Just as a PSA, I had to use my iPhone 3G with my 1 1/2 y/o DICE today (my wife has temporary custody of my 1st gen Touch), and it worked flawlessy. Granted, my older DICE doesn't charge my phone, which didn't matter on this trip, but I had no issues at all on an iPhone 3G with with the new 3.0 OS.

 

Good to hear. BTW, what "mode" is your Dice in? (e.g. "locked" vs. "unlocked" - determined by the DIP switches)

Also, what's involved in switching between devices docked into the DICE - can you do this while the car and radio are on and easily switch to a different ipod/iphone?

 

About ready to pull the trigger on the DICE kit..

Can anyone recommend pros/cons for the radio vs trunk kit for the mini cooper? If they're the same difficulty, I'm inclined to have less cable strung throughout my car (and shorter connects = better sound). But I'm not sure how difficult it is to get behind the mini's radio, and additionally how/where to mount the dice kit.

thanks!

 

For what it's worth, it was pretty easy to get in behind the factory radio in my '06 MCS. I haven't pulled the trigger on the DICE unit yet, party because I got an aux-input kit free with the car (just had to install it), partly because iPhone 3.0 software seems to have issues with DICE and some other car integration kits (including Toyota's factory kit), so I think Apple broke something... anyway...

The official directions, and the references I've seen, have you removing the glove box, pulling out the shifter base, removing the power mirror/heated seat buttons ... crazy. I found once I removed the screws from the down tubes, the tubes had plenty of play in the base and easily pull aside enough to access the screws that hold in the radio and remove it.

From the pics online, the DICE adapter looks pretty compact, so I think you can just stick it in there from the front without having to go crazy.

(Tip: The torx screws that mount the down tubes and secure the factory radio into the dash all can strip out if you over-tighten. They're basically self-tapping screws going into plastic -- definitely not intended to come in and out all the time I learned the hard way. For a premium car the Mini has some pretty chintzy choices in its assembly ... I hope the money they saved all went into the frame, suspension and engine )

Eventually I'll get a DICE Silverline Pro for my MCS and I plan to install the radio unit not the trunk unit.

Hope this helps!

 

Cool.. so i just unbolt the downtubes, then unscrew the radio, pull it out, hook it up the DICE, shove it back behind the dash somewhere, and then put it all back together again?

yeah... that's what making me hesitate on the purchase (see my previous posts). I've been unsuccessful at getting in touch with Tom, which makes me even more hesitant.


with the above problems, what makes you still want to get it?

 

That's the idea. (You need to drop the knee panel under the steering wheel to get at one of the down tube screws, which requires more force than you think it ought to, then it comes free.) But ... remember I haven't actually done this, so there might be some crazy need to do something, err, crazy. Can't imagine why but don't trust me, I haven't done this exact job. Just noting that it's easy to get in behind the factory radio and there's a good deal of room back there.


I do consider it odd that he hasn't replied to this thread ... but until either DICE or Apple do something, there's not much he can do to help us. For what it's worth, iPhone OS 3.1 is in beta with developers already, and given that some other bugs slipped through with 3.0, there is at least *some* chance that Apple will fix the bugs they introduced with OS 3.0.

No matter how broken the iPhone interface, it will work fine with my 3-year old 60 GB iPod Video. :-) iPhone would be a nice bonus but not a core need for me.

 

Well, the main difference is that if you have or ever will have an integrated satellite radio setup, you must use the trunk mount kit. If you will never have sat radio, then the front mount kit is fine. Either way you will lose the ability to have a CD changer.

 

My Dice is in "locked" mode. I have been successful in switching devices whilst the car was running, although I sometimes have to flip to FM and back to MODE in order to get sound.

 

do you have any pics / links for more info on how this method of removing the radio is done? i seem to remember it being around somewhere, but now I can't find it...

Thanks!

 

Here, this should help...
http://www.minicarparts.net/Instruct...structions.cfm

and here's the pictorial on how to do the ICElink install:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...g-lots-of.html

My short version of how to get behind the radio in my '06 MCS:

1. Lower the kick panel under the steering wheel. Pull down HARD, it requires a good bit of force to free up the catches. It's hinged at the back, so it'll just swing down. Doing this clears a path to one of the screws in Step 2.

