ltooz_a6_a8_q7

Alright, my sister's just joined the Audi family with her brand new 2016 Q5. She's so thrifty that she didn't get the Technology package ($4k) and just gotten the Premium Plus. The Q5 still comes with the 30-pins connector AMI cable and the AMI is in the glove box just like the A8, unlike my Q7, under the armrest. Anyhow, she wants her iPhone 6 to stream music from Pandora and give her voice directions on iPhone Navigation which is nice (telling you which street name to turn unlike Audi). So, after reading on the net to find out what's what, I understand the pinout of the AMI cable and I modify 2016 AMI cable to work with any AMI existed out there, MMI 2G or 3G, it's actually very simple. Now she's a happy camper. The great thing about this is that iPhone still uses Audi bluetooth and all others using the bluetooth dongle. Everything is clear and works perfectly together.


Cheers,

Louis

ltooz_a6_a8_q7

On the fly... Since I understand the pins of the AMI cable - I modifed my MMI 2G AMI cable on the 2008 Q7 and it worked.
- The iPod stays connected all the time. When AMI is activated, it will detect the iPod and play from it as normal.
- When I want to stream with the iPhone, just plug in the 12V cigarette lighter - this 12V will switch the resistor detector from iPod to 1k - Auxiliary is activated automatically and starts to connect to the bluetooth. Now I can stream music from my phone to it.
- When I want to switch back to iPod - unplug the 12V = disconnect the 1k ohm = iPod, but since the iPod wasn't initialized, all I need is to reset the MMI and the iPod is back.
- I can connect the circuit to the 12V from the cigarette lighter or the power from the CD player, but I still need a switch to turn it on and off. I think the best is the cigarette 12V plug.



Parts cost: $10 bluetooth + 1k resistor + $8 power board + $3 cigarette 12V male plug (I use old broken 12V to 5V USB plug) + modifying the cable.

BTW, my AMI 2G cable, detector resistor is 1.81k which is different from the 2016 Q5 3G = 18.7k

The $9.99 bluetooth doesn't skip - all the way to the shopping center and my daughter just loved it, she's streaming iTunes Radio. The sound is perfect.

How much would you pay for a system like this?

There will be a video when I'm done with the design, but the bread board is actually working as Designed.

Cheers,

Louis

ltooz_a6_a8_q7

Simple design and it works... less than $15. I couldn't believe the $5.99 bluetooth stream so well without skipping. Revised the cost.
- Black box (wrong size for Q7) = $1.75
- Bluetooth = $5.99
- Mini Relays (A5W A5W-K DIP-10 Relay) (bought 5)=$1x5 $5.
- USB cable = $0 (thanks to my kids breaking them on their iPods). $0.
- Labor Satisfaction = Priceless
Total = $12.74


Cheers,

Louis

Redd

Louis-
I have a similar inexpensive BT adapter which is "for Bose iPhone docks". Supposedly it tells the Bose dock that it is an iPhone, enabling power and audio both. Shouldn't something like that be able to plug into an AMI cable and do the same thing, so extra wiring required?
Or am I missing something here? (Not especially intimate with I-plugs or AMI.)

ltooz_a6_a8_q7

Hello Redd,
Let me explain how I understand about the AMI i-30 pin cable:

