2002 Avalanche ipod integration

I recently purchased an ipod adapter for my 2002 Avalanche.  It is the iPod2Car adapter by Peripheral.  It is model # PXDP and requires the PAC AB-GM9 harness to integrate to the stock radio.  Here are some pics of how I installed it:

here is the item in package



and the harness package



here is the harness



first plug the harness into the ipod2car box





Now it's time to remove the radio.  Start by removing the bezel around the radio and instrument panel.  I took a thin screwdriver and gently pried out one of the corners and then gently pulled the bezel off.



Once the bezel is out of the way, remove the radio by pushing down on the tabs (circled in red) on each side of the radio and pull the radio out.



this is what the back of the radio looks like.  The plug on the lower right corner is for the stock CD changer (if equipped) and this is where the iPod2Car will connect later



Next, I removed the trim piece from the center console and removed the top felt lined pocket.  This is where I will run the plug that will connect to my ipod.





Once I pulled enough of thwe cable through the console pocket, I ran the cable up under the dash to the area behind the radio.







Once I got the ipod cable routed, it's was time to connect it to the radio by connecting the red and black connector from the kit's harness to the back of the radio





Next I used some velcor to stick the control box to the underside of the dash pad behind the radio.  Just had to be sure to put it far enough back so that the radio would not hit it when it was reinstalled.



The back of the radio should now look like this and is ready to be reinstalled



Here is where I bundled up the excess cable before reinstalling the console trim and pockets that were removed earlier



And here is the finished product



To use the iPod, just hook it up and press the CD/AUX button on the radio.  This does not allow the ipod to be controlled through the radio, so the ipod is controlled through the ipod itself.  But it charges the ipod when connected and it stops automatically when you shut the truck off.  Overall it is an awesome unit and the install was super easy.

nice, my neighbor has a 2001 Suburban and just asked me about this.. 

I told him the same product # and if he got it I would help him hook it up.. 


now I can just give a printout of your intructions to him, in the event I am not around when he wants to do it..

I installed the same unit in my 05. This unit even lets the steering wheel controls control; the I Pod.

MooseAlanche said:

I installed the same unit in my 05. This unit even lets the steering wheel controls control; the I Pod.

Click to expand...

hey, i installed the same thing in my 05 tooo, works awesome...... at first i couldn't figure out how to get the ipod selection to work..... all good now

Any idea why the wheel controls work on the 05 but not the 02?
Does this unit charge the Ipod? I have read both that it does and that it does not 

MooseAlanche said:

I installed the same unit in my 05. This unit even lets the steering wheel controls control; the I Pod.

Click to expand...

Don't know about the steering wheel controls on the '02 (but don't know why it shouldn't work as they do the same thing as the FWD and REV buttons on your headunit).

I've got the same unit in my '02 and love it. Works great, sounds great and charges the iPod or even iPhone 4. Drawback is that it keeps charging while the ignition is off. I've got an iPod Nano in my glovebox permanently connected and never had a flat battery, even after 2 weeks without driving due to vacation.

I can pick one up for $50 on Kijiji with the harness. In his description he has warnings about what units it will not work with and states that built in 6 cd changers will not have the connection for an external changer and thus the iPod2Car is not compatible.
Is your unit a stock 6 changer but still has the connection on the back?

Donnie21090 said:

hey, i installed the same thing in my 05 tooo, works awesome...... at first i couldn't figure out how to get the ipod selection to work..... all good now

Click to expand...

Will it work with the 2002 Denali and escalade with the separate external 6 cd changer?

Hi all, silly question maybe.
I have an 02 Z71 and pulled the stereo to check if I could install the ipod connector as shown here. Funny thing is I already have a connection into that open connector on the right side in yours. The one for the cd changer. I don't think I have the cd changer, or have never seen it.
Is the onstar package using that connector already?
Puzzled as I would pull the onstar for the sake of ipod direct connections. Never spoke to the operator in 10 years.. hehe.
Thanks all.

mikeb52 said:

Hi all, silly question maybe.
I have an 02 Z71 and pulled the stereo to check if I could install the ipod connector as shown here. Funny thing is I already have a connection into that open connector on the right side in yours. The one for the cd changer. I don't think I have the cd changer, or have never seen it.
Is the onstar package using that connector already?
Puzzled as I would pull the onstar for the sake of ipod direct connections. Never spoke to the operator in 10 years.. hehe.
Thanks all.

