Sorry for the vanity thread, but I would appreciate some input on this.

After buying a new Alpine head unit in March which was not entirely of my liking, Alpine decided to come out with a new, more conservative looking deck, which I bought;



Love the unit, has all the functions of the "March" unit, only problem is it has the AUX and USB connections on the back :



Which means I need to run the extension cords provided to an ashtray, meaning that when you open the ashtray you would find an aux and USB cable to plug into --or-- I found this Marine Audio extension :








This extension has a combined socket at the end as you all can see, meaning I would have to find an appropriate place to cut the interior and install it. Drilling on the ski slope would not be an option.

What would be more appropriate for the car? To find connector cables inside an ashtray, or a proper aux/usb port like modern cars, using the socket, and if so where?

Thanks!

 

Why not use one of the 2 cig lighter plugs?

 

Or maybe install it out of sight. The knee panel under the steering wheel is hinged and drops down. You could put it in there so no one sees it. You'd just have a thin cable running to your centre console or wherever you place your mp3 player to rest when using it.

 

Hi Jamey,

On my car I only have one, and the socket is much bigger in diameter to fit there. Do you have 2 lighters in yours?

 

I would like it to be accessible to a passenger to plug in or charge up if they need to, but that may be the only place I can use. Someone suggested running it to the center console cubby, only reason I don't like that is because it is one of the very few storage spaces, and it would have to be emptied out to dedicate it to that. I do wish Jaguar had made all that dead space under the passenger airbag work into glovebox.

 

Would drilling into the plastic armrest box an option?

 

Yes, I think you're going to have to think outside of the box for this one.

Would yo consider drilling holes on the side of the AC/Radio stack. Placing it where the older XJSs had the controls for seat position?

Inside the cubby is the easiest place to put that big honking thing, but I agree that storage space is such a premium.

Any consideration to the rear of the center arm rest. By the rear vent perhaps?

Ultimately, I'd ditch it and stick with your plan to hide the jacks in the (rather useless) cigar ashtrays.

You can fish them right in without any holes to cut, or permanent modifications to make.

 

I think that's a great idea. Right where the seat controls where in the earlier cars. It will be flush against the console, so it will look like any modern car plug --in socket. If I could have found a rectangular socket to fit inside the ashtray, so that when you flipped it open just two input connections would have been there I would have gone for it. I just don't like the thought of floppy cables inside the ashtray.

Thanks Vee, that's the way to go. Where the passenger seat controls would have been on a earlier car.