DIY- iPod Cable for Becker CDR-220

[RaisedOnPorsches]

DIY- iPod Cable for Becker CDR-220

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Well I did it! I successfully modified a Blaupunkt iPod connector cable to work with my Becker CDR-220 stereo. I also installed a factory rear speaker kit at the same time. Suddenly I find myself in audio bliss! Time for another long road trip! ***Important Note: This cable plugs into the same port as the factory CD-changer (C3). Both cannot be attached at the same time without additional modifications not described here.*** At first glance it looks like the Blaupunkt and Becker auxili

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• Author
  RaisedOnPorsches
• Category
  Boxster (986) - Accessories
• Submitted
  12/24/2008 10:48 PM
• Updated
  03/14/2017 07:04 AM

 

Edited February 20, 2010 by RaisedOnPorsches

[micksasloey]

I used this Blaupunkt cable (is it the same one?)on my 986 Boxster, just plugged it straight in and it works. The only 2 problems are the ipod doesn't charge (which doesn't really worry me) and I get a bit of alternator whine between tracks.

Would this modification sort any of these issyes?

Well I did it! I successfully modified a Blaupunkt iPod connector cable to work with my Becker CDR-220 stereo. I also installed a factory rear speaker kit at the same time. Suddenly I find myself in audio bliss! Time for another long road trip!

***Important Note: This cable plugs into the same port as the factory CD-changer (C3). Both cannot be attached at the same time without additional modifications not described here.***

At first glance it looks like the Blaupunkt and Becker auxiliary input connectors are identical, but don’t let this same plug shape and location fool you. These two manufacturers have different pin assignments. Bus In is still Bus In and Bus Out is still Bus Out, but the 12 volt and ground leads are switched up. Here is a short comparison of the pinouts for the C3 (auxiliary) port on the rear of either brand’s stereo unit:

Pin # Blaupunkt Becker

13 Bus - In Bus - In

14 Bus - Out Bus - Out

15 Steady +12V (Unknown)

16 Switched +12V (Unknown)

17 Bus - Ground Steady +12V

18 AF - Ground Bus - Ground

19 Line In - Left Aux Left

20 Line In - Right Aux Right

The C3 port is designed to allow attachment of 6-disc CD changers, Mini-Disc players, and cellular phones. It also happens to work for iPods. For iPod use soe of these pins like 15, 16, 19 & 20 simply aren’t needed. The *KEY* difference between the Blaupunkt and Becker pinouts is #17. If one where to take the cable as it is sold and attach it to a Becker CDR-220 and an iPod, you would have one fried iPod battery!

Here is what I did to change the cabling around so that this cable would allow both playback as well as charging support for an iPod:

Tools Needed: Insulating Electrical Tape, Wire Strippers, & a Knife.

Figure #1: View of the unmodified cable.

1.) Trim back the shrink tubing used to protect the wires near the 8-pin mini ISO plug (the blue plug) end.

2.) Snip the wires to pins #15 (blue wire) and 16 (red wire) near to the plug. Snip the black wire leading to pin #17 as well but closer to where the shrink tubing was.

Figure #2: Cut cables

3.) Strip the ends of the blue and black wires and splice them together. This will result in the blue wire now corresponding to pin #17 instead of 15.

Figure #3: Spliced black and blue wires

4.) Trim down an inch or so of the black outer tubing to expose more of the multicolored wiring. Now strip the black wire that is no longer attached to a pin and splice it with the zinc wiring wrapped around the exterior of the six small wires. This should route the second ground line present in the Blaupunkt setup through the single ground wire used by Becker.

Figure #4: Spliced ground wires

5.) Wrap all of the exposed wiring with black insulating electrical tape making sure to keep the spliced wires connected. Do not skimp on the tape here because these wires will be bent and pulled on each time you remove your stereo from the console.

Figure #5: All taped up

6.) (OPTIONAL) Take a black sharpy to that ugly white iPod dock connector and black it out. My boxster doesn’t have any white in its interior so I felt this was a must. Also cut off the yellow video cable. Unless you have some sort of LCD display installed this cable is useless. Tape off the end to make it neat.

Figure #6: Video cable removed and taped up

7.) Remove the head unit from the dash using the factory stereo removal keys. (Not included with your car, but easy and cheap to get through a dealer. Mine came with my rear speaker kit.)

8.) Remove the leather and carpeting pieces to the right of the upper console. Grabbing the far edge and giving a swift tug to remove either of these pieces.

9.) Snake the blue plug end of the cable up through the exposed side of the console to where the rest of the stereo cables are.

10.) Attach this cable to the rest of the stereo cables either by more electrical tape or zip-ties to reduce the risk of them getting pinched.

11.) Plug in the cable to the C3 port on the top right of the stereo facing the rear.

12.) Reinstall the head unit and trim pieces being careful not to pinch the wiring in the process.

13.) Enable auxiliary input on the stereo if it isn’t already. Turn the radio on, hold down the TP button until “Becker 1” is displayed. Turn tuning knob until “AUX OFF” is displayed. Then arrow down and change it to “AUX ON” and turn the radio off.

14.) Plug in your iPod and enjoy.

Figure #7: All done!

***NOTE this cable does not work with the latest iPhone 3G and iPod Touch 2nd generation. My iPod Video 60GB and early iTouch work just fine. With the Scosche passPORT charging adapter this cable will charge an iPhone 3G, but it will not send audio to the stereo. iPod Nano 4th Generation will play audio through this cable, but the Scosche adapter is required for charging.***

One more word of caution, this cable uses a 12 volt charging circuit that is always on. It is conceivable that leaving the iPod attached with the car shut off could drain your battery. The iPod will interrupt the circuit when it no longer needs to charge eliminating the issue more or less.

This modification of the cable is really quite simple, but if you don’t think you can do it contact me. I have perfected the modifying of these cables so that no splicing and soldering is needed. An already modified cable from me with detailed installation instructions costs $50 including domestic shipping. Payments can be arranged by PayPal, but please contact me via e-mail first at j w a e n {at} l m i (dot) net

Enjoy!

-Jeremy

:renntech: