Hi all,

I have been trying to install an upgrade to my stereo system by adding a Bluetooth connection. I have followed the manufacturers instructions and appear to be connected straight out of the CD changer. I feel there should be an amplifier somewhere but there is nothing above the CD changer in the rack. Can anyone please advise?

Thanks

 

If it;'s not there above the CD changer, someone got in there before you. That is the location.
Does the radio work?

 

J, which bluetooth did you get? Does your cd changer play?

John

 

Premium sound used an amplifier, standard sound head unit plugs straight into changer.

 

Thanks for everyone's replies.

Prior to any modifications to the stereo, the radio worked fine but not the best volume / clarity. The CD changer worked and again not amazing which I put it down to the age of the car, but more than satisfactory.

I have installed a product from a US company called Car Stereo Discount, product code JAGCD-HF which should allow the continued use of both the radio and CD media sources.

When using the Bluetooth I only get sound out of the left speakers and nothing from the right or rear centre sub (think it's a sub?). With the JAGCD-HF installed I now no longer get sound from the CD.

Please note that I also temporarily have poor radio signal because I've taken out the aerial fuse to stop it rising. I shall be installing an internal aerial purely for aesthetic reasons. I read somewhere that the fuse for the aerial may affect the amplifier aswell?

Any further insights would be hugely appreciated

 

Jonnyauto,

The product you're installing looks decent enough and not complicated, so there is a chance that the new Jack Plugs are not engaged properly in the sockets as you only have sound from one side. Did you check these? Often the plastic body has some moulding "fins" which stop the male pin fully engaging. If you're happy with these Jack Plugs, then we need to look elsewhere.

We'll need more details of the car MY, options etc as you mention a rear centre woofer so I suspect a coupe not convertible. the sound system was HK and moved later to Alpine.

Did the car come with the premium audio system as a Previous Owner (PO) may have been removed the amp and a put in a "hack." Signs of a Premium Sound system are in the door window small interior front quarter panel opposite the wing mirror. It may be branded "Alpine" and if you pull it off, there's a tweeter inside. Also in the corners of the dash top cowl, there's a speaker grill under the front corner of the windscreen. Lift these grills to see if there a speaker underneath. If there was a Premium audio system, then I suspect there's a hack as the wiring of all the speakers would have gone to the amp. FYI The radio head unit should have a switch on the rear for the standard and premium modes. The product you have should easily support both modes as it seems to go between the CD changer and the head unit.

Very interested in how you get on, as I may install something similar in mind, in the future.

 

Thanks David Yau,

My XK8 coupe is September 2001. I assume the system is standard as there is no amp in the trunk. I've not noticed any speaker brands inside the car, but that could just be me being oblivious! I thought I'd tried to fiddling with the aux connections, but I will certainly try again. I'll also have a poke around to find out whether the car stereo system has been hacked in anyway. It's quite difficult to know what's what sometimes because there seems to be quite a few cables leading no where - I assume a bunch of standard cables get installed and unless you buy the top spec cars you're left with redundant cables?

I'll get back with an update shortly. Cheers again for the pointers!

 

Johnny, ok that's what I thought. I have the same unit. Have had same symptoms.

Sound, whether stereo or mono, should be from both channels. I spent some time working with their customer service, very nice folks, to diagnose the issue. Maybe I can save you some time.

Issues:
Ground loop whine at higher volume.
Left channel was playing music that was out of phase in the Left and Right channel. Yes I'm trying to describe the original Dolby surround sound info sent to rear channel. Vocals were predominant in right channel. Mono, including phone calls and directions only came out of right channel.

Was it my phone's bluetooth? Test: plugged phone directly into blue box installed under center arm rest. No difference, not bluetooth. Was it my phone? Plugged headphones in, all ok. Not a phone issue.

Therefore it must be wiring. At discount stereo request I pulled out the Y connector, also under the center console. They asked me to gently pull the housing back off the round multi pin connector. Take a photo send it to them.

Diagnosis: that plug was wired wrong. I planned to resolder it while they sent me a replacement. If I can find the schematic I will post it. Despite advanced soldering skills I never got it to work. The new unit was here in 3 days.

Plugged it in - all worked perfectly! Even mono came from both sides.

For a while. It still sounded wonderful so I ignored that. Then, after a while I was scratching my head. Sure seemed like left channel quality shifted over time. Guess there was always something more pressing or it was never too noticeable, I never drove into it.

A few months later (earlier this month) I drove over a terrible pot hole ridden surface with the unit on. Bumps caused noticable change in the sound quality, the volume of the ground loop. Ah Ha - bad connection somewhere.

I remembered during my talks with customer service they had me check the connection in the trunk "sometimes they loosen". So I turned the music on and found that connection. As soon as I moved it: snap crackle pop. I soon realized the female connection inside the box needed some help.

As a matter of fact I'm going to dive into that today. Guess I'm tired of waiting to hit the right bump for balanced sound :-).

Hey i hope this helps. It should remove a lot of the troubleshoot steps.

John

 

J, just looked. I don't have the schematic, just the pinout of my defective cable. While Jay at discount stereo wrote a note to me saying which wire should be where, it'll give you a headache to decipher. Give them a call. They can help you best, I found them to be very useful.

Connect reconnect , wiggle the plug in the trunk with music playing to eliminate that. Then suspect the connection to the bluetooth module of being miswired.

John

 

J, update on 1 channel plays.

I just looked in the black junction box back by the CD player. It's just a plastic box to keep things tidy. No shielding at all. As I mentioned earlier the male plug from the cd changer plugs into this. The female side has a bundle of twisted (cramped?) Wires soldered to the other end.

I have no left channel in mono. I set dashboard radio to left channel only. Phone to mono output. Wiggled this bundle of wires - got audio in left channel.

I'm about to call discount car stereo to discuss next steps. Since you're using the same unit, it may help you shoot the problem. Others with this unit, maybe it will help you too someday.

I'm out on this one unless you have a question.

John

 

Thanks for your insight. I will investigate and get back ASAP - quite busy this week so might not be until the weekend.

Thanks again

 

Friends, it would be wrong for me not to follow up, especially after my graphic description of the issues above.

I just got off the phone with Discount Car Stereo, who sells this product. They couldn't have been nicer. Despite being 5 months out of warranty the offered to replace the product without any pressure from me. Of course I accepted.

Johnnyauto, I hope you have the same smooth ride.

Reminds me of that old saying about customer service. **** someone off they'll tell a few people. Delight them, they'll tell hundreds.

John

 

That's reassuring to know. Fingers crossed its me and it can be resolved by trouble shooting your recommendations. Last resort would be a replacement as it took almost 3 weeks to ship from US too UK.

Thanks for sharing your experience with me and everyone else.

Best wishes!