Plug n Play Aux-in mod for 2005 6cd radios

Unfortunately, my extension isn't long enough (story of my life). You need at least 6 inches.

 

Give it one more try with the screw driver. Mine came free without much force at all.

Greetings- I'm a single cd 06 OB 2.5i owner as well, just got it a week ago in fact, and I just read through the entire 60+ page thread here. This thread has to be one of the most informative and awesome threads in the history of the internet. If only there were awards for such things. And Jazzy, you rock! I put together a Sony Gnunilink to hack an aux input into a sony headunit in a old Saturn and it was pretty tough! Plus the community support was just not there like it is for this mod. Bravo everyone! Subaru owners kick ass!

 

But I digress... If I could convince my wife to go for it I'd order one of these in a heartbeat, but she's reluctant since the car is still so new. I'm almost tempted to buy one now just in case she changes her mind sometime in the future... but what worries me is the 2.5i installs that have been posted up here. The first one resulted in a busted cd player , the second one went ok (after figuring out how to get the radio out), and the third one ended up with a miscalibrated temp sensor on the HVAC! These things are definitely NOT helping my case. It was one thing when it was an old car that I could hack up, but not the new Outback! I'm anxiously awaiting zxsimonw's, coz's and Catriona's reports!

 

So for those of you with the mod, enjoy it for me too ... and if I ever do manage to install it in the 2.5i I'll definitely post with a full report and pictures. Hopefully the HVAC will survive... Meanwhile I will follow this thread in earnest. Jazzy, good luck with the next version of the mod, you're doing some amazing work!

Greetings- I'm a single cd 06 OB 2.5i owner as well, just got it a week ago in fact, and I just read through the entire 60+ page thread here. This thread has to be one of the most informative and awesome threads in the history of the internet. If only there were awards for such things. And Jazzy, you rock! I put together a Sony Gnunilink to hack an aux input into a sony headunit in a old Saturn and it was pretty tough! Plus the community support was just not there like it is for this mod. Bravo everyone! Subaru owners kick ass!

 

But I digress... If I could convince my wife to go for it I'd order one of these in a heartbeat, but she's reluctant since the car is still so new. I'm almost tempted to buy one now just in case she changes her mind sometime in the future... but what worries me is the 2.5i installs that have been posted up here. The first one resulted in a busted cd player , the second one went ok (after figuring out how to get the radio out), and the third one ended up with a miscalibrated temp sensor on the HVAC! These things are definitely NOT helping my case. It was one thing when it was an old car that I could hack up, but not the new Outback! I'm anxiously awaiting zxsimonw's, coz's and Catriona's reports!

 

So for those of you with the mod, enjoy it for me too ... and if I ever do manage to install it in the 2.5i I'll definitely post with a full report and pictures. Hopefully the HVAC will survive... Meanwhile I will follow this thread in earnest. Jazzy, good luck with the next version of the mod, you're doing some amazing work!

Would be interesting to know how many Jazzy sold, so that we know how many successfull installs there are. I bet people complained about ALL bad installs whereas only a few people would write about success

Quite the contrary here, while most have brought up their issues (and resolved them), the majority of this thread is a Jazzy love-fest. The board is solid!

 

 

Would be interesting to know how many Jazzy sold, so that we know how many successfull installs there are. I bet people complained about ALL bad installs whereas only a few people would write about success

Another thing to Jazzy's benefit. I've almost completed an install of no-blank-cd aux, where I've tabbed between the radio and the amp. If I knew how much time and effort it would've taken, I'd simply used Jazzy's board. Yes, jazzy's board has a pause every 90 minutes when the blank CD ends, but he does not have thumps that I have. His way requires 10 times less time and no skills in electronics. If something goes wrong with the stereo, simply remove the board and no dealer would be able to say that the warranty is waved.

Thanks for the words of support guys. Yes, there have been a couple problems with 1CD installs, but I think there's probably a couple dozen or more that have gone fine by now that no one has talked about. Hard to say, since I don't know what people are ordering them for, but I've had at least that many inquiries for 1CD radios. The main piece of info I was missing is covered fairly well in the Metra install instructions, which points out the correct place to remove the manual climate control cable is up higher in the dash, not at the controls (which resulted in the calibration issue).

