OK - as I try to complete the installation of mine I have figured out a few things that may prove useful and some of my earlier info is incorrect:

1) The 5 meter extension cable is unnecessary for an installation without Sirius. You should be able to mount all of the components in the dash. Remove the headunit and disconnect the large black connector. At the bottom left side of the connector is a removeable white/black connector - remove it. This connector is the extension cable for the CD changer cable going to the rear of the car. Plug your iCruze changer connector interface cable (black/white connector on one end w/ two small black connectors on the other end) into the large black headunit connector where you just removed the 'factory' cable connection. This is the CD changer interface behind the headunit. The other end of this cable plugs into the black iCruze interface box. You'll still need to splice in the power, ground and bus wires in this cable to the associated wires going to the large black headunit connector.

2)If you follow the iCruze installation instructions, the cable that goes between the silver iCruze module and the black interface module has two additional wires. The yellow wire with the fuze holder is supposed to go to constant 12v power (pin 15 on the large black connector) and the blue wire is accessory power (pin 16 on the large black connector). If you hook it up like this the iCruze will not function or even be selectable unless the key is on. When you turn the key on, the iCruze module will startup, turn on the display, search for your iPod and start playing it and charging it even if it hasn't been selected as the music source! The blue accessory power wire appears to control this since disconnecting it from power kills all power to the iPod and the display. Turn the key off and the iCruze shuts down. This may be only a problem with the Sirius pass-thru connection I am using.

I haven't figured yet out if the display eventually times out and turns off if there is no iPod attached but if it doesn't, this isn't acceptable to me - I don't want the display lit up and on every time I turn on the car if I don't happen to have the iPod connected. It may take a switch to kill the iCruze when the car is running, or leave the two ends of the blue wire connected to each other (instead of splicing into accessory power on pin 16) and put a switch in between them. This would allow me to 'manually' turn on the iCruze only when i want it. If this is the route I end up taking, I'll moun the switch in the parcel tray where the OEM rally light switch is normally mounted.

I am taking pictures as I go so if I get this all figured out I'll put together a how-to and post it. I am hoping one of you gets the rest of your kit and can tell me how this works on your car and I'll differentiate between installation and operation in Sirius/no Sirius systems. In spite of the troubles I've had and the power and display issues, I like the unit. It sounds as good as the IceLink+ in my wife's MCC, the display is pretty cool, and it sounds great.

 

thanks for the update FUEGO. i'll be interested to see the how-to post you put up later.

 

w00t! just got my package last night, and now will be installing it in my 02 Cooper (with Navigation) this weekend!!!

Scott

 

does anyone know if this will work via the stereo controls in the steering wheel?

 

Yes

 

Did you get both shipments?? One package came for me too, but it was just the control module and the control module cable.

 

I just received two cables ICRUZE INTERFACE CABLE MPC FX IC-BMW2 and
ICRUZE INTERFACE CABLE MPC FX MBUS-5M of my kit still waiting on the rest of the parts listed below.
----------------ITEMS ORDERED----------------
1 Monster Performance Car™ iCruze®, $99.00 each, $99.00, Item #
125359-00, MPC FX ICRUZ - iCruze® - Comes with iCruze™ LCD Display Module
and Monster Music®: 3 Doors Down
LIVE, Away From The Sun
(Video SuperDisc), 11100
1 Monster iCruze™ Interface Module, $0.00 each, $0.00, Item #
125362-00, MPC FX IM-BMW1 - Interface Module- BMW
, 11100
1 Monster iCruze™ Interface Cable, $0.00 each, $0.00, Item #
125381-00, MPC FX IC-BMW2 - Interface Cable- BMW, 11100 (REC)
1 Monster iCruze™ M-Bus Extension Cable, $0.00 each, $0.00, Item #
125383-00, MPC FX MBUS-5M - 8 pin DIN extension cable - 5 meter, 11100 (REC)
1 Monster iCruze™ LCD Display, $0.00 each, $0.00, Item # 125360-00,
MPC FX LCD-UM LCD Display
, 11100
1 Monster Music®: 3 Doors DownLIVE, Away From The Sun (Video
SuperDisc) FREE WITH COMPLETE iCruze SYSTEM PUCHASE, $0.00 each, $0.00, Item #
123752-00, 3 Doors Down - Live Concert DVD MMU 3DRD DVD SS, 21100

 

Yup, I got two shipments two, but I did not order/nor get one of these...

125383-00, MPC FX MBUS-5M - 8 pin DIN extension cable - 5 meter, 11100

So, everything for me is going up in the dash...

