Manxman, glad you found a solution you like. Note the CD changer jack is next to the antenna socket, if you can get to one, you can get to the other so the install should be the same either way. I imagine the FM transmitter is cheaper than the MP3 player so if you have the Sport, that might be the way to go.

 

Short story - Success!! Player installed, sounds great, works great. Install tip - use your left hand.

Long story - I got home last night around 10PM, hugged the family and started working on the install. Working in the passenger side, I took off the lower dash cover, vent piece, and glove box per the musiclink instructions available on the web. To connect the MP3 player, the cable, plug and your hand have to fit into a very small opening at the top of the inside of the dashboard where the large steel tube runs behind the HU. It's a tight squeeze to get hand and some fingers up there. Using my right hand, I tried for about 1/2 hour to get the plug into the socket, unsuccessfully. I started pulling the head unit and got stuck at the point where the HU assembly gets heaved out of it's 7 clips. Another 1/2 hour of fooling around and no success with either method. I decided to get some sleep and give it another try in the AM.

After thinking about it all night, I decided the problem was that I couldn't get a good grip on the connector with my thumb and first finger and all I needed to do was use my left hand if I could orient my shoulder and elbow the right way. In the morning, I got up, ran down to the car, and voila, hooked it up on the first try. So, knowing that, the install should take about 10 minutes if you don't have really large hands.

I don't have time to post the pictures I took but I'll get to it later today. If you have the base Fit, this is a great alternative to pulling the HU or using an FM modulator.

 

Congratulations Rob!

 

Great job, Rob! Congratulations!

Now I am curious about the pictures. You have a 2008 Base trim, right?

 

As promised, here are the pics, click to download a larger version. First, two shots of the unit to show size and features.








This shot shows where I had to reach my hand and run the cable. The player cable is the dark one running diagonally from upper left to lower right through center of the shot. The large steel tube is a structural member running across the vehicle. The hole is hidden by the tube and I couldn't get my camera up high enough to get a pic, but it's there.





And finally, proof positive that this thing works. Note the unit doesn't put song titles on the stereo screen, only folder and file numbers.

 

Notes on how this thing works.

- Turn the unit on using the 'Aux' button on the HU
- Plays mp3's and non-DRM WMA's
- max 11 folders on this HU, max 32 Gb SD card FAT/FAT32 (no SDHC)
- max songs per folder - tested ti at least 120, I don't know what the upper limit is
- can only use one feature at a time (USB vs SD vs Aux)
- No song titles, only track number
- RDM only works within a folder
- CD changer controls on stereo work as marked (disk +/-, track advance etc.) but FF and RW do not
- Scan button in upper right corner of HU works too, plays each song for 10 seconds, then moves to next track
- no separate power light but a light is visible through the Aux port when powered on
- unit only powered on (red light lit) when Aux is pressed.
- Sound level is on par with stereo/cd but can vary based on the level at which the mp3 was ripped

Buying notes:

The person I bought from isn't good with english and has only sold a few items on ebay. We got into a hassle about whether or not I had to buy insurance. Once that was resolved, it took about 3 days for shipping info to register in EMS, then another 4-5 days to get to me. Once it got to the states, shipping info switched from EMS to USPS. I got the unit as a retail box wrapped in bubble wrap and packing tape; although without instruction book and the USB drive accessory shown in the auction (maybe revenge for the insurance hassle?). I don't plan to make a stink since the unit's installed and works. FYI, the expectation by these sellers is you must pay the item charge, shipping and insurance; even though what they're charging for shipping and insurance is outrageous. There is another seller on ebay who has more sales and a better rep, you may have less grief with him.

Install notes:

Can be installed by just dropping the glove box same as for the cabin filter install. Had to use my left hand to get a good enough grip on the connector to get it inserted in the back of the HU. It's a tight squeeze to get a hand up in the top of the inside of the dash.

Let me know if I can answer any other questions.

 

Yes, I have a Base Fit. The sure way to tell is the lack of an "MP3" label on the front of the HU.

I suspect the HUs are all the same. My guess is that something in the wiring tells the HU it is in a base and the HU disables the MP3 feature. Anyone know for sure?

 

Thanks for the info Rob!

I think I have the same ebay seller as you, really hard to understand what he means

I am now waiting for the player to arrive!

