So I left home today to travel to a rod run here in Gatlinburg, TN, and I plan on driving "The Dragon" tomorrow as well with my MINI. I leave out and when I get about 30 miles from home my sound starts to sound funny. Now, for a couple weeks now I've used my iPOD pluged into my AUX input I installed. (Before you assume, NO, I'm not plugged into power as well, the ipod runs on its battery).

My problem is it sounds like total crap and I get only one side of the sound or half the audio, odd stuff. At first it worked if I played with the cable, now it won't work correctly at all unless I unplug the cable all the way and wiggle it to a spot it works and hold it there. Which, of course, is impossible.

SO, anyone else have this problem with the AUX input? Has mine just gone bad so soon? I'm mad cause I have NO other cd's with me and I had a "Dragon" playlist all ready and everything...now I'll be crusing to the sound of..well...nothing.

Thoughts? Ideas? When I get home do I need to buy another AUX Input? I hope not :( (Also, I tried a different cable, does the same thing)

 

The aux. input plug probably just came loose in back of your head unit. That's what happened to me the other week. You shouldn't have to buy any new parts, but it will take a good 30 minutes to take everything back off and check connections. What time do you plan on going to the Dragon tomorrow?

 

Assuming that your iPod is otherwise working fine... that part of your description sure makes it seem like the jack has a bad contact. Either the spring loaded contacts are not pressing firmly against the plug, or the cable (on the other side) is coming loose from the jack. Is there any other device you can connect to check -- cd player, camcorder, laptop, a friend's iPod, etc.? If it does the same thing, the evidence is pointing to a defective jack. If you are handy electrically, you can check whether a connection needs to be resoldered.

 

Sounds like the plug came loose. As mentioned above, take 15 mins and pull it apart and take a look see. let us know if that corrects the problem.

 

It might also be something simple, like the cable running from the iPod to the AUX IN jack. Try a new cable, available cheap from Radio Shack.

 

I agree with all the replies so far. You can duplicate this problem by simply sticking your earphones in halfway....you will get crappy sound out of one earphone.

I am going with a bad connection.

 

Thanks for the replies guys...sorry but I went back out after I posted this and now I just woke up after getting back to the room late. I'm going to try cable where it plugs into the back of the headunit before I leave for The Dragon in a few. If that doesn't work I'll tear it apart when I get back home :(

And Cooper99, I should get to the dragon around 11:30 or 12 probably.

 

Well, there is the fine exhaust note of the car you are driving, I find myself turning off the music more and more, even having spent the bucks for the H/K.

 

Hope you got it fixed and had a good run!!!!!

 

Hard to feel too bad for someone who is driving the dragon and can only listen to a CD or radio. . .

As others said, sounds like a bad connection. You could also easily replace just that part of the aux adapter with junk from radio shack.

 

I had a similar problem with my aux input. I replaced the cable I was using ($6 Belkin from Wal-Mart) and everything has been fine since.

 

Actually the one I started using was the cheap Belkin from walmart....is this the one you bought that works, or the one that had the initial problem? I haven't tried a new cable, but did try a splitter on the input and it did the same thing. Maybe the cable is just pure junk?

Oh, and I downloaded some MP3's off my work computer over night and made a nice MP3 cd to listen to on the way to/from the dragon.....and then my "mix" for while on the dragon. Nothing like flying around curves listening to "Enemy Within" from Arch Enemy <insert headbang smiley here>



EDIT: NM, I got back home today and plugged my old cable in, and it works perfectly fine. So let this be a lesson, THE BELKIN CABLES FROM WAL-MART SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Here's my opinion....iPod SUCKS (at the top of my lungs). Anything that has anything to do with iPod SUCKS. I have never gotten so frustrated over a piece of electronic equipment like I have with the iPod. It simply does not perform well in ANY application....PERIOD. I could give you a list of glitchy behaviors as long as my arm...up to and including locking up WHATEVER it touches. Stand alone or hooked to something else, it's crappy performance is so out of line with the price you pay for it, that it can only be described as one of the biggest ripoffs since the pet rock. I have just slam dunked my second one....yes SMASHED it....on a concrete floor.....into pieces no larger than the head of a pin. I'm free at last. And looking for another solution to my MP3 needs. I will welcome the inconvenience of jewel cases again. Discs sound better anyway.

I've been through 2 generations of $200 ice link, dice link. I have a $129 clock radio for the ipod. I plug it into the aux jack of my motorcyle stereo. I used it with my $179 Shure ear buds. Lack of phone support, changing software versions, 3 R's (isn't that cute), more resetting, formatting, almost wrecking my car resetting, dealing with the haphazard-thrown-together-user unfriendly-poorly-written-take-over-my-computer-with-quicktime-piece-of-crap iTunes are just a FEW of the reasons that I can say that the HUGE amount of money I spent on this JUNKJUNKJUNK was completely wasted. I have NEVER had an urge so strong to splatter 400 bucks all over a concrete slab....with no regrets. That's how far my iJunk pushed me. Need I say more?

