Hi,

This is my 1st DIY and I'm a little proud. I realize of course this no where near as extensive as some of the DIY projects on here but alas, I thought I'd share an alternate location to hook up an iPhone or iPod/iPad other than hiding them in your glovebox.

The previous owner installed and Alpine CDA-105 and had the iPod cable sticking out of the passenger side knee pad and into the net. I wasn't happy with that look. I didn't want to run the wire inside the glove compartment as I use my iPhone for music and want it out and easily accesible to text or answer the phone as well. I didn't want a H/U with a usb port on the front because the radio door has to be closed while I drive otherwise it stabs my knee. My solution was to ad a flush mount USB jack to the passenger side knee pad. In this 1st pic you will see an example of how it looked before. This is the only pic that is not mine but one that I found.






My 1st DIY starts...

1. I ordered the following from http://www.magnadyne.com/np-aux-usb-com.html

2. I took out the lower passenger dash (the one with the pockets -AP2 ONLY). There is a centre screw at the top and a couple of push pins. I then took out the passenger knee pad. There is one screw and 3 clips behind the knee pad, I gently pulled it off. You need to take the lower dash off first.



This little tool from Modifry was very helpful for the pushpins. Modifry made this tool specifically for this task...



3. I took the knee pad and drilled a 3/4" hole closest to the plastic supports on the rear of the knee pad, leaving just enough room to fit the nut for the USB jack.




4. I also added a little "Automotive Amazing Goop" adhesive around the nut to discourage movement over time.

5. I simply hooked up the male end of the existing Alpine cable (the one that was run by the previous owner sticking out of the bottom of the knee pad) to the female end of the Magnadyne USB Jack wire and shoved both wires in the knee pad hole. There is surprisingly enough room.

6. I re-installed the knee pad. I ordered a replacement knee pad for $15 just in case I want to revert back. More like just in case I screwed this up

7. I re-installed the lower passenger dash.


And now, the finished product...




Life is good!

-Dave

 

Nice work and nice write up.

 

Nice work, but you could have purchased a dedicated iPod for the same amount. That would have provided more storage space and a cleaner install.

 

I hear you and considered that as well, but...

1. The part only cost me $22 + $15 for the knee pad that I really didn't "need".

2. Between the S2000, my daily driver and my Wife's car, I'm driving any one of 3 cars at any given time. Plus music at home or wherever. It's nice to have just one device with music to take with me that I can download to and purchase music from.

 

Good idea; did you consider running the cable to the glove box and installing the port in there? That way the cable and iPod would be completely hidden.

 

It was my first thought as that's what most on here do but then I thought, what happens when my phone rings, I want to text or check something on the internet? (always responsibly at a stop of course) I like to take the tunes with me and I want to use only my iPhone for music and don't want it hidden or hard to get to. I didn't want it hanging out of the glovebox either with the wire tangled in my arm/elbow while shifting. Also, like this my wife/passenger can charge or use their device without it interfering with me. I loved the original location of the cable coming out of the bottom of the knee pad (how the previous owner ran it), I just hated the look. I always keep my phone in the lower passenger dash compartment so this jack location is perfect. Very OEM-ish IMO.