight and and it's only good for my 13 mile commute into work. By the time I go home the battery is dead. I even tried replacing the battery in the MP3 player and that helped some, but not a lot. I will try a cassette adapter next, but if you search Youtube there are many videos of people doing exactly what 04inprogress did.

[03glgold]

Update on the MP3 player in a cassette case. Now that I have been using it a lot I can say it sucks because battery life is awful. I charge it up overnight and and it's only good for my 13 mile commute into work. By the time I go home the battery is dead. I even tried replacing the battery in the MP3 player and that helped some, but not a lot. I will try a cassette adapter next, but if you search Youtube there are many videos of people doing exactly what 04inprogress did.

the amount of time that it takes for the mp3 player to die has nothing at all to do with what you are using to play it...If it is rechargable just get a universal car charger that fits the mp3 so you can have it hooked to power when you are using it...While I usually use fm transmitter in my car or aux port in my truck there is not a difference in the amount of time that my Ipods battery lasts playing music...even if you have a generic mp3 of some sort you can still charge it, my first mp3 player was powered by a AA battery and I was still able to hook it up to a car charger and have it run without needing the battery

[zzyzzx]

.If it is rechargable just get a universal car charger that fits the mp3 so you can have it hooked to power when you are using it.

That won't work. The MP3 player goes inside the cassette player completely.

I.E. my MP3 player looks like this:
http://www.geekalerts.com/u/cassette-mp3player.jpg

On the inside it looks like this:
http://www.sganawa.org/files/mp3cassette-interno.jpg
The blue thing on the right is the internal battery.


http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00MeNELobcMskB/Car-Cassette-Adapter-MP3-Player.jpg

[lonnie]

That won't work. The MP3 player goes inside the cassette player completely.

I.E. my MP3 player looks like this:


On the inside it looks like this:

The blue thing on the right is the internal battery.


Hold up...stop the train....you still have a cassette player? Now you are going to start saying that you have CDs luking around...lol...:jk:

[TdotAlero]

I've been using the tape adapter for a while and no complains about the sound quality. Does the job for me. But I'm reall gonna look into installing that aux jack :D

[zzyzzx]

I've been using the tape adapter for a while and no complains about the sound quality. Does the job for me. But I'm reall gonna look into installing that aux jack :D


If you search the internet (espically Youtube) there seems to be lots of people doing it. Normally via the CD input or CD changer input, but I would think that one would ideally want to use the tape input and keep the CD player portion working.

[wws944]

Any thoughts of the PAC AAI-GM12 vs the PIE GM12-AUXv2 for aux inputs? I am leaning towards the latter as it seems to be a bit better integrated with the stock head unit. Others I should be considering?

(Yes, I have installed aftermarket gear in other cars - starting way back in the 1970s. Not going the aftermarket route in this car. Also want to keep the XM capability intact.)

[wws944]

It has been awhile since I posted the above question. Finally got around to ordering the PAC AAI-GM12.

Install went smoothly. It provides two sets of AUX inputs, and retains the XM capability. It does this via a 3-position toggle switch that one can mount somewhere. The PIE unit seemed like it would have integrated a bit better into the system, as no toggle switch was needed. But it was NLA when I was looking for them.

The wires from the back of the head unit to the PAC box are a little shorter than I would have liked. Currently I have PAC box zip tied to a bracket that is just in front of the shift lever.

Not sure where I am going to install the toggle switch. I bought spare console bezels - both for the radio and HVAC area, and the shifter area, at a Pick N Pull. So I can drill holes in them to try different placements.

The sound quality is great. No complaints.