I don't think it's the Y-cable, as I just got my Griffin Powerjolt today, and it works perfectly with the MINI supplied Y-cable. I leave the minijack plugged into the aux jack, and just moved the USB end of the Y-cable from the car's port to the USB port on the Griffin... 100% reliable as a charger (no more voodoo startup sequences!), AND I can use the aux-in on the stereo to feed Pandora, AOL Radio, and of course, iPod audio. As a bonus, the Griffin has a colored charging indicator ring around it, and when the iPhone isn't fully charged, it glows orange -- the same orange as the climate control display -- so it looks like it just belongs there!

The only thing I would change, if I could, would be to make it a little shorter, so it doesn't stick up quite so far out of the power outlet (yes, now I'm being overly picky). But overall, I'm happy, and it was a <$20 solution. I'd gladly trade the ability to navigate through playlists on the stereo for an always-topped-off-battery and the versatility of using internet radio!

 

Oh yah, I'm sure other 3g USB car chargers will probably work fine too, but if you do go with the same one I got, make sure you choose the newly revised model that says it's compatible with the iPhone 3g, as the iPod and iPhone 1.5g versions might give you the same charging weirdness as the car...

 

Ok - that sounds cool. I haven't downloaded AOL radio or Pandora yet but I look forward to playing w/that

Do you have a Kuda or Panavise mount or something of that ilk to make operating it a bit easier?

Pix if you do pls...

 

I do. Sometimes it doesn´t want to pair.

If I turn the Mini´s switch on/off it stills doesn´t pair.
If I turn off/on the iphone sometimes it pairs, sometimes it does not pair until next time I use the car.

It has happened three or four times since I got the iphone (one month).

 

No problem pairing for me.

Spoiled: So you plug the Mini supplied cord into the USB and Aux port then plug it into the USB port of the Griffin charger then into the iphone 3g?

 

I believe he is giving up the MINI USB connection for the Griffin charging. Plug the MINI Y-cable's dock connector to the iPhone. Plug the Y-cable's 3.5mm stereo plug into the AUX. Plug the Y-cable's USB connector in the Griffin.

Seems to me that you could do this when it needs charging and the MINI USB connection isn't doing the work. Once charged, you could plug the USB into the MINI and get the listing readout.

 

That would work but I think spoiled doesn't actually want his iPhone to show up as an iPod so that he can listen to Pandora. I'm assuming that once the iPod sw is showing "accessory attached it wouldn't be possible to have Pandora or any other program output audio?

I am (probably in vain) hoping that 2.1 might have some kind of magic bullet for our problem.

 

Pandora will still run when the y-cable is plugged into the mini. Just press the home button on the phone, then choose pandora like you normally would. As for the charging issue I found 2 adapters. The first is an inline usb adapter, hopefully it will work with the y-cable. The second is more expensive and I'm not 100% sure this would work either. I just ordered the inline usb adapter and will post again when i find out the results.

http://www.boxwave.com/products/ipho...ne-3g_3184.htm

http://cablejive.com/iphone_3g_charge_converter.html

 

Hey y'all. Robin is right on about my connection scheme. And I guess you could do the USB switch once charging is complete, but accessing the MINI's USB port is too much of a pain to do routinely. So far, I haven't really missed the readout on the stereo, nor the ability to switch tracks with the steering wheel. I usually play from playlists or Pandora, so I don't make too many adjustments once I'm out on the road.

@rexicon: I'm still just dropping the iPhone into my cupholder. Not the most elegant solution, but I haven't gotten around to researching holders yet. I'll check those two out that you mentioned.

@Nick_G: Does Pandora really work for you like that? The problem I ran into, was that when the USB-Y plug was plugged into the MINI port, the MINI stereo would recognize it as an iPod (AUX-in wasn't an option), and ONLY iPod audio would play through the stereo. With the USB-Y plug connected to the Griffin charger, the stereo sees the iPhone as an AUX-in accessory, and ALL of its audio output plays through the stereo (including all system sounds). I'd have to reconnect my USB cable to the MINI to confirm, but I don't think Pandora worked with the original set-up.