My thoughts overall? If it has an "i" in front of it, it's CRAP. Look for another solution. This is a one year testimonial of TOLERATING this overpriced, junk, crap, marketing bonanza technology.

 

Now tell us how you really feel.


I suppose your alternative would be to try the new MicroSoft "Zune" (iPod clone).

I think they named it "Zune" because once you use it for a while, you'll zune want to throw it in the trash.

rock on,

-boognish

 

So, of the 45+ million iPods sold to date, you've owned exactly *two* of them, and feel qualified to proclaim them as "crap"/"junk"/whatever, based on your experience?

Let me guess, you haven't yet learned about statistics and sample size in school, have you?

Seriously, I don't know what was wrong with the two you've owned, but I've owned four of them, used them with both Windows and Macintosh computers, updated the firmware on all of them, updated iTunes, used them in my cars, on my motorcycles, while working out, in saunas, while flying, and pretty much everywhere else, and have never had anything go wrong that rose above the level of "minor glitch".

The earbuds suck, and the included cases have gotten crappier as the players themselves have gotten better. It also sucks to spend $400 on the newest iPod, only to find out it no longer comes with a dock. But again, as far as I'm concerned, that's nothing fatal in the design or execution of the player itself.

Scott

 

Well, I guess we need to hear from the other 45 million...don't we. But my 2 to your 4 is 50%.

 

I got now about 6 iPods in the family and had about 12 no problems. My 1st gen. is what I use in The Mini works great. Your problem might be operator error.

 

I was just giving you a hard time. Honestly, I do the same thing too. I still won't buy a Sony car stereo because of a bad experience I had with one of their products in 1990!

In my mind, I know that my one bad unit was probably a fluke, and I doubt that anyone responsible for designing or building that particular model is even working at Sony anymore, but I figure that there are so many other brands that *haven't* screwed me over, so where's my incentive for going back to Sony again?

If I ever had a bad experience with any of my iPods, I might feel the same way about Apple, but the key difference is that unlike car stereos, I haven't found any other brand/model of MP3 player that I'd be willing to accept as a replacement for my iPods.

Scott

 

Yeah I know...the funny thing is that I won't buy anything BUT Sony. But my post wasn't meant to **** anybody off. That's just how freaking frustrated I got. I had 2 5th gen 60 gb videos....$400 a pop. I expected them to treat me better than they did. But sheese, little by little, they lost their full functionality....even to the point where loonyTunes would no longer write photos.....then ultimately write anything at all. I couldn't even perform a 'restore' anymore....not valid firmware it said. And I treated that iPod like a piece of china....until I slam dunked it, of course.

 

my iPod works fine, and I fell into a pool with it in my pocket It was COMEPLTLY submerged.

 

If the first one was so bad why would you ever buy a 2nd??? I despise Mac, even though I have an iMac and a G4 in my office at work along with my various PC's. Still though, for music players iPods are the best out there...hands down. Mine is just a 4th gen and it;s given me no real problem. The only people I know who have ever had problems with the ipod themselves are computer newbs. As far as ANY of the "radio" transmitters, they all suck.

But with my old cable, it works great as it does with a tape adapter in my beater car.

 

THAT....was operator error.

 

Love my Macs, my iPods, and my Mini. iPods have 90 days of free phone support, and you can buy for a reasonable sum, more warranty and phone support.

You guys need to smile more.. These are happy cars.
Jason

 

Back to your original problem. I had the EXACT same problem when I first started using my MP3 player via the aux port. I noticed that the plug fit kind of funny and that I was only getting half the sound. I thought that maybe it was the port itself. Then I got to thinking about the cord I was connecting to the player with. (I had grabbed it out of my "box o' unused computer parts" since it had the right plug on both ends). First, I noticed that the plug on the headphones happened to fit just fine in the aux port. So I did a quick side by side and noticed that plug on the patch cord was actually about 1/8 inch shorter than the one on the headphones. I'm not 100% sure, but I think the cord I was using was a mono cord rather than a stereo cord. It may have come as a data cord for my 7 year old camcorder, I'm not sure. Anyway, went right to Radio Shack, got a new cord (made sure it was stereo with the guy behind the counter) and had instant success.

Hope this helps you.

 

ARgggh. Now I'm having problems with the Aux port. It's been flickering in and out, even with another ipod, so it's in the port, or the HU. Sometimes AUX cycles through (used to always) but now it's just vanished. And when it WAS on for a few moments, it just dropped and went to CD.

Radio and CD are fine, but when I want the Aux to appear, the radio voice peeves me bigtime and I DON'T WANT TO HEAR THAT CD! PLAY THE IPOD already.

Sorry. Do I need to have my Head (unit) examined? A few weeks ago the right half of the final numeral in the radio dial position was "sliced" off. thoughs? (sigh)