Parrot mki9100 and Liberty GT

[Pirostitch]

Yes...I went for being difficult and pressed ahead with the Parrot mki9100 BT kit even though there are issues with integrating anything with the Mcintosh setup. I bought the wiring harness and everything seemed to be going super duper until I ran into a slight issue. I'm getting power to the Parrot blue box, I still have sound coming out of the radio and CD, climate control is working, hazard lights are still working...just no sound coming out of the Parrot (no pun intended). The Parrot blue box is the main unit which controls the bluetooth, microphone, etc.

I've worked out which cables from the blue box are meant for the speakers. These hooked up to the ISO connectors fine but I couldn't hear anything coming out of the car speakers.

A solution I thought of is connecting the Parrot blue box to the amplifier and having a relay so when I play something through the Parrot blue box, it will mute the radio and CD. Does anybody have any ideas on how to do this? Otherwise it's off to the auto-electrician.

Thanks in advance.

[Ric]

I've worked out which cables from the blue box are meant for the speakers. These hooked up to the ISO connectors fine but I couldn't hear anything coming out of the car speakers.

Which ISO connector?
There is NO speaker wiring going to the head unit in a McIntosh equipped car, it ONLY goes to the amplifier under the passenger seat.

Otherwise it's off to the auto-electrician.

I wouldn't let your run of the mill auto-elec anywhere near a McIntosh system, only one experienced with high-end audio systems.

[Pirostitch]

Thanks Ric. How do I get the sound to the amplifier then? Should I just split the wires?

[Ric]

The Parrot can't drive the cable between the head unit and amp, it's using differential signalling. (Also known as "balanced" wiring.)
A relay on the wires from the amp to the speakers is probably the only way you can do it simply.
See viewtopic.php?p=84585#p84585 for the speaker pinouts from the amp.

(I warned you the McIntosh wiring was going to trip you up! )

[Pirostitch]

thanks Ric. Are the wires from the amp to the speakers under the passenger seat or is it behind the HU?

[Ric]

Under the passenger seat only. As I said before, there's no speaker wiring up into the dashboard.

[Pirostitch]

Cripes...anyone have any ideas on how to make the relay or have a contact for someone who can do this? This is beyond my comfort level as much as I enjoy a challenge, I don't want to end up damaging the car.

[Ric]

If you can locate a male and female plug compatible with J102 (the 18 pin plug connecting power and speakers to the power amp under the passenger seat), then this could be do-able.
Otherwise you'd have to cut a lot of the OEM wiring to add in your own plugs.
Either way, I think you'd have to take the passenger seat out to get good access, and you'd need to be VERY careful disconnecting the airbag plugs.

I can certainly help you build a relay board to do it, I did a similar thing on my Mazda 323 Astina a few years ago.
Whereabouts in Melbourne are you?

[Ric]

Did you get anywhere with this?

[Pirostitch]

Hi Ric,

Thanks for your replies and help. Sorry but I completely forgot about this post. Was busy moving at the time and had not net access at home...then well, just plain well forgot

I haven't done anything else with it since then.

Haven't yet decided whether I'm going to pursue the parrot route or look at other options.