Installing a Parrot MKI9100: Bluetooth, ipod, aux, usb

[BoughtTheXLR]

[Edit: updated 3/7/2012, switched to mki9200 & a couple small changes -- see last few posts]

Background: I wanted bluetooth, which is only on the 2009's, and I wanted some sort of auxiliary audio. Other than the various hands-free kits the only way to get bluetooth involves replacing the OnStar box with something like the BlueStar, or with a 2009 Onstar box that supports bluetooth. A number of folks have done that, but GM does not allow you to buy the box, and discourages dealers from mating a used 2009 box with earlier cars.

The problem with doing anything audio-related in our cars is that a lot of the control functions utilize the Class 2 data network. The iSimple Gateway is one of the few audio devices that speaks Class 2, but it does not have bluetooth, and there is no harness available for our cars anyway.

I decided to install the Parrot MKI9100 because at less than $200 it provided bluetooth, ipod, aux-in, and USB memory-stick in. I picked the 9100 for the small display size; the 9000 has no display and the 9200 has a larger display. And, the Parrot was one of the few units that I could find a harness for.

Ah, yes, the harness. Nobody makes a harness to plug-and-play anything into an XLR. I eventually tracked down a harness that is listed for the 2004-2007 SRX. After delving into the service manual wiring diagrams, I decided it would be a perfect match. Ordered the Parrot and the harness. The harness had the correct plugs and sockets to hook the Parrot up to the radio, and when I plugged it in it didn't work. And it would not have worked in an SRX either; ground and battery connections were reversed, with ignition also grounded. And the mute box intercepted left side audio, but had unused connections to the right.

Worse, the whole show connected only to the radio. The way the XLR (and early SRX) are set up, the radio audio feeds into the cd changer, and the cd changer feeds the Bose amp. So, any harness that intercepts audio at the radio harness won't do anything if you are playing a cd.

Well, by now I'd had the radio out several times, and in the process of studying the wiring I found that the Parrot incorporates its own mute capability, so with just the harness that came in the Parrot box, I could wire it in directly.

So I did. Here's how:

 

[BoughtTheXLR]

Preparation and planning:

Stripping the wires in the car can be difficult without a single-handed wire stripper like the one with the orange handles in the picture. You can get one for about $20 at Lowes or Home Depot. If you've never used one before, practice on the unneeded Parrot harness wires and be sure it's adjusted correctly.

I decided to make it possible to easily remove the Parrot, so I didn't want to have to do any wiring during removal. So, I bought two sets of locking connectors and connected one set to the Parrot's harness. (The other set will connect to the car audio wiring). That way, when everything is hooked up, I can disconnect the Parrot, connect the two in-car connectors together, and still have car audio working. They are just to the left of the wire stripper, with one side pre-labelled to remind me which one goes to the cd changer.

I solder all connections, and use heat-shrink tubing (1/8 inch works here). You can probably get by with just twisting wires together and taping them. I do recommend soldering, although if you are new at it, this is probably not an ideal place to start, especially for the in-car connections.

You will also need a t-15 torx screwdriver, a 10mm nutdriver or socket, a drill and suitable bits (see the later posts about this), a plastic spatula, and a good-sized soft cloth.

Most importantly, you will need patience. Especially when it comes to disconnecting electrical connectors, ALL of which have some sort of latching mechanism. In some cases a flashlight and mirror may be useful while you are trying to figure out how to get a connector unlatched.

 

[BoughtTheXLR]

Here's the Parrot's harness wiring plan. It's very poorly done, IMHO, as you may have to study it a bit to realize that 1-4 and 13-16 are the "to speakers" wires. 5-8 and 17-20 are the "from radio" wires.

You can cut off the connectors as none of them are needed.

I did not test to see if it made a difference, and used only the "Front" connections, since everything in the xlr is only 2-channel up to the amp.

 

[BoughtTheXLR]

Console:

Push down the trim ring on the shift knob. If it's uncooperative, try gripping it with one of those rubber pads used to make jar opening easier. If necessary, use the plastic spatula. Use a t-15 torx screwdriver to unscrew the screw enough so you can remove the knob. Twisting as you pull up on it may make it easier.

Use a plastic spatula to pry up the back ends of the console panel, and start lifting it from the rear. Part way up, you will have to disconnect the connector to the shift indicator lights.

Pull the panel the rest of the way up. Disconnect the connector to the lighter. Then pry loose the cable retainer nearby. This will allow you to pivot the panel around into the driver's footwell, where it will be out of the way.

 

[BoughtTheXLR]

Place a soft cloth around the shifter to keep it from scratching anything.

Use the plastic spatula at the bottom sides and then the top sides to pry out the center panel. When it's partway out, reach under the hazard warning switch and disconnect its connector. The release is on the bottom, and narrower than the connector itself.

Disconnect the 3 connectors to the climate controls, and put the panel out of the way. You don't have to label the connectors, as they are all different.

Secure the hazard warning connector to the dashboard. Unless you are absolutely sure you won't forget about it when reinstalling the radio.

 

[BoughtTheXLR]

Remove the 4 bolts with a 10mm nutdriver or socket.

Pull the (rather heavy) radio & cdchanger unit out to one side or another.

Disconnect everything except the cable that runs directly from the radio to the cdchanger. Remove the unit and set it aside.

 

[BoughtTheXLR]

Here's the audio connector we'll be working with, as seen from the cd changer. This connector has two sets of audio wires, one from the radio to the changer, and one from the changer to the amp. The wires we want are noted. Ignore the colors written to the right, those are my notes for which color things are on the connectors I attached to the Parrot harness.