Right now, I'm trying to find the pin-outs of the "B" 12 pin connector on the back of the factory stereo since...

The Navigation Unit has a "White with Brown Stripe" wire where the Monster Cable "Blue & Yellow" wires go, a "White with Red Stripe" wire where the Monster Cable "Gray/Grey" wires is, and a "White with Blue Stripe" wire where the Monster Cable "Red" wire is. So...

I can assume part of it is right channel/left channel, but the third one?

Scott
PS> I know it said Navigation not supported. Worst case I lose the talking voice I don't use. :(

 

Take the left side white 12-pin connector (viewed from the wire side of the connector) out of the main black headunit connector. This is the cd changer cable that goes to the rear of the car and shouldn't be required. The iCruze connector goes in it's place. I believe the connector on the right side is the one that is used by the NAV and AUX port. Pinout of the connectors can be found on MINI2 here. However, I don't have NAV so I may be incorrect.

 

does anyone have pictures of their installation? how does the LCD display look? does it get in the way? or look tacky?

 

Ask and ye shall receive...

Actually, I was going to "fully" document my install, but had too much fun doing it.

But, the best place I found to mount the LCD is under the center switch panel. Like this...

But, wait... Isn't that upside down? Quite astute of you... Here's what I did.

Step #1 - Remove the four T-15 screws from the front plate and remove like so.



Step #2: Carefully remove the LCD board from the back piece, like so.


Step #3: Remove the screw and plastic bracket holding the cord so it will swivel. (it's right in the middle of this pic)


Step #4a, then with this piece taken out. (it's tiny!)

Step #4b - You cut the plastic hot-glue that is holding the wires onto the PCB, thus giving us enough slack to rotate the display.

Step #5 put the LCD panel back into the back, but turned around and put the front plate & screws back on. Thus ending up with this...


Now, you can mount the display upside down and be the envy of all your friends!

Scott

 

sweet! That looks awesome. I'm still debating on whether i want to spend twice as much for the ice-link or this. i dont' want to spend 200 bucks, but my boyfriend says the ice-link looks much better. anyone have opinions on that?

 

Alrighty... I FINALLY got mine in - and I got it installed.
It was not the same on my '03 as FUEGO described... They must have changed some things between '03 and later...
And, you'll need this: http://www.mini2.com/galleries/data/..._hu_pinout.jpg

1. For the cable that came with the iCruze module (goes from the iCruze module and the interface module) - the blue/white wire is attached at both connectors so there's nothing to connect it to... the yellow wire is supposed to be wired to a constant 12v supply, but if you do this it will NEVER shut off! Instead, wire this yellow dude to pin 16 on the connector (accessory, purple/blue wire). I don't mind having it on when the car is on, since I'll
almost always be listening to it. The best solution would be to wire it to a switch and to constant power...

2. The interface cable is different, too. There's two main wire bundles:

2a. One has a connector that plugs into the changer block on the back of the radio (CB891-B). Simply unplug the factory connector that runs to the boot, plug in the connector and wallah, that part's done! Also included in this bundle is a black ground wire with a stake-on. I ground it to the radio chassis, using the convenient screw mount on the back of the radio...

2b. There's another wire bundle with 3 bare wires... The brown goes to the brown in the main wiring loom (pin 12) which is ground. The red/brown goes to red/brown in the main wiring loom (pin 15) which is the battery connection. The red/white goes to the white/red/yellow in the main wiring loom (pin 9) which is the CAN+/I-Bus... I finally figured that out by going to the boot and looking at WTF'ing connectors had in them back there...
I ended up mounting my iCruze module and the interface module right behind the driver's lower knee bolster (the plastic piece that's replaced if you install the euro parcel shelf). I had to screw them down, since it's too curvy, but they are in there SOLID. Best part is that you can just pull that down and service everything, then snap it back up.

I ended up mounting the LCD on the dash, in the corner near the inspection sticker and registration sticker... looks sweet and makes for an easy glance. It's on the flat plastic by the defrost vent, so it'll be easier to remove and cleanup if I ever wanted to...

Sound quality is awesome... Operating it through the MFSW is a bit wonky, though, but was probably because my playlists were all hosed.

 

Didn't the blue-white wire have a connector in the middle? Mine did, I wired the blue white to accessory, and the yellow to 12v constant just like the directions said, and mine turns off, at least the LCD is off when the car is off.

Scott
PS> Did anyone ever notice that if you turn your car off (but not get out of the car) you can hit the power button on the stereo and turn it back on? When I did this while doing the install, I thought I mis-wired something.

