[dwilker]

Nope -- still need better pictures. I could already have pins that will work, but no way to know.

I know these aren't awesome, but it's the best I could do:








Whaddya think?

 

[SVXdc]

Thanks for posting those. That connector looks like it's from a different family than any of the others I've seen in Subarus.

[referring to the original pictures] I'd need pictures that are in focus to look into this further. See if your camera has a macro mode (it might show an icon that looks like a flower). And/or back off a little at a time until it's able to focus. Hold the harness by the cable so the camera doesn't try to focus on your hand.

Incidentally, attached are the first two pages of the radio and "panel unit" service manuals that I found at 911manuals.com. The block diagram doesn't mention the aux input (but your CQ-EF8560X does have a 5th-channel subwoofer output, like the OEM HU in some 2006 Outbacks).

Oh, and it's really a 16-pin connector -- 7 pins on the top row and 9 pins on the bottom.

ADDED: I found the full service manual awhile back, which answers many questions.

Pin number assignments, looking at the rear of OEM head unit's harness i26 (car's wires pointed towards you), or at the socket on the back of the HU:

 7  6  5  4        3  2  1
16 15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8

Pin-out from CQ-EF8560X service manual (page 3):

(click to see larger image)​

1   "Super woofer" speaker output(+)
2   NC
3   NC
4   RSE Mute (input)
5   Rear On (output)
6   RSE Audio Right(+) **
7   RSE Audio Left(+) **

8   "Super woofer" speaker output(-)
9   NC
10  NC
11  Steering wheel audio controls(+) ("satellite switches")
12  Steering wheel audio controls(-) ("satellite switches")
13  Front On (input -- connect this to chassis ground to enable Aux input)
14  Shield Ground (may be NC inside HU)
15  RSE Audio Right(-) **
16  RSE Audio Left(-) **

** All inside shielded cable between HU and RSE unit

As kuoh posted elsewhere, pin 13 simply enables the HU's aux input function. So to connect an aux source, you should tie pin 13 to chassis ground (not to your audio source). Pin 13 going into the HU is not a ground of any kind -- it is a logic input into the HU's CPU.

UPDATE: I had found the full service manuals for the HU awhile back, but didn't have time to examine it and update this post until now. See PDF attached to this post.

It turns out, the HU's RSE (aux) audio input wants to see balanced signals. Subaru has used this technique when there are longer distances between two devices (such as the HU and subwoofer, or HU and a separate amplifier for all of the speakers). This explains why people have found the Tribeca's aux volume level to be so low, and why they often get noise.

This page shows a small daughterboard in the HU. It has the 16-pin socket on the rear of the HU, a small two-channel op amp circuit to convert the RSE signals from balanced to unbalanced, and a bit of interface and protection circuitry for some of the other pins:

(click to see larger image)​

Pins 6 and 7 are the positive sides of the right and left inputs, respectively. Pins 15 and 16 are the negative sides. So the PDF guide published awhile back has been telling people to connect the aux input to only the negative inputs!

According to the daughterboard schematic, pin 14 is actually not connected inside the HU. The PC board layout image (page 18 in the service manual) shows a place for a resistor (R844, value unknown) which would connect pin 14 to signal ground. But I don't think that part is populated.

I don't have a Tribeca to test, but my guess is that you should be able to wire an aux device as follows:

• Aux audio RIGHT to HU pin 6
• Aux audio LEFT to HU pin 7
• Aux ground to HU pins 15 and 16
• HU pin 13 to chassis ground (screw on HU's metal case)

If that doesn't work, also connect pins 15 and 16 to the HU's metal case (in addition to your aux ground).

 

[dwilker]

Great Success!

I've edited the photos in my previous post.

And good news! I stopped off at my local Subaru dealership, talked with a very helpful guy in the parts department who was able to hook me up with a half dozen of the correct pins for inserting into the wire harness plug.

The wires and pins come in the Subaru Wire Kit and the specific part number is RK-TFA-014.

This is what they look like:



Now I'm going to get to work. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[dwilker]

c'est fini

I couldn't find any identifying etchings or markings on the plug.

SVXdc found a kit on the Subaru Tech Info site looks like the one my dealership had, but I don't see the particular terminals that I needed listed in the components section. I wonder if they had to be ordered separately?

I've got everything hooked up now and it sounds pretty good. It's a little quiet, but people have complained about that in this thread regarding their similar installations and someone suggested an in-line amp to boost the volume, I might look into that.

I decided to connect two female RCA plugs (as pictured in my previous post) to the harness rather than a direct connection to a 3.5mm plug so that I could swap out components in the future. So to connect an iPod/iPhone, I run a 4' RCA-to-3.5mm male/male cable up through the center console. If I ever want to connect something else to the Aux-in, I just need to unplug the cable and plug in the new component.

I found that, in order for this to work, one of the RCA grounds (either left or right) had to be inserted into pin 15 (or 16 depending) along with the primary. But not both grounds, one or the other. I chose to do this with the left channel and trimmed off the ground from the right channel.

The only issue is that I when I attempt the charge the iPod/iPhone while listening to music, the left channel drops out and there is a significant ground hum produced. I wonder if connecting the unused ground from the right channel to pin 14 would solve this?

But, I'm done working on it, for now anyway. My wife is happy with the result (it's her car after all) and that's really all that matters.

