# iPod Adapter Problems



## rickhuizinga (Aug 5, 2003)

I recently installed the iPod adapter and it worked great during the first week, but I'm now noticing that the iPod adapter just stops being recognized by the head unit in the middle of a song. The head unit just switches to the radio and I have to power off the radio, reconnect the iPod and power on the radio to get it back.

It happened to me three times today, twice yesterday. The first time was once last Friday. It didn't happen at all during the first week.

Is anyone else having the same experience, and if so, were you able to find a fix for this issue?

Thanks,

Rick

P.S. I'm using an iPod mini


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## gotaZ3 (Aug 5, 2004)

How much is it to Ipod your BMW ?> im thinking about doing to me Z3


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## nickeltong (Mar 16, 2004)

rickhuizinga said:


> I recently installed the iPod adapter and it worked great during the first week, but I'm now noticing that the iPod adapter just stops being recognized by the head unit in the middle of a song. The head unit just switches to the radio and I have to power off the radio, reconnect the iPod and power on the radio to get it back.
> 
> It happened to me three times today, twice yesterday. The first time was once last Friday. It didn't happen at all during the first week.
> 
> ...


connection problem somewhere. Check your cables, something must have come loose. You might also want to check if you can duplicate the problem with another iPod. Your iPod connector could be the culprit too. If all else fails, bring it back to the dealer for repairs.


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## Tanning machine (Feb 21, 2002)

nickeltong said:


> connection problem somewhere. Check your cables, something must have come loose. You might also want to check if you can duplicate the problem with another iPod. Your iPod connector could be the culprit too. If all else fails, bring it back to the dealer for repairs.


Yeah. I'd guess it's loose on the back of the head unit. Maybe they didn't clip it back in right. If it comes loose there, the HU would stop recognizing that the input is there, so would flip to another input (the radio). If the connection is loose at the ipod end, I would think it would just drop the sound (although I'm going on the setup of the aux-in, so it could be differnet)


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## phrider (May 6, 2002)

gotaZ3 said:


> How much is it to Ipod your BMW ?> im thinking about doing to me Z3


I don't think this works on the Z3 radios.

So you have the choice of: 
1. an FM transmitter (cheap but inconvenient and poor quality), 
2. a cassette adapter (cheap, but only if you have a cassette radio), 
3. Blitzsafe or Soundgate audio adapter ($100? with good audio, but not control on radio), or 
4. a Dension Ice-Link ($200 with controls and good audio).
.


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## rickhuizinga (Aug 5, 2003)

I think I may have found the problem, time will tell...

I decided to read through the iPod adapter manual last night and came across a note regarding the BMW1...BMW5 playlists. It said that the synchronization (connection) timing may vary according to the number of playlists on the iPod.

Thinking about it for a minute, the problems started happening the day I added the BMW1...BMW5 playlists, prior to that I didn't have any BMW playlists and shuffle played all songs.

Before leaving for work this morning I deleted all of the BMW playlists from the iPod and have not seen the disconnect problem yet. Its only been one day so far, but it looks promising.

Rick


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## rickhuizinga (Aug 5, 2003)

That was it. I no longer have the random disconnects.

The BMW... playlists on the iPod must have caused some type of intermittent sychronization problem.

I'm not sure if it makes a difference, but I had some empty and some non-empty BMW... playlists on the iPod.


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## asnpcwiz (Jun 28, 2004)

gotaZ3 said:


> How much is it to Ipod your BMW ?> im thinking about doing to me Z3


Won't work on your Z3 because it only works on 2002's and newer. And I believe that Z3's are not on the list of approved vehicles.


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## jch (Jul 29, 2004)

Yikes!! I got the iPod adapter installed yeserday. It has now switched from the iPod to the radio twice now. Clearly there is a problem or malfunction of some sort. I have thousands of songs on my iPod so I am not doing away with the playlists. If anybody has any suggestions on how to fix it, please let me know. Thanks!!!


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## rickhuizinga (Aug 5, 2003)

I usually shuffle play all the songs on my iPod anyway, so no playlists isn't a loss to me.

Does getting rid of the BMW... playlists fix the problem for you as well?


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## jch (Jul 29, 2004)

Thanks for the response Rick. I will delete the playlists and try it out. As I am currently away from home, it will take a couple of days to finish the experiment. 

In my brief experiment with the iPod adapter, it seems that it switches to the radio by itself about every 45 minutes in the car. It did it once while I was completely stopped so I am confident that it isn't just a loose wire moving around.


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## jch (Jul 29, 2004)

My gut tells me this is a software problem of some sort. I have a 3rd generation iPod with version 2.2 software installed. Let me know if you are having the same problems with the same situation. Thanks!


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## rickhuizinga (Aug 5, 2003)

jch said:


> My gut tells me this is a software problem of some sort. I have a 3rd generation iPod with version 2.2 software installed. Let me know if you are having the same problems with the same situation. Thanks!


I agree, there is no way this is a mechanical/poor electrical contact issue. It can happen anytime, and never has happened even when driving over the worst bumps.

I'm using an iPod mini, and the problem has not happened once after I got rid of all the playlists.


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