I'm really loving my incredibly low-mileage XK8 with the premium audio system, just in time for top-down weather, and don't even mind so much the wires running all over the cockpit in order to run my iPod into the tape player . . . BUT I really would like to hook it up more elegantly.

Several days of combing through threads has revealed that the thinking person's way to do this, while retaining as much automation as possible and without cutting into cables, is to install the PIE Alp/Ai-Aux Switcher, which, as luck would have it, is apparently no longer available ANYWHERE, not even eBay.

Mine is the Alpine, with CD changer and amplifier, NO NAV, and I do not wish to give up the CD changer. Ialso do not wish to give up sound quality by using a bluetooth device's audio.

Can anyone recommend an alternative?

 

I look into this same issue a few years ago. I solved it by ordering an alpine extension cable
US Seller Extension Male Female DIN Cable Alpine AI Net Sony Unilink JVC J Bus | eBay, installing it between either before my Nav unit or CD unit in the trunk. Just unplugged the Ai-Net cable and adding the extension cable. Making sure it still worked, I cut the cable and spliced the wires back together and rechecked that it stilled worked, found the audio wires and spliced some RCA plugs to them and you have an audio input. Then set your head unit to CD and the audio should play over the radio. You can also play CDs over the cd player and it should also work. This is the basic idea. I am still using and found I had some
ground loop issues that I needed to take care of. The nice part is that when you remove the added cable, it is all back to stock. I may be forgetting some of the details (CRS) but it did and does work. If you have more questions, I can check my car to see what I did.

 

Here you go....


https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...native-117777/


Have a look on post#9. There is a link to another thread where the guys go into the absolute details and pros and cons. You will find this thread very useful for your application.

 

I started exploring down this path last year when I was interested in a Parrot MKi9200 that presumably would give me hands-free phone use as well as music streaming via my smartphone.

I went to a very highly recommended local auto stereo shop and the glitch was that the audio would not be utilizing the Jaguar's premium music system but, instead, it would be going through the Parrot (I am not an electronics savvy person so do not understand all of the specifics of why this was the case). The guy at the shop researched to see if he could get some connector kit to used the car's system and he could not. This is about the time I connected with WhiteXKR at the forum here who was a wealth of information about how to get this accomplished.

In the end I dropped the project since there were a bunch of bits and pieces I would need to buy and a bunch of connecting and splicing of wires, etc.

Has anyone else successfully gone through this as it has always been on my list of things to eventually do?

Doug

 

If you want to retain the cd changer functionality - recommend contacting Discount Car Stereos to see if they will be getting in the JAG-CDR adapter. I purchased this last year for about $90 and in connects between the cd changer and the ai interface. When an ipod is connected and the cd function selected on the head unit, the ipod plays through the system.

I also bought an ipod dock to aux jack adapter that connects to this so I can connect my Sirius receiver rather than using a tape adapter or fm modulator

If you don't want to cd changer to work - they also offer the iP-JAGCD or the Aux-JAGCD which connect the same way but the cd changer becomes dead weight.

iP-JAGCD iPod Adapter for Select Jaguar with CD Auto Changer :: iPod Adapters & Interfaces

ps - these units only work with the Alpine systems

 

Thanks, Folks,

It looks like the short answer is, "No," but there are at least a couple of minimally destructive alternatives that appear to work while preserving the functionality that really matters. Still, wouldn't it be nice if we didn't need to give up anything to get something else? Oh, well . . .

Thanks again.

mws out

 

Mike-
I have one brand new ALP AI-AUX. It will need a mod to work in your car without the nav. and override the CD. Contact me me if interested with your email address for the details.
Since you are a new member you may not have Private Mail enabled yet. You can contact me on my website below:

Steve