C4 Corvette ISGM73 iPod/iPhone Review
05-07-2010, 01:37 AM
#1
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
C4 Corvette ISGM73 iPod/iPhone Review
Orignal thread
I've been looking for a kit like this for some time but have never found one that worked with stock Bose setup in my '95. And this almost gets it right.
Nice packaging always a good start.
Inside you get 3 wiring harness,control box,12' iPod cable and the manual(aka beer coaster)
A basic install can be done in less the two minutes if you didn't mine the cable hang out the rear door cover. Here I used the GM1 cable that plugs in to the under side of the receiver and the interface unit.
Place the receiver back in the foam tray. A small gap in the foam makes for a convenient spot to hold the interface unit. Then just plug in the ipod cable and ipod/iphone and your ready to play some tunes.
But why do things easy. I wanted to run the cable under the carpet and in to the center console. I started by removing the console cover.
In order to run the cable down along the side of the console you'll have to pull back on them about an inch and lift up on the canter section. There are a few screws and three plastic pens that hold the sides in place. Two in the middle and one on the rear drivers side.
Slip the cable in the square hole and down along the side to the back of the console. This can be hard if you have large hands do to the lack of space between the side of the console and the seat/belt buckle.
When you have the cable feed to the back of the console you'll need to lift up the carpet to feed it under and towards the receiver bay. Again this can very difficult if you have large hands. About three inches below the back of the console you'll feel a small gap to feed the cable through the carpet.
Next pull the carpet back from behind the passenger seat. You'll find a hole that is used for the other radio wires. Just slip the cable through and in to the rear bay.
Plug the cable in to the interface box and replace the carpet and center console and your done.
They way I have this set up it does work but not like it would on 97 and up Vettes. The interface box has dip switches that program the box for varies factory radios. This way you can use the radio controls to skip over or replay songs. This feature does not work with the Bose. Only two of the dip switches did anything at all and that was number 5 and 6. Five added some volume and six added some bass. All the other settings did nothing or add distortion.
The sound quality was good not CD good but radio good. Because it was not made for the iPhone it would not charge and with the edge network I did get that beeping sound if an SMS or email would download. Not a problem with an ipod. And now for the bad. You can't turn it off. Because of not being able to program the control box it's always on and the only way to listen to the radio is to unplug the interface box. I could however listen to CDs without unplug anything. I think simply adding an on/off switch to the wiring harness could solve the problem if one was switching from the radio to the ipod often. So is it worth a $100 bucks? Will if you have cassette deck that works, no just use a cassette jack. But if not, like me, and you've tried the FM transmitters or don't want to remove the Bose system for after market one I think it is. It does let you play an ipod through the Bose reliable without the hassle of the transmitters and can be very quick to install. And the extra wiring harnesses it will let you transfer the system to a newer Vette or other GM car. All in all a good value when compared to some of the junk out there on flebay.
I've been looking for a kit like this for some time but have never found one that worked with stock Bose setup in my '95. And this almost gets it right.
Nice packaging always a good start.
Inside you get 3 wiring harness,control box,12' iPod cable and the manual(aka beer coaster)
A basic install can be done in less the two minutes if you didn't mine the cable hang out the rear door cover. Here I used the GM1 cable that plugs in to the under side of the receiver and the interface unit.
Place the receiver back in the foam tray. A small gap in the foam makes for a convenient spot to hold the interface unit. Then just plug in the ipod cable and ipod/iphone and your ready to play some tunes.
But why do things easy. I wanted to run the cable under the carpet and in to the center console. I started by removing the console cover.
In order to run the cable down along the side of the console you'll have to pull back on them about an inch and lift up on the canter section. There are a few screws and three plastic pens that hold the sides in place. Two in the middle and one on the rear drivers side.
Slip the cable in the square hole and down along the side to the back of the console. This can be hard if you have large hands do to the lack of space between the side of the console and the seat/belt buckle.
When you have the cable feed to the back of the console you'll need to lift up the carpet to feed it under and towards the receiver bay. Again this can very difficult if you have large hands. About three inches below the back of the console you'll feel a small gap to feed the cable through the carpet.
Next pull the carpet back from behind the passenger seat. You'll find a hole that is used for the other radio wires. Just slip the cable through and in to the rear bay.
Plug the cable in to the interface box and replace the carpet and center console and your done.
They way I have this set up it does work but not like it would on 97 and up Vettes. The interface box has dip switches that program the box for varies factory radios. This way you can use the radio controls to skip over or replay songs. This feature does not work with the Bose. Only two of the dip switches did anything at all and that was number 5 and 6. Five added some volume and six added some bass. All the other settings did nothing or add distortion.
The sound quality was good not CD good but radio good. Because it was not made for the iPhone it would not charge and with the edge network I did get that beeping sound if an SMS or email would download. Not a problem with an ipod. And now for the bad. You can't turn it off. Because of not being able to program the control box it's always on and the only way to listen to the radio is to unplug the interface box. I could however listen to CDs without unplug anything. I think simply adding an on/off switch to the wiring harness could solve the problem if one was switching from the radio to the ipod often. So is it worth a $100 bucks? Will if you have cassette deck that works, no just use a cassette jack. But if not, like me, and you've tried the FM transmitters or don't want to remove the Bose system for after market one I think it is. It does let you play an ipod through the Bose reliable without the hassle of the transmitters and can be very quick to install. And the extra wiring harnesses it will let you transfer the system to a newer Vette or other GM car. All in all a good value when compared to some of the junk out there on flebay.
