DIY: Custom Aux Input in Ashtray

[clayparkley]

I finally got this done and it was super easy.
I think total time took me like only 5 minutes.
Most HUs have front aux input now but mine had rear.

First I took out the metal thingy inside the ashtray.


Then I drilled a hole from the bottom. Make sure there is enough room for the body of the chasis to seat in the back and at the same time make sure there is enough room in the front for the aux jack wire to fit.(I hope I make sense.)





After all these work, now I have soldering part left and I wanted to make sure everything is in working condition before I do so.
And........ I found out that the chasis I was working with was a mono not a stereo.
Luckily I ordered two different one and the other one was a stereo.
But the whole length of this one is much longer and it sticks out further than the ashtray at the bottom. Let's see if this will cause a problem when I try to put the ashtray back in the car.



When I insersted ashtray back in to console.... I was surprised how it fit perfectly. Nothing touchs the bottom.
This is the view of the ashtray in the console from the back.


Final shot


I'll be making a custom usb input pretty soon, since my HU has a rear usb input and I don't like the extension cord dangling under the dash.

[clayparkley]

Total cost was like $5.

[CW325]

looks good, what head unit?

[clayparkley]

Thanks. It's a Pioneer Deh-5000UB



I got this fro CL for $60 and I really love this HU.
The only downside is that the illumination color is blue.

[AndrewBird]

Might want to throw some shrink tubing of those wires. They might move around a bit and short against each other over time.

What about mounting the jack just below the cigarette lighter? That way the ash tray wouldn't have to be open to be able to use it.

[clayparkley]

Yeah, I think under the cigarette lighter looks like a good place. Would make it look more like stock out of factory, but I like it in the ashtray because I could hide the wires while one side is still plugged in. Ashtray will not be opened all the time because I'm probably gonna play through usb all the time....and occasional aux.

Thanks for the tubing tip... I should have thought of that earlier.