Hey everyone,

So I had this idea to modify the old car phone take it bluetooth using a Raspberry Pi and the original mic, speaker and buttons on the car phone that came with some of these cars.

Sounds fun right?!

My centre console has this large unsightly crevice where there phone used to go, which I don't really like. So I need to find a damaged/donor car phone to use as a shell. Does anybody happen to have one? Either for donation or sale.

I'd like the make a step by step thread on how it goes to help any others that night have a similar idea!

Cheers people!

 

There's an idea. I was just talking about the phone in another thread!

AFAIK, all our cars are wired for the phones. I'm not sure how plug and play that is, though, but maybe your idea could be fitted to some of our cars. Just a thought.

 

I have a car phone. I have the headset disconnected right now. The what I am assuming is the mic is still attached to the headliner.

 

That's the one. I'm basically just looking for the headset/handset but that you hold to your head and what ever it sits on in the centre console. I've got the lid with the big recess for it.

Would you be willing to part with it? All the way over to little old new Zealand :P

 

I've thought about using the old phone wiring for low amperage power and audio signal cabling which one could use to send L/R audio and even trigger voltage to gear in the trunk.

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Nice idea. So I assume that where the cabling goes to? From the centre console and then shows up somewhere in the trunk?

 

Yeah, the modular RJ 48? connection is up under the console ashtray. The D shell connection (like a PC serial cable male end, even has screw lugs) end of the cable is normally lashed up under the package shelf in the trunk where the CD changer and HK amplifier was mounted in the 95-96 XJ before Jaguar moved them to the LH trunk fender area.

Clearly you wouldn't want to put high amperage 12v current through that wire, but a love voltage/amperage trigger current might be OK.

Also since it is twisted pair, you might be able to put signal through it without too much interference/cross-talk, but would have to test.

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I would have thought it would be more likely to be an RJ45 but I haven't seen it. So you're probably right!

Interesting. You could even send balanced audio with that many cables, but that's pretty pointless :P and I doubt any car audio stuff does balanced signal, then again I'm no car audio expert.

Thanks for the details.
It's always handy to know of unused cable looms in your car.

I used a similar unused cable in my series 3 to fix the remote wire to the power aerial and another one for the remote wire to my amp.

 

RJ45 plug? If it's twisted pair then each pair could be an audio signal. It could turn on a sub amp in the boot. The battery is already in the boot so powering it is easy. This could be a sub woofer install with no tricky wiring runs.

 

Correct, and if one wondered:

Difference Between RJ45 and RJ48 | Difference Between | RJ45 vs RJ48

Since it is a phone jack, it may be RJ-48, or something completely custom since it terminates in a D-shell connector. One would have to tone out the wires to verify.

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RJ45 is the big computer one.
Cut it off and solder on phono :-)

 

Sure could

But personally instead of cutting off a factory female RJ termination I'd build out a breakout from an RJ modular male and wire in any connector you need.

I've learned that factory cabling (ethernet, audio, etc) is almost always more reliable in durability and performance than hand-made, so I'd preserve the factory connection.


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