MP3 Connection

I

ijedgar

A2OC Donor
I have been toying with the idea of having an MP3 link fitted to my A2 for a while now & in the past I have made inquiries through the main dealer & firms that specialise in the supply & fit of aftermarket devices looking for advice as to which one would suit my needs best.
Sad to say that they were all prepared to have a go & fit one & charge quite a lot to do so but none could tell me if my MP3 (non iPod) player would definitely work or if I would have control from the steering wheel or Concert head unit controls.
After reading the Xcarlink details on their website I decided to take the plunge & risk buying & fitting it myself with a view that if it did not work out I could always EBay it & get some of my money back as long as I went carefully.Purchase was easy & straightforward on the net & the unit arrived next day.
It looks well made & being black does not stand out like a sore thumb.
It is now in-situ & I thought that posting my experience may help other owners who may wish to take this step at their own risk.
Oddly my A2 se does not have air con so these steps are for a unit with heating & ventilation system with knobs but I daresay there would not be too much difference.
Open the ash tray beneath the cubby hole slot,put both hands in the cubby hole slot one on top of the other & push down with the bottom hand and up with the top hand & pull towards you at the same time,it is stiff but it is only held in by two clips & will pull out.
Insert the 2 radio removal keys supplied with the Xcarlink unit into the slots in the radio fascia with the notches in the keys both facing inwards until they click then pull gently & the radio unit will slide towards you.
Protect the front control panel below with a towel before you pull the radio unit fully out or the sharp metal edges will cause damage,I managed to put a scratch on mine even with the towel in place.
Make an access hole in the back left corner of the cubby hole unit large enough to thread the lead & connectors through,I used my plumbers hole saw for a neat finish with smooth edges but you could always stitch drill a circular hole with an ordinary bit & smooth the rough edges with sand paper or fabricate a grommet.
Feed the cables from the Xcarlink unit through & out of the back of the cubby hole box & with the radio unit fully out put your hand through & guide the cables into the rear of the radio compartment.
Disconnect the CD autochanger plug & cable from the rear of the radio & insert the plug from the lead of the Xcarlink unit as per their instruction booklet.
There are two earth leads & they advise fitting both of them to the metal radio body,my torx bit would not loosen the fixings to the side of the radio,the only ones I could loosen were the torx screws holding the radio retaining clips in place so I fitted the torx screw through the larger of the earth leads & as I tightened the torx screw I pushed the smaller earth underneath the larger one & clamped it in place by fully tightening the torx screw.If anyone has a better solution to this please post it as I am not totally satisfied with this.
Re-fit the radio unit loosely gently guiding the cables from the rear with your hand through the back of the cubby hole slot,remove the keys by pushing on the sides of the retaining clips on the radio.
Feed as much of the excess cable from the Xcarlink unit through the back of the slot as you re-fit the cubby hole box loosely.
Turn on & test that all is working correctly before pushing both fully back into position.
I have only been able to test mine through the USB with with some old Creative Zen Nanos that I had lying about,they accept control from the head unit for volume,skip,random play etc but do not put up the track information as I don`t think they are capable of it.
My Dad has my MP3 as he is stuck in Hospital and at 91 & nearly blind I thought some Ray Charles,Billie Holliday,Nat King Cole & Platters may help him pass the day so may have to wait a while to test it.
I will update this when I manage to get it back from him,the info from Xcarlink does state that the unit is compatible with all MP3s.They also do an iPod version & a bluetooth version.
Hope this helps & all feedback gratefully received.
 
Thanks for this info. I have just bought the same kit, with the bluetooth dongle thing. Now just to fit it! Your instructions are exactly what I planned to do. In fact, I did a test scouting of the dash yesterday - removing the cubby and radio.
Today I got my drill out to drill the cubby... and not for love nor money can I get the cubby back out! It came out easily yesterday, I'm hoping I haven't ruined something when I put it back in.

I think I will need to buy some kind of Torx drivers for a tool kit. I haven't figured out what to do about the earths yet.
 
If it did not go back in straight but at a slight angle one of the spring clips on the side may have been bent forward.
This happened on mine first time I replaced the cubby making the second time removal very difficult,sorry I forgot to put that in the first post.
I just kept on putting more & more pressure on until it finally came out,I was sitting on the gearbox tunnel to get some extra leverage & nearly had a nasty accident with the gearstickwhen it finally decided to release.
The side spring clip ended up facing forward & had to be gently pushed back into position.
 
That sounds like the problem! I think I am going to have to improvise some tool to remove it: I have tried numerous times and only succeeded in bruising my hands, where I've put them in, tried to push them into fists to get some traction, and then pulled back. Amazing how jammed it is... I'm a pretty fit guy in my 20s who spent the last weekend shovelling hardcore and rubble for a new front drive. Even with taking on the risk of a gear stick enema and carpet burns on my hands from the felt inside the cubby, all my strength just will not shift the thing. Next step is to try to remove the radio and climate control and push the cubby out from the back.
 
Success! Not only in that I now have the cubbyhole out, but for the first time, I am able to contribute something useful to this forum rather than just asking silly questions.

Okay, for anyone else having trouble removing their cubby hole note the following points:

1. It's pretty hard to break the cubby, so don't be afraid to apply force.
2. However, it's easy to scratch the dash, so be careful with sharp-edged tools. If you need to 'prize' the cubby out, use something plastic.
3. The cubby is held in place by two metal clips attached to the cubby unit on each side, in the middle vertically.
4. The cubby should come out easily, if you open the ashtray below, then insert your hands flat one on top of each other, compress them into fists, and then tug backwards.
5. The cubby sometimes gets stuck! As ijedgar correctly diagnosed above, this can occur when it's been incorrectly reinserted after previous tinkering, and the metal clips have become bent out of shape.
6. If you have bent your clips out of shape, the cubby can be a demon to remove.
7. If you cannot remove the cubby manually, then you can get a plastic tool (I used a decorators' filler tool) with a thin plastic edge, the head of which should ideally be shorter than the vertical height of the cubby. You may be able to use a flexible credit card - the thin edge of which is about the size you need.
8. You will not be able to insert this directly between the side edge of the cubby and the rest of the dashboard housing. So this is where the flexibility comes in!
9. Insert the flexible friend horizontally in the crack between the cubby and the top of the ashtray, at the side of the dash (either the right or the left). Then when you have it lodged in that crack, pursuade it to slide around the corner to a vertical position.
10. If you have no trouble sliding it around to the slide and pushing it in quite deep when it's vertical, then your problem is probably on the other side.
11. If you hit resistance in the middle of a side, you know the clip on that side is bent. Use the plastic tool to manipulate it (like picking a lock) while jiggling the cubby with your other hand.
12. Hopefully that side will pop out, exposing the bent clip. Now pulling the other side out should be a doddle.
13. Remember to straighten the pin before you reinsert the cubby, or you will kick yourself!
 
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