2. Unscrew the two Torx 30 screws in the left-hand downtube.

3. Open the glove box. This clears a path to one of the screws in Step 4.

4. Unscrew the two Torx 20 screws in the right-hand down tube.

5. For each downtube, pull it DOWN, then outward to the side a little. They won't come out of their bases but they wiggle. Be careful not to scuff them against the lowered kick-panel under the steering wheel or against the lowered glove box.

6. Unscrew the Torx 20 screws that hold the radio head unit into the center console. Gently slide it out. You can unplug the whole wiring harness if you need to remove it completely to get some room to work.

Assembly is the reverse of disassembly. Be careful not to strip out those various screws -- they just screw into soft plastics. Turn 'em until they stop turning, don't force them in another turn or two. (Don't ask me how I know )

This is from memory but I think it covers all the steps.

 

Hello,
I am having a problem with my DICE iPod integration kit. I purchased it in 2007 and it has been working reasonably well (albeit a bit quirky/buggy) until now. I am getting highly distorted audio via the iPod connector connection. It sounds fine if the same iPod is plugged into the aux cable. Steering wheel controls are working and I am getting the data feed displayed on the head unit. I have a 2006 MCS convertible with the HK head unit. The DICE is plugged into the back of the head unit. Anybody have any suggestions on how to troubleshoot and fix?

 

Edit again: I found out how to get the radio out for the most part. Now the install is the problem. If someone can help me with the actual installing of the DICE system, the actual technical part I would love you forever.

Edit: Cant get the darn switch cluster out. Nothing can be wedged under that thing. It just isnt having any of it. I posted a thread and hope someone has tips. Is there a way to do this without sliding the entire thing forward? I just cant get at that last screw.

 

Just did this (radio install of the DICE kit) on my '06 MCS a couple weeks ago before going on our road trip. It was a bit frustrating, but ultimately pretty straight forward.

The easiest thing I found is to follow an earlier suggestion where you just unbolt the two side hex screws to loosen the downtubes (you'll have to pull down the kick panel under the steering wheel to get at the top left screw).

Once those are loose, you can pull them off a bit enough to access the mounting screws for the radio. unscrew the radio and slide it out.

Next you unplug the harness from the back of the radio. plug in the DICE and then plug the harness into the other end of the DICE cable (this female end is just like the back of the radio). hook up the dice box to the other end of this cable and put it somewhere conveniently accessible (I put it mounted to the kick panel so it's out of the way but easy to get to.

Finally, shove the radio (with all the extra wiring harness) back into the dash. This was actually the trickiest and most frustrating part. If you reach around the downtubes you'll be able to reach behind the radio a bit and help buide the extra wiring. There's space back there, but it's an awkward layout.

Also, be careful not to put too much stress on those cables - i managed to pull one of the stock wires loose at the splice (a poor splicing job by MINI, IMHO). This led to lots of frustrating troubleshooting to figure out what i had done wrong.

I hope this helps.. (clear as mud!)

let me know if you have any questions...

P.S. I set my DICE in "SMART" mode (up, up, up, down for dip switches) which works for my iphone, although is a bit finnicky.

good luck!

 

Thanks so much for your help! I have officially ipod'd (is that a word?) my car!

Hopefully that little black twist **** that was holding the cord to the back of the radio was not important. I know its not, but there is no way in h*ll I am taking that radio back out to try and fasten it. Just for piece of mind, it is not important RIGHT? I put it somewhere safe and will put it back on eventually for safe keeping but with any luck I wont have to do it for a while.

I could have done the entire thing in 20mins if it was not for the fact that when I connected the radio harness to the DICE part it would not fit. I had it in the right way but I could not get the darn thing to snap shut and did not want to break it. Finally got it to work and the rest was a piece of cake.

Not going to worry about mounting anything tonight. Need to do something though, there is way too much cord.

Now lets just hope it keeps working. I dont want to do that again any time soon.

 

congrats!

