Some Help with Adding Aux In to Your Bose
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Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 36
From: Indianapolis, IN
Some Help with Adding Aux In to Your Bose
I know this is an old topic, but my CD player is getting intermittent so I just mod'ed the BOSE head unit to add AUX inputs. Here is some information I wish I had before I started. Much of it is already covered here and there on the Org, but I'm trying to get it all together in one post.
Here is the link to the original How-to:
http://forums.maxima.org/audio-electronics/308300-how-add-aux-stock-bose.html#post3354806
(or)
http://forums.maxima.org/audio-electronics/308300-how-add-aux-stock-bose.html
It is a great idea...BUT...
There is confusion about the "AUX-ON Signal Input"...It connects through a switch to what? This How-to says "Ground". Not on my head unit (Mfg. date Dec. 1994). It didn't work. The picture with the yellow wires shows an unaccounted for wire. That could be the "Magic Wire" referred to in other posts (see below).
My solution: I finally had success running the other side of the switch to +12 volts through a 10K resistor (for safety). The switch then pulls the "AUX-ON Signal Input" pin from 0 volts to about 9 volts to activate the AUX mode.
I actually tapped my +12 volts from "VCC" on the BOSE circuit board. Look for the "VCC" pin on the rear connector diagram (refer the the original How-to link), and trace it to the board. I soldered a 10K resistor in the middle of a wire (insulate with heat shrink or tape), and then connected one end of the wire to "VCC" on the board. Then I clipped an unused pin in the CD Changer connector to separate it from the circuit board, bent it upward, and soldered the other end of the resistor/wire to the pin. The pin became a pass-through to the outside of the radio. Then I could make all necessary connections via the CD Changer connector pins. You can bend them a little for better access. The Right and Left Minus pins can be bent together and soldered to the ground braid of the audio cable. Sharpen your soldering iron tip. This was destructive to the connector, but easy and effective.
Use this link for bigger pictures: http://forums.maxima.org/album.php?albumid=1393
Sound scary?
You can avoid the "AUX-ON Signal Input" switch completely if your CD player still works (a few do) and you know how to burn a silent CD. Record about 75 minutes of silence, then burn it to a CD. Play the CD in your Bose and its AUX IN will be activated. I tried it and it works.
************************************************** *********************.
I found the following post very helpful, even if I don't completely understand all of it.
Thread Title: Bose radio mod.. what do you exactly need?
Posted by: HobHaward
The switch should have the magic pin on one side, and either the AUX, GND, or both on the other side. I'm not sure why it works with GND as well.
TBH, the pic with the yellow wires isn't my own, that's from the original how-to, I just borrowed it, because I forgot to take a picture while I was doing it.
There really is no point in taking the magic pin to gnd, just take it to AUX. The original how-to didn't have much direction so I ended up taking it to GND and AUX. At first I misinterpreted it, and thought the AUX should be taken to gnd, but it didn't work, so I tried out the other pin, which was unlabeled in the original pic (I labeled it).
I suppose I need to fix my how-to, I didn't even realize that I left out the specifics of what goes to what.
Simple way: wire the magic pin to one half of an on/off switch (not a momentary switch), wire the other half to the AUX pin. Wire up to a 1/8" jack (cannibalize some airplane headphones, or get one from Radioshack).
Reassemble the radio, put it in your car (not all the way, until you figure out if it works!) - flip the switch, play the music. General satisfaction ensues
(End of HobHaward's post)
************************************************** *********************
Some Additional Suggestions:
The How-to says to remove two screws and then remove the ash tray. On my "95, there was a screw on the left, but just two clips on the right. I had to give it a real hard pull.
Throw a towel over the shifter so you can let the head unit and stack rest on it while pulling connectors. They can be tough.
Radio Shack sells a pretty nice switch, #275-0009. It can be hidden in the cut-out, next to where the arm rest latches, above the heated seat switches. Don't hit the heated seat switch with a long drill bit. You must file off the jagged rib on the side of the Radio Shack switch and make a fairly loose fit in the access hole. If the body of the switch is squeezed, it sticks (cheap plastic). I used a 31/64" bit, but I think 1/2 " Might be better.
The quarter holder between the heated seat switches is a great place to put a 1/8" panel mount stereo plug. It snaps out.
I bought a 6 foot 1/8" stereo headphone extension cable and cut it up to get the pig-tail that went on the Bose. The rest of the cable was used to plug into the pigtail and run to the console. I used a 1/8" cable mount stereo jack at the console, but a panel mount jack would work too.
I had plenty of volume with an ipod
There is also a 4th Gen How-to Sticky for blank BOSE displays, non-working CD players, and audio problems. Since you already have your head unit out, it's a good time to give it a try. I had luck with the display, but not my intermittent CD player. Here is the link.
http://madchef.5u.com/maxima/bose/fixes.html
Enjoy the music !
