I've been reading threads on this forum looking around for the best way to add an AUX input to the stereo system in my 2002 XKR with Alpine premium audio and SAT NAV. I want to avoid the use of cassette or FM adapters in order to maintain high sound quality. From this diagram (screenshot from a YouTube video) it looks like the SAT NAV serves as the central hub for this audio system, so it doesn't seem that there would be a good place to tap in at the back of the head unit on my car:

Diagram of XK8/XKR audio system with Alpine premium sound and satnav

Rather, it looks like what I'll want to do is to tap into the cable in the trunk/boot from the CD changer to the SAT NAV, using green for right, blue for left, and black for ground, and leaving the other wires intact so that the head unit can control the CD changer (which will have dummy CDs in it) as the system outputs the audio that I send into the new AUX cable that I spliced in. I'm basing these colors on this diagram I found on this forum:


Pinout and wire color diagram for Alpine AI-Net CD changer cable found in some XK8/XKR models.

I believe that if I do this, I will be able to control volume from the head unit and the steering wheel controls, and radio and CD will still work in addition to the AUX which I can bring up by pretending to play a CD.
Is there a better way to accomplish this, or am I on the best track with my plan outlined above?

Thanks!

 

Discount car stereo’s Bluetooth product will do what you want with better fidelity than an AUX in plug can provide.

Mine took about 2 hours to install including break time. It’s been in operation for 2-3 years and still works flawlessly.

https://www.discountcarstereo.com/a2d-jag98.html?category_id=448


Z

 

Excellent tip, ZRay! I just ordered the last one they had in stock. This will be a great solution! :-)

 

their instructions are very good. The hardest part is just getting the rack loose so you can get to the plugs. Small hands are a plus.

I found out about the product here on the X-100 forum. Several members are using it .


Z

PS there is a stud post behind the rack that has to be undone besides the 4 legs of the rack. I think recalling it’s a 10mm nut (head size) .

 

I installed the A2D-JAG98 adapter from Discount Car Stereo today, following the instructions on their website: https://www.discountcarstereo.com/pdf/a2d-jag98.pdf
Since mine is a convertible, the first step after removing the carpet panel was to move aside the hydraulic pump for the convertible top. Only two T30 screws on the front corners hold that in place, the back corners have rubber plugs that pull right out. My stereo rack was held in place with 10mm hex bolts on the four bottom corners, plus the stud post on the back. I found that with the hydraulic pump removed, I could tilt the rack back enough to access the connectors from under the CD changer without having to unbolt the stud post.
I connected the pigtail coming from the CD changer to the unit, and the unit to the other side of the connector that had been plugged into the pigtail. After doing this, the CD changer still worked, so I believe that connection was good and solid.
To get the provided piggyback fuse holder to fit in the rear fuse box I had to grind away a little bit of plastic on either side of the provided fuse holder, as it was too wide to fit otherwise. No biggie. I verified with a voltmeter that both sides of the provided 10 amp fuse were getting power when the key was in accessory or on position, and put the 5 amp fuse that was in that slot (slot #3) in the other slot of the piggyback holder.
At this point, with a CD playing from the changer, I should have been able to pair the device with a Bluetooth sound source and hear some music. But alas, that was not to happen. I attempted to connect using my Google Pixel phone and my Apple iPad tablet, but neither of them could see any new Bluetooth devices in the area, whether they were inside the car or in the trunk a foot away from the device. Well, they did see my neighbor's TV, but they didn't see the device called DAC305 that I was expecting to find.
So at this point I believe that I have power going to the unit, because there are 12 volts on either side of its piggyback fuse (which I did crimp onto the thin red power wire going to the box.) And I believe that my AI-NET connection is solid, because the CD changer is still working. But I don't have Bluetooth.
I assume that this device is getting a ground connection through AI-NET, because there is no separate ground wire. (Can anyone verify this?)
Is there anything else I may have missed?

 

Pin 5 on the AI-Net connector is ground.

 

Update: DiscountCarStereo sent me a new Bluetooth unit, and that one has been working most of the time now.

 

What is “most of the time” ? Should be either working or not ?

Z

 

Sometimes it doesn't feel like connecting, and if I have the source device on my lap there are a lot of dropouts, but generally I can get it working, then put the phone on the empty passenger seat and it will play music for the rest of the trip. I wonder if there might be a way to add an antenna to it to give it better Bluetooth reception.

 

i wonder if the reception is different across year models and coupe vs convertible ? I have an ‘02 coupe. Occasionally my iPhone doesn’t immediately “see” the “Discarsoft” Bluetooth module automatically and I’ll have to go into the iPhone Bluetooth settings and manually choose it. Otherwise no problems with reception, etc.