Any idea what the 8 pin DIN connection is for on the back of the 2000 XE stock radio? It looks like it would connect to a cd changer, but this head unit doesn't have the controls. Any ideas?

Here are the pinouts for the 2000SE stereo.


Richard

Thanks...I had seen this in an earlier post. On the XE (double DIN height) deck, there is a also a round 8 pin female DIN connection.

You know. I wonder how complicated that would be to turn that into an auxilary input. Just need to find out exactly what 8,9,10 do. I think they are the ones that send the conotroling function to the changer. Just need to see what has to be seen by the deck to allow the input signal to be allowed to pass through.

It does look like there are 2 din plugs on the back.

As far as I know, the deck has no logic. I figure that the plug allows you to piggy back an in-dash 6 disk changer or tape deck that have their own controls (just provides aux input), but there is no physical space in the dash for these components. Go figure...

I bought my radio service manual from www.pacparts.com, it was about $7 +shipping.

This will have the pinouts. The 2000SE was a Panasonic.

Hope this helps

Richard

The 2000 XE CD AM/FM radio is made by Clarion. Model No PN-2218H. I can't find it listed on the Clarion site or www.pacparts.com I'll post the pin out once I find it. I'm looking for it myself so I can run my computer sound through the unit.

I just called Pacific Parts and they are researching it for me. I will have an answer in two to three days on if they can get a service manual for me. If I get one I will post the pin out for the din connector here. I really don't want to buy a new head unit if I don't have to. I'm trying to keep this project as cheap as possible.

Well, Pacific Parts finally sent me my service manual. Here are the pinouts for the DIN:


And Molex type ports:



Any ideas on how this works? It states in the manual that the DIN input goes to a cd controller IC and then to the volume controller. It doesn't say anything about how to allow throughput on the speaker channels. I tried just running the sound in, but this doesn't work. There has to be some kind of input from the source that tells the head unit to let the sound through.

If you'll post the part of the schematic that connects to pins 1 and 2 of that connector I can tell you how to get those inputs to work.

That is, of course, as long as the manual is not copyrighted.

The actual schematic is pretty big and those circuits track across most of it. I don't see a copyright warning on it(I know that doesn't mean it isn't copyrighted), but maybe I can describe it and it maybe easier on me. Let me know if this isn't good enough.
number 1 goes through a resistor and then to a transistor(DTC114ES RN1202) that feeds to pin 51 on an IC numbered
IC 501
LC72366-9262
052-1129-00
the pin is labled aux-on.

Number 2 runs through a resistor and then a transistor(DTC114ES RN1202)that feeds to a second transistor(DTC114ES RN1202)which in turn feeds to pin 50 of the same IC. Pin 50 is labled comb1-on.

There are no voltages mentioned. There is an ohm value listed for number 1's resistor, 47k, but number 2's resistor value is listed as 470 1/2W.

Does this help or do you need the actual schematic?

My best guess is that pin 1 is used to turn on the deck from a remote input. Pin 2 is used to tell the remote device that the deck is on.

There are a few conditions that must be met before you can try a test. The 47k resistor must be connected to the base of the transistor (the vertical line) and nowhere else. The emitter of the transistor (the arrow) must be grounded. I don't mean to sound condescending, I just don't know how much electronics you know.

If these conditions are true, no harm will be done by connecting pin 1 to 12V to see if the deck comes on. The key will have to be in the on or accessory position when you do the test.

Good Luck!

ElectroKen, you once again are the Shiznit! That was the cure. I hooked it up to a portable CD player my wife has and ran 12 volts to #1 and slam bam boom, I have music! I just need to find an 8 pin DIN connector that will plug in there and I will have every CD my wife owns(over 100) available for instant listening. Thanks buddy! You have just received another 5 Xterras. I meant to give them to you long ago for the always hot power plug fix. This will be a big hit on the MP3 Car site as well. I was very nervous when I touched that hot wire to the pin I had stuck in the #1. When the letters AUX popped up on the LCD and music poured out of the speakers, I nearly soiled my pants. Thanks again!

Anyone know where I can get a DIN connector to fit that plug. I've spent all morning looking for one on the web and calling the local Clarion dealers. Any ideas?

DIN plug that fits the '00 XE radio AUX in perfectly. Radio Shack Catalog # 274-026. Am wiring it right after I finish this browsing session. YeeeHaaa!

Well, The DIN plug works great...with anything isolated from the vehicle electrical system. The second I plug my computer in, there is a horrible buzzing feedback. I tried reversing the polarity of the sound inputs, thinking maybe I got it backwards, but that just made it worse. It works fine if I plug the comp into an extension cord from the house, but is completely unusable if I use my power inverter as the power supply. AAAHHHGGG!!! Why can't anything be easy? Any words of advice ElectroKen?

OOPS!...I fixed it, forgot to reconnect grounding wire for the inverter when I put it back in the truck. Amazing how important a simple grounding wire can be.

can someone tell me how that works? to have Aux in on the stock radio? what part do i need? may be a few pic would help too. thanks!

