'I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.' Robert Louis Stevenson
Boundary Waters, MN
iPod Install    May 2004    9 images
My mission was to install my iPod into my 2000 Jetta using the dock connector and the original factory stereo. I can't take credit for most of the ideas on this install. Most of them came from various threads at The iPod Lounge and VWVortex. The steps to create a line-level output from the Belkin Auto Kit came from Brian Cruze. Besides the Belkin Auto Kit, I also used a Radio Shack power outlet and a PIE X3 Auxiliary Input Switcher.

The first thing I did was wire in an extra power plug behind the ashtray/lighter in front of the shifter. That involved tapping into the power and ground leads to the existing power outlet with simple tap-ins. You can also see the Belkin Auto Kit in this picture. It is modified to bypass the volume control - this creates a direct line-out from the iPod. Detailed pictures on how to do that can be found on Brian Cruze's website. The additional power outlet and Auto Kit are simply pushed up and to the right, behind the panel that is next to the glove box. There's plenty of room back there.
Next, I wired in the input selector that comes with the PIE X3 unit. I dremeled a hole in the trim piece above the ashtray and just super-glued the selector in there.
This is the hole behind the trim piece that the control wire for the selector switch runs through.
Sorry this picture quality sucks. This is the horizonal panel that sits above the pedals. I had to pop off the three trim pieces under the steering wheel and on the side of the dash to get this off. There is a layer of foam that I cut a hole in, then stuck the X3 down with the sticky velcro that it comes with. This way the X3 is fairly easy to get to in the future if I ever want to add any more inputs.
The trim pieces I took off the dash to get at the panel above the pedals. There are four screws to get the two pieces off from under the steering wheel, and the side piece just pops off with a flat-head screwdriver.
This is looking towards the gas pedal from the drivers door. The wire that runs to the farthest right into the center console is the RCA audio cable from the X3. Running with that is the selector switch wire. There are two other wires that are harder to see that run up just behind the air vent. Those are the two cords that are part of the wiring harness that runs to the head unit.
This is an incredibly poor picture with the head unit out. You can see the wiring harness from the X3 plugged into the head unit and into the CD Changer cable (center of pic). You can also see the ground wire from the X3 harness that is grounded onto the head unit near the antenna lead (bottom-right of pic). The X3 harness and factory changer cable get stuffed back and to the left of the head unit where the factory speaker and changer cables run.

All in all, I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I dremeled a slot towards the back of the cubby above the head unit for the Auto Kit cable. The iPod is in an XtremeMac case with a post mount that is glued to the dash. My goal was to complete this mod leaving the car looking as stock as possible since I like the stock look of my car anyway. The selector switch is in easy reach and view while driving. For those who might be wondering what the button next to the hazards is, it's my garage door opener. One $2 Radio Shack button, a $.30 led, and a $20 keychain garage door opener got me there. Popped off the original LED, soldered this on in place, and soldered the button in parallel with the existing button.