Hi,

Been looking through the forum for iPod/iPhone connection info as I'm about to take delivery of my new GS and I'm a bit disappointed that the iPod ACM has been withdrawn.

I'm getting rid of my S-Type to which I fitted the Jaguar ACM and Rear Seat Video system, all of which were both Jaguar/Land Rover parts.

The thing I can't get my head around is that with the ACM being the same as the Jag version, why has it been withdrawn - the old Jag one was withdrawn for the same reason as the current Land Rover one is being withdrawn? No-one can give a plausible answer and there is no forecast to bring a revised one back on sale.

Does anyone have any up-to-date info on this? My garage seem to be deprived of info from Land Rover.

Cheers,

Hi Macbloke,

I had an ACM installed in my previous GS (2007). The kit worked great as it consisted of a iPod holder mounted to the right of the steering wheel and USB/phono inputs located within the glovebox. I could scroll and skip through tracks and control the volume through the steering controls. The original kit was £370 to buy and install so not cheap. When I changed that car for a new GS I had the kit removed (£150) as I had heard that it was no longer available. My new GS has an Alpine front end and sub woofer as standard. I believe that there currently is an ACM on the LR accessories site but I understand that it is basically a lead that connects to your iPod which would be located in the glovebox. I would guess that you could control the iPod as per before but you cannot see the iPod screen which is not good. I'm not sure if I'll reinstall the kit in my GS yet as I may go the whole hog and replace the whole front end for a new double DIN unit c/w satnav. These can cost up to £1200 or about £500 without satnav. BUT you get massively improved functionality . Hope this helps.

I have registered on the TOPIx site and downloaded the circuit diagrams and Operation and Description chapters for the audio system. In terms of upgrading to a new head unit it is fairly straightforward for the lowline system but problematic for the highline Alpine system.

The problem is all of the modules in the highline communicate via a semi bespoke duplex fibreoptic ring. From the front panel, cd deck, power amp, Nav, phone etc round in a loop. To replace this with a new head unit would mean a complete recable and losing the rear seat audio modules etc. The steering controls use a resistive ladder so it should be possible to interface that but beyond that it would cetainly not be a plug in and go solution. One problem for example is the power amp is mounted under the boot side trim so all the existing speaker cables terminate there.

Unfortunatly the wiring diagrams do not include details of how optional accessories fit so I cannot tell if the iPod unit (VPLAE0001, VPLAF0002) connects in via its own terminals or hijacks the Aux In terminals, there are some spare pins on the loom it splices in to so it could do either. As my aim would be to be able to reinstate the original system if needed I don't want too much hacking around.

So I am left with a lighter socket power supply and the Aux in port. One intersting gizmo I saw was a dedicated iPod lighter PSU with basic iPod controls on top. Or do I get a TomTom with an iPod interface? Prog rock is cool!
2012 XS SD4 Indus Silver

Missing link. Thanks for your information. Do you refer to the top of the range Alpine head end or the unit that comes standard in the GS model which is the lower spec Alpine unit which is not full 7.1 surround sound. Also is there any chance that you could email me what information that you have?

Every in-car hi-fi specialist I have spoken with says that units such as the double din units made by Pioneer are straight forward to install....but then again they would say that. These units range between £650 and £1200 to buy and install.

I must admit I was a bit confused but I think I have worked out the setup following the diagrams. I still have to remove the boot side trim to confirm but this is as I see it

The lowline is the simple one to upgrade as the speakers are directly connected to the head unit so the use of a Jaguar to ISO cable would cover most of the work to make the replacement a plug-in.

The Highline is in two different models, my XS has the base model with single CD, six speakers plus sub cabinet(no SatNav). The higher model has 3 additional speakers, 2 rear surround and the centre plus the 6 CD deck.

However these use the MOST system which is a fibreoptic data system interconnecting the various modules. It is not the same as the TOSLINK S/PDIF in domestic audio. The 1st problem is the head unit is the clock for the system so if you replace this I do not know how the remainder would behave i.e. SatNav without a clock. 2nd is all the speakers connect to the power amp which is in the right boot side so you would either have to relink them back to the head unit, fit new cables (I suspect the audiophiles are a bit sniffy about the standard cables anyway) or replicate the original by using a power amp kit.

I know very little about MOST itself, if it a genuine standard then there is nothing stopping a 3rd party manufacturer making a compatible head unit but it has been some years since I was in the ICE business. The audio produced by the stock system is adequate for my purposes and given that the cost of a decent head unit is in the region of £1000+ I have kicked that idea into touch. Instead I am going to fit an additional cigarette lighter socket into the dash and use one of the griffin autopilot units as these have a basic iPod control panel built into the head of the PSU. The one bit I would like to find is how the LR iPod kit feeds its audio. If it creates a second aux in it would be useful to know how.

