Cheap Mod: DIY AUX Input in a 2005-2008 Factory Head Unit

fbconvert · Feb 11, 2015

You can try removing some of the green film material covering the conductive path of the L and R connection. Just trace the line back to a convenient spot and scratch off the green film then solder directly to that.

Tacomalover303 · Feb 11, 2015

fbconvert[OP] said: ↑

You can try removing some of the green film material covering the conductive path of the L and R connection. Just trace the line back to a convenient spot and scratch off the green film then solder directly to that.
Click to expand...

Ok Ill give it a go. I ordered a single din dash kit anyway cause if this doesn't work ill be getting a aftermarket stereo. I just like the stock look. Thanks

Tacomalover303 · Feb 12, 2015

Gave up and just did this. My First TACO mod!!

Chas of MRT · Feb 12, 2015

Ha nice! Looks good man.

Tico8 · Feb 25, 2015

fbconvert[OP] initial post: ↑

***Edit: If pictures from this first post are not loading just hit refresh they should download on the second try.***

***UPDATE: An alternative to this mod has been posted by TW member pscrev20.Before committing to this mod I recommend reading his post as well.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/au...stock-head-unit-overrides-fm.html#post5324884

I wish I could take credit for coming up with this mod, but my source of inspiration came from TW Member wljohns (his thread).
Here is the basic outline of this post.

Introduction
o What is this mod and why do I want to do it
o How this mod works and its basic functions
o What are the limitations of this mod
Materials & Tools
o Input jack
o Solder iron and solder
o Wire
o Other handy tools
Procedure
o Removing the head unit
o Disassembling the head unit
o Wiring the inputs
o Re-installing
Conclusion
o Final thoughts

Introduction

So what is this mod and how can it benefit your undoutable, overzealous, love affair with your truck? Well back in my younger days of aught five (2005), MP3 players and other musical devices were very popular, and their popularity was growing exponentially to the point that no one between the age of 3 and 65 didn’t have at least two in their immediate possession at all times (Pardon my slight exaggeration). However, Toyota and all their wisdom would not foresee the benefit of an aux input for another four years. This meant that everyone with a second generation Tacoma from years 2005 to 2008 would have to resort to some aftermarket adapter or worse, an FM transmitter. Well this Modification is intended to save you from the ultimate demise of an FM transmitter, or at the very least keep you from spending $50-Plus on an aftermarket adapter.

In a nutshell the mod works like this: it taps into the left and right channel of the CD player output and overrides it. This means that you have to select the CD player as the source of the audio. As long as you do not plug in any device into your new aux input jack the CD player will play as normal. Once you plug in your audio device it immediately overrides the CD player audio (disabling it) and switches to whatever is coming into the aux input. As I tested it the sound quality is equal to any aux input I have ever used. Even though your head unit will display will look like it is playing the CD, there is no faint overlap of sound coming from the CD, only the Aux input, and it is crystal clear (exited yet?).

Here are the basics:

Benefits

Modification Cost: $4.00 (depending on what tools & supplies you already have)

Adds a universal mini 3.5 (headphone Jack) AUX input that will work with any audio device designed to be used with headphones.

Limits

The unit I did this mod on is a 6 disc JBL model out of a 2005 double cab TRD sport. From wljohns post, which I referenced earlier, it appears he did his mod on a single disc non-jbl unit. Between the pictures from wljohns’s post and this post you should be able to figure out how to apply this mod to your specific unit but of course all of this is at your own risk.

Like I mentioned above this mod taps into the CD player. This means you must select the disc source as the input. Not sure about other units, but the only way I can activate the disc source is if I actually have a disc in my receiver. Maybe someone smarter than I can figure a way to enable selection of the disc source without a disc actually in there, but for now I will just except this.

Materials and tools

Input Jack
You will need an input jack much like I have pictured below. It cost me just less than $4 after tax at my local radio shack (And they come in pairs so you can slit the cost with your other Tacoma buddies if you are really cheap).