 

Updates from my previous post:

- max 11 (not 6) folders on this HU, max 32GB (NOTE: I couldn't get a 4GB Lexar to work, I'm using a 2GB Sandisk now) SD card FAT/FAT32
- Sound quality is excellent, at least easily within the limits of the stock HU. I couldn't find any additional noise introduced by the player. I am using the second highest quality for encoding my mp3s and the player seems to reproduce quite well across the available frequency spectrum.
- I would rate this as good mechanical quality on a four part scale (poor, fair, good, excellent). The wires at the connector are a little thin but seem to make a sturdy but reasonably small cable once bundled. It has a full metal shell to reduce interference I assume and a decent strain relief on the cable where it joins the box. The insulation on the cable appears to be some type of flexible neoprene that should last as long as it isn't mounted against anything sharp.
- I mounted the player on one side of the glovebox using some foam auto tape. The player box doesn't have a lot of flat surface for mounting so I used four small squares of tape at each corner. The tape at the corners should be enough to keep it from rolling around. I mounted it on the wall closest to the driver so I can get to it if necessary.
- I haven't tried the aux port yet, I'll post more if I get around to using it although I can't say I'm really motivated given how easy this thing is to use. There is one good reason to use a separate MP3 player though - DRM - this box isn't DRM capable but my Rio is. I have a handful of songs with DRM.

 

I believe I figured out why the 4GB card won't work - it's SDHC, not SD. My camera takes SDHC so it won't go to waste. Now to find a 4GB SD card . . .

 

More notes -

- I tried a 2GB USB flash drive and it worked great. It's a Lexar JumpDrive Firefly which claims limited OS compatibility but it works great on the player. It looks like USB flash is the way to go with this - cheaper per GB - and fewer if any compatibility issues.
- On the Fit base HU, I'm limited to 11 folders, don't know how many songs per folder but tested to at least 120. No idea how to calculate the upper limit.
- When mounting the player, be sure to leave enough room to insert and remove a USB drive (duh). Some of the drives are really small - Lexar Firefly, Kingston Mini - but they still stick out more than an SD card.

 

Install might be even easier than I posted. See this thread for how to drop the glove box without removing the panel or vent.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...placement.html

 

If you're going to go to all the trouble of removing the factory radio to get to the CD changer input I think it's a no-brainer to just replace it with a new head unit. Then you can have a good aux input, a USB input (!!) and better sound all around.

 

What Rob is saying, it's that just by removing the glove box, we are probably able to install the mp3 player. Probably no need to remove the panel or vent.

I will try as soon as I receive my mp3 player.

 

That was the whole point right from the beginning - adding mp3 capability without pulling the HU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I did finish it without pulling the HU. In fact, now that I know I can get access to the back of the HU just by flipping the glove box down, I could likely have done it without pulling anything.

Someone had to go first . . .

 

I received my mp3 player today!
I guess my hands are too big because I just can't believe I'm supposed to be able to plug this thing

Removing the glove box as instructed in the pollen filter DIY seems to be enough to get there... Well I don't have much time tonight, will check later this week.

 

Get a handy female friend to help, women's hands are generally smaller than men's. It's tight, tight enough that I couldn't do it with my right hand and I scraped the crap out of my thumb trying. With a little contortion, I was able to get my left in with enough grip to steer the plug in the socket. I had to lay on my back to get my left hand and arm oriented the right way. If you want to drive to DC, I could do it for you in 30 sec or so. It helps to feel around the back of the unit to locate the CD changer socket so you know exactly where it is. It's right next to the antenna plug. The existing cable and bar interfere a little bit with wiggling the plug into position.

Not trying to rub it in but I've been enjoying the player every time I drive. Let me know if I can help in some way.

Did you get any accessories with your player? Instruction book? USB drive? Mine had none.

 

UPDATE - THIS THING PLAYS WMA FILES TOO!!!!! Not the DRM ones of course. I updated my spec listing earlier in the thread.

I discovered these units are sold elsewhere on the internet under the name 'xcarlink'. Some of those websites said the unit would play WMA files so I tried it and it worked. WMA is a more efficient compression algorithm than mp3 so I should be able to cram an extra song or two onto my 4GB stick.

There are a couple of models in the xcarlink line. One of them is bluetooth capable as well. It costs a little more and I'm happy with the one I've got tho'.

 

SUCCESS!

One of my friend with smaller hands than me got it!
I can add a little hint to your installation steps: We put a little piece of scotch tape so the cable and the connector stay at 90 degrees, easier to plug it in once inside the dash.
That's it! thanks for your offer but now I don't need to drive all the way from Quebec to DC

I didn't have a usb key and instructions neither in my box, only the mp3 player.

I'm using a Kingston Datatraveler 4gb right now, but I have some troubles.
I've been able to play a mp3, so I don't think the device is broken, but I have trouble when putting many mp3.

Any advice about the filenames, folder names, special characters (I speak french, so I have é or è in some songs, but I've tried without thoses)?

I didn't test very long, I will do more tests tomorrow morning.
I will try to get a hand on another usb drive or a sd card.
I'll let you know how it goes!

 

CONGRATS!! Good tip on keeping the cable at 90 deg. I did the same thing just by bending it in a couple of places.

Since the player doesn't do anything with the files names, any name that's OK under Windows should work. The only advertised limit on files is 99 per folder, 11 folders. I've put over 50 in one so far and no problems. I'll try loading one up closer to 99 and see if there's a limit.

UPDATED UPDATE: I put 120 songs in one folder, no idea what the upper limit is.