Corolla 2007 ipod radio aux input hack

Step 3 Put it back in

Put everything back the same way it went in.
The cd screws are the lighter looking ones.
If you want to play a cd, make sure the ipod is unplugged.
If you want to listen to ipod, just put a cd in there upside down, it will read error, but the ipod can still play.

If you have any questions just ask

Comments

[clintwire]

This worked perfectly! Awesome instructions and idea. It was pretty tough Soldering the wires cause the metal solder points were ridiculously small. And for some reason it was a beast trying to get the stereo cover back on. It works great though and is a cheap way to listen to an Ipod.

[RoverTFord]

Pretty sweet hack man. I tried to do it on my 2005 Corolla (A51814 - 6 disc changer) stereo, an it didn't work. Is there something I should have done different because it's a changer? For instance, I know that in your instructions, there was a ribbon that plugged into the soldering site, but on my stereo's board, there's no ribbon there (although this seemed to be in the identical place you soldered to in yours). thanks homes.

[alexypagan]

If it's a changer check this out:

http://chrisminglee.com/2010/06/03/corolla-2006-cd-changer-ipod-hack/

[zer0vector]

I just followed the instructions on that site for a 2007 corolla with CD changer. It worked perfectly. Just one note, I believe he says to route the cord through the back of the radio, while showing in the picture routing it towards the front, towards the button panel. FYI, follow what he shows, not what he says. Route the cord through the very convenient hole near the connector, then nibble off a bit of the front faceplate plastic near the edge to get it out the rest of the way. It will become pretty clear when you're in there doing it.

Also, be aware that the CD player can put a lot of stress on the solder connections if you have your wires coming up off the board, so try to solder them in parallel to the board.

[chrisayad]

Yes, because you have the cd changer, the radio is the same but the inputs are in a different configuration. Since you said that there is no ribbon where I had one, i am pretty sure that the cd changer must have its own ribbon or cord coming from it that goes into the radio, and that is what you should solder the wire to. To be able to find the correct points to solder to, you have to have the stereo on and in cd mode while its playing a cd that either has low sound or put it in upside down so that the cd player says "CD ERROR" and the amp should still be activated, allowing you to probe for the inputs on the board. You can always start with ground, because it is the easiest to find, and sometimes is combined for both right and left, and then work your way from there. The only thing I am not sure of is the fact that you have a cd changer, and if you put a blank cd in or an upside down cd in, will it still activate the amp? mine does, and thats why it worked, otherwize you would have to have a cd playing at the same time you listen to your ipod. If it is an external changer then it gets ridiculously easy because all you have to do is "tap into" the wires coming out of the back of the radio and there are other instructables out there for that. If anyone has any suggestions or questions i can also be reached by email or leave me your email and ill get bak to u

[philgenius]

wait. Do i test the pins with a voltmeter or what? I remember reading another comment saying that on the 2005 corolla with 6-CD Changer, pin1 read 1.6v while on while pin2 was ground. comment made by boredpoo underneath a comment by jneal, which included a pic of the exact same board that i have.

[philgenius]

And if by voltmeter, what do i test for?

[philgenius]

Never mind. Tested via voltmeter and found what I was looking for.

For those who have a 6-CD Changer in their 2005 Corolla, the pins to solder should be as follows:

Pin 1 = Right Input
Pin 2 = Ground
Pin 3 = Left Input

On the largest ribbon cable that comes from the CD player.

[mybreathyourlung]

 I don't understand the RCH, LCH, GND setup, last I stripped one of those small headphone cords there were only 2 wires encased in there. Is my memory flawed? If I use a thicker cord with a 1/4" jack I know that has L, R and G but I don't want a wire that thick coming out of my dashboard.

[philgenius]

 If there are only two wires, there are three possibilities:

1. You have a mono jack, meaning one channel. If that's the case, either get another headphone cable or solder the input wire to both left and right channels.

