There is an Alpine stereo installed in my 89 xjs that looses memory when power is off. Is the culprit in the ignition wiring to the radio ?? or other ??
thanks Ken

 

More than likely. The YELLOW wire is usually the one that goes to the battery and always has 12v applied and the RED to ignition. If the YELLOW wire is wired to the ignition the unit will lose its memory when it is turned off.

 

Thanks,... I will check it out
ken

 

Hello,

I have a 1994 XJS with the factory sound system - AM/FM/Cassette/CD Changer. The CD changer recently stopped reading which may (hopefully) just be a cleaning issue. However, it has sparked a question. Is there a viable way to "replace" the CD Changer with a MP3 alternative? iPod harness or even a physical MP3 replacement for the changer itself. And of course, I wish to be able to operate it from the original Alpine head unit! Any thoughts???

 

There are units out there that can replace the CD stacker but from what I have seen they are vehicle specific and Jaguar was not listed. Would be easier and cheaper to replace the head unit with a new one. You could try cleaning the laser unit on your stacker. Use Isopropyl Alcohol and a cotton bud BE VERY CAREFUL and use light pressure and let the Alcohol do the work, DO NOT scrub the laser. There will also be sensors (or micro switch) for cassette loaded make sure these are clean/working, check the plugs are seated these become dirty over time. I used to fix CD players in the early 80's and they can be a PITA to get working.

 

In general, the industry is not into changers anymore. Alpine no longer makes their MP3 changer and if you find a used one, you'll still need to change the radio because of interfacing differences.

But, there are at least two options that allow you to keep the '94 XJS radio.
If you don't mind an FM Modulator unit, there's a 10-CD MP3 changer on eBay right now, brand is "Duraband". As you may know, this technology type plays through a preselected FM radio station, so it "tee's" into the antenna cable in your OEM radio. Quality may be limited to whatever that is on the XJS stock radio, in FM band.

But this one here should be far better. If you have an i-Pod, Crutchfield carries an i-Pod adapter that works via your existing CD changer connector, including your stock radio. When you select "Changer" on the radio, it will operate your i-Pod instead, along with all the track/tag info displayed. The adapter box is $99.00 and you'll also need an adapter cable specific for the '94 XJS (also sold by Crutchfield, dunno the price). Of course, music storage capacity wise there's just no comparison. How's 6 humble CD's vs. 1700 CD's?

Cheers,

 

Anyone have a good replacment for the radio itself for a 99 xk8? Id like to have bluetooth in the car. Thanks!

 

Reinaldo,

Thanks again for the reply. I went to the Crutchfield web site and found nothing related to our vehicles for the iPod conversion. Is this something you have done? If so, do you recall exactly what the parts were? My deck is the AM/FM/Cass/CD Changer and also has the Weather Band option. Is this your deck?

Appreciate any additional insight. I would prefer to maintain the original feel inside the vehicle.

 

Bummer that I didn't save the site place because I was at Crutchfield yesterday exploring this and they asked for car brand, model and year and the response was yes and displaying the unit. I'll try to find it again.

BTW, I no longer have the OEM radio. I have a Kenwood head unit now with a Kenwood "Music Keg" (40 GB hard drive) in place of the changer with only MP3 files. And, even this unit, Kenwood no longer makes it either because nowadays music storage is in very tiny and large capacity devices. Anything bigger than an i-pod is ancient technology, therefore hard to find.
I take it that you prefer not to go FM Modulator?

Cheers,

 

I found it again, but it won't show a link to "Factory stereo i_pod adapters".See if you can work your way to specifics from below link.

Tools - iPod® Installation Guide



Maybe FM Modulators are the only way to keep your original radio.
Too bad because, otherwise, the sky is the limit...

Cheers,

 

There are a myriad of head decks out there that are reasonably priced. If you do decide to replace it make sure it has rear USB, then you can mount the USB stick or HDD out of sight.

If you stick with Alpine you might not even need to rewire it if it uses the same connector. Talk to your local Alpine dealer and they will be able to advise you.

 

The CD changer cable type found on the XJS, called "M-Bus", was abandoned by Alpine a long time ago. Today, all Alpine radios that have a CD changer use only the "Ai-Net" cord, found, for instance, on the X308's "premium" system. Now, if the owner insists in staying stock, luckily, there is such a thing as an M-bus to Ai-Net adapter:

Google Image Result for http://www.alpine-europe.com/fileadmin/images/MainNavigation/Products/Product_pics/16_Accessoires/05_Changer/KCA130B/productpic_KCA130B_01.jpg

So, this brings me back to the original inquiry. With this adapter any Alpine changer could be used, but what about an MP3 changer? Even when physically possible to connect this changer to the factory radio, I'm not sure where the MP3 files get converted to the standard analog music signal. If this happens inside the changer, then the signal that arrives at the factory (Alpine) radio is recognized by the radio and good to go, but if Alpine design is to convert MP3 data to analog rather at the head unit, then the existing OEM Alpine radio won't know what to do with MP3 compressed data.

