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Subaru B9 Audio/Entertainment & iPod Questions
Is it possible to somehow wire an iPod to a '06 Tribeca?
I have the 7 seater with the Nav/Dvd. Pretty annoying in this day and age not to have a clear-cut option to attach the mp3 player/satellite radio, if you ask me.
I have the 7 seater with the Nav/Dvd. Pretty annoying in this day and age not to have a clear-cut option to attach the mp3 player/satellite radio, if you ask me.
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-juice
Yeah, I saw that, guess I'll have to run a wire through the back somewhere in the cock-pit area.
-Karen-
These are my generic directions...perhaps some of you will find them useful. Use at your own risk!
I ordered a Scosche FM-MOD01 Fm Modulator from Crutchfield. When you select your vehicle, the online ordering system will tell you which antenna adapters you need. It was a total of $63 with tax/s&h for the mod unit and the two Subaru antenna adapters (male and female).
I used the first part of the XM radio install manual for the Tribeca to see how the trim pieces came off. Turns out the antenna connectors are behind the drivers side kick panel, easily within reach. You don't need to access the radio at all (but I did anyway, just for fun, and since I was already half way there :-).
I first disconnected the negative battery cable. (This means you get to use the seatbelt trick later to kill the bell ringing -- oh, goodie! :P )
Then I pulled the side trim/kick panel to the right of the driver’s knees. I did decide to run the wires under the carpet then under the console and into the armrest storage compartment (near the twin DC power outlets), so I had to remove the console. I popped off the rectangular trim around the shifter knob, and then carefully popped off the trim piece underneath (there are 6 connector tabs...I used a thin putty knife to slide into the gap).
Remove the back seat storage drawer from the back of the console. Remove the four front screws and then the four screws inside the storage compartment (hidden under a little rubber mat in the bottom). Carefully lift out the console part way -- disconnect the large white cable connector underneath.
I wired the positive/red to one of the DC power outlets underneath, and then used the bracket the whole console sits on as a ground---rigged a wire blade tap right under one of the screws holes. You have to run all the cables on top of the bracket to avoid interfering with the drawer. I just slid the mod unit between the driver’s seat and the armrest (near the seatbelt), where I can access it if I have to adjust the gain or change the frequency.
Here’s the best part of all...there is a little dummy pop out panel inside the compartment between the DC outlets!!! (Hmmm....foreshadowing?) I pulled it out and cut a hole in in to fit the switch, and then notched the corner to allow room to feed the audio cable through into the compartment...very neat looking when I got done!
I'll post some pictures when I get some daylight to work with. Let me know if there’s anything which is not clear.
I’m looking into power/dock connector options now. I tried the Belkin one with the audio output/volume control, but got a lot of whine and hum. I tried a Radio Shack ground loop isolator, but that didn’t help. The sound is actually pretty good through the earphone jack on the iPod, but I know the audio through the dock connector is better...I gotta have SOMEthing more left to do, don’t I ? Plus, I saved $38,000 by not having to buy an ’07 Tribeca!!!
-Karen in AZ- :shades:
(but you probably only saved $34000 on an '07... there are good deals to be had
(but you probably only saved $34000 on an '07... there are good deals to be had )
Yeah, but I'd have to buy the Nav again for $1800 more, cuz now I can't live without it :-)
-Karen-
-juice
http://www.xtrememac.com/audio/cables/roadshow.php
I think the fact that it has the power plug and the direct A/V links makes this the best one that I have found. The sound and video quality are quite good, only the tiniest bit of buzz/feedback at only the highest volume.
I havethe line out level set to max but the volume is low compared to fm radio or cd and you have to turn it up much higher and sometimed max is almost not enough with windows open etc.
what could this be caused by? port xm player? xm itself? rear audi input isn't meant for that as its more for rear entrntnmnt sys? two cables plugged into eachothe part od the problem?
for some reason radio shack didn't have a longer y cable so had to use a short one of that and then long single male and female jack cable.
is the new front audio input which is made for mp3 player and such maybe get louder better sound? least could use one cable for that (shorter single to single as new for 07 front jack is just one audio input not a r and l audio input like in the rear with dvd.
We are using the headphone jack right now - but, I'm going to try: http://www.sik.com/din.php. It has a line-out female jack to plug the headset cable into. Should improve sound quality a notch.