 

Yes, it did... I wired mine such that the hot lead going to the interface module goes to ACC. Works just the same...

And yeah, I hit the button accidentally during the install...

FWIW, I'll probably re-wire the power to my now defunct fog light toggle switch, since my fog lights were gutted for my low-buck brake ducts. This will allow me to turn the whole thing off if I don't have the iPod connected...

 

bump

 

Bump? Did I miss a question? Or are you just wondering when scobib re-wires? Or are you still waiting your final shipment.

As for me, I've already sent in a minor bug report...

Apart from that, life is great, and am enjoying my new toy!!!
Scott

 

Well, comparing the two....

1) Denison's ice-link has a fancy cradle, that you need to mount near the stereo in order to navigate the playlists. (For me that's a minus, since I'd rather hide my iPod. VS. Monster's iCruze has an LCD that you mount displaying track & artist. If you want the Fancy cradle in sight, then Denison gets a point , if not Monster gets 1 point. Also, if you EVER upgrade your iPod, the cradle needs to be replaced. Another 1/2 point for Monster (IMHO)

2) Neither unit displays on the Mini Head-Units (or at least not on my '02 Cooper) This is a tie.

3) Monster is $99 with a 3 Doors Down DVD, LCD, all cables, & stuff. You'll need a soldering iron (or tri-locks) and some shrink tubing or (UGH!) tape. The Denison (for my car) is $289.00 without a DVD. :impatient Hmm, let's see 1 point for Monster?

4) Denison has the fancy capabilities (which requires the extra display of the iPod) to select "Album Play" or "PlayList Browser" or you can tweak settings and even update the ice-link software. Monster lets you choose from the first 6 playlists on your iPod, and can do RND (Random) jumps. It also only can show track numbers up to 99, so if you have 121 tracks in playlist 3, you start at 3-01 (on the Mini Radio display) and go to 3-99 (and then have another 22 3-99 songs.) But, the LCD does display the Artist & Song. Hmmm, 1 point to Denison for the über fancy capabilities.

5) Your boyfriend says the Denison looks better? Well, that's either a plus or negative point there.

These are my thoughts on the whole she-bang. But the deciding factor for me was price and LCD display...

Good Luck no matter what you do, they both sound great!

Scott

 

thanks so much for the post! i haven't decided yet, but you've definitely laid it out all on the table for me. thanks again! by the way, what month did you get your '02? Mine is as well and I think I read somewhere that no '02 model can display the tracks? Do you know anything about that?

 

so i noticed the icruze factory price has gone up. it's now 150 for all the parts...i should've jumped on the deal. i was just wondering what parts (wiring, cables, etc.) are needed to get the icruze to hook up in my '02 MC. can anyone help me out? also, does installation of the icruze require splicing wires and how "messy" was the installation?

 

Did anyone bought it while it was still $99 and don't want their kit anymore?

 

Sorry to hear about the price increase... As for the wiring/cables, all I did was enter my 02 Cooper in the configurator and clicked buy now. For the installation, theres a bit of splicing (12v constant, 12v accessory, ground, and the data bus. All four wires are available on the back of the radio, so you can either use "Scotch-Locks" aka T-locks or you can do what I did...

1) Remove the down tubes, driver's side knee bolster, & (optionally the glove compartment)
2) Remove the connector from the back of the stereo & remove the head unit.
3) slide the blue "tab-holder" out of the wiring connector.
4) For each of the four wires you need remove them from the connector by using a small jewelers screwdriver to push down the tabe holding them in place.
5) Once removed, strip the factory stereo wires about 1 inch from the connector and using a soldering iron solder the iCruze wires to the head-unit wire.
6) Slide head shrink tubing (or use tape, UGH!) onto the wire and using a lighter (or heat gun) shrink the tubing to protect the wires.
7) do steps 4-6 until done.
8) mount the boxes with strong double stick tape.
9) Put the head unit back in and reconnect the connectors.
10) before putting everything back together, test iPod/iCruize/Radio.
11) reassemble car.
12) do a little dance and go for a iCruise in your iMini!

Scott

 

There is one for sale on our local board here.

 

From the time that everyone has ordered the Icruz kit, how long was it before anyone recieved it?

 

i want to sell mine if anyone is interested. i paid $115 shipped. i don't think my install skills are quite good enough to handle it, and quite frankly i'm more than happy with the mp3 cds i've been using since i got my MINI last month!

it'll even come with 2 iCruze LCD (since monstercable messed up)--just in case one breaks or you make a mistake?