Cd Changer Port On Stereo

April 17, 2010

I'm thinking of buying one of these to I can listen to music off a USB stick instead of mucking around with CDs

http://www.connects2.co.uk/c2search.aspx?catID=53&manID=232&modID=554

I've done a trial run of dismantling the dash to check I can do it and have successfully got as far as pulling the CD player out to have a look at it. (This guide was very useful) The Connects2 adapter apparently connects to the CD changer port. This is what the connections on the back of my CD player currently look like:

I was expecting to see an empty socket on the back, but as you can see, there isn't one. All the sockets are full. So I'm wondering, where is the CD changer connection?

Can anyone enlighten me?

Thanks.

April 24, 2010

Bump. Anyone help me? It's insane how difficult it's turned out to be to get an answer to such a simple question as 'where is the cd changer port?

Thanks.

April 25, 2010

I can only think that Toyota fit a plug into the CD changer port and that there's another end of the wire somewhere, where the CD changer would go, ready to be plugged in.

You can see the two connectors quite clearly in the pictures of the mp3 adapters you show.

My next step would be to try and remove the plugs in the back of the car radio unit one at a time until you think you have found the one that matches one or the other - and then when you have done that, see if the radio still works OK without the plug attached. That way you can be sure the plug you've removed was "spare" and had no effect.

Interestingly, both MP3 adapters say for cars "without navigation". You haven't got the factory sat nav have you? I just wonder if that uses the same plug....

April 25, 2010

Interestingly, both MP3 adapters say for cars "without navigation". You haven't got the factory sat nav have you? I just wonder if that uses the same plug....

The headunit controls feature a button with 'Trip' written it and the word 'Navi' next to it, but as far as I know I don't have sat nav. I've had the car nearly two years now so I'd think I'd have discovered it if it was fitted :) Also you'd think the salesman would have mentioned it.

The photos of the connectors on the connects2 site are not as clear as they could be. I have found much better photos of them though

http://nexxia.co.uk/product.asp?product_code=CTATYUSB001&category=Connects2%20USB%20Adaptors&section=

http://nexxia.co.uk/product.asp?product_code=CTATYUSB002&category=Connects2%20USB%20Adaptors&section=

Now my Yaris is a 55 plate of the model I believe is usually refereed to as 'phase 2'. It's the old shape with the teardrop headlights and the rectangular buttons for the stereo. The information on more than one retailers website indicates that I need CTATYUSB002 for cars with 6+6 pin connector.Prior to dismantling my car to find the port I emailed connects2 and asked them which adapter I needed. They said CTATYUSB002, the 6+6 pin one.

Judging from this (much better than my previous) photo of the back of the CD player

and the photos at nexxia.co.uk I'd say there's no 6+6 pin connector. There is however a 5+7 connector on the left that matches the photos of CTATYUSB001 at nexxia.co.uk. Which makes me think that all the aforementioned retailer info and the advice I got from connects2 is in fact wrong. Nothing on the unit indicates that it's a CD changer connector, but it's the only 12 pin connection there so it's either that or my headunit lacks a CD changer port. (I've not found any information that indicates some Yaris' have a CD changer port whilst some do not, but then given the general lack of clear useful solid unambiguous information on the subject of the CD changer port that seems to be available, I do find myself wonderiong if that might be the case.)

So I buy CTATYUSB001 because that's the one which comes with the 5+7 connector, right? If only it were that simple. If I disconnect that plug with the one blue and one pink cable in it that's currently in the 5+7 socket, none of the controls up by the display or on the steering wheel work. So to keep the controls working CTATYUSB001 would have to come with a pass through cable. None of the photos show it as coming with a pass through cable. (Curiously the photos on nexxia.co.uk of CTATYUSB002 implies it has a pass through cable but the photo on connects2's website doesn't show a pass through cable.)

So I'm now completely confused. Given the source of theses adapters I'm aware of is buying online, mostly it seems from places which insist on using expensive next day delivery, I really don't want to buy an adapter hoping it's the right one and find it isn't and have to go through the hassle and expense of returning it.

I checked behind the upper part of the stereo where the display and controls are but there's no 12 pin sockets there.

April 26, 2010

Hmmm....

For the sake of saving a few quid by buying online, my next step would be to ring a couple of local car radio specialists, ask if they have both models in stock (and how much).

If their pricing is reasonable, drive around with the car radio dismantled and tell them you'll buy the one that works, assuming they'll show you it fits the connector properly as they sell it you...

If you tell them you don't want it fitted by them but have the unit dismantled and want to make sure you have the right one before you pay for it....

May 29, 2010

Well I couldn't find anywhere local with stock so in the end I bought a CTATYUSB001 online after having been told by their sales staff that such adapters 'usually' have a pass through. (Presumably they couldn't be bothered to actually go check the one I was enquiring about but that was better than the other place I emailed who didn't bother to respond.) When I got it I found that CTATYUSB001 doesn't come with a pass through cable. The connection on CTATYUSB001 is the correct one for my stereo, but it's useless because to connect it you have to disconnect what's in the socket already and then the controls don't work. So I sent it back and got a refund.

I now think that I do actually have a 'navigation head unit'. I do not have sat nav, but the headunit controls do have markings for use with a factory fit sat nav. My last Yaris had them too even though that also didn't have sat nav so I had assumed that's just how the headunits are. However I started keeping an eye out for Yari of the same generation as mine in car parks and looking at their headunit controls. Of roughly ten that I looked at, all had the navigation markings except for one. So I wonder if headunits with the navigation markings are what Connects2 refer to as 'navigation headunits'. I.e. what denotes a navigation head unit is that it has the markings, not that it actually has navigation capability. If this is the case and the ~10 Yari I looked at are representative, non navigation head units are pretty rare.

I've come to the conclusion that no one makes a USB adapter that will work with my Yaris. Which is a shame.

May 29, 2010

The easiest way would be to play it via a gizmo that uses radiowaves. Sadly in my case, my radio doesn't work! For some reason it doesn't pick up any radio stations.