Bleg: iPod thinks car is a computer
So, despite not liking them, I do own one apple product: an iPod. I have it because Tactical Car was rigged to be iPod friendly. Now, I have a new ride and a special two-way cable to make the iPod work in it. It has a USB and line in that attaches to the iPod cable and it’s supposed to play the iPod. Except my iPod thinks it’s connected to a computer and tells me that its OK to disconnect and plays not music.
Any ideas?
June 26th, 2014 at 8:37 pm
You might need a dumb USB cable if the USB port is only being used for charging the iPod since the line-in is being used to carry audio: http://lifehacker.com/cables-can-significantly-impact-the-charging-speed-of-y-1532784722
June 26th, 2014 at 10:07 pm
It doesn’t play the music over the USB line? Thats what mine does.
June 26th, 2014 at 10:24 pm
Tried rebooting it? Turn it off and turn it back on?
June 26th, 2014 at 10:28 pm
Interesting fail there… I think there is a significant command mis-match between the car and the ipod.
June 27th, 2014 at 1:20 am
Get a Zune?
HAHAHAHAHA
June 27th, 2014 at 2:14 am
Concrete sidewalk, iPod, framing hammer? I don’t know. I play my iPod through the headphone jack into a cassette adapter and it sounds great. That is, when I actually use an iPod, which is almost never. I guess the new vehicles don’t have cassette decks, huh? So you’re screwed. Trade the vehicle in for one that has a proper cassette deck and good speakers. Anyway; what happened to the idea of having a line-in jack on the sound system front panel? I though that was what the cool kids had. Was that far, far too simple? I guess so. I’m liking the sidewalk and hammer idea more and more.
June 27th, 2014 at 2:21 am
Oh, and the car IS a computer, so you’re doubly screwed.
June 27th, 2014 at 2:21 am
Cassette deck? My 2003 truck had one along with the 6 disc changer. The day that went tits up was a GOOD day.
You realize that one iPod can hold so much music that to equal it you’d have nearly a backseat full of cassettes?
And they shuffle play…when Unc gets his to work anyway.
June 27th, 2014 at 6:51 am
>It has a USB and line in that attaches to the iPod cable and it’s supposed to play the iPod.
It sounds like the USB is just to power and charge the iPod. Unplug it and see if the line-in works OK.
If so, you need a USB cable with either disconnected data lines or (if it can put out that much and the Pod can take it) a cable with shorted data+ and data- lines.
(Shorted data lines are a signal to smart USB accessories that they’re plugged into a “dumb” charger that can source 2 amps.)
June 27th, 2014 at 7:04 am
The key question is whether the car sound system sees the iPod. It doesn’t matter what the iPod thinks its connected to; in most of those systems, the songs are accessed through the car interface, not the iPod interface.
June 27th, 2014 at 7:58 am
1. Carefully accelerate to highway speed. Don’t forget seatbelts!
2. Open passsenger side window.
3. Heave iPod frisbee-style out window.
4. Carefully raise passenger side window.
5. Deny everything.
June 27th, 2014 at 10:05 am
Did you try turning it off and back on again?
June 27th, 2014 at 10:25 am
I once looked down on the iProducts. My attitude was that only sheeple used them. My mistake was in actually getting an iPhone. My discovery was that they are so damn intuitive and user friendly it was a pleasure to use their product. Now our household boasts 2 iphones, 2 ipods, and 3 ipads. If you don’t want to be corrupted, don’t ever by one of their products, there is a good chance you won’t recover your iContempt.
One thing I have found when dealing with cables for the apple products; a lot of the knockoff cables do not function well. Many of them don’t carry data well. The apple cables are expensive, but they carry with them the guarantee that they will work. I hate the expense, but I can’t argue with the functionality.
June 27th, 2014 at 11:29 am
Ditto benEzra. Try to access it through the car interface. It’s be looking for an AUX or MODE button.
June 27th, 2014 at 11:31 am
Your iPod has got to be newer than mine.
Earbud port -> double male to line in -> music in truck.
June 27th, 2014 at 1:14 pm
“Just plug it in and it works” is the iJoke we tell around here.
June 27th, 2014 at 2:07 pm
Try starting the ipdo before you plug it in to the cable. I have an Alpine head unit in the truck, and while I can get it to work by plugging in before I turn it (my iphone) on, it is usually easier to turn music on first.
June 27th, 2014 at 2:59 pm
I just use a USB key with all of the songs on it and plug it directly into the USB port. No need to carry around an iPod and a cable to clutter up the car (won’t use apple products anyways) and it works fine.
June 27th, 2014 at 3:06 pm
As has been noted by others, chances are you’re supposed to use the car’s radio controls to access the iPod music via USB.
June 27th, 2014 at 3:10 pm
Should play with just the USB,no other cable should be required. Mine is listed under Media Devices in the car.
June 27th, 2014 at 3:45 pm
BenEzra is correct.
Me, I far prefer using Bluetooth for music, because I can control it from either side, best of both worlds.
(And it works without having to plug it in, which is nice for short trips where charging is not important.)
June 27th, 2014 at 6:10 pm
Could it just be a bad OEM cable?
The stereo in my 2012 Hyundai Elantra has a similar setup for an iPod: a special OEM-supplied cable with adapter that, at the car end, plugs into both a line-out to keep the iPod charged and an adjacent USB port. A couple of times my iPod hasn’t wanted to load when I first plug it in, but simply unplugging and reconnecting the iPod from the cable has always solved the problem.
On mine, I can also use the Apple-supplied iPod-to-USB cable (or a USB memory stick) to play music through the Hyundai head unit, but with the Apple cable the iPod won’t recharge.
June 27th, 2014 at 6:54 pm
Look for an Aux input source button on your dash. It should be able to use the iPod as a data source, and play the tunes stored on it.
You could also copy the music to a small USB stick, and just plug that in, if the car is new enough.
June 28th, 2014 at 10:54 am
Rather than limit yourself to screwing around with an Ipod in the vehicle, might you…oh, I don’t know, listen to the radio?
June 28th, 2014 at 11:08 am
@CaptDMO, unless you pay $$$ for SiriusXM or somesuch, you are stuck with listening to half-commercials, half-the-same-10-songs-played-over-and-over stations, interrupted at unpredictable intervals by the monologues of some yahoo who thinks he’s funny. And the sound quality of FM radio is inferior to good digital if you have a decent sound system.
Whereas with my iPhone, if I am in the mood for 80s techno, or classic rock, or Beethoven, or Lady Gaga, or Ayumi Hamasaki, or Emilie Simon, or whoever, I have it right there.
June 29th, 2014 at 5:46 pm
Idea: Transfer your stuff from the iPod to another tablet, then see of that Apple thing will fit in your skeet flinger and blast it.