 

As far as total sales...um...I'm not sure. I've been so busy lately, it's everything I can do just to keep up with orders, my house, my -day- job, my fiance that's graduating college this week, the soon-to-be-in-laws that will be here Friday, stage2 upgrade on the scooby, etc. It's pretty hectic. I'd say it's somewhere between 450-500 orders now though. Pretty insane when I think about it. All I wanted to do was help 10-15 people use centerpunch's idea and get myself a nice prototype. Well, that's history now. Anyway, I appreciate the support, the orders & this kick arse subaru site. Everyone enjoy your tunes this summer. Hopefully in a few weeks, when I've made some good progress on the house again I can get back to moving forward on other subaru audio projects.

I didn't want to post about what happend with my SINGLE CD install because I get depressed when I talk about it. In the end all is good, but I am still dealing with FM modulation because I have no other choice at this time. I shouldn't say that... I am lucky that I have 2.5i and can just tear my radio out or buy a CS, but time and money are not on my side right now. If you're interested in the whole story.... let me know.

If you're up to it, you're certainly welcome to post the full story here Lolo. I don't want anyone to get the impression they're not getting the whole story with 1CD installs. I certainly am willing to help with whatever I can when people run into problems, but there's only so much I can do never having installed on in a 2.5i myself.

Please share if it's not too painful, Lolo. I'm awaiting the kit for my 2.5i single cd that I shall be installing soon.

I'm sorry to disappoint, I haven't done mine yet...

 

I just keep looking at my beautiful dash that fits together so tightly, does not rattle at all, which doesn't have any scratches on it, and thinking of the damage I could possibly do. I'm not too worried about the actual install of the auxillary input, I have a lot of faith in Jazzy, and not to mention my own abilities. I just hate taking apart dashes, those little plastic toggle thingies never quite hold as tightly, and I'm always scared I"m going to break something when I have to pry.

 

Not to mention, I have been pretty busy. I finally got my Lowriders and my bike racks up on the car last weekend. Lowriders are so much better than q towers. However, I need to stand on a stool to get my bike on the car. I'm trying very hard to prevent myself from immediately ordering a hitch and all the good toys that could slide into it.

 

I'm thinking/hoping I might bite the bullet and install the auxillary input this weekend - I had to dig out my cds to listen to in the car, and have been borrowing audio books from the library (I usually go up to DC for the weekend which is a 4 hour drive roundtrip, so I would love to be able to use my iriver.)

 

You guys should aplaud my restraint, I've managed to refrain from typing all the cool things about my car and what it can do, and stay mostly on topic.

sashi2, NJ-LGT- Agreed, this entire thread is really a testament to an incredibly successfull, and excellent mod, especially with 6 disc cd decks

 

Jazzy- thanks for the reply (and congrats too, btw)! I'm glad to hear that there have been so many successfull single cd installs. Gives me hope for when/if I get to do one on mine! And thanks for the instructions-- I saw you attach them in response to another 2.5i-er post but I never really understood their significance until now. Doesn't look like Badmojo has fixed the calibration issue yet, but I'd be very curious to find out if the instructions you attached would have helped prevent his particular case or not. Care to comment Badmojo?

 

Catriona- Thanks for the report! I know *exactly* how you feel... if only there was a way to do it without having to do surgery... and your off topic stuff has got me psyched to do some other "modding" to my new soob too!

 

Lolo- I too would be interested to hear your story, if you can post it.

 

And coz, don't get discouraged! Single CDers, unite!

 

New Business: With this mod and track repeat turned on, is there any pause in the sound when the cd reaches the end and the deck moves the laser back to the beginning? Or does the sound continue while the cd starts over? I remember with the gnunilink mod that's how it worked but I was curious if this deck/mod operated the same or not.

 

Cheers!

New Business: With this mod and track repeat turned on, is there any pause in the sound when the cd reaches the end and the deck moves the laser back to the beginning? Or does the sound continue while the cd starts over? I remember with the gnunilink mod that's how it worked but I was curious if this deck/mod operated the same or not.

 

Cheers!

 

There is about a 2 second pause when the CD has to restart. If you press the track down button sooner, the pause will be slightly less (depends how many minutes have passed since your last track restart). Once you get use to the pause, you end up not even noticing it.

 

-S

Thanks StringFellow, though I wonder, is it any different for single cd systems?

 

And for the record, I just realized I was wrong about the gnuni mod-- the gnuni mod actually tricked my sony HU into thinking there was a new input to select from, so no pauses. Then again my particular HU's firmware required hacking the mod's eeprom's assembly code to get it to work properly, which I never got around to. In my post about I was actually thinking of a different Sony HU mod, which involved plugging a cd changer in and then plugging an XM or MP3 input into the cd changers HU audio inputs

Jazzy! I have had this kit probably for a few months! I just installed it last night! Great MOD! I’m 100% satisfied. I ran out of day light last night so I will finish the basic wiring tonight.

