It is now possible to get to your IPOD menus while connected to Music Link. I got this off of the TL site.

1. Make sure your IPOD is off. Holding down play/pause until it powers off.
2. Connect IPOD to Music Link.
3. Turn car to Accessory
4. Rapidly press the menu. This must be done before the NAVI screens comes on.

Presto! IPOD menus.

5. Now start the car.

I have done this at least a dozen times. Today I turned my car off and back on and I still had the IPOD menus.

Sorry if everyone already knew this.

 

Great information!

 

Is this having the ability to control the actual ipod while it's plugged in or is this having the ipod menu on the screen?

 

controlling the ipod while it is plugged in.

 

I tried this on mine and it went to the OK to disconnect as soon as the Nav screen came on. I was using a Nano with an 05 RL. Do you need to hold down the menu button, press it multiple times or just press it once?

It would be great if I could get this to work.

For those considering the Ipod I would not let the lack of menu access deter you. Once you get used to the Acura Link commands it is very easy to navigate. I have another car where you have to use the Ipod to search for songs, play lists, etc. and I find I rarely do that as it is a hugh distraction, but I use the Acura link commands alot.

Sorry to get off track here. I would still like to have the option of the menus. I had them mount mine in the center console, so it would be easy to get to it when the driving conditions allowed it. The connector fits through the hole in the top of the center storage tray, so I just keep it in the top part of the console, it fits great there.

Kris

 

I tried this trick on my 2006 RL, and it didn't work--same experience as kdg. TFarmer, is there anything in the instructions you gave that could be clarified? I would LOVE to get IPOD menus on my NAV screen. Having it just stare at me with "EXTENSION" or whatever doesn't seem to use any technology.

 

I thought it was on the screen as well but he is just talking about being able to control it, not see the menu on the nav screen.

 

https://acurazine.com/forums/car-parts-sale-361/fs-many-tl-mods-131016/

 

I now appreciate that this mod is to get the iPod screen to work (not the Nav screen), which would nice, but I still haven't been able to get it to work. I think it may be that the iPod is not fully charged, so I'll do that. I have the 30GB iPod.

Still, a lot of me wonders why the freakin' NAV screen can't be the interface (hello, Acura, hello Apple), since an iPod is just a hard drive. Maybe next year.

 

Nope, does not work on 2006 RL. This pi**es me off more than anything else about my new purchase. My 2002 RL worked fine via the cassette interface. They have actually taken a giant leap BACKWARD with the new RLs-- you can't play MP3 player music without this godawful interface.

I am going to try and load ROCKBOX software on my ipod (replaced ipod operating system) to see if I can regain control of my ipod.

 

Okay, good news and bad news. The new Rockbox Ipod firmware indeed will show its main menu screen and shows playing music when plugged into my 2006 Acura musiclink.

Bad news-- I get no sound out of the speakers. Does anyone have a schematic of the musiclink cable connections? In particular, does it use DIGITAL or LINEOUT from the ipod???

 

FYI, the guy who developed the Music Link software, Michael Zapp of Zapptek.com, says he had nothing to do with how the control box that talks to the Ipod works. He only developed the PC software that works with Itunes.

I don't know who developed the control box and firmware that WON'T ALLOW us to use the Ipod interface.

Here is his email to me:
-----------------------------------------------------
Please contact Acura via musiclink.acura.com -- we simply developed the PC software and have nothing to do with in car system (as discussed in www.zapptek.com/MusicLink/ ).

Regards,

Michael