I have never heard such a thing. My iPod has been constantly plugged in since June. The car has sat in a parking lot at the airport for over a week. I've never had a battery issue.

Anyone else have any information on this 'issue'?

 

I have seen one claim here ont eh forums that an iPod battery would go dead on his iPod when it stayed connected to the car. In that same post there were many others that left thier iPods connected to the car all the time wiht out problem.

I believe the person that had the problem found that they also had a problem with it when it was not connected to the car as well.

As for it the iPod battery draining "It should not" The way the system works there is charge voltage to the iPod while the radio system is on and for approximately 15 minutes after the car is turned off. After that the conncetion is not active and the battery of the iPod should not drian down unless there is a problem with the iPod.

 

Sorry for getting on the bandwagon so late, but I saw this post and felt the need to add my two cents. I have little need for the CD player, as I can get all my music on an iPod or USB flash drive. Being able to plug in a USB stick and the MINI allowing you to browse the files the same way as an iPod is very, very cool. However, like schatzy62, I also have noticed a difference in sound quality.

The USB drive seems to have a warmer sound, smoother and more reserved highs with more mid-bass punch. The iPod USB interface has a cooler sound, crisper highs with more accurate bass although subdued.

It's hard to say that one is better than the other, as each person's tastes vary with respect to sound (i.e. very subjective). I like Rock/Pop/Electronic better with the flash drive, but Classical/Jazz/Acoustic is better with the iPod USB interface. I suppose I should just push the bass up on Rock/Pop music and leave it flat for the other stuff.

Great info schatzy62. This almost deserves a thread of its own, and I'd like to hear other opinions and comparisons between USB flash drive vs. iPod USB interface.

 

Another big part of it is what type of DAC (D-to A converter) is used as well. I know that there have been some upgrades as well to the Mini COntroler box for the Bluetooth/USB so there may have been a better DAC put in the Mini. This would help the sound of the USB Stick, but not change the sound of the iPod as the iPod uses its own DAC to produce audio and then send it tot he AUX input. Newer iPods (last two years or so) have used a much better DAC so they will sound better than older iPods in the same Mini.

 

Does anyone know are there any cable like this works for iPhone 3G? I have one of this for my BMW from aux to my iPod 3G and it works great (better quality and also allow using the steering wheel to adjust volume, but when I plug in my iPhone 3G, it has no sound). Can anyone help? Do they have cable like this for iPhone 3G?

Thanks

 

The above cable will work for getting the audio into the stereo but will not allow for transfer of the control to the stereo. There is no reason why that cable should not work as Apple has not changed the audio out connection for the iPhone or iPod as far as i can tell from the schematics of the cable for each.

The ONLY cable that will allow transfer of the iPod control to the is the one supplied by Mini.

As for charging of different iPods/iPhones it is dependant on the version of the iPod/iPhone AND the version of the Mini "Y-Cable"

 

>> The ONLY cable that will allow transfer of the iPod control to the is the one supplied by Mini. <<

This is not true. The standard USB cable that comes with the iPod and connects to the iPod's dock connector will allow control of the iPod.

And, the 1/8" headphone out is NOT the only way to get sound from the iPod into the Mini's sound system. The same USB-Dock cable I mentioned above ALSO carries the sound:

"The ends of the connector each feature thirty pins which are designed to carry a variety of data. For example, pins two through six carry left and right audio..."

 

True and true. However, you can't use the dock connector for both control and sound without MINI's cable. Without MINI's cable you can have either control or audio, but not both, unless you want to use the dock via USB for control and the headphone jack for audio.

 

>> However, you can't use the dock connector for both control and sound without MINI's cable. <<

ARRRGGGHHHH!! Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to a friggin' wall!! Read my lips: The standard iPod USB-Dock connector cable provides both audio and control capability. I cannot say it any more plainly than that.

I am using the iPod's standard USB-Dock cable and I have both audio and control capability!!

 

I mean from aux, not from the USB port. Anyone?

 

The only way this would be possible is if you have "enabled disk use" in iTunes so that the iPod displays as an additional drive, like a flash drive. You would then have to manually drag-n-drop (i.e. copy) music files to the iPod. In this scenario, your MINI sees the iPod like a USB drive, not an iPod. You would be able to browse your music through the MINI, but not through the iPod's interface itself.

 

Exactly. Thanks for confirming my point...

 

But isn't this setup kind of a waste of an iPod? I guess if you only use it in your MINI it might be OK. Do you hate using iTunes too?

 

>> But isn't this setup kind of a waste of an iPod? <<

How so? It's doing what I want it to do - play music in my car.

>> I guess if you only use it in your MINI it might be OK.<<

Exactly. I have a Sansa E280 (solid state player) for rough and tumble outdoor stuff. The iPod sits snugly in its little well beneath the USB jack, out of sight and nicely wedged in.

>> Do you hate using iTunes too? <<

No, not really hate. In fact, I find it easy to use for what I do, which is drag and drop MP3s from the My Music folder on my PC onto the iPod. It works really well for that. But I do not like the idea of the software determining what I can and cannot listen to and such. The way I have it working right now suits me to a T...

Best Wishes,

 

I've connected the Y cable to the ports in the dashboard but I can't control my iPod through the stereo/nav screen. I also do not get the acessory connected screen in my iPod. I can hear the sound and control music through the iPod. Maybe my USB port is not working (?). Did anyone have similar issue? I had some trouble connecting the cable to the USB port but eventually I think I got it connected. Is there anything else you should do (like turn the iPod on/off, the nav screen on/off...)?

 

If you are not getting the ipod to show charging and acessory connected then the usb connection is not getting made. The Y cable takes the sound and sends it to the aux jack while the conttrol and power comes from the usb part. You can do some checks to see if the usb or cable is broken. Try to connect a jump drive with some mp3 to the usb port and see they come up on the car. If the do the usb of the car is working and it could be the cable. If you dont have a jump drive try to plug the original ipod cable in into the car and see if the ipod shows charging(note you will not be able to control or here the ipod with the apple cable even if everything is working). If it does show charging or you can play the files from the jump drive you probbaly have a bad y cable. If none of the first two work your usb jack or something else in the car is probbaly bad.

 

Tks. Will do and let you know.

For the USB, can I use any pen drive with a MP3 file on it? Do I need to format it or do anything else?

 

You should be okay as long as it has not been reformatted to NTFS. It needs to be formatted as FAT32. If you do not understand what i am talking about then you have nothing to worry about it should work, They come standard as FAT32 formatting.

 

Tks! Unfortunately my USB was broken. A small piece of the car connector got stuck inside connector in the usb cable - it is a black plastic part, which I believe helps leading the cable to the terminals inside the USB jack. Now I have to find a way to get it fixed. Do you think it would be possible to change the connector with a regular pc one? Unfortunately I am in Brazil and there are no mini dealers here yet.

 

Yes, if you take it apart your should be able to easily replace it with one form a computer, but it will take some soldering skills to get it done.

 

TKS!