1. The AMI i-30 pin cable is designed to connect to old 30-pin Apple devices: iPods, iPhones, iPod Touches - The newer Apple devices use lightning connector which won't plug in. When you plug in any of these old Apple devices, the AMI automatically use the data pins to query the music loaded in the device, if it can't read the data from the devices (Apple protocol) like when you plugged in your 30-pin bluetooth dongle for your Bose or Sound bar at home, it just sits there, nothing happens or will say "NO device is connected".
2. There are 2 or 3 versions of Audi MMI installed in various years and cars - The oldest one is 2G, 3G then 4G (may be)? By opening up these i-30 pin AMI cables from my 08-Q7 = MMI 2G and 2016 Q5 = MMI 3G here is what I found.
- 2G MMI cable has iPod resistor detector of 1.87k ohms.
- 3G MMI cable has iPod resistor detector of 18.7k ohms.
3. Now, MMI also has built-in input for Auxiliary Audio input for headphones types just like when you plugin your head phones to your phones or iPods - The resistor detection value for Auxiliary audio switching mode is 1k ohms or 10% less max.
It's actually very simple to connect your 30-pin bluetooth dongle to the connector and modify the cable to tell the MMI that you want the Auxiliary Audio Input instead of iPod by changing the value of the detector resistor to 1k ohms or less. That's what I did with my sister's 2016 Q5 30-pin AMI cable.
The problem with the AMI is that when it detects the 1k ohms = Auxiliary Audio Input, it switches to Auxiliary and turns of the USB power on some of the versions. Therefore, when you modify your cable by adding a resistor to make it 1k ohm, it doesn't power your bluetooth dongle, hence you have to supply the 5V power to the USB pins of the cable also EXTERNALLY.
The concept is very simple, it's just the wiring may be hard for many people who are not electronically inclined. There are some product out there that built to over come these problems.
- First buy the <a href="http://amzn.to/1ix95gW" target="_blank">AMI cable that has input to auxiliary connector</a>. I assumed this cable is already modified to have 1k resistor detector in it already.
- Second buy the <a href="http://amzn.to/1NUt72q" target="_blank">Auxiliary output Bluetooth dongle with usb external power</a> like this one.
Plug both of them in and you should be able to stream music and all audio from your phones to the AMI.

This is the only way and a sure way to connect bluetooth to your AMI - providing they built it to specs. With Amazon, you can return if they don't work.

Cheers,

Louis

Redd

Interesting. It sounds like Audi has revised their own AMI/MMI standards and that every (?) equipment maker is arbitrarily choosing a mix of the Apple feature sets to implement. Which is not surprising. IIRC the 30-pin connector has the option of connecting to a traditional audio stream, or taking digital audio out of iPods, so there's plenty of room for confusion.

I'm surprised that any of them would disable USB power out though, since so many devices could use that power, and no power would be drained if the device wasn't using it anyway.

Does it change if the steering column isn't moving?(G)

ltooz_a6_a8_q7

for music. Audi just want to force people to buy the $4k technology package which includes the bluetooth streaming music capability. My sister has been driving her 2016 Q5 with the modified cable and she loves it, even the kids watching youtube video and listening audio through AMI. Anyhow, since I read the pinout on the new MMI cable, it seems to have FBAS+ and FBAS- pins which are used for back up camera, I'll see if I can hook up a camera for her 2016 Q5.
I couldn't believe $45k sticker price of 2016 Q5 doesn't even have back up camera (which is standard on all Japanese and American cars these days) or streaming music through bluetooth. Audi marketing people expect Audi buyers are "money is no object people"?

AMI has nothing to do with the electronic system of the car, it's a separate unit - AUDI MUSIC INTERFACE. You can have a broken AMI and everything still works. It's an add on box.



Cheers,

Louis

Redd

AH, the backup camera. Let's just say, I call it extortion and proof that the company really does NOT put customer safety ahead of profit. Especially, as you notice, when Honda can afford to do it on cars 1/3 the price.

A couple of years ago I went looking for a stereo upgrade (DIN/doubleDIN standard size) for the last car, and found that simply trying to find ANY aftermarket stereo that could accommodate an SDXC card, or large USB stick, and actually READ and deal with more than 512 folders or 1024 files in all...wasn't easy. Was damn near impossible.

So I compromised, I let the phone interface by itself. I keep a big USB drive in the glove box. And that's "better than most" even if it is crude and underpowered compared to modern digital music standards. I find driving a car and avoiding all my fellow drivers on the road to distract from my music listening pleasure, anyway.(G)

ltooz_a6_a8_q7

The amazing thing is my sister still bought the darn Q5 without back up camera because she refused to pay extra $4k to get one. Adding a device onto the MMI is not hard, if it's 2015, I can put one for less than $200, but since it's a 2016, I'm sure if it's the same as the 2015.

Cheers,

Louis

Redd

Louis-
There is an aftermarket "bogus OEM" rear view camera that can be fitted, AFAIK it is about $500 plus that much again for installation.
Or you can buy a Magellan GPS for $150 including lifetime map updates (typically 4x per year) and another $150 buys their rearview camera that will wirelessly connect and display on the same screen.

I hate to say it, but I agree with your sister. Extortion is extortion. I'll keep turning my head around for now. Rearview cams were supposed to be mandatory in 2014 but the Fed wimped out. I think they're supposed to be mandatory in 2017 now, fwiw.

I don't mind paying the piper, but I draw the line short of "piggy piggy".