It seems that the "handshake" used by Jaguar to only have their CD player available on the original AJ9550A radio may have been at last circumvented.
There is now available a unit AUX-JAG97 which connects direct to the 8 pin CD changer socket on the rear of the radio & then has a lead with 3.5mm jacks each end to then connect to a suitable source. ie MP3 player etc.
I have attached instruction sheet & I have a unit ordered so look forward to installation & a good outcome. Instruction sheet is of recent date so I believe unit has not long been available.
Similar units were previously available for later Jags however nothing appeared to cater or work on the X300.

John Herbert
(1996 Jaguar XJR)

 

Thanks! Very cool!

AUX-JAG97 Auxiliary Input Adapter for 1986-97 Jaguar XJ and XK :: Auxiliary Input Adapters

And although they say you have to remove the radio to plug this into the Alpine DIN/Mbus socket on the rear of the radio for the CD changer, one could also just plug it into the cable in the trunk that plugs into the CD changer. You'd likely just need an M-Bus gender changer cable.

Then you could attach a Bluetooth adapter to the AUX-JAG97 in the trunk, powered from any switched source in the trunk or run a physical AUX cable up front. What would be really useful was if the AUX-JAG97 provided power from the M-Bus cable for something like a Bluetooth adapter to use.

The only downside for some owners like myself is that you lose the CD changer with the AUX-JAG97. If you don't care about keeping the CD changer though, the AUX-JAG97 is perfect, and a solution for which X300 owners have been wanting for years.


Also be aware that the X300 CD changer is just an Alpine M-Bus unit, nothing special. In fact, an Ai-Net unit will work with an Mbus/Ai-Net adapter.

As an alternative to the AUX-JAG97, I've already tested that using the Alpine KCA-801B will also allow one to inject an auxiliary signal, and keep the CD changer too. It uses Ai-Net connections, but there are conversion cables available from M-Bus to Ai-Net. The only trick with the Alpine KCA-801B is that it still requires the CD changer to be connected and a CD in the changer to fool the head unit that the CD player is playing. The Alpine KCA-801B doesn't fool the head unit like the AUX-JAG97 does, the KCA-801B just injects audio. The KCA-801B is discontinued, but can be found used and new old stock for about $20-40.

Great find for anyone that doesn't care about keeping the CD changer, thanks again!

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My problem is my CD changer is inoperable....so not sure if head unit or CD changer. I assume it is the CD changer that is bad. May just go ahead and do this with bluetooth as well.

 

Depends on the failure mode.

The CD changer most often fails in one way, which is that the spiral gear for loading/ejecting the CD internally slips off of its spindle. You can obviously have other failures such as power supply, motor, laser, but they seem pretty tough other than that gear. It is easily fixed, and there are threads online of how to put the gear back on and glue it, etc.

I think the more common Jaguar CD changer issue is within the head unit which provides signalling and power to the changer. There are numerous threads on cold solder joints showing up after 20 years that cause various radio problems, some of which affect CD changer operation. Again, there are a few threads with links to DIY repair of the surface mount components, but honestly I'd send it off to someone like Southern Electronics to have it refurbished at that point.... which is what I did with mine.

But if you don't care about the CD changer, the AUX-JAG97 looks like the perfect solution for which many X300 owners have been searching for a long time. Though, I doubt it will work if the radio isn't working properly to send/receive signal and power down the Mbus cable properly. So you'll have to figure that out, or just buy the AUX-JAG97 and give it a try.

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The link to this product has a new update 06/2022 and it seems that you can retain the CD player and plug in one jack to the CD player. I am ordering one and will update after the simple plug in. I don't want to rip up my console and pull the radio and this seems to be very simple with the plus that the CD player is still operable.

 

Why not go mad have get the Bluetooth one?
https://www.discountcarstereo.com/a2...ategory_id=448

 

That unit has a lot more functions BUT it connects at the radio. I would really like more features but I don't want to rip open my console so I'm settling for less functionality. Not sure about the red wire and where to splice/connect it. I need to do a little more searching on the forum...