For those of you with 02-04 rockford fosgate systems that are looking for a true AUX in, I successfully modded my 6disc fosgate in my 2004 se xterra for an aux input (and ipod charger/line out.) It involves some surgury and about an hour of disassembling and soldering but it's absolutely awesome. Zero hum silence and a toggle switch between audio from CD player and AUX (or universal ipod adapter) I know this is the mod EVERY 02-04 xterra SE owner has been looking for so I'll put together instructions to post into this thread.

I patched the ribbon cable between the intermediate board and the main board (cd player module>intermediate board>main head unit board) I traced and found the pin-outs on the boards and ribbon cables. If you're up for a fairly difficult mod, the kind that requires a steady handed xacto, soldering iron, glue gun and some caffeine.. this is for you. again, give me a couple of days and I'll post the instructions.

whitman

I'm definitely interested in seeing these instructions. Post lots of pics

Interesting...

I'd be interested in seeing the instructions as well...

'bout Time!!!! That would be freakin awesome!!!

sorry about the delay fellas. I'm trying to get another head unit to crack into. I'm convinced it doesn't absolutely need to be a RF head unit.. it just needs to be the in-dash 6cd (00-early02). kicking myself; I missed one selling for $30 last week on ebay. as soon as I get one I will have it documented with pics and tips.. second time around it will be a nice clean install. hang in there!

whitman

chances are I'll find one on ebay soon enough, but if someone has a broken/beat up 6disc in dash they want to donate for modding, for the love of all things nissan send it to me!

well I'm an idiot and just missed another $30 auction by 9 minutes. this is driving me crazy.

I found someone elses pics of a very similar mod for those of your who are itching to see what this mod entails:

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=68140

take a look at this link to familiarize yourself with the head unit. the layout is the same from nissan 1995 6disc in-dash to 2004 RF 6disc in-dash head units, suprisingly.

the difference with my mod is that we patch the actual ribbon cable instead of trying to solder directly onto the board (the pins on the board are very close and easy to screw up.. unforgiving to say the least.) also, we are actually interrupting the output of the cd player module instead of just patching into it. this gets around having to play a cd with 74 minutes of burned silence.

the ribbon cable we are going to mod is the one coming out of the main board (I will explain in my next post.) with an xacto knife, we will be:

1. making one cut through four of the outermost pins on the ribbon
2. peeling them back sequentially and staggered (outermost pin is a dead one, we'll just be cutting that one out of the way.
3. bending and folding them 90 degrees outward
4. using hot glue to tack them down (bend them more than three times and they break)
5. soldering 20ga wire to each of the 6 exposed contacts
6. using hot glue to secure everything to the actual ribbon

beyond this, the instructions in the above link still hold true - you will need to do more soldering to attach the switch and the 1/8" stereo jack for the input.

because I didn't get that head unit on ebay, and the only other ones on there are $100+, I'll need to create some diagrams for the actual ribbon patch. It is very straightforward but if you don't feel up to it, I might be up for modding it for you. anyways, it would make me happy if you guys really end up doing this mod, it's worth it.

whitman

So how do you get the mp3 to play. You actually install a toggle switch?

I'll post the diagrams soon, just very busy at work right now.

to answer your question, when you cut the wires in the ribbon, you will have three wires out from the CD module and three wires in to the main board. these wires are soldered into a switch that toggles between two inputs. one input is the output of the cd module, the other input is wired to a bare 1/8" stereo jack. the output of the switch is wired back into the ribbon going to the main board. I personally bought myself a blitzsafe universal IPOD adapter (ipod -> RCA jacks) and just used a 1/8" stereo jack to RCA adapter cable between the ipod adapter and the 1/8" stereo jack. I wouldn't start taking your head unit apart until you completely understand the process.

whitman

Wow.. this is the mod I have been looking for!.. Any chance you would do an Install on mine..haha

I'm in Kent.. So not to far away..

I'll do the mod for you, it will give me an opportunity to take pictures of the entire process from scratch (what I should have done in the first place.) if you'd like to do it, I'll email you with what you need to purchase for the mod (mainly a universal ipod adapter if needed.) fyi I live just south of the huskies stadium.

whitman

Thank you Whitman!!! I did the mod today and it absolutely works... I wouldn't try it if you aren't familiar with soldiering (especially very small pcb connections). It's so easy to realize what to do, I feel stupid now. Just a matter of finding the right pcb locations and you did it. Congrats. Now I can run another switch to the aux switch and run my tv, sat radio and mp-3 through the radio. Great mod. I'd be happy to do this for anyone too. Took me about 2hrs, but now it would be much less time. I wired to the pcb , not the ribbon cable with no probs.

