Fellow audio guru's need help!

[GregFarz78]

Ok this isnt related to a GA but just thought I'd ask maybe an installer can help me out. My new car came factory with a cd changer which plugged into the stock head unit via a 8 DIN connector. I ripped the crappy RF stock head unit out and put my JVC head in its place. I'm trying to keep the 6 disc changer and use it with my JVC head which has AUX inputs. The stock changer has 2 connectors on the back of it one for power, 12v, ground, illumination the other for signal/turn on.

The other cable coming from the changer is the one that plugs into the head unit, I carefully cut away a small section of shielding to reveal the 8 wires. Now this got me even more puzzled. As I expected theres 8 wires; red, yellow, blue, black, green, brown, white, gray. Now I'm assuming red=power, yellow=12v switched, blue=signal, black=ground and the other 4 are audio. But what I dont understand is why do they have power, 12v, signal, and ground when theres already a connector on the back of the changer for that? I'm not as concerned with that b/c the unit already has a power supply from the other connectors. What I wanted to know is it possible to splice a line out converter to the 4 audio wires and plug the RCAs into my JVC deck. I just have to mess around with it a little to figure out which wire is what but is my thinking wrong here?

[GregFarz78]

A pic might help here...

[iceman]

I'm sure 4 are audio... and the rest are control / data wires. You won't just be able to hack wires in to there.. You will need some sort of converter that lets you use an aftermarket head unit with a stock changer. Find out who OEM's those changers.. I think autotoys sells converter units for that kind of stuff (maybe).

[GregFarz78]

Originally posted by iceman
I'm sure 4 are audio... and the rest are control / data wires. You won't just be able to hack wires in to there.. You will need some sort of converter that lets you use an aftermarket head unit with a stock changer. Find out who OEM's those changers.. I think autotoys sells converter units for that kind of stuff (maybe).

Nah man you dont need that a few guys have soldered a line out converter to the R +/- and L +/- right on the board but I suck at soldering dont want to mess with that. Its been done just looking for ideas for telling which wire is which. Guess I'll get some aligator clips and do a process of trial and error :confused:

[iceman]

Are the controls actually on the changer?? Then if so, nevermind. I thought the stock head unit controlled the changer.

[GregFarz78]

Originally posted by iceman
Are the controls actually on the changer?? Then if so, nevermind. I thought the stock head unit controlled the changer.

Yep controls on the changer not on the head unit for some odd reason.

[iceman]

weird.. nevermind then. good luck in hunting down those wires :)

forgot to mention.. take a look at the connectors all around, see if any pins are missing anywhere, might help you narrow down your pairs

[AmIGrand]

Not gonna happen, Greg....

The control bus for that changer is different than your JVC, they don't speak the same language. Even if you could get sound from it (might be possible) you would have no way of controlling the changers functions, or telling it to play.

I believe the Spec-V comes with the Rockford Fosgate sound system standard, correct me if I'm wrong.... If that is the case, get ahold of a Fosgate dealer and ask if Rockford makes an RF version of the changer. If so, it MIGHT plug into that changer, still very iffy, though.

If there's a way to do it, great - but I ain't heard of it....

[iceman]

Read through.. the HU does not control the changer, it has its own controls...

[AmIGrand]

That's what I gt for reading at 3:00 am.... I read the whole thread, and somehow missed that.... :o I read it now and have no idea how!

Greg - there must have been a plug to the back of the deck from the changer, yes? That's your signal wire. Maybe a turn on lead as well, but definately the signal. You shouldn't need a line out converter - it's a preamp signal! If you can determine which wire is carrying which part of the signal, you cut the plug off (leave enough extra that it can be reattached someday, please), strip back the exposed wires, and solder RCA ends onto the appropriate wires. If there's a remote lead left as I suspect there will be, run it to the regular remote power lead on your deck.

That's best I can do at the moment....

Edit - I'm looking at the pic again, and something isn't adding up here. What conected to the deck, and what connected to the controls for the changer??

[iceman]

man read again, the changer has its own controls!@#!@#!#!@

[AmIGrand]

I got that, that's why I'm confused! If it's a stock changer, I assume those controls will still work - we're trying to get signal to his auxillary inputs. But I see an 8 pin DIN plug that most likely carries both power and signal coming off that changer!

What I want to know is, did that plug go to the stock deck - meaning the changer got power and on/off from the deck as well as sending it's signal to it for sound, or did they plug into the controls (Mounted in the dash permanently, or like an RF peice with a seperate remote unit?) meaning everything goes through there and there's a seperate plug between the controls and the deck carrying signal?

If it's the latter, one need only locate the plug that used to go to the deck - that'll be signal only - and solder on RCA ends.

If it's the former, we gotta seperate the control wires from the signal and power wires, and get power and turn on FROM the new deck as well as sending signal wires TO it - whilst leaving the control wires to the controls.

I hope that made sense, it does to me. So I ask - did the DIN plug go to the deck, or to the controls?!?!

[iceman]

According to Greg (and the same post you have been reading, I think), THERE IS NO CONTROL UNIT. The changer controls are on the front of the changer.

The changer is viewable from the dash.. it's not a hide-away unit. Maybe thats where the confusion is.

notice:


http://iceman.draepi.org/farz4.jpg

sorry to be a di ck i'm having a bad day. greg, go to town in finding the line level audio from that din plug!!

[AmIGrand]

Nowhere in this post did it say it was an in-dash changer. Greg makes a comment that the controls "are on the changer" which, since I have NEVER seen a Nissan with an in-dash unit, made little sense to me.

I'm ALMOST tempted to think all 8 are signal! A balanced connection kind of thing, perhaps. As the controls are in fact on the changer unit, there is no need for any logic or control info to flow there, and the unit in the pic that iceman so kindly posted shows that the change has it's own display as well, so no need for THAT info to run that way either.

Will the changer power up and function without that DIN cord connected? If so, I bet all 8 wires are signal.

[iceman]

My bad for assuming you looked at the pics of his new car :).


Hopefully all wires of the connector aren't in use.. :/