AUX switch has been figured out boys!~
9/10/05, 12:42 PM
#81
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Originally posted by Enfynet@September 9, 2005, 11:28 PM
So... What is the 16-pin plug for if it's not used? Why would Ford put this in these cars? Unless that's a generic harness, it just seems like more work than its worth.
And if that plug is for the rear DVD system, what is the 3rd plug for that is not on our cars? Bluetooth?
So... What is the 16-pin plug for if it's not used? Why would Ford put this in these cars? Unless that's a generic harness, it just seems like more work than its worth.
And if that plug is for the rear DVD system, what is the 3rd plug for that is not on our cars? Bluetooth?
As far as leaving the factory 16 pin unplugged, it appeared to me when I was messing with it that those two wires were the signal to send the radio into "night mode". In otherwords, when you turn on your headlights, the display goes dim, and the back lights on the buttons come on. Without the harness plugged in, it looked to me like the radio stayed in night mode. I could be wrong, because I didnt' mess with it for very long, but I guess now that my dash has to come back apart, I can experiment a little more.
9/10/05, 12:51 PM
#82
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Just found this post on the PIE website. It would explain a lot.
"EVERYONE....... that cigarette lighter jack IS NOT constant power. It can turn off with ford's battery saver feature. If you choose to power from the cig jack, it's going to work fine for a little while, then it will need to be reconnected. Wire to battery or memory wire of radio instead."
I'm going to go try this. I will post results, probably tomorrow after I confirm that it will work longer than 12 hours.
"EVERYONE....... that cigarette lighter jack IS NOT constant power. It can turn off with ford's battery saver feature. If you choose to power from the cig jack, it's going to work fine for a little while, then it will need to be reconnected. Wire to battery or memory wire of radio instead."
I'm going to go try this. I will post results, probably tomorrow after I confirm that it will work longer than 12 hours.
9/10/05, 03:09 PM
#83
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I have to agree with you on the 16 pin plug, Stever. I noticed yesterday that my lights did not dim when I turned on the parking lights. It's not a big deal to me, but it seems like a easy fix for PIE to resolve. Maybe rework the harness? Why they did not check this during their initial testing phase is beyond me as it should have been considered.
As for the CIG lighter, it is constant power as long as the battery is good. I'll leave the car sitting for 2 days with the radar plugged in and the radar will still be powered up. Even if we tapped into the memory wire of the radio would that not lose power as well if the battery were disconnected? Most cars with the memory wire would lose all their presets on the radio if you disconnected the battery unless there was a backup battery of some sort or the settings were "burnt" into a chip somewhere in the car. Although I have never heard of this feature for radios.
Well, so far I have not had any trouble with the PIE adapter as long as the 16 pin plug is disconnected. I'd like to have it plugged in for the dimmer function if at all possible and it sounds like an easy fix for PIE. BUT it's not a big deal if that's all we have to worry about.
As for the CIG lighter, it is constant power as long as the battery is good. I'll leave the car sitting for 2 days with the radar plugged in and the radar will still be powered up. Even if we tapped into the memory wire of the radio would that not lose power as well if the battery were disconnected? Most cars with the memory wire would lose all their presets on the radio if you disconnected the battery unless there was a backup battery of some sort or the settings were "burnt" into a chip somewhere in the car. Although I have never heard of this feature for radios.
Well, so far I have not had any trouble with the PIE adapter as long as the 16 pin plug is disconnected. I'd like to have it plugged in for the dimmer function if at all possible and it sounds like an easy fix for PIE. BUT it's not a big deal if that's all we have to worry about.
9/10/05, 04:40 PM
#84
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So,
Should I bother taking it out of the box when it comes in on Monday or send it back and wait for them to fix the problem?
FM modulation works for me. I disconnected my antennae so I don't get any regular radio wash over.
Should I bother taking it out of the box when it comes in on Monday or send it back and wait for them to fix the problem?
FM modulation works for me. I disconnected my antennae so I don't get any regular radio wash over.
9/10/05, 06:00 PM
#85
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Originally posted by derynf@September 10, 2005, 4:43 PM
So,
Should I bother taking it out of the box when it comes in on Monday or send it back and wait for them to fix the problem?