If you have a stock CD/AM/FM head unit in your 2000 XE Xterra, then on the back will be a plug that looks like this:


Take a set of head phones, cut off the part you put over your ears. Now, got to Radio Shack and get an eight pin DIN connector Catalog # 274-026. Solder the wire from the headphone plug into the DIN Connector using the picture above as a guideline showing where each wire goes. Solder one more wire to the number 1 pin and run it to a 12 volt power source using a switch in between. Plug the DIN plug you soldered all of the wires to into the DIN socket on the back of your head unit. Plug the headphone plug into the accessory you want to run through your truck speakers and turn on the switch. The LCD on your radio will switch to the word AUX and the sound from whatever you plugged the headphone plug in will come out of your speakers and be controlled by your Head Unit Volume, Base, Treble, Fade and Balance controls. Any questions?

Hey all. Well, I'm not exactly a Xterra owner, although I would have liked to be. I was shopping around last year to buy one and when it was all done and over with, it turns out that I could buy a Pathfinder for cheaper than the Xterra (Because of interest rates at the time). However, I am also looking for the CD changer connectors on the back of my stock unit (2001 Pathfinder XE, base stereo), when I came across this post.

It looks like the stock stereo for me is the same as the stereo for the Xterra SE, at least all the connectors look the same and I have some diagrams that say the pins are the same as well. However I noticed that somebody said the stock Xterra SE stereo was a Panasonic, when my stock stereo is a Clarion. So they look similar but I'm not sure if they are.

It looks as though the plugs for power and speakers have the same connections as mine does, and my CD changer plug has the same number of pins and is located in the same spot, but I couldn't find any diagrams for my CD changer plugs anywhere (including Nissan).

Anybody know if this is in fact the same stereo and has the same CD changer plugs? If so, I understand how the connections were made on the 8 pin DIN (Xterra XE), would the connections be made in the same way for this different plug?

Any info would be helpful, thanks all!

Get the model number off of the back of your head unit and then order the service manual for it from Pacific Parts. Once it comes in you can come back here and beg Electroken to interpret schematics like I did. It worked for me!

Thanks Xterrian! I actually found this forum from your post of mp3car.com Both forums are very active!

Cheers!

[Deep breath]No problem,I know how agravating it can be to see that DIN plug and just know that you can get sound into your headunit using it and not knowing how.[/Deep breath]

Well, I've searched around for the connector for this cd changer input and I can't find anything except Nissan for $70. Anyone know of a place where you might be able to get this connector? I was thinking a junk yard, but what are the chances that the stereo and cd changer would still be in the car....not very likely.

I would hate to have to solder the wires straight into the pins.

OK, so I can't find this plug, except for the Original Nissan one, but I think I have found another way around. I found some individual molex pins that I will be able to use to connect to the head unit, that way I don't have to solder right to it.

Now, I can't be bothered to buy the manual from www.pacparts.com because once I convert in the US to Canadian dollar difference, play the duty and shipping, I might as well just by a new fricking head unit! So....because the first pict in this post has the EXACT connectors as mine, plus the regular head unit connections are EXACTLY the same, I am going to assume that the CD changer input is the same as well (has the same pins).

Now, what will it take to hook this baby up so I have input thru the CD Changer?? I understand the audio inputs, but what do I need to made the head unit "switch-on" to allow the audio to come thru the input?

I understand how it works with the 8pin DIN, but this 12 pin molex has more connections that I am not sure about. If someone can give me some direction here, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all, and keep up all the great posts!

Unfortunately,it looks like that headunit does more than receive a simple AUX on signal from the CD Changer. I had the board schematic for mine and still didn't feel comfortable running power into it until ElectroKen interpreted them for me. He may pipe in with some help here. I don't see what he can do without the schematics though. Maybe Richard Krenn can give ElectroKen schematic info and then Ken can interpret it for you? The service manual only cost me $10 with shipping for mine. Even with duty fees and Canadian difference you shouldn't have to pay more than $20 Cnd for it. Call Pacific Parts with your Model number. If you screw around and juice the wrong wire it will cost you more than $20 Cnd to fix it.

Maybe I'll see if Richard Krenn can pass along the info to me. I know it's only $20, but like you I am trying to do this as cheap as I can. I have already bought a whole bunch of parts for my mp3car that I've had to throw away cause they didn't work as expected and when you buy everything from the US, it tends to add up to quite a bit.

So if Richard Krenn could help me out by either describing the schematics or sending me scans of them it would be GREATLY appreciated. If he isn't able to help, then I may just wait a year or so and buy a new head unit.

I wish there were a Pathfinder forum as active as this one, this forum alone makes me wish I had bought a Xterra instead of the Finder. Keep up the great work everyone!

Xterrian..... 5 Xterras for you man. Thanks for your replys and help. Hopefully I can work all this out.

Don't give up! I've spent many many hours installing my computer and even though it still looks like Fred Flinstone did the install, it's all worth it when that first sweet MP3 plays over your speakers. Just knowing that I will eventually have all of my family's music available at the click of a mouse makes all the skinned knuckles and racked brains worthwhile. Now if I could just find some gooseneck tubing strong enough to hold up my LCD and a 26" long IDE cable.

