Topic: PAL Install...

[Uranium-238]

Just finished installing the GM PAL iPod link about 45 minutes ago. It's a fairly straightforward install, I'd say it's no harder than removing the lower dash.

Included in kit:
PAL box
Wiring harness
iPod dock cable
Directions

To install, rip the dash apart, then remove the stereo. The wiring harness is a simple go-between, installing between the stereo and stock harness. The PAL box mounts right on top of the bottom passenger kick panel, the same one you usually remove first when taking the dash apart. Then, for my stereo, I was required to tap into a wire in the passenger fuse box. Cut a whole in the glove box ran the dock cable, and hooked everything up. Tested it out, then put everything back together. Total install was about 2 hrs, and that includes at least a half hours worth of me trying to figure out how the darn thing worked.

Important note: The directions explicitly state that XM, if installed, must be enabled for this to work. It says to do that with a tech 2 reader, but I'd imagine HP tuners might do the job as well. My car came with XM, I knew it was already enabled since the free 3-month trial worked fine, and turns out it was enabled. Everything works fine.

Might try and get some picks up if anyone is interested, though I'm not taking the dash apart again, I've already got enough cuts and scrapes...

[Machopirate]

I've had a PAL unit for a while now, just haven't taken the time to install it.  Good to know it's a fairly straight forward install.  Any tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated.  Did you need the tech 2?

[2kwk4u]

If you want to continue to use XM, you'll need to have it flashed with a Tech 2.  The way you have it now, U-238, is that the PAL module has taken the PLACE of the XM module - as far as your head unit knows.  The flash tells your head unit to look for XM, AND to look for the PAL.  It will call the PAL "XM0" and it will call true XM "XM1" (or maybe it's the other way around... you get the idea). 

Right now, your band progression (using the "band" button) goes AM-->FM-->PAL-->repeat (which I believe it calls XM0/1).  After the flash, it will go AM-->FM-->XM0-->AM-->FM-->XM1-->repeat

I've had my PAL installed since I got my car out of storage this summer when I moved back from overseas.  To be honest, it's not everything I had hoped it would be (PAL, than is).  It only remembers where I left off about half of the time (as in which song, or even which PLAYLIST I was listening to when I got out of the car last).  The other half of the time it defaults back to "all songs" and plays the first one alphabetically.  At least it will remember whether or not I had shuffle on - so all I have to do is quickly select 'next song' if I don't want to hear Toto's "Africa" for the 100th time this week.  None of this would be so annoying if the interface was faster or didn't demand so much of my attention to get back to what I wanted to listen to.

One of these days I'll try it with my iPod nano instead of my iPod touch and see if things go more smoothly.  Maybe I'll do that today...

[2kwk4u]

Oh yeah... another problem is that sometimes it forgets I was listening to the iPod at all, and puts me on XM instead.  I don't subscribe to XM.  In hindsight, I would have been better off had I never gotten the flash done when I did my install.  I only had the flash done in hopes that it would fix the other problems - and in case I decided I wanted to check out XM in the future.  My car sat in my father's garage for the duration of my 3 month free trail.

[Uranium-238]

Ah, ok. Well, I bought the PAL in place of another XM subscription, so losing XM is no biggie. Heck, this way I won't be tempted for spending money on a subscription I don't really need.

So far, I have no complaints about it being slow. I'm using an ancient 20 gb iPod color, and everything is working fine so far. I'd bet the "forgetting" is probably the iPod's fault, I know every so often this one decides it has no battery life, reboots, then has a full charge.

I guess time will tell.

[kennysabarese]

For your flaky iPod, have the ipod playing until you drain your battery all the way down... until it dies. then recharge it from the wall until it's completely full. Might help.