2. The third wire is a wrapping of some sort (almost a sheathing -- I could be wrong on this)

3. You stripped the third wire off (happens to me occasionally).

[philgenius]

 The three wire setup is because both wires use a ground, but need separate wires for each side (hence LCH and RCH).

[philgenius]

And make a silent CD to use it.

[alexypagan]

If you go to this site, you will be able to make a SILENCE CD this way you don't need to put a CD upside down plus you can name it however you want. I named mine iPod this way it will display the name iPod during the actual iPod is playing.

http://duramecho.com/Misc/SilentCd/index.html

[harnish]

My 2004 Corolla has the Single CD/Cassette Player/Radio in it. The layout is different than the pictures. However, I was able to successfully perform the mod. Just remove the unit and remove enough screws on the covers to get the CD unit out of the radio (including the heat sink on the back). Remove the CD ribbon cable. You will find RCH, LCH, and ACOM test point labels on the CD PC board right by the ribbon connector. (Right Channel, Left Channel, and Audio Common) Just solder a coax audio cable (radio shack $10 spool)  to the test points very carefully. They are very small, so this is not for a solder novice. I routed the cable out the back of the radio similar to the instructions on this site. I used a panel mount 1/8" stereo input jack from radio shack and mounted it on the right side near the shifter across from the 12V power plug. Note that the MP3 input works whenever the unit is on, including CD, cassette, and AM/FM. You should disconnect the MP3 player whenever you want to listen to something other than MP3.

[Mcatoy]

Just did this one after contemplating for awhile on our Toyota 2005 with 6-disc changer. Philgenius' pinout is correct; don't use the headers outlined in white, use the ones with the largest ribbon leading to the changer. Shorts are the easiest place to screw up on, watch out. The upside-down CD didn't work for us, though (and probably anyone with a changer); we ended up doing KMart's trick and making an 80 minutes of silence CD labeled "Aux In". While playing this CD, anything going into our headphone jack worked great. So there you go, you can do it on a 2005 CD changer just fine.

[quhaiyan.rs]

This is great! Only one question: How do you know the functionality of these pin from the motherboard? Do you have the wire diagram?

[chrisayad]

no i dont have the wire diagram I also dont have the radio anymore I accidentally did a stupid thing and put like 20W onto the input and blew the radio so now it makes a screeching noise even if its on FM mode. I took it out and now I have a crappy powered computer speaker in my car which i rewired to play through the oem speakers, its terrible. I cant even listen to Fm anymore but luckily i got a shower radio for chirstmas so i have the saddest hookup right now. i hope to raise enough money to put a super distracting dvd player next. i tried to get a new one from toyota.. it was something like 900 dollars for the replacement head unit!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH i can get such a sick radio for that much why would i buy the stock one hahahahahaha so yeah any suggestions on what to do with the $900 garbage in my garage?

[whomikejones]

great modification....but in case something does go wrong with the unit, you can find it on ebay for under $45.

[bduffman]

thats kool dude but would have been easyer theses days to spend $100 for a nice looking sterio and a $3 audio cord or aux cord but gess this is wat this sites bout not spending money and cheating things lol nice work

[chrisayad]

obviously

[chrisayad]

also i have to say i really like the way the stock radio looks with the rest of the car

[peedernewwin]

sup dudee. i have a question where did u end up running ur aux cable after putting it all back??

[chrisayad]

i put it behind the dash and had it come out underneath the plastic by the shifter almost.

[danii]

I ended up routing the cable down towards the driver's leg area.

[chrisayad]

good spot

[KMart]

Chris, Changed the "Error 1" message, by making an audio cd with the volume (Gain -.5), no sound and named all the songs "MP3 AUX ON". Now when I use my MP3 with this CD in the stereo text reads "MP3 AUX ON". Thanks Again for the great MOD.

[chrisayad]

HAHAHAH beautiful great job

[KMart]

Chris, I did this mod today on my 2006 Corolla, your instructions were Excellent! Thank You