Dice Electronics I-AUDI-R iPod kit installation in 2002 A6 armrest (long w/ pics)
11-09-2006, 07:15 AM
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Dice Electronics I-AUDI-R iPod kit installation in 2002 A6 armrest (long w/ pics)
I am a long-time reader and a 1st time poster. I bought my Audi a couple of months ago and have since spent way too much time at this awesome forum reading what everybody is doing to their $45k cars!
I installed a Dice Electronics iPod adapter into my 2002 A6 about a month ago. I shelled out around $200 for all of the necessary components. (I installed my kit prior to the $0.01 IceLink specials recently posted on eBay.) <a href="https://www.audiworld.com/tech/elec135.shtml">SouthboroAudiGuy's</a> write-up was of great help to my installation. However, since I am absent-minded and tend to leave things in cars I decided to put the iPod in the center arm rest- out of site of thieves, out of the minds of thieves is my theory.
I did a bit of research and discovered that the cable connecting the Dice Electronics I-AUDI-R kit to the iPod uses an 8-pin mini-din connector. I found a Belkin cable, part number F2V003-06, that allowed me to extend the Dice kit's cable and put the iPod in the armrest. The Belkin cable goes for about $10. Y'all that bought the Denison "IceLink" kit may be able to use this extension cable, too.
<b>Parts Required</b>
Belkin part # F2V003-06
Dice Electronics I-Audi-R kit
Stereo removal tools (4 required)
iPod
<b>Steps for Success</b>
Remove the radio circuit's fuse.
Remove rear seat cig lighter and climate control module. Using a plastic putty knife, start at the bottom and work your way around. Be careful and you won't break or scratch anything. Remove all of the electrical connections, as well as the a/c ductwork. The ductwork easily comes out with a slight pull.
Look in the exposed cavity and you'll see where the armrest bolts to the floor. I used a ratcheting wrench to remove the nut. As I recall that one nut is all that anchors the armrest in place. Remove the armrest by pulling it straight up. Be careful not to drop the rubber ring that surrounds the bottom of the armrest and protects the wood surround.
While you're in there go ahead and remove the nuts holding the rear center console to the floor. The nuts are shown in this picture. The bolt circled at the front of the console needs to come out, too. You get to that nut by removing the plastic piece that covers it.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/116653/rear_cntr_console.jpg">
Remove the wood that covers the parking brake handle. To do this pull the handle up as far as it will go and remove the plastic plug on the driver's side. Use a small Torx screwdriver to remove the exposed screw. It is small and if you're a klutz like me then you will probably drop it.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/116653/park_brake.jpg">
Now we go to the front end of the operation. Using the plastic putty knife, start at the bottom of the gearshift wood surround and gently pry upwards. There are four plastic posts that hold the wood piece in place. If you are careful then you won't break anything. Once the wood trim is gone then remove the insulation that you'll find underneath it.
Take out the radio using the removal keys. Remember to point the tools so that the triangle on the tool-heads point out from the radio. You'll need to use four tools and will hear a click as they seat themselves. I used the cassette deck slot as a finger-hold to slide the radio out. Disconnect all of the wires, and remove the radio keys by pushing on the clips mounted on the side of the radio.
At the top of the climate control unit (ccu) you will see two bolt heads- remove these. Use a small, flatblade screwdriver to push in on the small metal tabs located on the bottom front-edge of the ccu, and it will pop out. If you don't push these tabs then you'll be pulling the ccu like crazy and may hurt your shoulder (like I did). I left the ccu's wiring harnesses connected- there are a lot of connections to take on & off and there's no point in disconnecting everything.
Now you need to remove the ashtray. First, take out the coin tray (I don't smoke, so that's what mine is) and then pull the ashtray out as far as it will go. Use the aforementioned flatblade screwdriver to depress the two tabs on the top of the ashtray and it will then be able to slide all the way out. Mine was a very tight fit, but I pulled firmly and slowly and managed not to scratch anything. (Note the gear shift position.)
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/116653/ashtray.jpg">
At the bottom end of the gear shift surround you will see two bolts that need to be removed. The rear console is now capable of being moved around quite a bit which is necessary for the next step: routing the Belkin extension cable.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/116653/center_console.jpg">
You want one end of the extension cable to end up behind the radio and one end to be in the center console. It is not a really difficult task although if you have small hands things will go easier. Once the cable is routed then reattach the nuts & bolts to the console.
