Stereo/DVD: SC-xxx AUX INPUT HACK

[bobbych]

ok after trying to find a solution that does not cost the earth, i found the AUX hack trick, and decided to try it myself. So here is how it is done.

It basically allows you to tap into the TAPE DECK sytem, by soldering in some external connections.

This is ONLY FOR THE SC-XXX series of VOLVO HEAD UNITS


Firstly, remove the Stereo, and remove the TOP 4 screws



then you will see the TAPE UNIT. remove the 4 corner screws shown

Remove the tape unit by LIFTING up the unit gently. it will come out of the connector at the rear as shown



now, have a look at the connector. it sits on what is known as a RISER. it is a small circuit board. Simply pull up the rider shown, and remove it.



now you have the card out, have a look at the labels. You will see 3 items listed as L[eft] R[ight] and A-GND[ground]

these are the areas where the Stereo takes the TAPE DECK L+R outputs. So we are simply going to tap into these

Get yourself some PHONO connections. I plumped for some female ones, so i can connect normal male ends to it once in the car

Solder on the two connections to the pins. Solder your RED connector to the L and the WHITE to the R. then both EARTH wires to the A-GND. Then apply some tape over it




now refit the RISER CARD to the stereo. you will then have the two connectors. you have some options to get these OUTSIDE the stereo now.


the way i did it, was to remove the back plate, and cut out one of the oval slots. this way you can feed in the wires.



next, fit back in the tape unit, and screw in the 4 screws. Now replace the lid. and you are ready to refit to the car





once back in the car, connect your ext source, in my case an IPOD

Now, here you need to fool the system into thinking you have a tape in, before it will let you select it. What i did, before i replaced the top lit, was manually put the tape deck into the LOADED mode. this way you do not need anything in the deck, and you simply select TAPE and it will play. You will then hear your external source perfectly.

However, if you press the eject button it will eject the mechanism, and you will then be stuck to get it going again

so the other way, is get an old cassete, OPen it up, and remove all the magnetic tape, and assmeble again, so you have a blank cassette case. THen simply slot this into the player. this will allow you to select TAPE but no sound will come from the cassette. Simples!!!




with this hack, you do NOT tie up your CD Changer port. it does also allow the TAPE to be used also, so you do not loose that function.

so, now i have TAPE, RADIO, CD Changer, AND EXT AUX inputs on my SC-801!


the whole process took me 1 hr to complete.

I have a spare SC800, so if anyone wants this, with the AUX sockets let me know, and I can mod it, and sell it to you.