pieisgude

iTrader: (2)

This is a little spin-off of the Tape Deck Hack created by Ali SC3. I give him mad props for figuring out where all the lines lead to and what not. But after following his instructions, and reading the circuit board a little further, i figured out a much easier way, without the scare of soldering off your capacitors. And, with this method, it alters NOTHING. No soldering to the board, nothing that you cannot easily remove. This method requires very basic soldering skills.

First off, you will need a couple of things:
Soldering iron, i used a cheap 30 watt one from RadioShack
Solder
10mm socket
Phillips head screwdriver
Fine, precise, little screwdrivers
Power drill
Smaller drill bit for a pilot hole
1/4 drill bit
1/8" Stereo Panel-Mount Audio Jack
1/8" Male to Male audio cable (make sure you get one that's relatively long)
Servo Cable with plug(this is the secret weapon)

I would put a disclaimer, but it's so easy. You really shouldn't mess this up.....

So we begin with disassembling the center console, and remove the factory head unit. You all know how to do that right? If you don't, please refer to this. Or something of the sort.

Now, once you have the stereo removed, strip it down similar to how it is in Ali's thread Tape Deck Hack.



Now, once you've gotten the side off (the side closest to where the capacitors are located), you'll notice, right behind those two capacitors that Ali highlighted, is actually a test location. Three prongs with a white base. Left, Ground, and Right. Instead of splicing into the capacitors, and finding a place to solder your ground, you can simply, solder 3-wire Servo Plug, to the 1/8" Audio Jack. The middle wire of the plug will be your ground. And depending on how you stick your plug in, will determine which side is Left and which is Right. Just make sure you don't mix them up or your sound will be screwy.





After you have the Servo plug wired to the Audio Jack, drill a hole in the stereo's chassis to mount the jack. Drilling with the smaller bit first, then the 1/4". After you mount the jack, plug in the servo plug.



With all of that done, reverse the dis-assembly process and put the head unit back into the frame and plug in your Male to Male cable into the Audio Jack. Put the stereo back in, bolt it down, and route your audio cable beside your shifter, under the cup holder, and to the armrest container.



You'll have to remove the 3 bolts underneath the felt cover, and the two screws near the end of the hinge. After those are removed, you'll have to push up these to points underneath the compartment, right under the two coin holders. After the compartment is removed, cut out the rectangle of your choice, and put it all back, with your audio cable routed through it.





And voila, once it's all back together, it looks COMPLETELY factory, and retains all the features of your factory stereo system, with the added benefit of a crystal clear aux input.



In order to use this, you must get an old cassette, and rip out all of the tape, or use a crappy audio quality tape adapter, cut the wire off, and stick it in. Hit tape, plug in your favorite audio playing device, and off you go. The one problem with this is that if you want to listen to the radio, or a CD, or even a cassette, you must hit pause on your player, or disconnect it, as this line goes directly to the speakers.

So enjoy, happy modding.

Carlo

Codfish

Nice write up !!!

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

NICE ONE!!! I seriously cannot believe I missed that connector!!!
It even says R and L on yours what was I thinking...

I don't think mine had R and L labeled as mine is an older model than yours (Im guessing yours is 98+ from the gated shifter) but if it was then I can't believe I did all that extra work.

Mad props back to you, definitely beats soldering, Im going to link your thread from mine

Jumanji33

Is there any reason why this wouldn't work in a 2005 SC430? I have the same three pin hook up located near the tape connections. I am waiting for my servo cord so that I can hook things up, but I'd like to test it in the mean time. I connected the stereo and touched an RCA cord from an mp3 player to the prongs and got nothing on FM, CD and Tape. I had a tape adapter in when I tested it. Let me know if you think the ground pin needs to be connected as well or if things just won't work for me. Am I doing anything wrong when I touch the prongs?

pieisgude

iTrader: (2)

Thanks, glad i could help.

Jumanji33, i believe you need the ground. Looking at a diagram of a 3.5mm jack, it shows the left, right, and ground. So i could only imagine that it's necessary. You'll probably run into the same problems that we run into, with having the radio running, without anything actually playing. But i see you've solved that with a tape adapter. The CD trick looks much cleaner, in a first gen SC at least.

jadu

iTrader: (42)

nice DIY!! i gotta do this

Sweatshop

iTrader: (11)

PM sent on the this.

pieisgude

iTrader: (2)

PM replied.

cartmill

iTrader: (3)

can you explain this a little more for me?
i'm assuming this mod just uses the Tape input, but instead of it reading the crappy tape player, it reads the ipod audio.
also, what do you mean disconnect IT (in bold)? i'm assuming you mean the media player (ipod or whatever). wouldn't the aux audio be cutoff as soon as you selected a different input?
i'm basically trying to figure out what this has to do with the tape player... lol

pieisgude

iTrader: (2)

Alright. Well, it's a spin off of the tape deck hack. Which if you follow Ali's DIY, you'll understand. This is merely just adding an AUX input to your stereo, and does not affect any of your other factory radio capabilities. But, this being a test point, it plays music, even when the radio/tape/cd are playing. So, if you wanted to listen to a normal CD, or listen to the radio, you'd have to pause your player, or disconnect it entirely to keep from anything going into the line. I hope that explains it. I hope.

Carlo

Jumanji33

Pieisgude thanks for the response!

I got my cables in the mail and wired up everything. The sound quality is amazing. I have one problem however. I have tried all combinations with ground, left and right channels, but I am only getting left channel signal. For the time being I just ran the left channel from my player through both right and left on the head unit. (Black and White on the servo cable) This is hard to explain, but if anyone understands whats going on or had similar problems let me know. Edit* Just remembered that when I connect ground left and right accordingly it seems to cut the connection and my player pauses. I will hook them up correctly and try it with a different mp3 player tonight and listen for interference.

I also have 4 extra servo cables for this hook up if anyone wants one mailed to them. It took forever to get them here from China, and it came in a 5 pack for $.50. Let me know and Ill throw one in the mail.

Jumanji33

Ok ok did some tests and figured out that the problem was on the mp3 player end. Pieisgude this is the best discovery ever and you deserve a medal. My extra servo cables are still on the table for anyone who needs them.

Edit* - For me this was done on a 2005 SC430 and didn't work using my Droid. Worked with an iPod though.

Daveychan

Would someone please please look at my wiring diagram and tell me if it's correct?

3rd page of this thread:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/lex...at-last-3.html

UPDATE: I have confirmed that this wiring is correct! I hope this helps someone else!

pieisgude

iTrader: (2)

Jumanji, i'm glad you worked it out! I saw this posted in the LS section i believe, so it's not all my work, i just took pics. But thanks!

And Dave, i'm sorry, i'm not very well versed in wiring, so i'm not very much help.

Darthspeed

Jumanji- pm me please I would like a Servo cable to do this mod. Thanks!