My auxiliary jack in my car allows me to plug my iPhone in and listen to music, audiobooks, podcasts, etc. A few days ago, my car's audio control wouldn't allow me to switch to the auxiliary mode, instead only allowing me to listen to AM/FM1/FM2/CD.
A search on the internet revealed that the circuit board in the auxiliary jack's enclosure shorted out. There are three wires that go to the stereo - two for the audio, and one that tells the head unit that there's a cable plugged in. This is a stupid design - why wouldn't one just be allowed to select the auxiliary mode even if there's nothing plugged in?
The easy solution would be to either buy a new circuit board, or fix the existing one. Apparently, you can jumper the leads that close the circuit that sends the signal to the head unit, and the head unit will be tricked into thinking that there's something always plugged in.
I tried removing the center console to access the back of the enclosure to pull out the cables, but it was really difficult, so I just shimmied the enclosure out with a screwdriver and it popped right out.
Next, I pulled out the circuit board, and located the leads that I'd have to solder.
The leads that I had to solder are those two silver strips running the same length as the circuit board, kind of in the center. This was a really small piece, and my soldering skills aren't great, so I ended up just putting a big blob of solder on the four leads. Didn't matter though, it worked like a charm and everything is fixed!
I don't think people understood my urgency to fix this. Every day, I listen to audiobooks on my ride into work, and I do Japanese lessons on my way home. My daughter also loves to go on long car rides with me and listen to music. And this coming weekend, we will see a band in concert, and I want to make sure that we listen to the setlist so that we are familiar with every song.
I love the fact that whenever you have a problem, you can pretty much figure out how to fix things on the internet.
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