Glove box MDI cable swap

[Squiggles]

Hello all,

I did a quick trawl through the "mdi Niggles" thread before posting this and couldn't find an obvious solution... so here goes:

Background:

Mk Vi golf tdi with the glove box MDI cable installed which drives the standard head unit for the car. Currently it has the ipod connector cable and this has worked well.

Problem:

Left my bloody ipod on a plane and it has not (nor will ever be) found.

However, I have a spare WD 320gb drive at home and I want to use this instead - I think it has a mini-usb slot.. or any number of 16 - 32 gb USB flash drives that I have lying around instead of an ipod.


Issue: A quick ring around few dealers sees the price of just the USB cable vary for $75 - 95 - Which I think is outrageously high...!

Question:

Does anyone know if its possible to source these online? and if so, where? All I want to do is replace the ipod connector bit with a USB / mini USB bit and I just cant stomach the asking price from the dealers right now so I am looking for alternatives.

Any tips / advice appreciated!

[Ryan_R]

I bought my whole MDI retrofit kit and cables via Ebay (usually they're about $30). I think they came from London.


mdi usb items at low prices on eBay.com.au
(Scroll down to the International listings)

[Squiggles]

Thanks! you wouldt happen to have a link to what you bought would you? I assume that you are happy with it?

[Ryan_R]

You posted just as I was adding the link above

No problems with any of the parts (from 3 different sellers). I couldn't find any micro-USB cables but you could always contact the seller and ask them. USB-A and iPod are the most popular choices.

[Squiggles]

Cheers mate. much appreciated...!

[Ryan_R]

No probs. For the cost of their cable you could've bought a new iPod... Nano - perhaps. Not sure how much Apple charge for their iPods (not a big fan of 'em)

[Squiggles]

That the trouble - a 5th gen Ipod nano on Ebay will go for around $100+ so they seem artifically high...

VW (Camberwell and Springvale) sell the cable to $75 and 95 repsectively

I reckon I am better off getting this:
VW RCD510 RCD310 RNS510 MEDIA-IN MDI USB ADAPTER CABLE (eBay item 260730943659 end time 02-May-11 21:11:46 AEST) : Electronics

for ~$20 bucks..

My only worry is that it will work / be compatible with the glove box cable that I have.

[Ryan_R]

I use one of those with a normal USB thumb drive and it works fine. If I pull the stick out to take with me somewhere and then insert it at some other time, the car remembers what file it was playing, even the time inside the file to resume playback seemlessly.

My suggestion would be to get the USB cable you've linked to and use it with a normal USB flash drive. Maybe get one cheap on Ebay at the same time and see which gets delivered first
I got my 32GB Corsair USB drive about 3 years ago or more for $106 - which at the time was a massive bargain (might still be a decent price today compared to some shops). (If the prices are ridiculously cheap then the drives are usually fake and unusable - not a massive deal since PayPal will reimburse you - just a waste of time (I once bought a 128GB Kingston drive which was really 2GB with a hacked/corrupt file system)). Otherwise just visit CPL.net.au as they're one of the cheapest computer shops around Melb.

Hope this helps

[Squiggles]

Many thanks..!

I did (just now) order that cable for the tidy sum of $22.. after I checked the cable in my glove box... pretty sure this will all fit together. I have a selection of flash drives - most likely though I will just pick up a new 16gb one from Officeworks for around $15..

So hopefully for $37 I can get it all sorted and get double the space from the 8gb ipod that I stupidly left on the plane..

The help and feedback has been really useful! Thanks again...!

(edit: Spelling..)

[Ryan_R]

No problem. At least you didn't leave your phone/wallet/keys on the plane

[m3103]

Any way to buy a longer cable (ipod one)?
I stick my iphone in and it gets annoying if i want to read a message when stopped at lights or if i pull over. It forces me to unplug and everything and it's so short it ****s me up the wall.
thanks

[Ryan_R]

Extension Cable for VW Audi

You plug this into the MDI, then you plug the iPod/USB cable into this extender.

[sVWatt]

Extension Cable for VW Audi

You plug this into the MDI, then you plug the iPod/USB cable into this extender.

Well spotted - looks good

[Ryan_R]

I used one for my retro fit, since I've got the MDI thing under my seat (as opposed to in the center console or in the glovebox, and obviously I'm not going to be placing my phone or USB drive under my seat
I routed the cable so the plug comes up next to the seatbelt 'plug' (forget the proper name), where it's out of sight until I need it, and can be pulled up if needed.

I asked 2 dealers (parts dep't) about the extension lead, even giving them the code and showing one guy the website, and they had never heard of it and couldn't find it in their system.

[Squiggles]

Just wanted to update this thread with a conclusion. After have been quoted anywhere from $75 - 95 to buy the USB cable to replace the ipod one (after leaving my ipod on a plane)... I am pleased to report that I bought a cable off ebay:

VW RCD510 RCD310 RNS510 MEDIA-IN MDI USB ADAPTER CABLE | eBay

$22 delivered - works a treat..!!! Had a 8gb usb flash drive lying around that is now loaded with music and living in the glove box of my car..!

A small win for the price gouged Aussie consumer..(yay).