Thanks again

So basically everyone this is how it works...

He found where the cd player connects to the radio left and right wires. You disconnect the connection and run the output of the cd player to the input of a switch (one that has 2 inputs / 1 output stereo...(Double Pole Double Throw)) . and the other input of the switch goes to the mp-3/aux in.

The Output of the switch goes back to where you disconnected the cdplayer originally (into the radio). Clear enough???

Got pics for this?
Jay

bump....

I'm still interested in the mod, and not electrically inclined. I'd love to see pics and instructions if you can get to it.

Thanks for the idea.

I'm doing the mod on another member's head unit. this time I'll take all necessary pics and make a better effort to document it.

whitman

Thanks! I really have to do this mod now, my CD player crapped out on me. It won't eject the CDs in, take new ones in or recognize/play them. This will be a good fix for me. (I hope)

Really interested in doing this instead of going aftermarket. I'd ultimately like to be able to plug iPod and external DVD audio feed in and be able to switch between them. Anyone with good pics or directions on what to do, please let me know!

okay fellas, here are the pics and the writeup. I don't have a lot of time to write this (at work), so I'll just cover the wiring of the head unit and leave you guys to wire the input jack and switch.

you will need:

(1) basic understanding of soldering and wiring
(1) philips screwdriver, mid-sized.
(1) needlenose pliers
(1) x-acto knife, pref with a flat blade and a pointed one.
(1) soldering iron w/ a fairly small tip (30w pref wattage, 15 could be okay.)
(1) roll of solder, I use .015 dia 1.0 oz silver.
(1) roll of electrical tape
(1) hot glue gun w/ a refill
(1) input jack, could be female headphone jack, guitar jack, whatever I suppose)
(1) 3PDT ON-ON MINI-TOGGLE SWITCH, order it online.

you should have (*not required):
(1) continuity tester and multimeter. this is to test your solder points and measure the volt loss in the connections.
(1) a cup of coffee

I will write up descriptions, instructions and warnings below the posted pictures FYI.



take all of the screws out of the metal backing (should be 10 or 11, large red highlight section) and the 1 screw out of the little ribbon access cover (the small highlight section above)

The ribbon will need to be removed for modding. the top of the ribbon can just be pulled out with minimal force, I would almost use a toothpick and place it in the top fold to pull it out. the bottom contact point has a small clasp insert that will need to be pulled up with a fingernail before it lets go, you'll see. make a mental note of how much of the metal contacts are showing when it's completely plugged in, this will help you later.



gently fold it down flat, bottom contacts facing up.



this is where it gets interesting. MAKE SURE IT IS ORIENTED EXACTLY AS ABOVE! using your flat xacto blade, cut through the first four wires as above (incision is the red line, wire #1 is a dummy) I can't stress how important it is that you don't go wild and cut into the 5th wire.

okay, so you just put the flat blade on the four wires, make sure it wasn't going to cut into the 5th wire, rocked it back and forth until it was definitely cut all the way through.

* this might be a good time to plug in the soldering iron and the hot glue gun.



now the pins will need to be separated from their front and back protective layer. I colored the wires GREEN where they will need to be pulled up and exposed. it won't be pretty, but this is where I use the pointed xacto blade, prodded at the end of each wire until I get an edge, grab onto just the wire end with the needlenose pliers while trying to pin down the protective backing (I used my fingernail), and pull up and away from the incision. if you pull them out in the exact sequence above, they should look just like the picture, just wild and pointing up.

IMPORTANT, do not bend them too many times! seriously just pull them up with the needlenose and once they are pulled to the point highlighted in green, just stop.



carefully cut away the extra plastic backing, then fold the wires down and out, don't cut the wires you may need every centimeter to solder it. if you bend the wires more than like three times they will break and you will be SOL, so just fold it down once preferably not crunched up on itself, fold it at 45/90 onto itself.



hot glue everything in place, leaving enough of the bare wires to solder them.



tape the ribbon down, tape the wires you are going to use for the switch (I used some CAT5e network cable, but you could use some 20guage copper wire from radioshack) it is important you position and pin down everything exactly as you'd like to solder it.. this will help.



NOTICE the wires mirror from where you cut them (duh) but seriously. L-GRND-R ... R-GRND-L

make sure you note which wires come in from the CD module and which ones are going to the main board, I used the dark wires for CD-OUT and light wires for MAINBOARD-IN.

CONTINUED >>>>>

hot glue that puppy, stick a piece of electrical tape onto the back of the solder contacts, hot glue it to cover the contacts completely, then stick another piece of electrical tape on top and flatten it a bit. I used clear tape so you guys would see what's going on, but I'd recommend electrical tape.

once it hardens, you should feel pretty confident that none of the contacts are going to be pulled out, and that the individual wires are supported.

