Tape Deck Hack ??

[lrh]

A stereo cable with a headphone jack at one end will contain at least 3 wires (L, R, GND) all of which must be connected. If your cable has 2 RCA connectors at one end it'll have 4 wires (L, R, 2xGND). In this case you need to connect both grounds to the single GND on the tape unit (easiest to wind them together). Be careful stripping the wires as you don't want to damage the inner shielding around the L/R wires.

 

[pathfinder123]

Huh? What are you guys talking about!

 

Any stereo cable with a headphone jack at one end will contain 3 wires (L, R, GND) all of which must be connected.

 

 

Correct, otherwise you will be relying on the chassis, plus supply wiring to carry millivolt audio signals.YUK !

I did not do the spring mod, but use an old cassette with the tape removed. This sits permanently in the Bose.

 

S.

[AlexZ]

Huh? What are you guys talking about!

 

Any stereo cable with a headphone jack at one end will contain 3 wires (L, R, GND) all of which must be connected.

 

 

Correct, otherwise you will be relying on the chassis, plus supply wiring to carry millivolt audio signals.YUK !

I did not do the spring mod, but use an old cassette with the tape removed. This sits permanently in the Bose.

 

S.

 

Hi mate, did you remove the bobbins where the cassette heads fit and turn....? I would have thought with the bobbins still in you would hear the casette player turning all the time? I guess with the bobbins removed from the casette itself the tape may rattle worse lol..

 

Alex

[lrh]

Hi mate, did you remove the bobbins where the cassette heads fit and turn....? I would have thought with the bobbins still in you would hear the casette player turning all the time?

I used a casette adaptor because I wasn't sure if the reels were driven or not. It was noisy with all the gears turning inside but I opened it up and greased everything, now you can barely hear it.

 

But now that people mention it, stripping everything out of an old cassette is a better option

[sparky370z]

i have just done this mod and it was fairly easy!!! and works a treat!

 

solder point were easy to find as well.

 

Spot on

 

i have taken pics and will provide a guide

[Husky]

if you feel scared to work on your own unit i believe R35LEE is offering this service quite cheap as well as bose repair services if you PM him, just a thought

[sparky370z]

ok, this is how i did it!

 

it is not for the faint hearted, but it looks alot more complicated than it actually is.

 

1st- remove the HU using the method in the first post

 

2nd- take the complete unit indoors and remove the trim panel from the radio cage (housing). 2 black screws.

 

now you should have the HU on its own and ready to be taken apart.

 

3rd-

 

remove the left and right mounting bracket, taking the 4 gold screws out and then the final black one (same for the opposite side)

 

 

4th

 

remove the front fascia from the rear of the unit, work from one side and release the clips gently using a flat blade screwdriver

 

 

5th

 

once the front fascia has been removed

 

 

you will need to take off the bottom panel to expose all of the boards and contacts

 

there are about 8 screws and some are mounted on the front and back of the unit.

 

 

once these screws are removed the lid should come off with a bit of prising from a flat blade screwdriver

 

6th

 

now you have access to the terminals and boards the rest is easy!!

 

all i did was use the cable from my tape adapter and solder that onto the terminals.

 

 

i used a continuity meter to test which ones were the left and right sides of the 3.5mm jack and to make sure there were no breaks.

 

once in, i tested end to end (from the soldered joint to the corresponding jack input.)

 

 

i then used the little notch to the right of the terminals to thread the cable through

 

 

reassemble the opposite way, i "pinched" the new cable via a between the lid and the main unit so that it would not go anywhere if pulled a bit.

 

i would advise that before you put all the trim back together and reassemble the car, you plug in all of the relevant plugs and test the newly installed cable with your MP3 player.

 

i have thread the cable all the way back into the armrest cubby but it was VERY tight on the cable length.

 

it does seem to be an easier method to soldering and cutting tracks on the PCB. well worth a go IMO!!

 

good luck

 

hope this helps!

 

Sparky

[elfman]

Brilliant write up! looks simple enough tbh!

[s1xtyn1n3]

yup! looks pretty much spot on

 

now i just need to figure out what the hell is going on with my phone so i can use the headphone socket at the same time as bluetooth

[Cookbot]

Just done mine, it's the easiest thing ever, but watch out for the tracks lifting on the PCB. A blob of araldite on top should keep it sweet. Also burnt my finger and it smelt of ribs! Nice.

