just to update, and hope maybe some more pics might appear or some more advice, when i pulled the console out, there was a spare plug which the ipod loom fitted. in the last pic on this page, you can just see some wiring below the icc part in front of the power supply/cig lighter. the loom didn't look long enough to go anywhere else and when looking at a diagram of the loom fitted in the workshop manual, it looks like thats about the area where it plugs in.

got humpty all back together again and rang my local dealer and bribed him with a carton of coopers. he said he could fit me in, so down i went, only to have them plug the laptop in and have it come up with 'check 6 pin plug'. they didn't have time to investigate further, so now i'm wondering if its somewhere i've gone wrong. i did just take a guess that the plug i used was the correct one, because it just happened to be there, but maybe it does plug in elsewhere.

anyway, its sort of back to square 1. luckily the centre console isn't too difficult to remove. any more advice or pics would be very welcome, esp if someone with tech pack fitted has some pics with the console out. i know its a long shot.

cheers
Rob