FM modulation works for me. I disconnected my antennae so I don't get any regular radio wash over.
So,
Should I bother taking it out of the box when it comes in on Monday or send it back and wait for them to fix the problem?
FM modulation works for me. I disconnected my antennae so I don't get any regular radio wash over.
To be perfectly honest, it doesn't sound that much better than the FM modulator (which I also didn't have a problem with). But, I can get more volume than before and I don't get those three seconds of static when I first start the car waiting for the XM tuner to lock in to the signal. It's an improvement, just not the night and day difference I'd hoped for. Plus, there's the glitches........
In addition to the adapter in my '05 GT, I also put one in my '04 F-150. I drove the truck for about 2 hours today and noticed a couple of things. First, when restarting the truck, my head unit defaults back to FM. Why is this? :scratch: My Shaker 1000 in the Stang doesn't do this. Also, at higher volumes I can hear a high pitched tinny sound during quiet portions of a song or during channel changes. Sounds like there's a little guy in my speaker playing a tambourine. It not like any noise I've heard before coming from a car stereo and I've heard alot of different noises. I haven't been in the Stang long enough to detect if there is the same noise.
9/10/05, 06:32 PM
#86
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This is crazy. I havent tried to install mine yet, but I dont want to thave these issues. I also want my dimmer to work. I think if we all stick together on this one, we could easily send them back for a refund.
There's power in numbers members...!!
I read their web page. What suprises me, is that they seem to have sold an item without testing it properly. Thats fraud in my book.
Is this happening to everyone thus far?
There's power in numbers members...!!
I read their web page. What suprises me, is that they seem to have sold an item without testing it properly. Thats fraud in my book.
Is this happening to everyone thus far?
9/10/05, 11:18 PM
#88
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Originally posted by stever@September 10, 2005, 1:54 PM
Just found this post on the PIE website. It would explain a lot.
"EVERYONE....... that cigarette lighter jack IS NOT constant power. It can turn off with ford's battery saver feature. If you choose to power from the cig jack, it's going to work fine for a little while, then it will need to be reconnected. Wire to battery or memory wire of radio instead."
I'm going to go try this. I will post results, probably tomorrow after I confirm that it will work longer than 12 hours.
Just found this post on the PIE website. It would explain a lot.
"EVERYONE....... that cigarette lighter jack IS NOT constant power. It can turn off with ford's battery saver feature. If you choose to power from the cig jack, it's going to work fine for a little while, then it will need to be reconnected. Wire to battery or memory wire of radio instead."
I'm going to go try this. I will post results, probably tomorrow after I confirm that it will work longer than 12 hours.
Mine is constant power so everyones should be as well. Ive left stuff plugged in overnight before to come out to find it still on after 10 or 12 hours. if the car has a battery saver feature and it doesnt turn on after 12 hours id say its a pretty crappy feature.
9/12/05, 06:12 AM
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After my drive into work this morning, the decision is final. Mine is coming out and going back. Leaving the 16-pin harness disconnected is not acceptable to me, so I've left it connected both time that I've installed this thing (once powered by the cig power, the next tapped into the radio constant power). Both times the unit has worked for about 12 hours, and then after that, it's about 50/50.
This morning, for example, got in the car to drive to work, no headphone icon. About 3 miles into the trip, the head unit all of a suddon recognized the PIE interface. Trying to be open minded, I decided to give it a shot. Prior to this morning, I've only been testing it in my garage; never really listened to it very carefully.
So I plugged in the old iPod. I spent quite a bit of time setting the gain when I originally installed this unit so that when my iPod was at about 75% volume, the volume level in the car was the same as what I would listen to the CD player or radio. I had visions of having to have the head unit volume really cranked when I was using the AUX, and then switching to FM and blowing out my eardrums (or speakers). Anyway, listening to the iPod this morning at normal volume (I have a convertible, so about 40% head unit volume) sound quality is marginal at best. It is very tinny with a lot of treble, and very little bass reproduction. In fact when you can find a clean station, I think a FM modulator actually sounds better.