I'm not sure what little black twist *** you're referring to..  so hopefully that's not an issue (was it like a twist tie?)

Just a few notes of caution based on my experience with the DICE kit - it's finnicky.  So if one day you plug in your ipod/iphone and turn it on and it doesn't work - try unplugging / replugging the ipod, and/or turning the radio on/off. It will randomly not work (just not play immediately - it always charges and eventually works) but it is finnicky at times. There doesn't seem to be any clear logic, but I'm still trying to figure out what the "correct" sequence is.

i think the issues I'm having are specific to using an iPhone (which the DICE doesn't like when it's "locked") and using the DICE in the "SMART" mode.

Other than that, it's been great and the sound quality and control from the radio is much better than using the standard "AUX" port.

Next up is some kind of pro clip to mount it somewhere (other than sitting upsidedown in my cup holder).

Cheers

 

Quick update: I installed the DICE Silverline Pro in my '06 MCS today. Install went pretty easily, though I had to arrange all the extra cabling pretty carefully to keep it from getting in the way of the radio as it slid back in.

Tested it out with my 60 GB iPod Video, and my iPhone 3GS. Seemed to work fine with both. I imagine it may be a few days before I get enough experience with the iPhone to know how well it is or isn't working, but initial testing was encouraging!

 

Can anyone confirm if the Dice will work with the 4th gen Nano?

 

i would like to ask if anyone knows.. i use the new dice that supports iphone 3gs, except from music, will i be able to hear sound when running an app on my iphone? let's say if i use tom tom navigation. will the sound be heard from the speakers?
thanks

 

I have just confirmed, testing using Pandora on my iPhone 3GS, that apps can route their audio out through the dock port and to the DICE Silveline Pro. So in theory, at least, the Tom Tom app ought to work.

Note that when you connect your iPhone, it will start playing music. You'll have to go to the iPod music player and pause it, then go back to your app, which can then make all the noise it wants.

 

Dumb question but do you own the tom tom app? If so what do you think of it? This is an app that I was considering, but it is very expensive.

 

Holy Crap!

I ordered the kit for Jerome on Friday afternoon and it's on my desk now.

Thanks Guys!

Now the question is... how long can I stay at work before I leave early to install it.

 

Okay, so I made it to 4:30.

The whole process took about 45 min. I was a little nervous about pulling the kick panel under the steering wheel down. It really is a swift sharp yank.

I'm love'n it so far. I use pandora or slacker a lot and it works great.

 

So its been about a month and my dice has stopped working!

Been through all the troubleshooting I can think of. Turn off car, turn on car. Unplug ipod plug back in, turn off radio turn on radio, every combo of flipping the switches, etc.

It does the classic "detached" thing so I go through the turn off radio turn back on. Then it does not tell me detached but will not play music!

Any advice before I rip the thing back out of my car? Its wedged so tight I doubt anything came loose. Heck, I dont know if I could even get the thing out if it had to be replaced. :(

I just knew this was going to happen.

 

This sequence usually works for me:

Turn off radio.

Turn on iPod. (if iPhone, unlock the iphone).

Plug in iPod/iPhone.

Wait 2-3 seconds

Turn on radio

WAIT about 5-10 seconds...

if it doesn't start playing or says "detached", press one of the number keys on the radio (e.g. disc 2, or disc 3). i've found this forces the dice to re-sync.


If none of this works, you may have a loose wire. Once my dice got into this mode where it refused to play, and I took a look at the device and nothing had come unplugged. however, unplugging it (including power), letting it sit for about 10 minutes, and then hooking everything back up again got it working again.

Like I said in my earlier post.. this is the most finicky piece of electronics I've ever used....

BTW, I have my dice mounted in the kick panel under the steering - this is great because there's plenty of room for it and I can easily drop down the kick panel to get access to it.

Good luck!!

 

This worked! I <3 you. Here is a cookie. :: gives cookie ::

Boy was I happy I didnt have to rip out the radio again. And I dont have the dice mounted. I am a total slacker. Its under the radio console thingy in the back. Sure there is a lot of extra cord but at least I can easily get to it, right?

Thanks so much!