Mike Ingle

There have been a lot of questions about ipod integration with a
navi-equipped Acura. After a bunch of research and some experimentation,
mine is working well, so here are the details, problems, and workarounds.

The car has the in-dash 6-disc changer. This radio does have the 14-pin
external changer plug on the back. The navi does not occupy that plug, and
the radio is capable of controlling an external changer.

The integration unit is the Neo iOn available here:
http://www.neocaraudio.com/
The contact there is Logan (email lfox at neocaraudio)
Ordered: 1 Shipped: 1 10017 Neo iOn - Acura 2002 CL w/ nav $189.99
Ordered: 1 Shipped: 1 11001 White iPod Box $0.00
Ordered: 1 Shipped: 1 11002 iPod Cable $0.00
Ordered: 1 Shipped: 1 12017 Honda Cable $0.00

The ipod is a 30GB photo, but any ipod with a dock connector will work.

The Neo is intsalled under the right side trim piece of the center
console. There is a spot there where it fits. You can install it without
removing the radio, just the trim pieces and the center console. With the
radio installed, the connector is on your right.

The ipod is in the top tray of the center console, which looks like it was
built for the purpose. It even has a notch for the cable. The cable goes
down into the lower container, through a hole, and under the console to
the Neo. I lined the tray and its top with cloth to protect the ipod.

With the navi, there are some minor interfacing problems. The radio takes
a few seconds to select ipod mode (press CD twice, display shows CD1), and
the ipod does not unpause when you select it, nor pause when you select a
different audio source. It does always power down when you turn the car
off, but not when you turn the radio off. The steering wheel AUDIO/CH
button does reliably skip to the next track.

I got around the above problems by getting a Griffin AirClick and
attaching it to the ipod. This provides a wireless (radio, not IR) remote
with play/pause, next, and previous.

To start the ipod, turn on the radio, select CD1 if not selected, wait
about 5 seconds, and press play on the remote. To listen to the radio,
pause the ipod and press AM or FM. Expect a 5-second delay before the
radio starts to play.

Once you press CD and get CD1, do not press any more buttons on the radio
until the display shows DISC or a CD and track number. Doing so could hang
the radio and you will have to turn it off.

The navi can talk over the ipod as normal. The in-dash CD player still
works, although it may take a moment to select from ipod mode. In ipod
mode, disc and track numbers on the radio are not meaningful.

The ipod is powered through the Neo. When you turn the car off, the ipod
displays "Charging" or "Charged." The car will recharge the ipod even when
the car is off. The ipod's user interface works while plugged into the
car. The cable is plenty long enough for a passenger to take the ipod out
and operate it.

The sound quality is very good. To me, it sounds as good as the in-dash CD
changer. While there are a few bugs, the Neo is one way to get an
unlimited music supply in your navi-equipped Acura.

Street Spirit

Great work!

However, this really belongs in the Audio & Video forum, located Off Topic. Unfortunately, I can't move it there directly for you, so please copy/paste your info into a new thread there!

Thanks for the detailed info!