Xcarlink USB interface install
by SoLarry » Sun Jan 10, 2010 4:15 pm
Ordered an Xcarlink USB / SD card / line-in adapter from Ebay....well I received it last week and decided to tackle it today:
Here's a pic of the box that the Xcarlink came in:
When I opened the box I had the unit, a cord for the USB, a cord for the line in, and an instruction booklet:
First I popped off the center console cover. I couldn't get the cup holder out, but didn't really need to. It helps to shift the car into neutral to get the console out over it.
Then I popped off the forward storage unit, again putting the car in neutral to get space to take it off:
I was originally going to put the unit in the forward cubby hole, but found that the unit is a little too big. It fit in ok, but with a thumb drive in place the cover would not close, so I decided to put it in the armrest lower storage unit. I then drilled a hole near the bottom of the deep console unit, working the drill back and forth and up and down to get the hole big enough to thread the plug for the Xcarlink through it, then took and filed the edges a bit:
I then ran the wire through the hole, down along side the e-brake and gear selector, and under the brace ahead of the shifter:
Now, because I decided not to remove the radio, this is the hardest part, though it wasn't as bad as I had thought. I took the plug and fed it up behind the radio, found the port for the external CD changer, and plugged it in, with the release lock at the bottom. The changer port is the empty port circled in this picture:
Then all you do is pop the storage cubby and center console back on and you're done!
Here it is with the USB and line in cords attached. You can either plug the thumb drive into the unit directly or use the cord, I chose to use the cord so I wouldn't have to move the unit every time I took the thumb drive off. You have to use the cord for the line in if you're plugging into a headphone jack, the line in port on the unit is a mini USB. You could also mount the unit to face towards the top of the compartment, I may do that later. I plugged in my 8 gig USB drive in this pic. I don't have a SD card to use.
To use it you turn on the radio and hit the DISC button, that will switch between the CD player and the unit. The unit will search for files on the SD or Thumb drive, which may take a short time. You have to set up the file names as CD01, CD02, up through CD 06. I've found that you can't create subfolders, all of the mp3s have to be in the main folder for it to work. If you do make subfolders, you have to name them CD1, CD2, etc. It will play them, but there is no way to go from main folder CD01 to CD02, etc. It's your choice...
Other than the file folder issue this unit seems to work exactly as advertised. No need for MP3 encoded CD's when you can put them on a thumb drive or SD card. Each folder can hold up to 99 tracks, so there is a potential of having 594 songs on a single drive!
Here's a pic of the box that the Xcarlink came in:
When I opened the box I had the unit, a cord for the USB, a cord for the line in, and an instruction booklet:
First I popped off the center console cover. I couldn't get the cup holder out, but didn't really need to. It helps to shift the car into neutral to get the console out over it.
Then I popped off the forward storage unit, again putting the car in neutral to get space to take it off:
I was originally going to put the unit in the forward cubby hole, but found that the unit is a little too big. It fit in ok, but with a thumb drive in place the cover would not close, so I decided to put it in the armrest lower storage unit. I then drilled a hole near the bottom of the deep console unit, working the drill back and forth and up and down to get the hole big enough to thread the plug for the Xcarlink through it, then took and filed the edges a bit:
I then ran the wire through the hole, down along side the e-brake and gear selector, and under the brace ahead of the shifter:
Now, because I decided not to remove the radio, this is the hardest part, though it wasn't as bad as I had thought. I took the plug and fed it up behind the radio, found the port for the external CD changer, and plugged it in, with the release lock at the bottom. The changer port is the empty port circled in this picture:
Then all you do is pop the storage cubby and center console back on and you're done!
Here it is with the USB and line in cords attached. You can either plug the thumb drive into the unit directly or use the cord, I chose to use the cord so I wouldn't have to move the unit every time I took the thumb drive off. You have to use the cord for the line in if you're plugging into a headphone jack, the line in port on the unit is a mini USB. You could also mount the unit to face towards the top of the compartment, I may do that later. I plugged in my 8 gig USB drive in this pic. I don't have a SD card to use.
To use it you turn on the radio and hit the DISC button, that will switch between the CD player and the unit. The unit will search for files on the SD or Thumb drive, which may take a short time. You have to set up the file names as CD01, CD02, up through CD 06. I've found that you can't create subfolders, all of the mp3s have to be in the main folder for it to work. If you do make subfolders, you have to name them CD1, CD2, etc. It will play them, but there is no way to go from main folder CD01 to CD02, etc. It's your choice...
Other than the file folder issue this unit seems to work exactly as advertised. No need for MP3 encoded CD's when you can put them on a thumb drive or SD card. Each folder can hold up to 99 tracks, so there is a potential of having 594 songs on a single drive!
1991 Oldsmobile Toronado
2004 Toyota Solara SE
2004 Toyota Solara SE
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SoLarry - Regular SolaraGuy Member
- Posts: 135
- Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2009 5:32 pm
- Location: Maine