Solder iron and solder
I already had this stuff but I am sure you can pick it up pretty cheap. I am just assuming this so maybe I am wrong, but if you have made it this far in my post I am willing to wager that you already have these tools at your disposal as well. If you don’t then I might suggest reading up a little on how to solder and what all goes with it. Don’t let me scare you away from this mod, there is nothing complicated about soldering. I am just giving this word of caution for those out there who don’t have a clue. The CD electric board is delicate, if you are not careful you could potentially short out the board or overheat it, thus making useless even as a boat anchor (it might work as a door stop or paper wait).

Wire
Don’t ask me what gauge I used because I don’t know. I just had some extra wiring lying around that was approximately the same size as that of a typical pair of headphones. If you go to large it will be hard to solder it to the CD electric board. The length you need will depend on where you wish to mount your Aux input.

Other handy tools
A pair of wire cutters, a drill, flat head screw driver, small and large Philip’s head screw driver, a 10 mm socket and wrench. This is going to sound a little wired but… a picture of Sylvester Stallone’s character “Rocky”, a bag of Cheetos, and two (2) Dragon warriors might also come in handy (you never know).

Procedure

Finally the good part with lots of pictures! I have to give the basic disclaimer just because I don’t want people flaming me later that theirs didn’t work. Bottom-line this is my approach, it may not be the path of least resistance (Pun intended even though there are no resistors in this mod) but it worked for me, and I hope you have similar success.

Removing the head Unit

Edit: (recommendation from bama trd) Make sure all CD's are removed from CD player.

Begin by bopping off the climate control… control nub things.

You now should have access to the bolts that mount your head unit to the dash. Use a 10 mm socket to remove all four of them.

Now gently remove the head unit from the dash while unplugging all of the wiring harnesses.

Disassembling the head unit
Look carefully at the head unit. In general, every screw you see will need to be removed. Keep track of all of them or you will end up like me with some left over when you are all done. I suggest starting with the four screws that attach the CD player to the front face. I will try to remain consistent in my pictures so I will show screw locations with red arrows and tabs locations (or anything requiring a little force) in blue.

Also remove the two top screws, pop the front tabs, and then remove the top plate by carefully lifting from the back.

I do not have a particular order of operations for this next part. Just start removing all the screws until you have removed all of the surrounding walls of the CD player. Don’t forget about the ones in the front. Take special note of how everything is put back together because I do not include any reassembly procedures.

Front of CD Player

Bottom of CD Player

Side of CD player

Eventually you will get to the guts of the system. I don’t know what all the other units looks like and since this is a JBL head unit, your insides could look very different. Remember wljohns Post, he has pictures of a different unit there. The next step I took was separating the actual CD player from the amp board by gently pulling straight out on the two wire ribbons.
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Next I removed the insulation plate attached to the CD player. You will want to remove the other end of the two wire ribbons at this point to expose the screws mounting the insulation plate.

Then gently lift the insulation plate and set it aside. In the next image I will circle the part where you need to solder. Here is my tip for people with other unit models: The left and right channel inputs are near the connector of the wide wire ribbon on the CD player side. They were labeled LCH and RCH respectively. I am assuming that the other units are labeled similarly.

Here is a picture of both my left and right input wires soldered to the points above. Be careful not to overheat the board or short circuit anything. You want a good strong connection or else you will get static when you plug in your input. Notice how I wrapped my wires around a solid point on the CD player to protect the connections. There is zero clearance for wires on the back side of unit (top of picture below) but there is a little room on the right side of the unit (right side of picture below).

At this point you are ready to start assembling everything back together. Don’t worry about soldering the input jack yet just leave the blanked off ends hang until you figure out where you want to mount your input. You will also need a ground as well. You have several options for ground but I can’t guaranty any of them except the one I used. The funny thing with grounds is I know it can pick up noise that may require a filter. I grounded mine directly to the head unit pictured below using the insulation plate mounting screws on the wire ribbon side and there is no noise what so ever, even when the car is running.

