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Connecting ipod nano 4th generation to car stereos...

I have a Goodmans GCE2814IP car stereo, compatible with the iPod nano 1st gen. that I currently have, and others that were released after that. Does anyone know if the new iPod nano 4th gen. will connect to this car stereo without having to buy any additional leads, or at all? I have contacted Apple and Goodmans direct but awaiting a reply. Can anyone else out there help out?

Advent, Windows XP, (laptop)

Posted on Sep 11, 2008 8:29 AM

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36 replies

Sep 11, 2008 9:53 AM in response to Pearcie27

My main concern with the new Nanos and car stereos is that the new Nanos no longer charge off Firewire chargers, which used a different set of pins on the dock connector than do the USB power input. I believe most car stereos that can charge the iPod would do it through the Firewire charging pins so that the iPod can charge directly off +12V rather than having to step it down to +5V for the USB power inputs.
Soooo, while I have no idea if the new Nanos will work (play) with your older car stereo, my first concern is that it may no longer be powered off the car stereo and you would have to run it off the iPod's battery (assuming they do still play).
Still waiting for new Nano users with car stereo iPod connectors to post on this.
Patrick

Sep 11, 2008 2:38 PM in response to Pearcie27

That might explain why my new Nano will not charge with my Vais Tech Ipod adapter. It plays perfectly (tracks/setlists/etc.). Even goes into sleep mode (or turns off - can't tell the difference) when you switch the radio from the Ipod to anything else.
But it won't charge. Ipod says something like "charging is not possible with this accessory".
Steve

Sep 13, 2008 8:54 AM in response to Pearcie27

Greetings,

I have a Kenwood KDC-X492 receiver ($169 from Crutchfield) with a front panel USB2.0 port and my 4th gen nano charges and communicates with the receiver. I suspect that you could purchase a USB power adapter for your cigarette lighter from Radio Shack (~$20) and coupled with the AUX port on your receiver should work fine.

Cheers

Sep 13, 2008 7:59 PM in response to swandy

The Griffin AutoPilot has 5 volt charging, and line out for the AUX port on the car stereo. They don't tell you it has 5 volt charging on the outside of the package you have to read the manual sealed inside the plastic bubble pack, or look for online reviews like I did before buying something.

I expect more stuff with 5 volt support should be coming soon but I wish Apple and other companies that make stuff that charges iPods didn't hide the info about 5v / 12v so well.

Sep 14, 2008 1:29 PM in response to Steven Parlow

Steven et al.

You need two cables-the iPod dock to USB and a 1/8" male/male audio jack ($5). The apple cable is connected with the USB end to the cigarette adapter and the other end to the nano. The 1/8" male/male audio jack is connected from the speaker output of the nano to the AUX port in the receiver. With this configuration, you will only be able to control playback from the iPod, not the receiver. If you don't have easy access to an AUX port, you can purchase a CD/iPod converter box from most car audio suppliers (Grom audio, Kenwood, etc...) for ~$60-$80 and control playback from the receiver.


Hope this helps.

Hope this helps.

Sep 23, 2008 1:10 PM in response to Pearcie27

I lost my old 3rd gen nano that I used with the ipod connector on my Sony CDX GT820IP.

The new 4th gen had the same issue, so I unfortunately am going to take it back for a refund and look for a 3rd gen on craigslist.

I'm assuming/hoping that apple will fix this with a ipod software update, but I don't want to be stuck with an ipod that I can't use in my car. That was the whole reason I bought the iPod compatible radio.

Sep 23, 2008 1:16 PM in response to zxtool

zxtool wrote:
so I unfortunately am going to take it back for a refund and look for a 3rd gen on craigslist.


You can buy refurbished 3rd generation iPod directly from Apple online. $99 for the 8GB version & $79 for the 4GB model. They will be in brand new condition and come with a full one-year warranty, unlike what you may find on Craig's List.
Cheers,
Patrick

Sep 23, 2008 7:32 PM in response to PT

PT wrote:
zxtool wrote:
so I unfortunately am going to take it back for a refund and look for a 3rd gen on craigslist.


You can buy refurbished 3rd generation iPod directly from Apple online. $99 for the 8GB version & $79 for the 4GB model. They will be in brand new condition and come with a full one-year warranty, unlike what you may find on Craig's List.
Cheers,
Patrick

Awesome! Consider it done. 🙂 Heading to the apple store now. Thanks for the advice.
Message was edited by: zxtool

Sep 24, 2008 11:37 AM in response to Pearcie27

Just got the 4th Gen Nano (16GB). I have a Sony CDX-GT620IP radio that I just had installed 3 weeks ago from Circuit City. It has the iPod cable and the 'supposed' ability to run the Nano thru the car radio. I hooked it up and no go. I called Circuit C and went in there and they were all baffled. None of the 'menu control' type radios they had there would work. There was one older SONY that could pass the sound thru, but no controls or charging.
So, the old $89 Sony worked. The newer and latest $169 SONY did squat.

This is just to confirm for those out there shopping on this subject.

Can ANYONE tell me if they think APPLE will come out with a software update for something like this? Car and radio support seem to be something that isn't going away....

Thanks.

Sep 24, 2008 12:08 PM in response to Pubbins

Pubbins wrote:
Just got the 4th Gen Nano (16GB). I have a Sony CDX-GT620IP radio that I just had installed 3 weeks ago from Circuit City. It has the iPod cable and the 'supposed' ability to run the Nano thru the car radio. I hooked it up and no go. I called Circuit C and went in there and they were all baffled. None of the 'menu control' type radios they had there would work. There was one older SONY that could pass the sound thru, but no controls or charging.
So, the old $89 Sony worked. The newer and latest $169 SONY did squat.

This is just to confirm for those out there shopping on this subject.

Can ANYONE tell me if they think APPLE will come out with a software update for something like this? Car and radio support seem to be something that isn't going away....

Thanks.



I was hoping they would update the firmware or give some indication that they would fix it. I liked the 4th gen for the day I had it, but I only use my ipod in the car really so it wasn't worth it since it didn't work. 😟

Connecting ipod nano 4th generation to car stereos...

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