[Husky]

Just done mine, it's the easiest thing ever, but watch out for the tracks lifting on the PCB. A blob of araldite on top should keep it sweet. Also burnt my finger and it smelt of ribs! Nice.

i stabbed my high temp soldering iron in my hand, you can never figure out how deep it is as it doesnt bleed

[sparky370z]

Brilliant write up! looks simple enough tbh!

 

 

thanks,

 

thought i would do something productive with my day off

[pathfinder123]

Huh? What are you guys talking about!

 

Any stereo cable with a headphone jack at one end will contain 3 wires (L, R, GND) all of which must be connected.

 

 

Correct, otherwise you will be relying on the chassis, plus supply wiring to carry millivolt audio signals.YUK !

I did not do the spring mod, but use an old cassette with the tape removed. This sits permanently in the Bose.

 

S.

 

Hi mate, did you remove the bobbins where the cassette heads fit and turn....? I would have thought with the bobbins still in you would hear the casette player turning all the time? I guess with the bobbins removed from the casette itself the tape may rattle worse lol..

 

Alex

 

I just removed all the tape from the bobbins. Not a rattle from them. It may vary cassette to cassette. Used the only one I had left, the others having either gone in boot sales or charity shops.

 

S.

[AlexZ]

Good guide mate, I'll sort mine tomorrow...I'm going to buy the cable from my local electrical store...

[s1xtyn1n3]

I've got my phone working now so weather permitting I'll be yanking mine out tomorrow as well

[lrh]

Good stuff, glad to see other people benefiting from ghetto "iPod integration" No more CD skipping or left speaker cut-out!

 

I'm going to buy the cable from my local electrical store...

Your local pound shop will likely have a suitable cable... 1.5-2m long should be perfect

[choptop]

Nissan do an MP3 adapter for the 350z according to my supplying Nissan Dealer. Part Number: KE28699900 . Cost as of last summer £60.49 + VAT. Hope this helps

[Gball1973]

Or for those not confident with a soldering iron....

 

http://www.350z-uk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=33010

 

[Cookbot]

If anyone wants a hand and lives near Chesterfield, I'd be happy to help if you don't like the idea of soldering stuff.

[s1xtyn1n3]

Well, i did mine today but i think i've shorted something as soon as i connect the jack to my phone, my phone switches off!

 

Everything car-wise still works, but the weather was too crappy to really have another attempt today. Will try again next week

[Zugara]

Done mine this morning. Works a treat, just remember to push the cassette deck into a playing position with a pen.

 

Thanks for the post well worth doing and saved some serious pennies on a new head unit.

[AlexZ]

Well, i did mine today but i think i've shorted something as soon as i connect the jack to my phone, my phone switches off!

 

Everything car-wise still works, but the weather was too crappy to really have another attempt today. Will try again next week

 

Now then mate, the only part you can get wrong is soldering the earth to a audio tab lol...Just check you have them all right

[s1xtyn1n3]

Well, i did mine today but i think i've shorted something as soon as i connect the jack to my phone, my phone switches off!

 

Everything car-wise still works, but the weather was too crappy to really have another attempt today. Will try again next week

 

Now then mate, the only part you can get wrong is soldering the earth to a audio tab lol...Just check you have them all right

 

yeah, i think the positioning is ok, but i think one or more cores from the shielding cable might be touching an audio lead. its going to have to wait as i've got to dismantle the drivers door first to fix an issue with my window getting scratched to pieces. on top of that, i've got a digital camera in 10 pieces on my desk that really needs sorting!

[Tom S]

Just done this mod on mine and it worked a treat, thanks for the guide!!!

[davetstan]

Mine has been done thanks to Cookie who did a splendid job of the soldering.

 

Anyone else get massive interference/buzzing when playing the MP3 via this method? The sound is perfect through a seperate IPOD so I know its nothing to do with the connection on the tape deck.

Also, is it possible to use a wire connector block instead of wrapping the wires around the power cable to the stereo to provide the power to the sat nav? Will this cause a prob?

 

 

Ta

Dave