Re-installation
I am in the process of resurrecting a salvaged Tacoma which involved replacing the entire dash. The only dash available at my local salvage yard was out of a 2009 Tacoma so it came with a factory input. I actually tried to wire it in the same as it is wired to the 2009 head unit (only i still have my 2005 head unit) but it did not work which is why I did this mod. These next few pictures is how I mounted my input so it appears stock.

Conclusion

So there you have it. A clean install of an aux input. You could get really creative on how you want to mount your input. There is room on the front face of the head unit or you could tuck it somewhere under the dash, it is up to you. Maybe you would like to rout it to the inside of the center console? So far I am really happy with this mod which is probably why I put so much time into this write up. If you do try to do this yourself, I hope you will post pictures and give some feedback on your success. Feel free to post any comments or questions, I will do my best to respond.

Good luck!

-FB

Click to expand...

You have to disconnect the battery right?

whahahajr · Feb 25, 2015

Tico8 said: ↑

You have to disconnect the battery right?
Click to expand...

Most don't. I didn't but it's a good idea.

Tico8 · Mar 19, 2015

All done!!! Pretty easy!!! Here is the location for mine, next to the cup holders!

lennyk · Mar 30, 2015

Thanks for the info / pics

sivart7208 · Apr 25, 2015

would anyone want to do this mod for me if I sent them my stereo? My soldering skills are not up to par! PM me if you are interested.

s brake · Aug 31, 2015

Does this mod require special audio wire or would any electrical wire do?

fbconvert · Aug 31, 2015

Technically any wire will work. I used shielded audio wire just to make sure I wouldn't get any interference.

Dongtown · Oct 20, 2015

Thanks fbconvert,
Your instructions and descriptions were spot on. I added the aux and everything works great. Great job

pilota · Oct 21, 2015

I just wanted to thank everyone who contributed to this addition. I was more than a little intimidated when I saw the quarter pic, but I figure what the heck. Go for it, What could go wrong? It really was quite simple and it works as expected. Lovin' this site. I used a stereo cable and so I have the male end just running down along the glove box area and sitting in the cup holder, awaiting my decision as to where to install the female or I may just leave it as it is. Thanks again, very cool, just wish I did this along with the cruise control BEFORE I drove 3300 miles across the country!

jasonshafer · Jan 22, 2016

I took a chance and did this on my 06 Sequoia JBL 6 disk player with some really rusty sub par soldering skills... in case anyone's wondering it works exactly the same as the OP... just find those output joints on the CD part of the assemble and tap in. Very cool solution to an overrated design. Thanks to everyone who posted!

5 Lug Fury · Mar 4, 2016

I found this thread very useful but I ran across some issues so I modified the approach and added audio controls as well.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...t-and-adding-a-sub-on-stock-head-unit.420008/

Bruce988jl · Mar 9, 2016

Awesome! Thanks!

white91formula · May 22, 2016

I did this mod yesterday and have zero sound coming out of it.... not even any static,

followed this 100% and used the same jack listed above. I tried multiple grounding locations as well.

When i put a disc in i get error1 flashing. It wont play the disc either.

What could cause this?

white91formula · May 24, 2016

Got it working. Opened the top and the cd loaded correctly and no more error1 message. Finally a aux source!

tan-ishman · Dec 20, 2016

So, I took this idea and I'm attempting to advance it a bit.
picked up a bluetooth dongle, and a switch. snapped the switch to the top of my unit and snapped into a power source for the radio for the Bluetooth dongle.

getting a bit of static from some possible shitty solders on my RHC and LHC but I'll fix that tonight and post some pics.
trying to follow the current path but I have two grounds to take care of and its bugging the s***t out of me.

Thanks @fbconvert and @Sandman614

Nitsud · Jan 11, 2017

tan-ishman, any luck with the bluetooth dongle? If so, do you happen to have pics/links? I'm looking to do this in my 07 non-jbl 6-disc.
Also may do the write up using FM. I tend to place my phone on an iMagnet on the left of my dash (left of the steering wheel). So it would be nice to have one aux in the middle, and a second on the left. Probably a bit extreme, but it could be handy. Unless I can get bluetooth wired in

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