In regards to the USB stick location, my 2 cents. Updating your music library is something that never ends; you always want to, either add a new CD or song, or alter the order of albums or tracks, or even plug in a second USB stick that you may have loaded. But you won't be looking forward to do these updates if doing so implies removing the head unit every time. This is why, on my XJR, I decided to bring the rear USB access to the front, right next to the radio. Unfortunately, the Kenwood unit currently on my XJS is old enough that USB ports were not yet available.

But, yes, memory sticks are phenomenal, the best venue when it comes to music storage, and they're getting so cheap that nowadays you can afford NOT TO COMPRESS the MP3 files, thus matching the origional CD music detail.

 

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'll have to do a little research on the Alpine help line...assuming they have one for the public.

There are two reasons why I would like to keep and use the original deck. One, it keeps the interior original. But two and probably the biggest reason why I'm reluctant to go aftermarket, is I don't want something that looks terribly out of place and certainly do not wish to see all colors of the rainbow blaring at me at night. If there was an alternative allowing a color match and one which truly worked with the dimmer system, I would be all over it. Any thoughts? HD radio, Sirius, MP3, etc. I do not care to have a CD option necessarily.

 

My 89 XJS did not come with an Alpine unit, It looks like Eurovox but is branded Jaguar. Alpine are an aftermarket manufacturer so it might not be the original unit (this is market dependent) or could be a dealer fit upgrade.

Most of the good brands these days have user configurable lighting colour. Digital Radio (DAB) is just starting to find its way into cars here in Australia, the problem is it only works in certain areas (here). For me as long as the unit has Bluetooth streaming I can can connect my Android phone (or IPhone) and play music.

 

Most XJS' pictures that I see and that include an after market radio to me they look just fine, with some that look really nice. I just can't see a well chosen radio being terribly out of place. When I look at the dash of an XJS, particularly a facelift example, I don't see an old, aged car, but rather a well achieved and well balanced environment and a different looking radio is not going to throw it off. In fact, I see many exotics of similar period featuring a modern radio in their dash, some even with the flip out TFT display. But, if it is your choice to stay stock regardless, then you know the answer that was discussed previously in this thread. One justifiable reason to stay stock would be if you're planning to enter the car in future Concourse d'Elegance, or any judged competition; if that's the case, then you have no choice, but to stay stock.

 

The Alpine unit in my XJS is branded Jaguar. I'm not concerned about having the Jaguar branding necessarily, but if I change, it will need to be a quality brand. As mentioned, I do not wish to have a deck which looks out of place. Whether it's due to bright colors, or "strange" looking knobs.

If I could find a unit with the ability to match the lighted color, work with the dimmer and have modern features such as mentioned earlier, I would do it. A few years back I found a great Clarion unit for my son's car which met all of the above and then some, but it is no longer available.

I'll keep looking around and if/when I find a few examples, I will gladly share with another post.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

Hey there Jag community! Its been quite some time since i have been back here but, IM BACK! Ask me them questions!

You will need an amplifier to power them and some form of Line Level signal source. Your subs need ALOT more power that what is being sent to your speakers

Nope..

The bluetooth antenna may have been located in that general area. Make sure they didnt unplug or cut any wires up there


Depends on if you want to keep your cassette player functional

If not, you can still have the lights and all turn on with the car.

Basically you could "hide" a new cd player somewhere in the vehicle (glovebox would be a good place) and that up to power and your speakers, maybe even route a USB cable to the center console!

 

Is the stereo stock or aftermarket?

Definitely check the fuses, stereos are often times tied into odd circuits in our cars

If you think it is wired for bluetooth and know where the connections are, just buy an OEM module, unfortunately there arent any aftermarket modules that will function anywhere near acceptable.


Really all you need to do is an oem radio for that model. Power, ground, and ignition to the radio, and your wires for the speakers. Plus the a pigtail of the OEM plug for the oem radio.


a pair of 8" or even 6" woofer drivers in the rear with a lowpass filter set somewhere below 120hz will give you some good lowend. Sound below roughly 120hz is tough for your brain to figure out where it is coming from as it has longer waveforms, bass "fills" listening environments.
I dont recomend those "underseat subs" they sound godawful and are VERY pitchy. Those Focals deserve something a better

 

Hook up Yellow wire to constant power and you are set!

 

The sony xr 7180 in my 84 xjs was working good, then it died.no infothe antenna doesn't workeither. I pulled the unit and it has ignition power. have check fuses also. is this unit dead? Or is it a wiring issue? Is there another unit that plugs in?