EDIT:
full tutorial writeup here
http://jcrowell.info/bmw-aux-in.html
crosspost from e36 forum
I believe that I am the first to ever do this, so, if you have any questions, feel free to ask!
mod works, pics should explain everything
open radio
take out cassette deck
remove metal shielding
on that circuit board, from right to left is
GROUND LEFT RIGHT
for audio signals
solder a wire to each of those and a connector to the other end which i ran through under to the space under the onboard computer
materials
soldering iron (any crappy one will do, preferably lower wattage, but just be quick if its more than about 30 watts)
solder
cable with at least 3 wires in it ( i used a cat-5 on my saab and a usb cable on my brothers BMW)
1/8" connector
pics should explain everything pretty well
http://bayimg.com/DAJOBAabk
http://bayimg.com/DAjODAABK
http://bayimg.com/dAJoEAABK
Last edited by jeffc313; 08-21-2008 at 11:09 AM.
so how does it know when you want to use aux or cd?
aux is when it is playing tape. you use a blank tape or remove the innards of the tape so that no sound goes over your AUX-in
hey jeffc313,
Thats awesome idea!
I am looking to do the same with my e39 head unit.
Can you play Tape (maybe when AUX-IN is not on)?
Do you have any more pics?
Do you have any luck of doing this?
What is the outcome?
Thank you in advance,
siny528i
tape is still fully functional, when tape is on, both tape and aux are playing, so if nothing is plugged into aux, tape is all that will be heard, and when doing aux, use a blank tape or tape with everything removed.
mine does work, there is a video of it in use here
[ame]http://youtube.com/watch?v=8QcAk_QPnjc[/ame]
i can take a few more pics, i have an extra broken e36 radio that i can take pics of. if you take any hi res photos of the tape deck in the e39 radio, i can try to help you, it should be very very similar
Awesome...I hacked into a cassette adapter and permanently left it in my tape player to have an aux in port, but your idea is 10000x better. How is the sound quality? Better than an aux tape adapter I hope?
Also, can you take a picture from the back of the headunit but from farther out? Just so we know exactly where the area is that we need to solder to.
Thanks.
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Another question about sound quality. Is it better than a tape adapter?
Also, does the tape make the little "tape is playing" clicks and rolling around noises from the mechanicals being moved?
sound quality is definitely better than a tape adapter. if you remove the ribbon from the tape, the sound doesn't really happen. I'll be sure to snap a few pics tomorrow.
so far I removed top cover of my tape deck:
any ideas where should I go from here?
remove teh cassette portion, there are 4 screws holding it down.
(if you wouldn't mind taking more pics as you go, it would be nice for my tutorial as my pics kinda suck)
then after that, remove the metal shielding on the cassette portion held on by 2 screws
I circled the shielding on this picture as well as the cassette deck
http://img212.imageshack.us/my.php?image=001uo6.jpg
no problem
ok, thanks, also, when you get the shield off, take a pic of the underlying circuit board so that I can guide you from there
you got it, give me few sec
nice pictures!
ok, so solder a wire to each of the pads shown
http://img87.imageshack.us/my.php?image=005rl0.jpg
and then to the corresponding pin on your audio connector, reassemble the radio and you're done!
what if make a hole on the back, put a wire with RCA connectors or phone jack and then solder it? But first make a knot on the inside in case of accidental pull of the wire
that should work fine, as long as you get the signal in the proper pins on the final connector and the radio, it should work.
Make a hole with 7/32 drill bit. BE CAREFULL not to hit circuit board! I slightly went over it
Now I have this wire. I believe I will have to splice bare wires together and it will be GROUND. White is LEFT. Red is RIGHT. Please correct me if I am wrong.
PS. And, yes, before soldering it make a knot in a case of accidental pull.
yes, the shielding should be ground, left and right, I am not really sure how the phono works, but if left comes out of your right and vice versa and it annoys you, then switch it
edit: if you want,
Digg it
http://*********/mods/AUX_IN_to_stock_E36_head_unit
Last edited by jeffc313; 05-20-2008 at 12:49 PM.
Unfortunately, I dont have any luck with this
Its playing ok, but probably some wire touching something and as result I have a distortion. I will try to find another way to connect. Either somewhere else inside a tape deck or, like JuBu did, through cassette adapter with option of leaving it there.
As a matter of fact I was amazed by the quality with cassette adapter, if you use right adapter, of course. I used Belkin # F8V366. No clicks. Sorry i had to ruin it for this project - not sure if I will be able to fix it back.
Keep in mind that I am not trying to connect it straight to iPod, but to the brain of Harmon Kardon Drive+Play. This way I will 2 kills in 1 shot - easy navigation and great sound.
Any input would be welcome,
siny528i
you may have the ipod volume up high and the radio volume low, try the opposite, the ipod amplifier is much worse than the car's amplifier. also make sure that your grounds are solid connections and that none of the wires are shorting each other
Hey, I've had this idea for some time, but never had time to try it. Good job!
I have these ideas for when I do mine:
a) Find someplace in the deck itself to mount a female 1/8" jack for a cleaner install.
b) Use an audio isolation transformer for a better quality signal and less distortion.
c) Find a way to "trick" the deck into allowing AUX in audio through without needing a blank tape.
Item "c" may prove the most difficult due to the electronic controls governing the tape operation. I'll have to see once I get the deck apart.
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item "c" is not that difficult, it just involves the cutting of a trace to open the circuit so that the cassette deck thinks that it is always in use. This causes a bit of trouble however if you want to use a real tape. I just did it that way to be a little less destructive. if you want, i could try to find the trace that you need to cut, but I suggest against it.
"a" and "b" are good ideas, let me know how it works out
My plan is to use one of those 1/8" jacks with the integrated switch inside to auto-switch the deck into "AUX" mode when the jack is occupied.
I'll post results when I get something working. First I need to get my suspension project done, but a fun DIY like this is just what I need after all the wrenching!
1999 ///M3 TiAg | Heated Power Vaders | DDM Projector36 5000K 55W HIDs | DDM 3000K 35W HID Fogs
DDM Smoked Corners | DDM Weighted Shift Knob | K&N CAI | Mishimoto AL Rad w/Zionsville AL Shroud
Stewart HiPo Water Pump | Samco Hose Kit | 16" SPAL Puller Fan | Viper 5701LE Security
E36 OBC is now open! Join the effort: BF.C Thread | openOBC Wiki
good luck with it.
and here is a tutorial that I just wrote up, hope it helps.
and siny, thanks again for the excellent pictures
http://jcrowell.info/bmw-aux-in.html
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