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  1. #31

    Join Date
    02 Jan 2014
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    2
    Saab(s)
    2005 9-5 Arc
    Edit: upon closer inspection, I experienced a fair amount of background noise, when plugged in to aux only and significantly more when charging the phone at the same time. I cut the aux audio cable and spliced in a ground loop isolator. I used the one in the link below and removed the chrome painted plastic casing prior to installation which made it significantly smaller and easier to fit behind the center consol. 100% improvement.

    http://www.carid.com/universal-ampli...-16456317.html

  2. #32
    Filip
    Fillefloe's Avatar
    Join Date
    06 Apr 2013
    Location
    Sweden
    Posts
    3
    Saab(s)
    9-5 Aero 2004, Automatic, Stage 1 Maptun
    Hi JMark, and thanks for your input on this. This is exactly what I've been looking for. I did this mod a while back, with a big soldering iron and no experience, It was no good combination. Although It worked, I had as you mentioned, background noise.
    I found these Female 3.5" connectors in Sweden, but couldn't figure out which pin lead to what. I guess you need a deeper understanding of electronics for that. But I'm certainly going to try out your method.

    Thanks in advance!

    //Fillefloe

  3. #33

    Join Date
    10 Apr 2014
    Location
    Burnt Hills
    Posts
    1
    Saab(s)
    '95 900 SE, '04 9-5 Arc stage I
    Great write up! I'm glad you "translated" this. I have one question. I'm trying to figure out a way to allow my bluetooth device Amazon.com: iClever Himbox HB01 Bluetooth 4.0 Hands-Free Car Kit for Cars with 3.5 mm Aux Input Jack (Convenient Siri / Voice Activation, Dual USB Car Charger and Magnetic Base Included) - Silver: Cell Phones & Accessories to be allowed to be plugged in all the time just so when I get a call I can just flick the switch. I have some ideas of breaking the female jack and rigging it to the same switch, but I wanted to see if some people had other ideas first.
    I was thinking of a dual pole single throw switch, and break the aux line and splice into the switch as well so even when you have a playing mp3 player, you won't hear anything until you switch it on.
    Last edited by brifle; 10 April 2014 at 19:56.

  4. #34

    Join Date
    15 Apr 2014
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    1
    Saab(s)
    95
    Hi all,

    I've decided to do the same modification on my Saab 95 2002, 2.3t. However the head unit does not have a cassette player and only CD, therefore the confections on the board are different. Could someone help possibly with this modification if at all it's possible. You can wire to my email gie62001@yahoo.com.
    Thank you in advance

  5. #35
    Saab Fan
    Join Date
    10 May 2014
    Location
    San Diego
    Posts
    14
    Saab(s)
    1974 99 , 2003 9-5 Arc, 2006 9-5 Sport (daughter's)

    Lovin' it !

    Thanks Wulf, for posting this tutorial.
    Thanks also to JMark for the added advice, and for the link to the 3.5mm jack with built-in switch.

    I mounted the jack on the inside upper-left corner of the lower storage tray.
    I made a template from a scan of the 3.5mm jack, and drilled a few small holes in the best spot.

    The pictures shown are of my 1st failed attempt to directly solder the wires to the jack - THROUGH the holes in the tray.
    I found the better way (sorry no pictures) was to FIRST solder some short individual wires the the jack/switch,
    THEN pass them through the holes; Finally soldering them to the other wires.
    This gave more flexibility for stuffing the wires into the limited space behind the storage tray.

    I used male RCA plugs for the radio end wiring. and female RCAs for the Jack end.
    I inserted a Scosche ground loop isolator in between, but that's extra difficult to fit in the console behind the tray.
    (even after removing the case, and grinding down the unused parts of the circuit board)
    I found this necessary - ESPECIALLY if you try to charge your phone through the lighter-plug while playing music.

    I used 5-minute epoxy to hold the jack firmly in place (behind-out of sight), and to hold the wires firmly against the side of the tray insert, and to insulate the solder joints.
    (also used epoxy on the internal radio wiring to keep the wires in place and out of trouble)

    I also just received & installed the Pro-Clip mount - which I really like (except for the co$t)

    Saab 9-5 1998-2005 ProClip Center Mount - ProClip USA


    Here's a couple pictures of my installation:
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    I've got a Bluetooth adaptor on order Amazon.com: Kinivo BTC450 Bluetooth Hands-Free Car Kit for Cars with Aux Input Jack (3.5 mm) - supports aptX: Cell Phones & Accessories
    .. and I'm thinking of moving the ground-loop isolator up to the radio end of things, in the near future. Possibly mounting it within the radio enclosure.

    I'm VERY PLEASED with how it sounds, and having easy access to my phone's music library.


