FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Monster Performance Car and iCruze
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Monster Performance Car and iCruze
Yes. It depends on your factory car stereo. Between 5 and 10 depending on how many CDs your factory car stereo can control when it is connected to an external CD Changer. Most external CD Changers support 6 CDs, so 6 playlist should be the minimum. Most of GM vehicles, the external CD Changer can support 9 CDs, so you would need a minimum of 9 playlist. Name the playlist in the following format, 1iCruze, 2iCruze, 3iCruze or 1Classic, 2Rock, 3Jazz etc., so they are the first playlists iCruze "sees" when it connects to your iPod. Please also make sure that you have at least one song per playlist.
Unlimited. You can store an unlimited amount of songs on your playlists. Due to the limitations of most factory stereos you will only be able to directly access the first 99 songs in any playlist. If you allow the songs to continuously play, then you will be able to listen to more then just the first 99 songs in your playlist, but you will not be able to directly access them.
No. There are 2 reasons. #1 - It's a driver distraction and could be dangerous. #2 - For the utmost reliable data transfer possible, your iPod is placed into UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter) mode which prevents the onboard controls/display from functioning.
Unfortunately, you will need to set up a playlist in order for iCruze to function correctly.
See your iPod owners manual and iTunes setup guide
No. Unfortunately the limitations of most factory car stereos do not allow text to be displayed beyond just Disc and Track numbers. Even if your particular factory stereo is capable of text display, iCruze does not support this feature at this time. The iCruze optional auxiliary display has the ability to show Song Title and Artist Information in a convenient, easy-to-read, dash-mountable display.
iCruze treats those as playlists even though you did not create them. You have either not created playlists or you may have named them incorrectly. Be sure to read the iCruze manual on playlists and then read your iTunes instructions on how to create playlists.
This is similar to the question above. You either do not have a 6th playlist or it is empty. If you did create a 6th playlist, but put nothing in it, the iCruze is simply playing what's there. If your vehicle's head unit can access more than 6, then you should create and put songs into that number of playlists.
The same way that you control your factory CD changer. The CD changer select button now activates iCruze. The buttons that accessed "Discs" in the past now access playlists. The same FF, RW and Random keys that were used for the CD changer, now work for the songs contained on your iPod.
Monster strongly recommends professional installation. In order to install iCruze you should ideally have had past experience with head unit and CD changer installations, as these steps are very similar to what is involved in the installation process for iCruze. You should be familiar with how to remove the dash panels, the factory stereo and other assorted interior panels for your particular vehicle. You will need at least some basic tools which may include: panel removal tool, ratcheting screwdriver set with phillips & flathead bits, ratcheting socket set with assorted sockets, crimping tool kit with crimp connectors or soldering iron, wire strippers/cutters and zip ties.
No. Unfortunately the inherent limitations associated with the remote access and control of iPods prevent sorting by playlists.
Yes. As long as the On-The-Go playlist appears as one of the first 6 playlists. On some vehicles, you can control up to ten playlists which means On-The-Go needs to be on the top 10 playlist. iPod arranges the playlist alphabetically so make sure you arrange them as necessary.
Most likely, yes. Any iPod (including iPod by HP) with a dock connector is compatible. The latest versions including, Nano, Color and Video all have dock connectors. The Shuffle and iPods without a dock connector will not interface with iCruze.
The modules translate your car's CD changer language to be able to talk to iCruze. The iCruze uses the same language as Alpine's M-Bus.
No. iCruze uses Alpine's M-Bus architecture.
No. iCruze needs to plug into that same CD changer port on your factory car stereo. Once iCruze is installed, your factory CD changer is disabled.
In some cases. Most vehicles, with integrated in-dash CD changers (all one unit) typically are NOT compatible because there are no options for an additional external CD changer, therefore there is no place to plug in iCruze. If your vehicle does have an option for an additional external CD changer (i.e. trunk mount), or your vehicle has a separate in-dash CD changer mounted in a separate slot from your main stereo, and can be unplugged in favor of an additional external CD changer (i.e. trunk mount), then iCruze is compatible with your vehicle. Please refer to your vehicle's owner's manual, or your local dealership for clarification as to whether your car stereo is capable of controlling an additional external CD changer.
New modules are being developed on a regular basis. Check back each month to see which new vehicles are iCruze capable.
The iCruze allows the iPod to charge while connected including after the ignition is turned off. The iCruze will only continue to charge the iPod for one charge cycle and then turn off. If, however, you have a faulty iPod this may cause the iPod to continually draw power from the vehicle while the vehicle is off.
It has been noticed on the iPod photo (with the latest firmware release) that when powering on, it sometimes cannot accept a new Comm link. This is something seen on the older iPods until Apple released a firmware revision to fix it. If this happens, the iCruze LCD will display "iPod Comm Error". The iPod will correct itself if the dock connector is disconnected, and then reconnected.
Select vehicles will lose functionality of select features. Select GM models may lose XM Satellite Radio and/or Rear Seat Entertainment control. Please refer to the iCruze online configurator for a complete list of the exceptions that may pertain to your particular vehicle.
Certain interfaces that mate with the iCruze issue toggle play commands after ignition cycles. The iPod uses a toggle play/pause button to start play of a playlist. Since the interface does not always know the state of the iPod after an ignition cycle, you may find that the iPod will come up after an ignition cycle in the paused state. This is easily remedied by pushing any track or disc access button on the head unit. Also, if your head unit has a play/pause button, you can use that as well to start the iPod.
Also, some interfaces/interfaces do not re-check the disc (playlist) number a key cycle. You may find that after a key cycle, the playlist number displayed does not match the playlist currently playing. The track number and the song and artist information on the LCD will be correct, however. This will self correct after some play time, or it can be corrected by pressing any track or disc access button.
Certain head units try to control the randomizing process by selecting track numbers and issuing commands to go to specific tracks. This is incompatible with the iPod random process, where the iPod is always in control of the random tracks that it is choosing for playback. Because of that, you may find in some applications while in random mode, that the head unit may get out of sync with the iPod numbering scheme. This will only be an issue when using the remote LCD display and will usually exhibit itself by not displaying the current song and artist title on the LCD display. If this happens, it is easily remedied by pressing the track back button to start the current track again. This will resync the numbering schemes while remaining in random mode.
Some iPods can disable serial communications if they are removed from the serial UART connection mid-communication. What this will do is not allow the iPod to reconnect to iCruze. When plugging the iPod into the iCruze with the dock connector, if the LCD stops at MONSTER ICRUZE, and the iPod does not display the iCruze logo, then the iPod needs to be reset. This can be done by pressing both the Menu and select buttons on the face of the iPod for 6 seconds which will bring up the Apple icon on the iPod display and then reset the serial communications in the iPod. The iPod will then connect correctly to the iCruze. This reset can be performed with the iPod connected or disconnected to the iCruze cable.
No. It is against the law for your dealership to void your entire warranty because you installed an aftermarket component such as iCruze. Your dealership has the right to void a portion of the warranty that pertains only to the factory car stereo, but the remainder of your warranty remains intact.
Button 1 - Track Down
Button 2 - Track Up
Button 3 - Quick Cruze (10 tracks down)
Button 4 - Quick Cruze (10 tracks up)
Button 5 - Disc Up
Button 6 - Random
While in Random
Button 3 - Rewind
Button 4 - Fast Forward
Width: 4.87"
Height (w/o base): 1.75"
Depth: 1"
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