XDA CarKit Wiring

[eayuwna]

Hola!

I'm trying to work out how to make my own XDA car kit cable. I have the pinout for the XDA - thanks to the XDA Developers Site

- http://wiki.xda-developers.com/wiki/Connectors

I also Have a pinout for the back of my Stereo (Philips CAR 400 From a Vauxhall Astra - '02) thanks to

- http://carradio.hit.bg/philips.htm

I have done some preliminary testing with small cables and connectors that go into a standard phono input on my big stereo in my room and have been successful at making a mini-kit, but am having real trouble working out what the pins on the back of the car stereo do (i.e which is for audio input from the phone)

Labels are as follows:

PHILIPS CAR400

01 - SVD
02 - SAC
03 - SCL
04 - Tel. Mute
05 - TIS
06 - Batt. +
07 - MRQ
08 - Power Antenna
09 - DDL
10 - Lights
11 - ACC ( 12 v + )
12 - GND
13 - SDA

The only one that make any sense is Tel. Mute (Anyone any idea what voltage I have to put accross this to get the system to mute)

If anyone knows what the rest of the pins stand for your help would be much appreciated.

Many thanks,

Will

[stephen_oliver]

You put the mute to earth to mute the stereo - normally it's floating.

[eayuwna]

Good good, one down, 12 to go.

:-)

[stephen_oliver]

Now I've read your question.

Answer is probably none of them. All the mute does is silence the audio (and pause the CD on some radios) - the assumption is either that you have a remote speaker for the phone or you use some commercial adapter like Autoleads to intercept the output to the car speakers via a relay. Autoleads sell a huge range of car/stereo specific leads that all provide a "generic" phone interface for Nokia phones. There are also a number of patch leads that enable you to plug specific car kits to the Nokia interface (which is just Battery, switched +, ground and mute with a 3.5mm jack for mono audio. Most knowledgeable guy for this stuff is Terry White on http://www.siocommunications.co.uk/ (he'll sell you the appropriate leads or make up what you need).

Note that the Autoleads solution (which mutes the stereo and uses relays to swich the audio from the phone to front speakers) renders the stereo automute unnecessary, but it is nice to pause the CD anyway and usually you get a front panel indication of phone call which is useful.

I note that the Philips connector also has an audio L/R/Gnd input. This is probably for an aux source like an MP3 player (eg XDA) but of course this needs to be selected on the radio and will also be muted when the mute pin goes to ground.

Hope that helps

[stephen_oliver]

I guess the other pins are things like CANBus, D2B wakeup etc. a bit like Siemens/Bosch

[stephen_oliver]

Last one. The Autolead you need is 06-078B - £47 + pp from Terry.

http://www.siocommunications.co.uk/06-078B.html

[eayuwna]

That's a mighty big cable?

I notice that it has a 'big connector' (I've marked it in yellow on the image I've attached with this post). There is already one of these on the existing setup. This wouldn't mean I have to completely rip out all of the existing wiring would it?

Also, the jack (Red on the image) looks like a mono jack, I assume this is the bit that plugs into the phone or which I can adapt to plug into the phone?

Seems a bit expensive too, is it really necessary? Can I just forget the auto mute feature and have the phone output go through the 'MP3 In' inputs? That way I can listen to the music on the XDA through the car stereo as well as any sat-nav stuff I decide to install later on.

The main aim of my question is to try to develop a cheap solution to an XDA-Car audio interface. Do none of the connections on the back of my stereo allow me to wire in some sort of auxiliary input?

[stephen_oliver]

Yes it is big but it does the job and you can usually find room.

The connector(s) go in line with the ISO and stereo specific plugs, so routing all the power and speaker outputs via the relay module. You don't rip anything out, or need to break into existing wiring, so you reduce risk of problems or warranty issues - it really is the lowest hassle solution.

Yes the red plug is the phone audio input and is designed for Nokia kits.

Expensive? Not really, considering you avoid any hassles and can remove the kit after with no changes or damage to the car wiring. Replacing connectors and fixing car wiring can be expensive.

Yes you could go into the Philips cnnector from the XDA, but you would have to manually select Aux in on the radio, and it wouldn't mute anything. If you were listening to the car radio you'd need to answer the phone and also switch to aux in on the radio to hear anything. Sounds a mess to me!

[eayuwna]

Ok, so assuming I use the new connector to wire in the phone and have it working through a seperate speaker, how do I connect the MP3 Outputs of the XDA into the stereo. I have no problem using a seperate speaker for the voice on the XDA but I really want to play the XDA music through the Car's built in speakers.
I understand I'll have to come up with some way of getting the sound from the XDA to the speaker AND the car stereo but I don't mind that, It's just something I'll have to worry about.

Most car stereos I've seen have a seperate set of Phono Sockets for auxiliary inputs but this philips doesn't. What do the pins on the back actually stand for in english? (Laymans terms please because I don't understand the long names but I will be able to fathom how to use them if you tell me what they actually do, long names might be ok too cos I can always look on Google to find out what the various bits do.)

[stephen_oliver]

Actually I screwed up - looking again at that wierd Bulgarian* site the CAR 400 looks like it has the 26 pin connector and the phone lead would be Autolead 06-053B.

http://www.siocommunications.co.uk/06-053B.html

Also it looks as though the CAR400 does NOT support Aux in - sorry about that - although you could try putting signals onto pins 9 and 10 (using 3 as Ground) and see what happens (that's what the CAR660 uses). No warranty actual or implied!!

* This guy is promoting software to crack EEPROM codes on car radios and to clock cars with digital instrument clusters. Not sure I'd be so keen to build a close relationship there mate!!

[eayuwna]

Thanks anyway, I've got a few exams to sit this coming week so no chance to fiddle for a bit but I'll post back again once I work out how it goes. Looks like I'll have to find some sort of seperate amp and patch it in somewhere to output to the car speakers. :-)

No connection between me and the Bulgarian bloke, just found the site on google as a means of showing you the pinout on the back of the CAR 400.

I'm assuming Pins 9 and 10 CDR and CDL stand for CD - Left and CD - Right respectively?

One last quickie before I go, can I source ISO connectors (Just the plastic bits) from anywhere so I can maybe make a patch through cable? I'd need a male and a female one.

i.e.

CAR STEREO (FEMALE ISO) ---> Wiring (MALE ISO)

becomes

CAR STEREO (FEMALE ISO) ---> NEW MALE ISO --------> MY STUFF ---------> NEW FEMALE ISO ---> Wiring (MALE ISO)

Cheers for the help, I'll have a mess about over the next few weeks and post back with my results in case anyone's interested.

[eayuwna]

Just a note to say I've found some ISO Connectors. You can get them from maplin.

http://www.maplin.co.uk

codes

QK25C (headunit end) @ £4.99
MZ76H (car end) @ £6.99

Anyone finds them a bit cheaper let me know...

[eayuwna]

Another quick note. I've found a small amplifier from Maplin (Code N67AW) 40W 6-16V. (MONO ONLY)

The instructions say it is a 'bridge type' amplifier and that the speaker connections should therefore not be to ground (As in a car).

The setup works fine on my test rig at home, but I was wondering, will I just get lots of noise if I connect it up in the car, or will I blow everything up?

So far my plan is to make a patch through cable that amplifies the XDA signal direct to the car speakers and has some form of automatic switch to detect if audio is coming through the XDA. If it is, then it mutes the signal from the car stereo and patches the XDA through.

Any suggetsions?