Interfacing with HK Drive+play controller

I have an unused ipod car kit (HK Drive+play) controller laying around.

Heres a picture of it. (My first post so I can't link it inline)

I'd like to interface it with the Arduino. I'd like some advice on how to get it connected. Forgive me, I'm a complete noob at electronics.

So the cable has 3 wires, I'm assuming power/ground/signal. I did notice that within the cable there is some metallic sheath with some bare wires alongside the 3 wires. Relevant? Not sure.

Anyways, I've used software serial and tried connecting the signal wire to one of the digital inputs as a RX pin and using serial.read, but get a bunch of the same repeating data, pressing any of the inputs on the controller changes nothing.

I also tried connecting to an analog pin but get some random data (100s) with spikes (300s) every second or so. This happens automatically, pressing any input doesn't seem to change anything.

Am I going about this the completely wrong way? Or is there some other way to do it? The controller does light up like normal operation.

TIA

Are you trying to interface the arduino to simluate an ipod connection?

If so check out the protocols for ipod accessory communications
http://nuxx.net/wiki/Apple_Accessory_Protocol

It is for an iPod kit, but its doesn't plug directly into the iPod. It has a 2.5"" mini stereo jack connector that goes to a brain/control box which the iPod plugs into.

I'm not too familiar with that product, but from what I gathered you are trying to use the product's control pad to function as an input device for the arduino?

Unless you have some technical specifications as to the connection protocols used you are gonna have a hard time adapting it.

If you have the drive and the time though definitely take it apart, look at the circuits, and start reverse engineering it! ;D

FYI the loose cables wired to the casing are the shielding, which is present in the vast majority of small electronics cables (USB, etc). It can be treated as ground.