adding another aux port

[sam mendolia]

i have a 2010 Mazda 5
the car has an AUX port next to the 12volt port.
i want to install another Aux port, inthe middle of the car, where the AC vent is.
actually i have already wired in the cabling and a 12 volt port there now.
problem is- with no 3.5mm cable attached at the front aux port, the new added aux port does not work properly. i dont mind having a cable plugged in, but in order for it to work, one of the 3.5mm cables has to be unplugged just enough, but still make some contact.
at this point in time, i wired the new cable to the back of the front aux port.
should i have wired it tothe back of the HU some where, if so, where and which pins?
almost forgot, i really have to crank up the volume, when the external music player is plugged in, with this setup.

looking forward to a reply

thanks,

sam

 

[JOE MAMA]

IMHO it would be better to either run a 3.5mm cable extension or relocate the AUX jack to where you want it. I'm not sure what I would try to install a second AUX jack by piggy backing off of the factory jack.

 

[sam mendolia]

the piggy back off the factory jack was supposed to be the easy option, so that the kids would not have to string cabling from the front of the car.
i still want an aux port at the front of the car for me too, for my alone time.

when the new port is on it's own, inotherwords, the front port is not in line connected or piggy backed, the new port works just fine.
i am not sure why connecting, piggy backing, is causing this issue. that's what i am hoping someone here can help me with.
with nothing connected to one of the ports, should it not just work the same?

worst case is that i will have to take the console apart, unsolder the connections, solder on a new 3.5 end to the cable, find a way the run the cable to the factory port, while still utilizing the factory port, ie extension, I installed in the middle console. i just don't want to have to plug and unplug cables if i don't have to.

minor thing i know, but the wear and tear on cables and the ports...

 

[JOE MAMA]

You will likely need to add a switch in order to deactivate one port in order to use the other. I don't believe you will be able to have two AUX ports active at the same time. Installing a rocker switch would probably accomplish what you want it to.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Adding, or rather splitting, the aux port is no different than using an add-on 3.5mm splitter. From my experience, using a splitter will (minor) decrease the volume input, I think, due to gaining more resistance.

Disclaimer: not sure if I’m describing it correctly or using the right EE lingo but here goes. What you may have run into is that the factory HU has a ground signal sensing feature where it needs to detect a 3.5 mm plug PLUGGED into the jack close the circuit. Only then can you select the AUX function on the HU. For example, when nothing is plugged into the AUX port, you cannot select AUX function. If you plug in, say headphones, into the AUX port you can now select the AUX function but obviously the headphones are not going to provide any output to the HU. There’s a how-to add aux-in thread for 06-’07 who don’t have aux-in which has the wire you need to jump to allow the HU think there’s always something plugged into the aux jack. Once that’s achieved, you can split it however many ports you like.


Look at adding Bluetooth instead (assuming your devices support Bluetooth) . MUCH MUCH better and seamless!