Just fitted the CTVVGX004 kit to my RCD500 to allow me to connect up my iphone and listen to mp3's without having to muck about burning them onto CD's. In case anyone is thinking about doing it then i would highly recommend it as it sounds fantastic - seems to be better quality and louder than CDs played through the RCD500.
Managed to get the CTVVGX004 new from ebay for under £30 delivered. Install is a doddle and only took 20 mins. The instructions supplied with the CTVVGX004 are crap to be honest but all you need to do is plug the white jack/port that comes with the kit into the cd changer port in the back of the RCD500/300 ISO harness - you cant really get this wrong as it will only fit in one way (
as seen here). Next strip a small portion of the plastic wiring from the black earth wire from the back of the CTVVGX004 and loop the wire around the thread of one of the screws on the back of your RCD500/300 then tighten the screw back up (I didnt do this initially and it when I tried to connect my iphone nothing happened). Once its all wired in then just press the CD button on the front of the RCD500/300 twice to access your attached iphone/mp3 player.
Regards the 3.5mm jack to connect your iphone/mp3 player to the CTVVGX004 itself i just routed this down the cavity behind where the RCD500/300 sits (its mostly hollow and there is loads of room). I then popped out the plastic trim around the gear stick (easiest way is to use a trim tool or similar and slip it under the lip between the gearstrick trim and the ashtray and gently pull upwards - its only small spring clips holding it in place). Next unscrewed the 2 screws which hold the ashtray in place and lifted the ashtray out (you probably wont be able to pull it out completely as gear stick gets in the way). At this point you should be able to see the 3.5mm jack just underneath where the ashtray normally sits - just reach in and pull it through.
I had originally intended to drill a hole in one of the button blanks (next to the tyre pressure and ESP buttons) then use a 3.5mm flush jack port passthrough (
like this) to give a really neat finish. Problem however is that the thread and nut on the 3.5mm jack port doesn't give you much room to play with (a few mm at best) and the button blanks are fairly thick on the inside meaning that without trying to thin the inside of the button blank this was a non-starter (it can probably be done with a Dremel or similar but I was worried i would crack the button blank). Plan B was to just pull the wire out of the left hand side of where the ashtray sits and then just refit the ashtray on top of the wire (once all screwed back in the wire sits surprisingly flushly). I now have about 5 cm of cable free to attach to my iphone and my iphone can sit in my ashtray to save it rattling around when driving.
Looks and sounds good. Highly recommended.