Thanks Again!

Well, hopefully we won't add another dead cd player to the 1cd crowd. Got the kit in the mail today and am having problems. I am testing it and the cd player now will not load the blank or any cd. It won't try at all. Not even any ugly mechanical noises as the other guy had. The radio and the display both work but that's it. I've tried reassembling the radio as original and still no worky. This way, when I try to insert a cd, I get CD IN on the display, but it still doesn't try to take it in. Ribbon cables are fully inserted and cd was removed prior to removal from car. Any ideas?

check to make sure you used right screws to mount the cd changer back to the body of the stereo. The smallest and shortest screws must be used. If you used the longer screws, something inside of the CD changer is blocked.

I partial installed 5-6 times with CD working, then finished install with wrong screws and it did not work, until I finally changed out the screws...8pm-2am. Very hard lesson to learn without breaking everything in sight.

 

 

check to make sure you used right screws to mount the cd changer back to the body of the stereo. The smallest and shortest screws must be used. If you used the longer screws, something inside of the CD changer is blocked.

Thanks guys, I'll double check screw length. So are you saying that the two screws at the front of the player should be shorter than those at the back that mount the player to the removable bracket?

 

Other ?s that came up: Is the white wiring harness all that I need to be attaching for testing? What exactly is in the smaller black one with multiple wires for?

the screws that hold the CD and will be touching the HVAC are flat head (from memory). I was using the round head ones. I think they may even have had a black dot of paint on them as well. Definitely look at all of them and you will see a difference in a couple.

Thanks everybody for the help/place to vent. I am happy to say that install is a success. Turns out I had the ribbon cable from the cd player into the board reversed. Also, when I retried to cd player without the board, one of the screws on the front was too tight/long and it was preventing one of the gears that loads the cd from turning. Since that screw was digging into that gear though, now I've got a swell grinding noise for load/eject. Sounds good, jazzy. Thanks.

Quick install question. I have an 06 Outback Sport. I removed the two screws at the base of the face plate, but can only get the plate 2/3 of the way off from the bottom to top. The clips come off easy at first, but near the top it is like they are screwed on (near the radio). Did you guys use a lot of forse? Thanks, Jake

Well, it works. I finally completed the install today in an 06 Outback Ltd. When I started last weekend I got stymied by a screw in the cubby and had to get a 10 mm socket to clear it. When I started today I had no problems to speak of. The whole thing took me about 2 hours start to finish.

 

The only real glitches I encountered were minor. First, I had trouble with the screws holding on the heatsink. I had to try several different Philips heads before I found one that would work. LESSON: have some good screwdrivers. Old banged up drivers will make it harder.

 

The other glitch was when I hooked up the radio to test it. The CD wouldn't load. I unplugged the wiring harnass and tried again, and the second time it worked. LESSON: If at first you don't succeed, don't panic!

 

I used the inline ground gizmo that I got from Crutchfield. I hooked the miniplug from that to the aux output on Jazzy's board. After I closed up the radio I taped the ground gizmo to the underside of the radio (hope it will hold!). I routed a 6' miniplug to miniplug patch cable down the inside of the center console to a hole I drilled in the bottom of the cubby. The cord and charger will live there.

 

As others have reported, I have to turn the volume up relatively high on the radio (15-16) to get much sound, but the sound I get is excellent! I may get a charger with a line out to see if that makes a difference.

 

Everything went back together quite easily, and the only question now is whether or not I have introduced any new rattles or squeaks. So far this car has been very quiet (which I love). But then, it only has 3500 miles on it.

 

I want to thank everyone who has posted on this board. I would never in a million years have dreamed of trying something like this. I've built a computer from scratch but I don't know from cars! This was much easier than I expected.

Thanks everybody for the help/place to vent. I am happy to say that install is a success. Turns out I had the ribbon cable from the cd player into the board reversed. Also, when I retried to cd player without the board, one of the screws on the front was too tight/long and it was preventing one of the gears that loads the cd from turning. Since that screw was digging into that gear though, now I've got a swell grinding noise for load/eject. Sounds good, jazzy. Thanks.

 

Awesome, good job! You won't have to worry about those noises on load/eject though since you'll never need to put another CD besides the blank cd player into your deck again thanks to the mod!

 

Many thanks for the report!!!

Hey all,

 

Did my install on my 06 Outback Sport today. Went really well in the end. Everything is back together and it works perfectly. The sound is great!