orion603

I finally placed an order for GROM iPod adapter and installed it myself.
It took about 3 hours because of some issue after finished putting everything back, so I had to pretty much un-do all of it.

Anyways, I've been using the adapter for about a week with my iPod nano and been very satisfied with the unit.

I purchased three items from GROM.

1. iPod adapter
2. Bluetooth dongle
3. iPod/iPhone controller cable

With $10 holiday discount, total was about $134/w tax.

Before working on this installation, I read the below posting a couple of times to get familiar with removal steps.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...oval-help.html

So, here's what I have done to install the adapter...

1. I disconnected the battery (negative wire first, then positive next - Thanks to dmight's advice).
2. I removed the glove compartment.
3. using the cheapest moulding removing tool from Home Depot (thinnest one), pulled the AC controller out. Once left lower side corner is loose, it's pretty easy to pull the AC controller unit out.



4. AC controller unit removed



5. Stereo unit removed - BE CAREFUL NOT TO DROP SCREWS INSIDE THE CAR when you remove AC unit



6. Now, it was getting interesting here. The below picture shows the GROM harness cable that is plugged into the back of the CD changer unit, passed through a little gap behind the dash and into the compartment.

When I called the GROM support and ask them where I should mount the adapter, the support guy didn't really specify either back of the CD changer or the compartment. However, he said, "put it anywhere with easy access to remove the adapter for any possible firmware update" So, I thought the compartment would be the best place to keep the adapter and iPod together....but the harness cable was too SHORT!!!




7. So, I had to connect the adapter and slide it into the little gap as the below picture shows.



8. The below picture shows the adapter with both iPod control cable and bluetooth dongle cable plugged in.



So, after that, I re-connected the battery and tested the adapter with my iPod nano and it worked great! Then, I ran into this problem after putting everything back in.

I COULD NOT OPEN THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT!

The black piece on each side of the compartment that are used to stop the compartment lid/door all the way open was stuck with the adapter! The little gap where I slid in the adapter was for the black piece. So, I had to remove the AC controller unit and CD changer to lose the adapter to make room for the black piece. Then I removed the piece cause there was no other place to mount the adapter except behind the CD changer.

So, it all took about three hours to complete it (the wires aren't cleanly ran yet) but I am happy so far with the sound quality and the fact that I can listen to mp3s on my iPod/iPhone.

Previously, I used cassette adapter which worked well but it increased treble too much with my iPod.
That's why I paid 10 times more than cassette adapter for this GROM unit for my iPod nano.

Also, paring with my HTC evo phone was quick and easy. It plays Pandora music without an issue via bluetooth even though I still had my iPod playing. It changed source automatically.

If there's anyone who are considering this GROM unit, I highly recommend it but I wish GROM provides a little longer harness cable for easier installation.