Click to expand...

The connector you see is the one for your Onstar. With the supplied wiring harness you can reconnect the Onstar but for what I know, the '02 Onstar is analog and doesn't work anymore...

Hmmm, that may be why when they recently had that contest to win your GM of choice by contacting the OnStar operator and I tried, it didn't connect.. lol, 10 years of not using it, now that I can't I wanna..
Ahh well, good to know, and now I will order the ipod connections and git er done.
Thanks

So bought mine on-line from eBay for about $60 CDN. On-line seller called BuyItFromDave out of London Ont.
He provides the Peripheral unit and matching cable for your vehicle.
Arrived in 2 days and put it in tonight. Was a cinch with your guide.

Can't seem to add pictures but I opted to run mine down to the cupholder instead of the felt tray as you describe.
That little tray behind the cups but still in front of the bin works great as my idevice is the iphone 4 and it's handier there to dial and such.
Followed your walk through and just ran further down and I'm pleased as ____ to have clear itunes!
Added bonus is you can advance songs by hitting the next and back buttons on your main deck, and the fact that it keeps charging after the truck is shut off is better for the charge, (not to be interrupted before done and I can toss it in the bin to keep it out of sight if I have to with all the extra cable that can slip in or out of the hole I made.
If you have the original deck, and it sounds so sweet why wouldn't you?!? Get this to add in a stock look and real clean sound. Cheers

I also got mine from Dave but missed the courier Friday morning so will have to wait till Monday to get it and install. 

Think I figured out how to add pics, so I've attached the dip switch settings from the website for the Ave's as well as a few completed shots for referrence.
If you opt for the cupholder as I did, note that the rubber tray liners come out with soaking the tray and will hide the hole you cut for your cable.
Cheers all.

Got my unit from Dave installed. Was surprised that I had a splice to do. My unit had a yellow wire unattached but nothing mentioning that I needed to splice. After plugging and not playing I went about finding the power wire and splicing in. For my 05 with the stock stereo with 6 cd player the power wire is orange and thicker then the rest.
Oh and my 05 stereo does not have a connector anything like the one shown in bucklwi1 pics but not to worry the plugs only fit in one place so you can't go wrong.
I noticed that you can select the ipod from the steering wheel using the source button or the aux button on the stereo but for some reason each time you leave the aux mode then come back to it I have to press play on the ipod.
Really am happy with this mod thanks bucklwi1 for posting the pics!

Just noticed this thread.  I've been looking for something like this for a while for my 2002 stock radio and my 80 GB 5th generation iPod Video.

My requirements are simple, but specific:

• Play the iPod through the factory radio/speakers
• Keep the factory speed controlled volume feature
• Keep the iPod charged
• Automatically stop playing the iPod when I shut off the truck
• Automatically start playing the iPod where it left off when I start the truck

I've read this thread and the PXDP manual, and it looks like it will do what I want, but I want to clarify something... Does it automatically start the iPod when starting the truck? That's not specifically mentioned in this thread, and the PXDP manual says you may start automatically or you have to hit play on the iPod to start it up. So is start-up fully automatic?

Can anyone who has this setup confirm whether it actually does it do everything on my list above?

-- SS

I'll chime in (got it in my '02 for a year now) :

?Play the iPod through the factory radio/speakers -> Yes
?Keep the factory speed controlled volume feature -> Yes
?Keep the iPod charged -> Yes BUT also keeps on charging when ignition turned off. No problem so far.
?Automatically stop playing the iPod when I shut off the truck -> Yes
?Automatically start playing the iPod where it left off when I start the truck -> Yes. Also when you switch between radio and iPod it resumes playing

mrobers said:

I'll chime in (got it in my '02 for a year now) :

Click to expand...