For Karen's instructions let me add a couple of things. One, the primarily yellow wire going into the "power plugs" is the center or hot lead. I didn't want to cut wires. We went to Radio Shack and got some tapping connectors for 22 gauge wire. One side crimps onto your existing wire, the other to the positive wire from the FM Modulator. For ground we drilled a small hole into the bracket and put in a small sheet metal screw for the ground - it ensures a solid ground.
Lastly, we velcroed the FM Modulator to the underside of the cup holders. we first checked the gain and frequency. It's out of the way and works great.
Rob
There is mention here of an iPod cable with RCA Video and Audio Plugs. Is there a direct connection to the stereo in the car? Is it in the back of the radio or nav screen? Anybody know how to pull apart the dash correctly to access the radio and nav screen?
What does the AUX IN buttom control on the factory radio?
I have also seen some posts here about using a Kenwood KVA-S300 to hook up a rear view camera to the Nav. The KVA-S300 offers 2 more Audio/Video RCA inputs. Could I use these to hook up and iPod? If so I believe I will be able to view iPod Video on the Nav Screen. Nice!
If I get enough information and help I am willing to undertake this elaborate installation of a rear view camera, iPod and also a Sirius Satelite Radio. I will take pictures and detail instructions and post here and also on my personal website. Looking forward to hearing from everyone.
There are also some people there who have managed to hook up a backup camera to the Nav screen (which was probably even easier than the audio hookup). That will likely be my next venture.
-Karen in AZ- :shades:
-juice
I would appreciate the info
i have sirius starmate and ipod (harmon kardon unit)
wired through radio
but I still have to find a station and it does not appear on radio display unit
Cheers!
This is my first winter with the Tribeca 06. Every time I leave my car outside for the night and the temperature dips below minus 20 Celsius, I loose the memory of all my pre-set radio stations. Does anyone have an explanation?
Thank you.
Khang
-juice
-Karen in AZ-
AIF files are much larger than the AAC or MP3 versions (sometimes up to 10 times the size), so it will take a bunch of CDs, based on your collection. Instead of using a tons of CDs (which are cheap these days) you could always use one re-recordable CD and just erase or initialize it each time you are ready to burn more AIFs. It's a long process, but one that is supported by the industry, it seems.
Hope this helps! -Karen in AZ-
Thanks
thanx, toolfan421
Can you please send me the instruction. Thanks.
Eli
PLEASE send me the instructions if you could.
Kilowattdiver.
Let us know how it goes! -Karen-
-k-
just bought a used 2007 Subaru Tribeca with Nav and Rear entertainment system. I didn't test the DVD system at first, but when I got home, I inserted a DVD in the player. It was loading and then the message "Disk error" showed up. I thought the disk was on the wrong side, so I flipped it and inserted it back. Still the same result. So I tried a couple of other DVDs but I get always the same error message.
Has anyone seen that before? What can I do? I know the A/V input works. Is it possible the DVD reader is broken? Can it be fixed? Or maybe I just need to clean it with some kind of DVD cleaner?
Thanks for your help
I would so appreciate it
Let us know how you fare! -Karen-
Normally, when I am listening to the radio or a cd, the audio volume sounds normal somewhere between 8 and 10 depending. For the iPod/iPhone, I find I now need to raise the volume level to around 22-24 to get the same sound output (even with the iPhone volume all the way up).
Also, I noticed that when I wasn't playing a song, if I turned the volume up to around 27 or 30, I could hear static/clicks/interference noise. If I disconnect the iPhone it stops, but when I put it back, it comes right back.
Someone suggested that I am hearing the normal distortion of the factory amplifier cranked up all the way, and I should consider getting a pre-amp to boost the signal so that I don't have to crank it up and thus will eliminate the interfering noise.
Was this the case for anyone else? Are your volume levels the same as mine or did I do something wrong with the connection? Any info would greatly be appreciated. I have tried Emailing Karen, but I think something is wrong with her Email addy as my Email is bouncing.
Thanks in Advance,
--David
I do need to turn up the volume a bit for ipod output, however only from perhaps 7-8 to 11-12.
There are some podcasts which for some reason have low volume. the 60 Minutes one comes to mind. For that, I'm up at 20- but that's an exception.
Left=11
Right=12
Ground=13
Signal Ground=14
??
So the RCA cable that was used in the instructions would be connected to 11, 12, and 14 and then you make an additional connection from pin 13 to the radio unit to ground the system?