 

Spoiled Gradient. It works perfectly for me like that. The only option i can choose is ipod also when the phone is plugged in. All system sounds play through the stereo also. When i choose pandora it fades out the original music playing on the ipod then starts pandora. When you exit pandora just choose a song from the dashboard controls and it will start playing.
I have two problems with the y-cable first is the charging issue. Hopefully this will be fixed by the adapter i ordered, second is there is no way to display video. I have been on a couple of long car trips where the passenger could have used this feature. The video software of the phone is tightly integrated with the ipod software. I have even tried to load video on the phone using an app called airsharing. I can navigate to the video and even select it, the video tries to play, then the audio stutters on my stereo, and all i get is a black screen.

 

solutions are here
$40 adaptor

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/new...rge-converter/

or get the new? 3g y adaptor from bmw

 

The $8 usb adapter did not work. The new y-adapter does not work either. I checked my cable it is the newer part with 0 440 796 marked on it. I'm going to try the 40 dollar adapter when that comes out.

 

http://scosche.com/products/sfID1/21...productID/1667

 

jjp007
Thanks
Thats even cheaper.

 

j-fish - did you purchase one of these in-line adapters or have any definitive word that they in fact work? I guess I'd pony up if I had to - the $40 spent now would probably pay itself back in increased iPhone battery life over the long haul.

 

Ah, you guys have me scared that my iPhone 3g isn't going to work at beautifully as i hope! I ordered the convenience packages with the center armrest and the 6NF option, which should hopefully take care of all of these woes... Has anyone taken delivery of their 2009 with the 6NF? Mine won't be here for about 2 weeks.

 

I purchased the Ridax charger convertor, hoping to get the Y-adaptor of my **new**. MCCS. No such luck. The same issue: sound works, ipod shows up on computer screen, but no charge. Tested with two different 3G's, also had company send a second adaptor - still no luck.

BTW, Ridax has been very helpful - I suspect the adaptor is not the problem, but rather an issue with the mini usb connection.

BUMMER! - love the car but bluetooth really drains the phone!


-Angioman MCCS, CR/B -loaded

 

Darn, the Ridax adapter was my last hope. Thanks for posting the info and saving me and others the headache.
I really doubt Mini will address this issue for our 08's

 

That is a big bummer Angioman.

Has anyone confirmed that the new BMW part will work? Or is this the same new part # Y-adapter that was mentioned above?

 

I have been communicating with the Ridax adaptor folks. They are trying to find out what the issue is, and say they will test with a local mini dealer. I will keep you posted as to any solution found. I am sure you are as anxious as I am to have the 3G behave better with the Mini (or vice versa).

 

Does the Ridax just convert FireWire power to USB? If so that won't do crap for anyone since there's no FW to begin with.

Is there a way to measure the power output of the USB port? All the working ones seem to be in Clubmans (even in the 4G nano thread), so I'm just wondering if they might have a bit more juice in the port or if it's a software issue.

I tried the door voodoo today and it didn't work, although I might've gotten the sequence wrong or missed some crazy ritualistic step.

 

Ridax does convert firewire power to usb power. Everyone thought the ridax would work because it was believed mini was using the firewire pins for charging instead of the usb pins. This is done in car adapters since firewire is 12v and usb is 5.
Your right there is no firewire port but we all believed the pins were used.
This whole thing is looking like it will turn out to be a problem with the regulation of voltage or amps. I think the mini is fluctuating the power being sent to the usb port.

 

I have the same setup and it is true that the integration works for me, however, the phone shows that it is plugged into power but does not charge the phone. Does anyone else experience that?

Also, if you sync you phone with corporate email that requires a phone lock ON, be sure to unlock the phone before you dock it as it will not recognize your music.

That my 2 cents...

 

bolocks! ridax. i had one on order and cancelled it. sorry to have lead anyone on, they told me it would work.


back to the drawing board.

 

Got back from driving to LA and back, around 2 hours according to the trip computer, played music from it the whole way, and played some games while I was in LA. It appears to be fully charged. The usage thing (Settings->General->Usage) isn't showing the little "has been plugged in since last full charge" message. Instead it's showing under 30 minutes of usage, which is probably about how much I've used it since getting out of the car. I have no clue about the exact sequence of events, but I'm pretty sure it involved the open driver door (whether that's coincidence or not, who knows).

And before I left I tried AOL Radio, it played through the stereo like Nick G's experience w/Pandora. iPod music faded out then the AOL Radio app started playing. Selecting an iPod song from the nav faded the app out and started iPod music again.