Originally Posted by nigelti
Hi,
Recently purchased a year old 159 without the Blue&Me gizmo and am looking for practical advice on the best option that will connect to the standard stereo. I'm only interested in direct connections as have previously wasted money on the FM transmitters which have never been very good.
I've seen the Denison mentioned a few times but would value opinion on others. Also any information on good places for fitting in either the Reading or Bournemouth areas.
I don't really want to spend more than £250 on parts and fitting.
Thanks!
Nigel
Nigel,
I recently bought a used 159 too with the standard CD player. I used an IPod adaptor bought directly from Alfa Romeo which plugs straight into the back of the standard stereo. I use a 2nd generation Ipod Nano, which rests in the glove compartment. You can fit it outside using a separate cradle which is available on ebay etc.
Part no: 71804065 , cost = about £87, fitting = £0, easy to do yourself, however you will need the stereo removal tool, which I did not have so took it to a local Car audio place who removed the stereo for £2!!
(To confuse things Alfa have another Adaptor for £150 which I did not go for).
See the below link for excellent fitting instructions, just ignore the part numbers and use the one I provided above :
Alfa Romeo forum: Fitting an ipod to a 159 or Brera
Basically, when using the above adapotor, your Ipod works as a 10 CD changer, each playlist being a CD. You need to create some playlists (I have created about 8 for now including the default ones on the Ipod). Once fitted you just select the source to CHANGER and use the up/down arrows either on the stereo or the steering wheel control to change playlist (i.e. virtual CD). One point thought, the stereo will not display the song names etc. only CD number (i.e. playlist number) and Track number. If you want to see the song details all the time, I would suggest you mount the Ipod outside. Again, the display on the Ipod is quite small (display is different from the standard Ipod display) and not always backlit and so reading the song names can be really difficult when driving, which is why I chose to leave it inside the glovebox.. this way no one knows I have an Ipod lurking about!!
One problem I have faced, and many others who have used the Alfa Ipod adaptor, is that when you are playing songs from the Ipod via the Changer, and you turn the ignition off, the display always goes back to CD1 (playlist 1) when the engine is started again although the last song that was being played before switching off still plays with the correct track number, from the correct playlist. Personally am not bothered by this.
The way around this is: Before switching the ignition off, change your source to either TUNER or the normal CD. When you start the car again, you can reselect the source to CHANGER and the playing resumes from where you left off displaying the correct playlist number. It will all become obvious when you fit it. Took me literally 15 minutes for the whole job, 1 torx screw to remove from the glove box, Stereo removed, supplied adaptor cable fitted to back of stereo and routed by hand easily into gap within glove box (did not need any tool to guide the cable), plugged in adaptor, taped it using supplied plastic velcro strip to back of glove box as indicated in picture.
In my opinion, this is the cheapest and best option. I did some extensive research before deciding on this, cause Denision etc. did not seem to be compatible. I know it works, if it doesnt you can always retrun it back to Alfa Romeo. You can get the part from any AR dealer stores department.
HAPPY!
Re: Best Ipod Connection for a 159
