Basic sound system AUX install - finally!

[finhudson16]

When I got my 2011 V50 D3 there were a number of things I didn't like about it, mainly the badly leaking head gasket and it's tendency to dump half it's coolant over the road whenever you put your foot down, though that's a story for another time. One of the more minor things was the lack of an aux input, which turned into quite the job to install.

The procedure I've come up with applies to the later model basic sound systems which have the amplifier built into the head unit, instead of the earlier models which have an amp in the boot, where aux installs are already pretty well documented.

It does require a little bit of SMD soldering but it's really not as hard as it sounds and gives really good sound quality and leaves the steering wheel volume controls still working if you have them.

I found the standard sound system a bit bass-heavy after this but it was easily fixed by tweaking the equaliser in my phone. Either way, the sound is worlds ahead of what you'd get from an FM transmitter.

I've attached a PDF summary I made to this post which covers a breakdown of how the system in the volvo works and detailed instructions on carry out the modification.

Hope this helps someone!

[Ashtons99]

Blimey good effort although I’m not sure how many of us would be confident enough with the iron !

[Thassos]

Nice write up, and well done for getting into the audio system...i did a similar thing with a 2007 sound system, to create an aux input, cant remember how though, worked well as you mention i recall the tone controls were bypassed as they are on the front end circuitry,. that wire your using looks a bit chunky for smt ,

[finhudson16]

Thanks, thought I might as well document how the thing works after spending so long poking around with the oscilloscope to figure it out myself.

You've got me with the wire though, couldn't wait for new wire to arrive because I was too excited to get it working so just used whatever scrap I had

[StatusRed]

Wow well done!

I did a similiar thing for a Saab 9-5 Aero I used to have. But it was far easier and was well documented by owners and many had done it, all that was required was soldering 2 wires from an AUX cable and then wiring a switch onto 2 wires to turn off the radio (meant less interference). I believe it worked in the Saab by hijacking the connections that are meant for a phone.