 

[BoughtTheXLR]

You will need to remove a fair amount of sticky electrical tape, and then you can seperate the two groups of wires.

This is a view from the bottom of the plug, with the wires we are going to work with on the left. We are going to cut each wire and connect in the harness.

ONE WIRE AT A TIME!

Identify which wire is #6 (left audio +). Pick a cut point far enough from the cdchanger connector so that you will be able to strip the end with the wire stripper, and cut the wire at that point. Strip both ends. Connect the left audio + wires from the Parrot harness. Be very sure that the wire still attached to the white connector is connected to the Parrot "From Radio" wire and the wire end still leading into the car is connected to the Parrot "To Speakers" wire.

Repeat for the other wires.

 

[BoughtTheXLR]

When everything is wired up, pause and review before finalizing all the connections. You won't be able to test anything until the radio unit is reconnected.

 

[BoughtTheXLR]

[There is no picture for this, my apologies]

The Parrot needs ground, battery +, and ignition +. Ground and Battery + are available on the OTHER white cdchanger connector, being the black and red wires at opposite ends of the connector. (Red is battery+, black is ground). The orange ignition+ wire from the Parrot should for now be fed out to the opened console, as it will connect to the cigarette lighter wire.

 

[BoughtTheXLR]

I chose to run the audio cable (which has ipod, aux and usb) into the console box. Parrot calls for a 20mm drill bit, but a 3/4 bit will do the job if you just make the hole slightly bigger by wobbling the drill or filing.

 

[BoughtTheXLR]

I chose to put the microphone on the steering column. Use the plastic spatula on the trim and a hand under the steering column to pull it down.

NOTE: to do this, I had to drill a hole in the plastic back in there, just left of the bolt you see. This wasn't easy.

 

[BoughtTheXLR]

Parrot secured with foam tape.

Radio reconnected, testing underway.

Be VERY sure when you reconnect the power to the cd changer that you do not disconnect it again until the cd changer has completed its iniitialization sequence. The service manual warns of this.

 

[BoughtTheXLR]

I put the display head here. I'm not sure if that will be the final location.

I also stuck the control on the console, again possibly temporarily. I may try it on the lower spoke of the steering wheel before deciding.

 

[BoughtTheXLR]

Final observations:

One issue may be making my car quiet without disabling the phone audio. That's because the knob on the radio that controls on/off and volume does so by sending class 2 message to the Bose amp. Conveniently, that controls the Parrot audio volume nicely. Inconveniently, it kills Parrot audio when the radio is turned off. I've a couple thoughts on getting around this, but I'll need to experiment a bit.

I'm really enjoying the USB. It does some of the neat things other mp3 players can do, like allowing one to select by artist, genre, album, etc. Or just browse directories. I dropped 4gb of music on a 16gb stick, and it took less than a minute to organize it and be ready to go.

Bluetooth and aux-in work fine as well. I don't have an ipod to try.

By the way, as a side issue I discovered that the lighter did not power off when the door is opened after shutting down the car. After some "that's how it should work" and seeing another XLR at my dealer with the same condition, I persuaded the XLR tech to run through the diagnostic procedure for "Retained Accessory Power Malfunction". Turns out I had both a stuck accessory power relay, and also a BCM that was telling the relay to stay on when it shouldn't. New BCM on order, should go in next week.

A thanks is needed to ccclarke, whose link to the service manual made sorting out the wiring possible.

Ok, then. I'm ready for questions.

 

[Cadiblk]

I don't have any questions at the moment, but I do have compliments and appreciation for taking the time to educate all of us. Your installation process and explanations are very well explained. These are features that everyone has been wanting (as you know) and I am extremely appreciative of the effort you put in, your initiative, and your willingness to share. Thanks I will be ordering mine very soon!!

 

[Phrede]

Thanks for the post. I am in the same boat. My car came with the same Parrot unit installed, but used an external speaker. I removed it and installed the Bluestar unit. I am not happy with it at all. The audio quality is terrible and only works correctly some of the time. My goal was / still is to get a bluetooth unit that will automatically mute the radio and play through the systems speaker. I am going to revisit integrating the parrot into the system.

I now know which wire mutes the system for the OnStar. Since I have no desire to maintain the OnStar I am going to look into possibly using the OnStar mic, be able to get navigation instructions from the phone through bluetooth, use the audio output from the Parrot to feed into the main audio amp to get more volume.

I was not aware that the Parrot had an IPOD interface and installed a lock pic to do that. I'm not real pleased with that either. It works, but the display is not as advertised and is very crude. You can only change playlists once without cycling the power on the radio.

I think this is doable and just will mark up the Blue star purchase to experience.

 

[Doug Doty]

Very nice work, and thanks for the tip, I found my way !!

 

[XLR QUEBEC]

I KNOW ITS A OLD POST BUT THIS SET UP YOU DO .... ARE GOOD FOR ALL
XLR YEAR AND RADIO WHIT OUT XM OPTION

BECAUSE I HAVE 2005 MODEL


REGARD DANIEL...............

 

[BoughtTheXLR]

From the service manual, the radio wiring is the same for all years.

As an update, I found the cigarette lighter connection for battery+ stays on until the 20-minute timer expires. The only alternative I found is to connect a fuse adapter to the RUN ACSRY PWR fuse.

I'm also less than pleased with the screen saver on the mki9100; I'll replace it with an mki9200 when I find one at a really good price.