    By the way - JMark's observation about the head unit and amp turning on if you plug in the jack while the car is OFF (even with key removed):...

    I did an experiment to see if it would auto-shut-off over time - like the door chimes do.
    It DIDN'T - even after 2 hours - so BEWARE of the potential for draining your battery
    (but I don't see it being a problem in most any case)
    In fact - it's sort of a FEATURE!!! - Can play your music WITHOUT needing the key, or anything else turned on

    I hope to take an Ammeter to the car to measure the actual drain on the battery while this happens.
    If I get around to it, I'll edit this post with the results.

  6. #36
    Saab Fan
    Join Date
    01 Aug 2013
    Location
    NYC/LI
    Posts
    5
    Saab(s)
    '01 9.5 wagon
    curious to know from those of you who have done this mod, is there enough room behind the lowest chassis (cassette) for the switch wire to come out one of the existing vent holes?
    Same question for the audio wire to come out the bottom of the cassette chassis between and in front of the multi pin connecter and the screw that mounts the main pcb to the chassis?

  7. #37
    Saab Fan
    Join Date
    10 May 2014
    Location
    San Diego
    Posts
    14
    Saab(s)
    1974 99 , 2003 9-5 Arc, 2006 9-5 Sport (daughter's)
    metropical:

    I had the same thought when I started out with my mod. I opened up one of the vent holes on the side to pass the wires through.
    However, I discovered that what looks good on the bench won't necessarily fit into the dash opening.

    If memory serves, the "cage" that holds the head unit pretty much prevents wires from exiting the head unit enclosure anywhere but the back side, if you want to be able to slide it in and out easily without modifying the cage.

    Have a look at where the opening in the back of the cage are and plan accordingly.

    Also, have plenty of cable so you can fish it to where you want it to go, with the head unit still removed.

    I used an audio/video cable with 3 RCA plugs, the 2 (red & white) audio for the audio (obviously), and the yellow video plug brought out the switch wires.
    (My photos above show red, blue and green FEMALE RCAs, from a VGA-to-RGB cable I had used for the 3.5mm jack end of things.
    These connected to the red, white & yellow, respectively, from the MALE RCAs coming from the modified head unit.
    (Note the "Y" labeled on the green one, the "W" on the blue one is obscured by glare)

    Having the ability to unplug the wires and remove the head unit is a good idea. I also consider the ground-loop isolation transformers a must.
    I did end up mounting mine on the back of the head unit - where it would still allow the insertion into the mounting cage without interference.
    I didn't find enough space within the enclosure.

    I have a few CDs that don't play smoothly, and skip quite a bit. As many times as I had this thing out and dis-assembled, I should have made it a point to clean the lens of the CD mechanism, but didn't. You might want to consider this while yours is accessible. But I don't listen to CDs in the car much anymore, now that by Bluetooth/Aux setup is working well

    Also, take care with the volume control knob. The face of mine got pretty mangled from all the bench work with the head unit.

    Good luck and let us know how it turns out for you!

  8. #38
    Saab Fan
    Join Date
    01 Aug 2013
    Location
    NYC/LI
    Posts
    5
    Saab(s)
    '01 9.5 wagon
    thanks for the input laarry. I had a feeling the bottom feed wasn't gonna work. Ah well. Still waiting for a reman on my ABS and theft before I get the car back and restore the radio. I have at least 3 feet of wire.
    RCAs are a good thought, but I'll use a panel mount switch and a 1/4" jack as they are sturdier in this application. BT adapter is more than I care to bother with. The ground loop iso I hadn't considered, but make perfect sense, so I'll get one of them. I did drop in a couple of resistors from signal to ground to reduce the impedance so hopefully I don't crank the phone more than my usually headphone volume and will match levels with the Saab.
    Then I have to re-surround the sub.

  9. #39

    Join Date
    26 Dec 2014
    Location
    Minneapolis
    Posts
    1
    Saab(s)
    2002 9-5 2.3t wagon
    I did the install today and have one lingering problem - the music plays in the car through both the L and R speakers - but only one channel of the mix... on some songs the vocals are distant and barely audible and on other songs certain instruments are missing. Obviously the stereo mix is not being translated accurately.

    The only thing I did differently than the original tutorial was I installed a female stereo jack instead of the male plug. The jack and the cable I am using are both stereo.

    The source is an iPhone 5.

    Any thoughts on what I may have done wrong?

  10. #40
    Saab Fan
    Join Date
    01 Aug 2013
    Location
    NYC/LI
    Posts
    5
    Saab(s)
    '01 9.5 wagon
    either you flipped the phase of the wires or more likely, connected L or R to both solder pads.
    so check your soldering on both ends.

 

 

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