Hello iPod users?

[Griffin]

Hi. In searching for a way to play an iPod through the stock radio of my 2003 Forester 2.5X, I found this site. Outstanding source of info for all things Subaru!

But, unless I missed it, no answer for me.

I've tried FM modulators but Dallas is such a FM flooded town ... no unused channels.

I notice there's a Aux/CD changer button on my stock radio. I do not have the changer. I asked the dealer and Crutchfield if a simple cable existed that would plug directly from an Aux port on the back of the radio to the iPod. Both suggested the FM mod.

Can someone save me the effort of pulling the factory radio to check for a round 13pin mini-din input? I found instructions on scoobymods.com from a subaru owner that fashioned his own cable that I would be willing to try.

Looking forward to talking with you all.

[Gnuman]

Not sure if this is of any use to you, but on my '92 Legacy, there is an aux port on the front of the radio (Looks like a headphone jack), that you can get a cable (just about anywhere, 1/8" mini phono, stereo, male to male) cord that you can then plug into your iPod. The iPod would then play through the in-car sound system.

[NOMAD327]

I haven't seen a newer subaru radio with an aux in jack. The device you need is called an IPOD interface and they are made for just about any vehicle other than Subaru it seems. I have bought them in the past for about 75 dollars for other vehicles with the requirement being the in dash unit had to have a CD changer jack for it to be feasible. PIE was one of the original vendors for this sort of thing and they do not list one. The newer dedicated interfaces that control the IPOD through the radio itself see to be up near $150 when available, again, nothing I see for Subaru. You could do a Google search for CD changer interface or IPOD or Aux input interface, possibly talk to Subaru parts counter to see if something may have just come out from them. If you have a cassette player unit, the cassette adapters work very well and are cheap. On my Mustang, I installed a Kenwood head unit. Kenwood makes a $15 aux input adapter which will fit almost all of their CD controller head units. If you buy new from Crutchfield, you will get the installation adapters free and only spend a bit more than $100 for a better head unit and the adapter, or pick up a used kenwood head unit on ebay for much less and just buy the adapter.

[steeliekid]

Try the forums at www.ipodlounge.com (under gear) for car installation ideas. Haven't hard wired ipod in outback yet (wifes car), but did in my 4runner. Sounds much better than fm modulator.

[bjwirth]

Can't you use one of those "fake cassette" tape adapters. I use one of those for long trips and it works fine for me. My forester also has a stock radio so using this adapter is not the "limiting" factor for sound qualtity, and I have to imagine it will sound noticably better than a FM modulator.

[Griffin]

Can't you use one of those "fake cassette" tape adapters....

Thanks for the quick responses. Forgot to mention, CD only, no cassette in my Forester or I would go with the cassette adapter. So it's FM modulator or after-market unit with an aux port.

 

But the wife likes the weather channel feature of the stock unit and thieves tend to stay away from the stock units so I'll go with a wired FM modulator for now. Crutchfield says it should overpower the signal better than my current wireless iTrip solution. Stay tuned.

 

I love this vehicle! I've had it just over a year and have driven it 47,000 miles with no problems. A blast to drive around the curvy west Texas mountains and the Big Bend. It's just like the sales guy said ... "Sporty & luxurious".

[Griffin]

I haven't seen a newer subaru radio with an aux in jack.

Yea. Subaru dealer said there's no aux jack option for the Subaru. So did Crutchfield. But "irmiger" @ Scoobymods.com detailed a Aux input solution for his 2004 Subaru Forester XT. It's a home made adapter that he says is easy to build. But then again, he's a mechanic.

If the wired FM modulator doesn't work, I'll probably attempt it. I drive from Dallas to West Texas about once a month. Gotta bring tunes for that 8 hour drag of a drive. Not a lot of choices in Amarillo, Odessa, or Pecos.

[NWScooby]

I use the Monster brand FM modulator with my iPOD in my '98OBW and it works fine. One thing that helps a lot is to retract the antenna on the car if you have the capability. Makes the outside signals weaker making it easier for the device to work.

[blackbart]

When I first saw the ipods the first thing I thought of was that there would be a flood of gadgets to hook them up to a car system, I'm still waiting. As for that aux jack, I think my 92 Loyale had one. I still think that the new car systems will have memery built into them with a USB port on the front. Either download into your system or play directly from the iPod.

[felipe01forester]

Dude, I'm in Big D myself and I use an iTrip. The default station is 87.9 MHz and it works just fine. The only problem I have is that it just sucks the juice out of the iPod battery. Using an FM transmitter on your iPod is no problem here, man. BTW, I'm also a Forester driver. Since we're in the same city, lemme see what you got.

[Griffin]

...I use an iTrip. The default station is 87.9 MHz and it works just fine.

Ah, my iTrip starts at 88.1, a Denton station with enough power to cause static. I got my iTrip the day it came out. They must have added 87.9 later on. 88.3 and 99.9 work best for me. But both have random bursts of static in the 14 miles to and from work.

Since I can't lower my antenna (built into the glass) I'm going to try the hard-wired JVC FM modulator (model KS-IF200, $50 from Crutchfield) which is "supposed" to improve reception over the iTrip.