Thanks! That's what I was hoping to hear. 

I keep seeing the concerns about it continuing to charge the iPod with the ignition turned off. This sounds like a good thing to me. What is the worry here? Overchanging the iPod, or running down the truck battery?

If the concern is running down the truck battery, I would think the amount of energy used to charge the iPod would be rather insignificant compared to the truck's battery capacity. Seems like there would be little danger of running the truck down unless its battery was already failing, or the truck was parked for weeks/months. This isn't a concern for me.

Thanks for the confirmation, now it's time to spend a little money...

I was researching iPod integration a while ago, and it's interesting that my searches weren't turning up anything that is compatible with 2002. Even today, when looking for the PXDP at Crutchfield (and a couple other places) it says it's NOT compatible with a 2002 Av. Intersting, because from reports here it apparently is.

It'll be nice to get some good tunes playing in the truck once again, I'm getting tired of the radio, especially since my favorite station changed to a talk radio format last year.    I had put in an aux input adapter and hard drive MP3 player long ago, but after 8 years it started getting flaky, and it hasn't worked at all for over a year. I was about to get a cable to go from the iPod to the aux adapter RCA inputs, but I really didn't want to have to keep turning the iPod on and off manually. Now I won't have to! 

-- SS

I have had several different Ipods plugged in now and have seen that not all Ipod Nano models will allow the control wheel to work when plugged in. Not sure what causes this.
If anyone else runs into this don't panic about the adopter unit not working until you try different ipods on it

Well, I installed the PXDP today and it works great! Thanks to bucklwi1 for finding it and starting the thread, and to all who responded.

I do notice one strange behavior... Normally, when starting the truck, turning on the radio, or selecting the Aux input, the iPod starts playing from where it left off when shutting down. However, sometimes the iPod wakes up, but doesn't start playing - it shows the current song on the display, but also shows that it is paused. If I press play on the iPod's clickwheel, it plays, and works normally after that.

In playing with it, it seems that if I do anything on the clickwheel, like skipping ahead on a song, or going back or ahead a track, then the next time I turn on the radio it won't play and I have to manually unpause it.

Anybody else experience this?

Fortunately, it's a minor issue, and everything works properly if I just leave the iPod alone and don't play with it directly.

-- SS

GJSmith said:

I have had several different Ipods plugged in now and have seen that not all Ipod Nano models will allow the control wheel to work when plugged in....

Click to expand...

Any info on which Nano models work, and which ones don?t would be appreciated. I have the Nano 4th gen. Thanks!  

Edit: Thanks for the awesome How-to bucklwi1 !! 

i had one of these and it was junk in a years time i went through 2 cords and everytime it quit i would have to cut the power to it and restart it to make it work... i pretty much see it as a expensive way of putting off the inevitable if you want ipod controls which would be a new deck

wyotonka said:

i pretty much see it as a expensive way of putting off the inevitable if you want ipod controls which would be a new deck

Click to expand...

On the other hand, while I love every minute of the more than 11 years I've sat behind the wheel of my Av, and while I hope it lasts forever, I know it won't. Is it really worth spending all of that time, money, and effort to put a new head unit into an 11 year old truck? Especially when the 2002 din-and-a-half size dash has so fewer head unit options than the newer double-din trucks?

This adapter has a place, but you're right that if you think you're going to be putting in a new head unit eventually, you might as well bite the bullet and do it now rather than fill in the gaps with an add-on unit as this.

I like mine very much. It's not perfect, but it serves its purpose.

-- SS

i paid 160 for the box and cord and then 20 a pop for 2 replacement cords .... i paid 300 for a deck and the adapters for my 03

wyotonka said:

i had one of these and it was junk in a years time...

Click to expand...

Was it this brand (Peripheral)??
I was looking at the ISGM-575 until I saw this post.

Thanks.