I've been watching this thread to see where it was going.
I haven't seen a schematic for the 2000 SE Panasonic head unit but the signal names shown earlier in this thread make me a bit wary. The names of the pins with TX and RX in them imply serial communication between the head unit and the CD changer.
If that is the case it will be very difficult to interface other equipment to the head unit.

Yeah, I thought that pin-out looked suspiciously like a data port. Too bad. If you want to spend a whole bunch of time and effort and you are installing a computer, you could have your parallel port talk to it, if you can figure out what langage it speaks.

Yeah that sucks. I wish it were the simpler DIN connector. And Xterran, I know it is a long haul building these things, I've been making these systems for cars for over 4 years now. Just that this is a new vehicle that I spent $42000 on and I don't really want to spend another $500 more to get a head unit with RCA AUX in. I have been running my current system for a couple years, but with crappy old FM Modulation, in both this Pathfinder and my last vehicle a Honda Civic SiR.

The best system I have built to date, still has to be the first one I ever built. It was a DOS box, running a P120 CPU and would boot in like 6 seconds. Too bad it was controlled by a KeyPad and only played MP3s. My current system is a couple years old now, plays MP3s, DVDs, DivXs, games, etc..etc..etc.., but not nearly as nice as come of the new Mirco ATX board systems that are out there, like a friend of mine here in Vancouver has built. You can check his out at http://cobaltcarpc.com/ , we may be looking into producing these things....but would be a lot of work I think.

I have about 5 years or less left in the Army and have been looking into something to do when I get out. I think the car computer is a vast untapped market out there. Before anybody says, " Who would want a computer in their car?" remember that somebody at IBM said, "Who would want a computer in their house?" a while back. I think we have the technology now to build a double or single DIN enclosure with DVD, pop out LCD and wireless networking for less than $800. We just have to get voice control and instant boot working better and it would probably sell like crazy.

Yeah, I agree. Well the colbaltcarpc.com one right now has most of the stuff you mentioned (minus wireless networking) plus a lot more and it is projected to be around $400US. Now there are obvious options and stuff you can add on, but it is definately "doable"

Hey looking at the diagram for the "CN701 12 Pin Connector", the L & R inputs should be no problem, the grounds I take it can be left alone if my input device is already grounded, and there there is the "REQ-SIG In", "Rx-SIG In" and the "Tx-SIG Out"

Well the Rx and Tx are serial input and output connections, which I assume are to control the ch changer via the headunit controls, but what is the "REQ-SIG In" for? Is it for CD changer requesting input, or in other words this tells the headunit to switch the AUX on? If so, then maybe it will work the same way as the 8 pin DIN??

Any thoughts?

It's possible that your interpretation is correct. It's also possible that it's wrong. Without a schematic it is impossible to know for sure. Applying 12V to that pin could reduce your head unit to a very expensive brick.

Of course, it isn't my radio...

What? You don't like expensive bricks?? Hehehe

Anyways, thanks for your help. I'm going to see if I can get the schematics from Richard Krenn...then will let you know what they look like.

Thanks again!

ElectroKen you have a PM

Sweet! Thanks a lot Richard!!!!!!

Don't get too excited too quickly. There is a lot going on in that 30-something paged manual. I'm going to print a few sections on 11 X 17 paper on Monday so I can get a good look at it.
I have a nasty feeling that we're looking at some proprietary bus but we'll hope for the best for now.

Edited for spelling.

Hey EletroKen, that is OK. If we can get something working that would be sweet, but if we figure out that nothing can be done, that is OK as well. I would just hate to go out and buy something and find out I didn't need to, or connect something to it and then destroy it.

Thanks for all your help, both you and Richard have received 5 Xterras! Will be waiting for the results with great anticipation.

This is what I truely love about this site. People that don't even know you, taking time to help a total stranger. This has been a great thread!

I don't want a hug.

How bout some friendly applause??

"Clap Clap Clap Clap Clap"

He clearly asked that no one hug him and you go and give him the clap.

ok.. i just found this thread and it has been making me giddy. i also want to play mp3s in my car. i have a simpler (though less comprehensive) system in mind. i have a portable cd player that plays mp3s. i have been thinking about how to get that stupid thing to play through my car stereo. now i may have it. but first... a few things....

1. i am sitting here at work and cant go out and check but does anyone know the manufacturer/model # for the 2002 stereo that came with the 6 disc changer (standard on se or an add on option)

2. has anyone tried something similar with this stereo?

3. xterrain.. that was a great detailed post on how to convert the headphones to connectors... i would rush right out and do it if it worked the same on mine.

thanks for any help... and will try to post back any info i get off the back of the stereo once i go look at it.

I've spent some time with the schematic for the 2000 SE head unit. Nobody will like this but:

I don't see anyone using the CD changer interface as a MP3 input any time soon. The 3 mysterious signals are indeed serial data and there is no indication of what that data is. The microprocessor appears to be custom and I don't recognize it.

Sorry...

Any thoughts on the Amp/Antenna out?

Richard

Thanks for your help Electroken. It is typical that something I desperately want, I can't have. Well, i guess I will have to start saving up for a new HU with AUX in.

Thanks for your help everyone, this is a great board!