Radio/Audio line in

[UnRealWoody]

Hi

I was wondering if anybody knows how i can create a audio line in (to connect an i-pod or other mp3 player) directly onto the radio of a Ford Taurus SE of 1998. I have tried fm transmitters to not having to go through all this trouble, but they all seem static...

[shorod]

Welcome to the forum!

Have you searched some of the audio interface websites for such a device? With the number of Taurii that were sold I suspect someone makes an interface.

Does your Taurus have the CD changer in the trunk? If not and you are good with electronics you could likely build a rather simple circuit to interface to the DIN connector at the RCU, then to listen to your music player you'd simply select the Changer from the head unit and it would play the audio from your music player. Since the RCU and changer wiring are in the back corner of the trunk though you'd need to run the input cable all the way to the front seat area of the car.

-Rod

[UnRealWoody]

It had a cd player in the back when i bought the car, but it never worked, so i trew it out before i thought about this (im an idiot, i know. lol) So i know i have the connection for a cd player in the rear control unit, and i've seen the schematics for the radio, but i just dont get how i can connect an ipod to it. Pin 9 and 10 are marked CD left (+) and CD right (+), which then goes to the left and right sig in at the cd changer. and then line pin 21 and 22 are the same but negative on the rear control unit and go to left and right sig out on the cd changer, but even if i do manage to connect my ipod to those to have stereo (which im not sure if that would work then or not...) then i still cant make it believe there is a cd player in the back. How do i manage that? What kind of signal does it need to get?
The running the cable to the front is easy, i would just use the same gutters as they originally use which passes by at the door and such.

[shorod]

Somehow you likely need to signal the head unit to think there is something connected so it doesn't give a "No Changer" indication. I've never experimented with how to do that.

The signal lines would be what your left and right signals from the iPod connect to, but I've never scoped these signals to see if they are differential or just low level. Since the changer is mounted so closely to the RCU there may not be much benefit to using differential, but the changer is used in several models and they may not all be in such close proximity. So if it is differential you're going to need to build a circuit to go from single ended to differential. Also your low level input from your iPod to the RCU will be a long run, it wouldn't take much system noise to create significant noise on such long low level input lines. Additionally, the original "gutter" has a lot of other wires in it which could contribute to noise issues. If you don't use a shielded and properly grounded run of cable you'll likely experience the same displeasure with this retrofit as you did with the FM modulator.

While it's possible to build a circuit to do what you want, it would require experimentation and you still may not be happy with the end result. I think your best option is to find a system already built and debugged for such an interface. A few years ago folks were posting about systems to interface with the remote radio controls in the earlier generation of Taurus, I just cannot remember the name of the company. I suspect they would make a circuit such as you describe since the market would potentially be so large.

I did a quick Google search. Soundgate is the manufacturer I was thinking of. Looks like there are several others as well, such as can be seen here. For whatever reason, Logjam doesn't list the other common brand which can be found here.

-Rod

[UnRealWoody]

so basically it is practicly impossible for me to do it since it is hard to create the connectors and even if i find away around it, i still dont know what kinda signal it uses to make it think there is a cd switcher active.

Thanks for those links though, now i know what i need to get in order to be able to hook an ipod up to it. I just hope they have the same kind of systems with the regular headset plug in too, since i use an actual mp3 player instead of an ipod. lol

[shorod]

At least one of the models showed a standard RCA input which would allow you to use a 1/8" headphone to RCA cable.

-Rod

[UnRealWoody]

hey,

Thanks so much for the help shorod. It worked out cuz of you.

Incase anybody wants to do the same, this is what i did.
I bought a FRDR-AUX auxiliary input converter (made by P.I.E.) along with the 3.5-RCA6MM interconnect adapter cable from http://www.discountcarstereo.com, they were the cheapest and the parts got delivered within a week and a half. Hooked it up, disconnected and connected the battery (will not work otherwise. (found out afterwards that the instructions, which i did not see at first, actually tells you to disconnect the battery before installation. woops. lol)) and everything worked perfectly. I used the left cable gutter under the doorstep to run the line-in to the front of the car and so far it doesnt seem to create any static by laying close to the other cables.

Thanks for the help.

[shorod]

Awesome, thank you for the details on installation and function.

-Rod