 

[FLsubies]

Has anyone tried using an aftermarket subie radio harness to scavenge the leads for the connector? Might cost a few dollars but be worth it for a clean install, just throwing that out there.

 

[xeper]

I used female pins from a DB9 connector [kit], purchased at Radio Shack. Works very well.

 

[SVXdc]

Update: The Tribeca HU's aux/RSE input wants to see balanced signals. I've updated my previous post (#22) with new information.

 

[cansubie]

I am a little confused. You discuss that pin 14 is not connected, but then it is in your list of pins to connect? You also say that pin 6 is L and pin 7 is R, but the diagram shows the opposite. Anyway, I just did this install, basically following your recipe, but connected as follows:

• Aux audio left to HU pin 7
• Aux audio right to HU pin 6
• Aux ground to HU pins 15 and 16
• HU pin 13 to chassis ground (screw on HU's metal case)

It works great! Thanks for all the valuable info that made this possible.

 

[SVXdc]

I am a little confused. You discuss that pin 14 is not connected, but then it is in your list of pins to connect? You also say that pin 6 is L and pin 7 is R, but the diagram shows the opposite.
...

Sorry, I did erroneously have the L & R positive pins swapped, and listed "14" instead of "13" (for the aux enable). I've corrected my previous post. To avoid confusing people, please remove that portion of my post that you quoted.

If you still have your dash open, can you check the resistance between pin 14 and the HU's chasis ground (metal case)? The HU can be off and you can have everything unplugged while you test that (i.e., power is not required). If R844 is populated, you should see some resistance lower than infinity.

 

[cansubie]

Sorry, the dash is all together again.

 

[SVXdc]

Oh well. Hopefully the next person to do this can check. Whoever does, please post your HU's model number (CQ-EF8560X, CQ-JF8560X, or whatever), as the different models may have different resistors.

And thanks for testing that (and finding the mistakes in my post). :tup:

 

[cansubie]

I might redo my install soon. I was not happy with the bare wire connections I used and would like to try to find some proper pins/terminals that go into the connector body. Is this 16-pin connector the same as the Subaru 14-pin connector that is widely available (but with extra pins, obviously)? If so, I might buy one and scavenge the parts I need. Anyway, when I get around to it I will get the information you requested.

 

[Inemoso]

Does anyone know if this Auxillary car navigation system Audio Jack(H6210FG000) works with the 2006 Tribeca?

Have you found right jack for your Tribeca? I need and doing searching all around

 

[jwald]

Going to give this a shot today. Hoping to get away from babysitting cd's!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[kmartin]

I still have the PDF file for adding the auxiliary input to the older Tribecas. My members.cox.net web site (mentioned above) no longer works, but you can message me here.

 

[rpress]

Thanks for all the info everyone, I hooked this up today and it works perfect.

I did hook it up similar to cansubie after reviewing the schematic. The differential inputs should be hooked up a certain way to eliminate the alternator whine due to ground loops. This is how I hooked it up:

Pin     Connection
6       Right channel signal
7       Left channel signal
13      Connect to ground (on pin 12)
15      Right channel shield
16      Left channel shield

My pin 14 was high impedance. The model number is CQ-EF8560X. The schematic posted shows nothing on this pin so that makes sense.

The shields of the coax cable should only be tied on the end where the aux jack is. The other end of the coax shield should be connected to pins 15 or 16 and not tied together; although you can tie these here, it's not as ideal.

I stole some pins off an old Subaru harness I have. They weren't exactly the same but they locked into the connector shell and fit the pins just fine. It's not the same as the old 14 pin connector, the pins are about half the size.

I mounted an 1/8" female jack in the center console between the two 12V lighter outlets. The center blanking plate pops out and it's easy to drill a hole and put a panel mount jack there. This is the jack I used:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103452

 

[malachor]

I did mine today, since I have the DVD player with the rear aux already, I just spliced into the existing wires. I haven't fully tested it but it seems to switch from DVD to aux on its own too.

That was phase one. Phase two is integrating a bluetooth adapter, I have used one from JVC it in the past and it works great.

I see an RSE mute pin, does anyone know what exactly it does and when? The adapter has a wire to switch upon a phone call...

But the bigger problem I'm having is getting a switched 12v off the unit. I see conflicting information and neither one sounds right. Does anyone have a picture or can be more specific?

JVC KSBTA100:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004URRR0U/ref=cm_sw_r_an_am_ap_am_us?ie=UTF8

UPDATE;
Yes, the audio automatically switches between DVD and input. If the kiddies are watching a movie, it will actually switch when I get an incoming call or text. It just has a slight delay if i'm running Pandora till it switches over.

 

[kmartin]

Several people are still messaging me about the directions for the AUX input for the 06 Tribeca. Here is a link...let me know if it works ok for you.

http://www.sb9t.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=558&d=1324619954

BTW, it was not my original pdf, but I did add the correction for grounding pins near the end. Enjoy.

-Karen in AZ-

 

[MyBeca]

Ok what are the chances I can actually do this? 30 year old female - minimal knowledge of wiring, etc.

 

[psteehler]

Ok what are the chances I can actually do this? 30 year old female - minimal knowledge of wiring, etc.

I just did this and I took my time and it still only took me 2 1/2 hours. If you follow step by step, you will be very pleased with the results. I cannot believe it took me so long to finallly decide to do it.