So that settled it. I bought this thing for two reasons. One, to have a reliable line-in input to my head unit, and two, to get better sound quality than current solutions. It strikes out on both of them.
This is a real disappointment. I enjoy using my iPod because of all of the dynamic playlist/playcount abilities. But over the past 6 months while waiting for a AUX solution, I have become pretty happy with the head units built in MP3 abilities. 6 Discs with 255 songs each gives me quite a library in the car, and the sound quality is 100 times better than this device. Granted it takes some planning to decide what songs to put on the CD's, and I don't have the spontaneous access to my 7500+ song library that my iPod gives me, it also doesn't leave me driving around with road rage.
On a final note, has anyone tried sending one of these back yet? I assume most of us bought them from Logjam; just wondering what their response has been.
This morning, for example, got in the car to drive to work, no headphone icon. About 3 miles into the trip, the head unit all of a suddon recognized the PIE interface. Trying to be open minded, I decided to give it a shot. Prior to this morning, I've only been testing it in my garage; never really listened to it very carefully.
So I plugged in the old iPod. I spent quite a bit of time setting the gain when I originally installed this unit so that when my iPod was at about 75% volume, the volume level in the car was the same as what I would listen to the CD player or radio. I had visions of having to have the head unit volume really cranked when I was using the AUX, and then switching to FM and blowing out my eardrums (or speakers). Anyway, listening to the iPod this morning at normal volume (I have a convertible, so about 40% head unit volume) sound quality is marginal at best. It is very tinny with a lot of treble, and very little bass reproduction. In fact when you can find a clean station, I think a FM modulator actually sounds better.
So that settled it. I bought this thing for two reasons. One, to have a reliable line-in input to my head unit, and two, to get better sound quality than current solutions. It strikes out on both of them.
This is a real disappointment. I enjoy using my iPod because of all of the dynamic playlist/playcount abilities. But over the past 6 months while waiting for a AUX solution, I have become pretty happy with the head units built in MP3 abilities. 6 Discs with 255 songs each gives me quite a library in the car, and the sound quality is 100 times better than this device. Granted it takes some planning to decide what songs to put on the CD's, and I don't have the spontaneous access to my 7500+ song library that my iPod gives me, it also doesn't leave me driving around with road rage.
On a final note, has anyone tried sending one of these back yet? I assume most of us bought them from Logjam; just wondering what their response has been.
9/12/05, 11:25 AM
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Originally posted by stever@September 12, 2005, 7:15 AM
On a final note, has anyone tried sending one of these back yet? I assume most of us bought them from Logjam; just wondering what their response has been.
On a final note, has anyone tried sending one of these back yet? I assume most of us bought them from Logjam; just wondering what their response has been.
9/12/05, 11:31 AM
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I'm a little annoyed I haven't seen Victor on all weekend or today to at least tell everyone on here that a solution is underway. If I don't hear back by the end of today, I'm sending it back. I don't want to get stuck with not being able to return this thing to logjam, if 30 days pass since i bought it.
I'm trying not to blame PIE however I did see picsof the prototype install. I noticed that they tested it in Ford Stereos that were DISCONNECTED from the car and hooked up to a car battery. That shoulda been the first warning sign that something might go wrong when they actually connect it to a car. Secondly, to the guy woh they installed it for...(Creaseman) I don't understand how his worked since he went days with it working ok. And I never heard from him since.
I'm trying not to blame PIE however I did see picsof the prototype install. I noticed that they tested it in Ford Stereos that were DISCONNECTED from the car and hooked up to a car battery. That shoulda been the first warning sign that something might go wrong when they actually connect it to a car. Secondly, to the guy woh they installed it for...(Creaseman) I don't understand how his worked since he went days with it working ok. And I never heard from him since.
9/12/05, 03:44 PM
#92
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Originally posted by stever@September 12, 2005, 6:15 AM
After my drive into work this morning, the decision is final. Mine is coming out and going back. Leaving the 16-pin harness disconnected is not acceptable to me, so I've left it connected both time that I've installed this thing (once powered by the cig power, the next tapped into the radio constant power). Both times the unit has worked for about 12 hours, and then after that, it's about 50/50.