At this point I moved over to the workbench and started taking apart the armrest. First, remove the small rubber gasket that surrounds the plastic armrest support. Then use a screwdriver to pry the two trim pieces apart. (It doesn't take much force.)
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/116653/split_housing.jpg">
Look at the exposed sides of the armrest and you'll see where Audi routes the cell phone wiring. You need to cut a whole large enough for the round end of the Dice Electronics iPod cable to fit through. I do not own a Dremel (but wish I did) so instead I used a small drill bit to start a few holes and then a file to round things out. I need to go back in and use an electrical fitting to make sure that the cable doesn't rub a short in itself. In the meantime I used a round file to smooth out the edges.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/116653/wrapped_cord.jpg">
Route the cable out through the slot as shown and then put the trim pieces back together. Make sure to reinstall the rubber ring on the bottom of the support arm.
Reinsert the armrest into the car. Connect the Belkin extension and iPod cables together- I made a loop out the two cables so as to minimize tension- and use wire ties to keep the slack from moving around.
At the radio, connect the wiring harnesses and I-Audi-R kit's black box. Follow the instructions in the kit's installation manual for setting the black box's dip switches. Reinsert the radio's fuse, plug the iPod into the cable, turn the radio on, select the CD changer and make sure everything works. If it does, then you're in business. If not, then you messed up somewhere and are going to have to ask some electrical genius for help. Everything worked ok for me.
Reinstall the climate control unit. I found that there was just enough room behind the ccu for the black-box and wires to fit. It is a tight fit and it make take a few tries to make the ccu slip back in place. Don't force anything here.
Put the ashtray back in. Remember that it is a tight fit.
Push the radio back into place. Use your hand to hold down the black box and wires as you do so. Again, this may take a little while for it all to snap back into place.
Reassemble the rest of the console and trim pieces and enjoy your iPod!
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/116653/finished.jpg">
I installed a Dice Electronics iPod adapter into my 2002 A6 about a month ago. I shelled out around $200 for all of the necessary components. (I installed my kit prior to the $0.01 IceLink specials recently posted on eBay.) <a href="https://www.audiworld.com/tech/elec135.shtml">SouthboroAudiGuy's</a> write-up was of great help to my installation. However, since I am absent-minded and tend to leave things in cars I decided to put the iPod in the center arm rest- out of site of thieves, out of the minds of thieves is my theory.
I did a bit of research and discovered that the cable connecting the Dice Electronics I-AUDI-R kit to the iPod uses an 8-pin mini-din connector. I found a Belkin cable, part number F2V003-06, that allowed me to extend the Dice kit's cable and put the iPod in the armrest. The Belkin cable goes for about $10. Y'all that bought the Denison "IceLink" kit may be able to use this extension cable, too.
<b>Parts Required</b>
Belkin part # F2V003-06
Dice Electronics I-Audi-R kit
Stereo removal tools (4 required)
iPod
<b>Steps for Success</b>
Remove the radio circuit's fuse.
Remove rear seat cig lighter and climate control module. Using a plastic putty knife, start at the bottom and work your way around. Be careful and you won't break or scratch anything. Remove all of the electrical connections, as well as the a/c ductwork. The ductwork easily comes out with a slight pull.
Look in the exposed cavity and you'll see where the armrest bolts to the floor. I used a ratcheting wrench to remove the nut. As I recall that one nut is all that anchors the armrest in place. Remove the armrest by pulling it straight up. Be careful not to drop the rubber ring that surrounds the bottom of the armrest and protects the wood surround.
While you're in there go ahead and remove the nuts holding the rear center console to the floor. The nuts are shown in this picture. The bolt circled at the front of the console needs to come out, too. You get to that nut by removing the plastic piece that covers it.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/116653/rear_cntr_console.jpg">
Remove the wood that covers the parking brake handle. To do this pull the handle up as far as it will go and remove the plastic plug on the driver's side. Use a small Torx screwdriver to remove the exposed screw. It is small and if you're a klutz like me then you will probably drop it.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/116653/park_brake.jpg">
Now we go to the front end of the operation. Using the plastic putty knife, start at the bottom of the gearshift wood surround and gently pry upwards. There are four plastic posts that hold the wood piece in place. If you are careful then you won't break anything. Once the wood trim is gone then remove the insulation that you'll find underneath it.