** IMPORTANT, try not to go completely overboard with the hot glue here. you will need to slip it into a fairly thin place. also, try not to lay the glue on heavy between the pairs so that the wire still bends as it was before you flattened it.



slip the wire under the metal lip, then gently pull the ribbon into place. this is why you shouldn't go overboard on the hot glue, cause the solder points, tape and hot glue needs to fit under this lip. I highlighted more or less where everything will be under the metal lip.

TO GET THE RIBBON BACK IN, remember the bottom contact on the mainboard has a clasp that needs to be pulled up with a fingernail to allow the ribbon to slide in, there will still be some of the metal contact showing when it's all the way in.

Note where I ran my wire, this is safe as long as you put a tiny bit of tension on it to keep the wire from buckling inside of the unit, bending, curling or otherwise getting messed up. a little bit of tension after you put the cover back on will keep it straight under the lip. If you feel like it, put a tiny ziptie on it to keep that little bit of tension once the cover is on.

----

OKAY, so I don't have time to show wiring instructions of the switch.. you guys should be able to figure it out. I'm pretty sure I posted a link earlier on this thread to someone else that did a similar mod who posted a wiring diagram for the switch and input jack. If you guys really need me to post them, I will.

OPERATION: you will need a CD in the player for this to work, can be any CD. I personally set my HU to DISC1 TRACK1 and REPEAT TRACK so it always displays 01-01 and so it doesn't try to change disks (this cuts out the audio for about a second.) the switch you wire will toggle between the CD player audio and the input audio.

TROUBLESHOOTING: I have a universal ipod charger/adapter that is hard wired and outputs to RCA L/R jacks. The last guy I did this for has a Harmon Kardon Drive+Play that plugs into the cigarette lighter. so here's the thing....

if whatever you are using doesn't ground out correctly (like if I hardwired my ipod adapter but forgot to attach the ground to the headunit bracket, hehe) you will hear a loud hum that ramps up then the music starts. this is the ipod adapter grounding out through the audio inputs, not good. if you hear this, power down and unplug whatever it is you had plugged into the input. chances are you were using some kind of charger/adapter with your ipod. you can still just plug the ipod (or whatever) directly into the jack without the charger and it will work fine. in the meantime, pm me or post to this thread.

another thing that can happen is hearing alternator whine over your speakers (you gas up, the pitch gets higher.) usually, this is from an adapter that outputs to RCA L/R jacks (like mine.) you will need pinch a wire between the plug shield and the outer rim of the outlet, connecting the other side to the head unit mounting bracket.

other than that, good luck I need to get to work (9am - 12:30pm putting this together

A few questions about this mod...

1. Do you lose anything? Like after doing this will i still be able to use both the radio and the 6 disc changer?

2. As far as the ipod interface, does it have to connect to the dock on the ipod, or can you run to a mini-jack into the headphone input? Will this cause for a loss in sound quality? Is there a benefit to using something like the Blitzsafe adapter?

Thanks!

Whitman just completed the mod on my RF headunit...it works great! It took me all of about 5 minutes to install the headunit once I got it back and I now have it hooked up to the Harmon Kardon Drive+Play...talk about the best interior mod to date for the 02-04 RF 6-disc owners...I headed out of town on a road trip without much testing to see if any bugs would come about, so far it has been perfect. Sound quality is good, at least as good as the factory speakers are and I still have a fully functional CD player and radio. This has been a great mod...

Xbsu, you will not lose any functionality of the head unit. when playing actual cds, flip the switch for cd input and the audio from the cd will come through.. when using the aux in, flip the switch and though the cd will still be "playing", the audio from the aux will be coming through.

technically, you *could* just wire in a 3.5mm stereo male plug as your "input" and plug it directly into an ipod, zune, walkman, whatever. otherwise, I'd recommend wiring in a 3.5mm stereo female jack, and either use a 3.5mm male-male stereo cable to plug between that and your ipod or, if you're using a drive+play or other adapter that uses RCA L/R, use an RCA L/R > 3.5mm stereo male adapter cable (avail at radioshack.)

The only real benefit of a blitzsafe universal ipod adapter is that it charges your ipod while it plays. royce has a drive+play which charges and lets you remote control the ipod, slick.

I have not used an ipod 12v car charger with this system but I foresee possible alternator whine, depending on how the car charger grounds itself.

does this help?

whitman

Excellent, I have been waiting for that write-up for a while now!

Should I expect any whine if I am running a satellite radio through it (which is plugged in to the 12V power supply)?