Bluetooth phone kit into aux port... cheap!!
 

Hi all.
This is my first contribution to these forums. I hope it's useful for someone. :)

I've just bought a 2007 XC90 Executive and needed a handsfree solution for phone calls and music streaming. I found these things on Amazon for £13 that only need a USB feed for power, and plug into the aux port to send audio to the head unit:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01L1INR4A/

I wired it in this weekend and it works perfectly. I can't believe how cheap this was for the convenience. It behaves as a handsfree phone kit but also controls music playback once I've got something playing on my phone.

http://i68.tinypic.com/6z4msi.jpg

http://i68.tinypic.com/2lji2bo.jpg

That's the little controller square below the heated seat buttons. It blends into the AC controls and is not very noticeable at all. At night, however, it does have a slowly-pulsing blue LED behind the buttons that might be a bit annoying. Fitted down there though it's nowhere near my line of sight so I hope it won't be distracting.

I've installed a switched power source using a piggyback fuse on the one supplying the 12v sockets so apart from the control unit nothing at all is visible in the interior. It's nice and neat.

Happy to answer any questions if this is interesting to someone.

What did you use to piggy back into the power fuse ?

Great item..... I've ordered one for herself car....... :thumbs_up:

Another type
 

Here's another one

https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/Non-Food-O...articleId=6207

I had a spare piggyback mini fuse holder like this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gankarii-Ci...dp/B071DYPXKG/

I plugged this into fuse 11 in the driver's footwell which means it's powered with the key, just like the car's power sockets. This feeds a 12v socket into which I've got a dual USB lighter socket adapter providing USB power to the Bluetooth thing. This complex collection is just bits I had lying around. I also bought a wire-in USB thing that will simplify the wiring a lot when I have time:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01C4IFSZM/
(I'm also going to fit one of these into the glovebox.)

Yes, but mine also plays music through the car's stereo :-)

Looks very smart. What's the call quality like?

I haven't made any calls through it yet so I don't know what the microphone's like. (I hardly ever make/receive calls in the car.) But the speaker quality for any phone audio through the car's speakers is great.

Incidentally, along with the Bluetooth kit I also bought a headphone extension lead with a right-angle plug that fits very neatly under the cup-holder lid. The audio jack that's attached to the Bluetooth kit is a straight plug that won't fit under the cup-holder lid.

I fitted an FM Transmitter that plugs directly into the 12V. It comes with two USB outputs - so that capability isn't lost.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1