This morning, for example, got in the car to drive to work, no headphone icon. About 3 miles into the trip, the head unit all of a suddon recognized the PIE interface. Trying to be open minded, I decided to give it a shot. Prior to this morning, I've only been testing it in my garage; never really listened to it very carefully.
So I plugged in the old iPod. I spent quite a bit of time setting the gain when I originally installed this unit so that when my iPod was at about 75% volume, the volume level in the car was the same as what I would listen to the CD player or radio. I had visions of having to have the head unit volume really cranked when I was using the AUX, and then switching to FM and blowing out my eardrums (or speakers). Anyway, listening to the iPod this morning at normal volume (I have a convertible, so about 40% head unit volume) sound quality is marginal at best. It is very tinny with a lot of treble, and very little bass reproduction. In fact when you can find a clean station, I think a FM modulator actually sounds better.
So that settled it. I bought this thing for two reasons. One, to have a reliable line-in input to my head unit, and two, to get better sound quality than current solutions. It strikes out on both of them.
This is a real disappointment. I enjoy using my iPod because of all of the dynamic playlist/playcount abilities. But over the past 6 months while waiting for a AUX solution, I have become pretty happy with the head units built in MP3 abilities. 6 Discs with 255 songs each gives me quite a library in the car, and the sound quality is 100 times better than this device. Granted it takes some planning to decide what songs to put on the CD's, and I don't have the spontaneous access to my 7500+ song library that my iPod gives me, it also doesn't leave me driving around with road rage.
On a final note, has anyone tried sending one of these back yet? I assume most of us bought them from Logjam; just wondering what their response has been.
After my drive into work this morning, the decision is final. Mine is coming out and going back. Leaving the 16-pin harness disconnected is not acceptable to me, so I've left it connected both time that I've installed this thing (once powered by the cig power, the next tapped into the radio constant power). Both times the unit has worked for about 12 hours, and then after that, it's about 50/50.
This morning, for example, got in the car to drive to work, no headphone icon. About 3 miles into the trip, the head unit all of a suddon recognized the PIE interface. Trying to be open minded, I decided to give it a shot. Prior to this morning, I've only been testing it in my garage; never really listened to it very carefully.
So I plugged in the old iPod. I spent quite a bit of time setting the gain when I originally installed this unit so that when my iPod was at about 75% volume, the volume level in the car was the same as what I would listen to the CD player or radio. I had visions of having to have the head unit volume really cranked when I was using the AUX, and then switching to FM and blowing out my eardrums (or speakers). Anyway, listening to the iPod this morning at normal volume (I have a convertible, so about 40% head unit volume) sound quality is marginal at best. It is very tinny with a lot of treble, and very little bass reproduction. In fact when you can find a clean station, I think a FM modulator actually sounds better.
So that settled it. I bought this thing for two reasons. One, to have a reliable line-in input to my head unit, and two, to get better sound quality than current solutions. It strikes out on both of them.
This is a real disappointment. I enjoy using my iPod because of all of the dynamic playlist/playcount abilities. But over the past 6 months while waiting for a AUX solution, I have become pretty happy with the head units built in MP3 abilities. 6 Discs with 255 songs each gives me quite a library in the car, and the sound quality is 100 times better than this device. Granted it takes some planning to decide what songs to put on the CD's, and I don't have the spontaneous access to my 7500+ song library that my iPod gives me, it also doesn't leave me driving around with road rage.
On a final note, has anyone tried sending one of these back yet? I assume most of us bought them from Logjam; just wondering what their response has been.
I can't speak to the issues you're having with yours... I guess I'm one of the lucky ones - I haven't had any issues.
As for sound quality though, you may want to check your iPod settings to make sure that the build-in iPod EQ is turned off. If you are using the top plug of the iPod to connect it to the PIE adapter (as I am), if you have the iPod's EQ set to anything other than "off" it will result in distortion. Basically, it results in double EQ (the iPod and the head unit), and sound quality suffers tremendously. I'm getting the same sound quality I get with burned MP3 CDs in the Shaker.
Just something to take a look at, at least from a sound quality standpoint.
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