Take out the radio using the removal keys. Remember to point the tools so that the triangle on the tool-heads point out from the radio. You'll need to use four tools and will hear a click as they seat themselves. I used the cassette deck slot as a finger-hold to slide the radio out. Disconnect all of the wires, and remove the radio keys by pushing on the clips mounted on the side of the radio.
At the top of the climate control unit (ccu) you will see two bolt heads- remove these. Use a small, flatblade screwdriver to push in on the small metal tabs located on the bottom front-edge of the ccu, and it will pop out. If you don't push these tabs then you'll be pulling the ccu like crazy and may hurt your shoulder (like I did). I left the ccu's wiring harnesses connected- there are a lot of connections to take on & off and there's no point in disconnecting everything.
Now you need to remove the ashtray. First, take out the coin tray (I don't smoke, so that's what mine is) and then pull the ashtray out as far as it will go. Use the aforementioned flatblade screwdriver to depress the two tabs on the top of the ashtray and it will then be able to slide all the way out. Mine was a very tight fit, but I pulled firmly and slowly and managed not to scratch anything. (Note the gear shift position.)
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/116653/ashtray.jpg">
At the bottom end of the gear shift surround you will see two bolts that need to be removed. The rear console is now capable of being moved around quite a bit which is necessary for the next step: routing the Belkin extension cable.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/116653/center_console.jpg">
You want one end of the extension cable to end up behind the radio and one end to be in the center console. It is not a really difficult task although if you have small hands things will go easier. Once the cable is routed then reattach the nuts & bolts to the console.
At this point I moved over to the workbench and started taking apart the armrest. First, remove the small rubber gasket that surrounds the plastic armrest support. Then use a screwdriver to pry the two trim pieces apart. (It doesn't take much force.)
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/116653/split_housing.jpg">
Look at the exposed sides of the armrest and you'll see where Audi routes the cell phone wiring. You need to cut a whole large enough for the round end of the Dice Electronics iPod cable to fit through. I do not own a Dremel (but wish I did) so instead I used a small drill bit to start a few holes and then a file to round things out. I need to go back in and use an electrical fitting to make sure that the cable doesn't rub a short in itself. In the meantime I used a round file to smooth out the edges.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/116653/wrapped_cord.jpg">
Route the cable out through the slot as shown and then put the trim pieces back together. Make sure to reinstall the rubber ring on the bottom of the support arm.
Reinsert the armrest into the car. Connect the Belkin extension and iPod cables together- I made a loop out the two cables so as to minimize tension- and use wire ties to keep the slack from moving around.
At the radio, connect the wiring harnesses and I-Audi-R kit's black box. Follow the instructions in the kit's installation manual for setting the black box's dip switches. Reinsert the radio's fuse, plug the iPod into the cable, turn the radio on, select the CD changer and make sure everything works. If it does, then you're in business. If not, then you messed up somewhere and are going to have to ask some electrical genius for help. Everything worked ok for me.
Reinstall the climate control unit. I found that there was just enough room behind the ccu for the black-box and wires to fit. It is a tight fit and it make take a few tries to make the ccu slip back in place. Don't force anything here.
Put the ashtray back in. Remember that it is a tight fit.
Push the radio back into place. Use your hand to hold down the black box and wires as you do so. Again, this may take a little while for it all to snap back into place.
Reassemble the rest of the console and trim pieces and enjoy your iPod!
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/116653/finished.jpg">
11-09-2006, 07:35 AM
#3
AudiWorld Expert
Very nice. One point, the climate control does not have to be recoded...
I've pulled mine out in the past, and I never noted any need to program anything. It is just a pain becuase there are SO many connectors back there (heated seats, L&R controls, etc. Just an FYI.
11-09-2006, 08:20 AM
#7
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This may be too late, but...
You probably didn't have to remove quite so much trim... It's pretty easy to use a straightened wire coat hanger to fish cables along the tunnel. You can lift the 'floor' panel of the cubby beside the handbrake and the shifter surround as intermediate access points, then go between those and hook around back of the ashtray without removing it, to the back of the radio. :-)
Great pictures BTW!
Great pictures BTW!