Here is the link to the original How-to:
http://forums.maxima.org/audio-electronics/308300-how-add-aux-stock-bose.html#post3354806
(or)
http://forums.maxima.org/audio-electronics/308300-how-add-aux-stock-bose.html
It is a great idea...BUT...
There is confusion about the "AUX-ON Signal Input"...It connects through a switch to what? This How-to says "Ground". Not on my head unit (Mfg. date Dec. 1994). It didn't work. The picture with the yellow wires shows an unaccounted for wire. That could be the "Magic Wire" referred to in other posts (see below).
My solution: I finally had success running the other side of the switch to +12 volts through a 10K resistor (for safety). The switch then pulls the "AUX-ON Signal Input" pin from 0 volts to about 9 volts to activate the AUX mode.
I actually tapped my +12 volts from "VCC" on the BOSE circuit board. Look for the "VCC" pin on the rear connector diagram (refer the the original How-to link), and trace it to the board. I soldered a 10K resistor in the middle of a wire (insulate with heat shrink or tape), and then connected one end of the wire to "VCC" on the board. Then I clipped an unused pin in the CD Changer connector to separate it from the circuit board, bent it upward, and soldered the other end of the resistor/wire to the pin. The pin became a pass-through to the outside of the radio. Then I could make all necessary connections via the CD Changer connector pins. You can bend them a little for better access. The Right and Left Minus pins can be bent together and soldered to the ground braid of the audio cable. Sharpen your soldering iron tip. This was destructive to the connector, but easy and effective.
Use this link for bigger pictures: http://forums.maxima.org/album.php?albumid=1393
Sound scary?
You can avoid the "AUX-ON Signal Input" switch completely if your CD player still works (a few do) and you know how to burn a silent CD. Record about 75 minutes of silence, then burn it to a CD. Play the CD in your Bose and its AUX IN will be activated. I tried it and it works.
************************************************** *********************.
I found the following post very helpful, even if I don't completely understand all of it.
Thread Title: Bose radio mod.. what do you exactly need?
Posted by: HobHaward
The switch should have the magic pin on one side, and either the AUX, GND, or both on the other side. I'm not sure why it works with GND as well.
TBH, the pic with the yellow wires isn't my own, that's from the original how-to, I just borrowed it, because I forgot to take a picture while I was doing it.
There really is no point in taking the magic pin to gnd, just take it to AUX. The original how-to didn't have much direction so I ended up taking it to GND and AUX. At first I misinterpreted it, and thought the AUX should be taken to gnd, but it didn't work, so I tried out the other pin, which was unlabeled in the original pic (I labeled it).
I suppose I need to fix my how-to, I didn't even realize that I left out the specifics of what goes to what.
Simple way: wire the magic pin to one half of an on/off switch (not a momentary switch), wire the other half to the AUX pin. Wire up to a 1/8" jack (cannibalize some airplane headphones, or get one from Radioshack).
Reassemble the radio, put it in your car (not all the way, until you figure out if it works!) - flip the switch, play the music. General satisfaction ensues
(End of HobHaward's post)
************************************************** *********************
Some Additional Suggestions:
The How-to says to remove two screws and then remove the ash tray. On my "95, there was a screw on the left, but just two clips on the right. I had to give it a real hard pull.
Throw a towel over the shifter so you can let the head unit and stack rest on it while pulling connectors. They can be tough.
Radio Shack sells a pretty nice switch, #275-0009. It can be hidden in the cut-out, next to where the arm rest latches, above the heated seat switches. Don't hit the heated seat switch with a long drill bit. You must file off the jagged rib on the side of the Radio Shack switch and make a fairly loose fit in the access hole. If the body of the switch is squeezed, it sticks (cheap plastic). I used a 31/64" bit, but I think 1/2 " Might be better.
The quarter holder between the heated seat switches is a great place to put a 1/8" panel mount stereo plug. It snaps out.
I bought a 6 foot 1/8" stereo headphone extension cable and cut it up to get the pig-tail that went on the Bose. The rest of the cable was used to plug into the pigtail and run to the console. I used a 1/8" cable mount stereo jack at the console, but a panel mount jack would work too.
I had plenty of volume with an ipod
There is also a 4th Gen How-to Sticky for blank BOSE displays, non-working CD players, and audio problems. Since you already have your head unit out, it's a good time to give it a try. I had luck with the display, but not my intermittent CD player. Here is the link.
http://madchef.5u.com/maxima/bose/fixes.html
Enjoy the music !
Last edited by Justock; Jul 31, 2009 at 04:00 PM.
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