I emailed Dension about their Gateway 500 unit as this appears to support MOST but this was their response

"We do not have an aftermarket solution for POST 2003 Land Rover's.

However we did develop a range of Products in conjunction with Land Rover, for vehicles between 2004 & 2010 Model Years which are available through the Land Rover Global Dealerships Network.
Please contact your local dealer for further details."

I rather suspect then that the limitations complained of for the LR solution is inherant in the design of the head unit rather than a problem with the iPod kit!  Prog rock is cool!
2012 XS SD4 Indus Silver

I asked for an IPod connection to be fitted to my GS when it was delivered new on 1st September and as compensation for a previous mistake the dealer was meeting half the quoted £400 cost, however the salesman responsible for the first screw up forgot to include it in the spec.

The unit is still on order ( apparently a back order ) but after reading several posts on the forum I was confused about if it would actually work, if it needed the satnav screen, where it would be fitted and if it would let me control both volume and track selection from the steering wheel.

The salesman I am now dealing with did try to get confirmation from LR but is now as confused as me as he was told the original part was replaced with something else that has the same part number but is otherwise totally different and as if that was not bad enough it is still apparently possible to get the original fitting

Car due back to dealer on Friday to get my own number put on it and the salesman has promised that he will at least try to have answers by then.

Missing Link wrote:

The one bit I would like to find is how the LR iPod kit feeds its audio. If it creates a second aux in it would be useful to know how.

That is is exactly what I needed to know. At least I am not missing out on a separate input channel by fitting one myself

Maplin do a little passive rotary selector to switch between 4 separate audio inputs to one output. That would give me the iPod, DAB receiver, integrated Aux in port and one spare. I know it is easy to make one but it saves faffing around. If I get severe level problems I will have to look at an active mixer instead.

Incidentally I found in my garage an old bluetooth SatNav receiver. Paired it up to this laptop and was running MS Autoroute as a SatNav. No 3d View but it worked, just a bit big  Prog rock is cool!
2012 XS SD4 Indus Silver

Spoke to the parts manager at my dealers on Friday and appears that there are 2 iPod connection options available in the latest Freelander accessories brochure, it looks like one has an iPod holder and one doesn't not that it makes any difference as both are on back order and not expected to be available for several months.

I visited an ICE specialist this morning who confirmed my fears regarding upgrading the Alpine system in my MY10 GS. Basically, he thinks that to replace the system with a double DIN front end would involve substantial rewiring. So where does that leave me? When we bought the car we considered having the satnav upgrade but were put off by it's functionality. Aftermarket units such as Pioneer can play music to the front and run satnav whilst playing a DVD to headrest screens for the children. I guess that I will need to spaek with my local LR dealer to discuss my options re the iPod ACM. I'm hoping that I can get the ACM that I had my dealer remove from my MY07 GS reinstalled in my new GS as it had a mount for the iPod. Is there anyone out there who has had the new ACM fitted and if so, which part number was it as I would like to go to my LR dealer with as much info as possible.

Cheers

mr_smith wrote:

I visited an ICE specialist this morning who confirmed my fears regarding upgrading the Alpine system in my MY10 GS. Basically, he thinks that to replace the system with a double DIN front end would involve substantial rewiring. So where does that leave me? When we bought the car we considered having the satnav upgrade but were put off by it's functionality. Aftermarket units such as Pioneer can play music to the front and run satnav whilst playing a DVD to headrest screens for the children. I guess that I will need to spaek with my local LR dealer to discuss my options re the iPod ACM. I'm hoping that I can get the ACM that I had my dealer remove from my MY07 GS reinstalled in my new GS as it had a mount for the iPod. Is there anyone out there who has had the new ACM fitted and if so, which part number was it as I would like to go to my LR dealer with as much info as possible.

Cheers

If you look at my post of the 27th you will see that the problem lies with the fact that the factory system uses fibreoptic data links which is not supported by any aftermarket solution that I could find. This does mean a significant rewire would be required to complete an upgrade. For me the extortionate cost of the Land Rover iPod solution for what is very limited functionality precludes that option, £300+ and half a day in the workshop versus £25 for an almost as functional plug in option leaves me little choice. If you can recover the kit from your old (?) vehicle it would be good but what would be the garage fees to do so? Prog rock is cool!
2012 XS SD4 Indus Silver