I'm attempting the install this weekend. I'll post install pics and details if it works out.

[felipe01forester]

Just manually tune through your radio and find some dead static somewhere in the band. 88.3 and 99.9 are kinda iffy in my book because 88.3 is in between KNTU 88.1 and KEOM 88.5, and 99.9 is fairly close to KJKK 100.3. I'd suggest something up in the high FM band, for example anywhere from 106.5 MHz to 107.9 MHz. There usually aren't too many things up there, except for what's on those frequencies. 106.5 plays dance music, and 107.9 is a Spanish station. Or, PM me and I could send you the code that will set your iTrip to 87.9 MHz and you shouldn't have a problem.

[kevinsUBARU]

this is exactly what you are looking for....no FM transmitter and YOU can make it after a quick trip to Radio Shack Eventhough it is written for an XT it should also work for you....read and then decide if it's worth it.

 

iPod Solution

 

That being said, I use a McAlly FM Transmitter for my iPod (aftermarket CD player/radio)

[NWScooby]

The Monster FM modulator I use also charges the iPod. Part of the reason I didn't get the iTune. I have an aftermarket head unit in my OBW, and the adapter plug I would need to get is around $65. Unfortunately, the car is ready for a timeing belt, so the iPod will have to wait on being hard wired.

[blackbart]

I got a pic of a Legacy radio with the aux jack, anybody wanna see it?

Email me at topshelf@epix.net

[lach01]

Just new to this but may be of some help

 

Both 91 and 2001 Legacy's have a connection for what I believe to be an external cd stacker. Both were Clarion systems. Not sure how similar the stereo's in the US are we get a seperate booklet on the stereo's used here.

 

Anyway, made a visit to the clarion distributor and they were happy to give me the diagram for the plug. Found a live connection to the correct terminal and the stereo switched straight to auxillary mode. Simple job then of connecting a normal audio plug. However diagram dissapeared when I moved but about 30min with a multimeter and a bit of trial and error worked with 2001 model.

 

If it'll help anyone I can pull the radio out again and attempt to draw a diagram

[cotten]

Please do! Id like to get something attractively wired so i can keep the factory stuff intact!

 

 

Just new to this but may be of some help

 

Both 91 and 2001 Legacy's have a connection for what I believe to be an external cd stacker. Both were Clarion systems. Not sure how similar the stereo's in the US are we get a seperate booklet on the stereo's used here.

 

Anyway, made a visit to the clarion distributor and they were happy to give me the diagram for the plug. Found a live connection to the correct terminal and the stereo switched straight to auxillary mode. Simple job then of connecting a normal audio plug. However diagram dissapeared when I moved but about 30min with a multimeter and a bit of trial and error worked with 2001 model.

 

If it'll help anyone I can pull the radio out again and attempt to draw a diagram

[Griffin]

Sorry it took so long to get back ... but it's done.

 

I finally found the time to rip my dash apart and check it out. There was no 13 pin connection in the back of the stock stereo. So I wired my 2003 Forester with a JVC powered modulator. Crutchfield support assisted me in tapping into the stock stereo's wiring. (Yellow with green stripe is hot, black with red stripe is ground).

 

Sounds great, even north of Dallas toward Denton, and I'm using 88.3. The static (that faded in and out on the Griffin iTrip) is GONE. Bonus, I can use the volume control on the iPod. Couldn't do that with the iTrip.

 

To keep it clean, I purchased a 3.5mm female-to-female jack adapter ($5 at Radio Shack) and JB welded it into one of the blank switch plates next to the emergency brake. The modulator's cable plugs in the bottom and snakes under the center console to the glove box where the FM modulator is accessable but out of the way.

 

Now I just use a Zip Linq 3.5 mm male-to-male retractable cable ($15 at Micro Center) to connect to the hole in the console and the iPod. The iPod sits in the cup holder, in a Belkin TuneDoc.

 

While I had everything torn apart, I spliced a cigarette lighter adapter in under the dash. I'm in the process of JB Welding a female-to-female firewire adapter into the other blank switch plate. (OK, maybe this is a bit excessive).

 

Tiny rubber grommets surround all holes for a smooth, finished look. When the power outlet is finished, I'll post some pictures if anyone's interested.

 

Please do! Id like to get something attractively wired so i can keep the factory stuff intact!

[Takami826]

Here's what I did for my 97 Legacy. I know you solved yours, but I found this while searching for an unrelated stereo problem so I thought I'd toss in some pennies here for anyone in the future.

 

I got a DLO FM Transmitter. I have a CD-only in dash stereo that I had installed to replace the cruddy cassette deck that was factory installed. It plugs in where the lighter goes. It works like a dream. It's digital runs off the car and charges the iPod and transmits to my stereo like a dream.

 

I live in a horribly radio-saturated area of Cleveland near a gazillion college stations, so the iTrip *when it worked* really didn't work too well and sucked down the battery on the iPod, which is pretty subpar already (rant for another forum). I tried the Belkin FM transmitter, too. bleh. Battery hog, I'd burn thru a couple AAA batteries every day.

 

The DLO I got from best buy and it was $99 but I see it goes on sale every so often. I believe it's good for all standard iPods and the minis, but you could always check.