I'm new here and I definitely have been looking through the forums, because I just bought a used F90BT and have upgraded to the modded 3.0 firmware and have my iPhone synced perfectly with it.... So I know a decent amount about this technology stuff. I have an iPod Classic 120GB and it will not play with the F90BT! When I plug the iPod into the F90BT, it says "Connecting" on my iPod for about 3 seconds, then the Pioneer logo comes up and shows the song title for about 2 seconds and then my iPod goes back to the main menu.

The only way that I can get it to work (and by work I mean play one complete song and when it trys to load the next song, it disconnects and my iPod shows the main menu again), I have to play a song on the iPod manually and then when it starts playing, I connect the pioneer cable into it and then the iPod pictures shows on my F90BT's screen and then it works. But like I said for one song only.

I have been searching the forums as well as online and cannot seem to see anyone listing anything remotely to what I have going on. The iPod is the 120GB and running firmware 2.0.1. I wanted to downgrade it to 1.1.1 (which Pioneer supports), but reading more into it, the only iPod Classics that can be downgraded to that firmware is the 80GB and the 160GB that were manufactured in 2007.

The only thing that I can guess is that the pioneer cable that comes with the F90BT is lacking the Authentication Chip... Would I have to purchase Apple's composite cable to fix that (Does it contain the chip?) or is that not even the problem?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

I also wanted to say that if the f90bt changes songs by itself, the iPod disconnects. If I hit next on the f90bt, it will change the song without any problem. Also to note, my friend has an Avic D3 and I'm about 95% sure it works with his unit without any problem. I do believe I have a genuine iPod pioneer cable... I can tell by how the iPod connector part is molded. (It's more of a rounded rectangle with the connector cover strapped to the cable.) I would love to hear someone's advice on this. Thanks again.

There is no way to tell if you have a genuine cable and it is likely you do not or the cable is defective. Get the Apple Composite AV cable and see what happens.

Yeah always best to use apple gear unfortunately. Also do you synch to iPod via iTunes or a 3rd party app?

Well just got out to my car this morning with a can of compressed air and blew out the iPods connector and the pioneers cable connector (both USB and iPod)... IT WORKS! I'm still really cautious about it though. I had the iPod connected before I put my car's ignition switch into accessory. (I did that three times.) I then cranked the car twice, with it still connecting and staying connected. I then disconnected the iPod and started the car and once the system was fully booted, I connected the iPod (without any song playing) and it connected and started playing.

Ughhhh!!!! I absolutely hate it when a problem is so simple to fix and it takes forever to realize that!

Like I said though I'm still worried about it, but I'll definitely post an update over the next few days to let anyone that's curious know how it's been going.

Thanks for the responses, the only other plausible reason (and seems more plausible) is that there may be a short in the cable, but I'll see how it goes over the next few days and then post a reply.

Alright. Time for a status update. It appears that I thought it was a short which some of it might be, but I also got home and holding the iPod in my hand and watching a movie, the movie plays for about 5 minutes and then the iPod disconnects. I wonder if it's a software or hardware issue. Thanks again for any help.

id order a cable from amazon... can always return it if the problem isnt solved

Just go to Best Buy and buy the cable I mentioned. And stay away from Amazon and eBay. You will often get knock offs that will continue to cause problems.

Here is the Apple Composite AV Cable from Best Buy.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Apple+-+Composite+A/V+Cable/2116077.p?skuId=2116077&id=1218577565071

Does this appear to be correct? I see where is says works with "select" iPod and iPod classic models... Kind of makes me worry.

Does anyone else have the 120gb working without problems?

That is the cable and it will work with your iPod.

+1 on the cable.

i would also do a restore on the ipod just to make sure that it is not a software issue on the ios device.

Okay. I always appreciate knowledgeable help on forums. After getting the unit just a few weeks ago, I did do a full restore of the 2.0.1 firmware and replaced everything on the ipod, with no luck. I'm going to order this Apple cable and look forward to the results.

Good luck and let us know.

The official Apple cable came in from Best Buy (the one in the link, higher up in the thread) and it doesn't work. A USB drive works just fine everytime I connect it, but the iPod will show charging, then like it's connected to the computer charging, then it shows the Pioneer logo, then disconnects. This is the exact same problem that was happening before. I have no idea what to do now.

UPDATE: I checked the cable with my iPhone 4S and it connects every single time! Obviously, it keeps reseting my unit, which is normal from what I read on the forums, but it works. So, apparently it works with everything except my iPod Classic 120gb! Arghhh!!! This is driving me crazy! I don't want to, but if I have to, I think I'll go by my local pawn shop and try to trade the 120gb for an original 80gb or 160gb classic running the "Pioneer Approved" 1.1.1 firmware. Any ideas or suggestions would definitely be appreciated. Thanks.

I would just try a different iPod. You may just have a gremlin in your iPod.

Also have you tried a full restore and re-sync of your iPod content?

Hah! That's funny! I'm curious as to why it's not working either. I did indeed do a full restore and and re-sync of all my content. I think I'll try to see if my friends will let me borrow their iPods (at least for a few minutes) to check compatibility. Since I have some free time currently, I'll just go ahead and do another restore and then sync all my music back over again. I'll borrow an iPod or two and see what happens.

Also are you using iTunes or another app to manage your content?

I'm using the current version of iTunes, to restore and sync all of my music and videos.

Well a curious thing happened today... I read on a website that a gentleman with an f700 head unit was having issues with his iPod and he said that he renamed the name of his iPod (in iTunes) from "his name" to "iPod" and his began working. Thinking of a cheap and hopefully easy fix I changed my iPod's name to "iPod". I took it out to the car this morning and the unit recognized it without disconnecting! Very Weird! I have since turned the car on and off several times with no problems. I haven't put my movies back on it yet, but I'm curious as the length of iPod names that the unit will recognize. I did do a full restore (it being the third restore), I don't think that was the problem. I will post back in a few days giving an update on the situation.

Well never mind. It started disconnecting again. I'm going to do another restore and then connect it again, to see if it'll work properly. It sort of makes me wonder if me playing a different album without the head unit and then connecting back in the car is throwing it off. I'm also running the fx3.1 software on the f90bt... Do you think I should just download the official firmware and install that then?

Do you think I should just download the official firmware and install that then?

No, should be related. Is the car moving when this happens or is the iPod moving for any reason.

Yeah. I drove to work today and it worked perfectly. I listened to the iPod a little bit at work (without the car head unit), put the iPod back in the car when leaving work and it kept disconnecting. I did notice that if I had the iPod plugged into the head unit (head unit on) and held down the iPod buttons to reset the iPod, once reset, the head unit would recognize it, but if I changed the song, it would disconnect. Then later if I reset, the unit wouldn't recognize it period... Kinda irritating...

Try testing with the only in accessory mode with no engine running and no movement. Do this for about 30 minutes and give it a chance ti fail. If it doesn't then you know it is related to movement.