Ok, so I have an 02 VRX with the stock head unit and 6 disc changer. I want to keep the stock head unit (looks good and sounds OK), but replace the CD changer with a hard drive based mp3 player. The new player has a DIN style mount controls and RCA out connections.

How do I connect the new player to the stock head unit? Does the stock head unit have an RCA input. I think the head unit may have only a 13 pin connection cable to the CD changer. Can I just splice into this cable with my new mp3 player's RCA connection? Or does the stock HU look for a signal from the stock CD changer, which means splicing in won't work?

I'm looking for solutions, not knocks on the stock system. I've installed many systems and would prefer to not tear down the car interior to install a new head unit, and worry about how an aftermarket head unit will connect to the factory amp (without wiring around amp or converting preout to line level, etc.).

Basically I just wanna attach an add on changer based device to the stock head unit and keep the dash and everything else intact.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

factory amp?
i think your mistaken. to my knowledge none of the magnas have a factory amp.

As far as I know, no Aussie Magna had a factory amp - there were "Infinity" 6-channel amps at the Clearance place, but they were from export cars, and there was only one HU to match the amp (which had slight variations of radio frequencies, which suited O'seas, not Oz).

The in-dash CD-stackers (4-disc and 6-disc) are attached to HU and powered by that interface cable - which is 13-pins layout at one end, and 20-pin layout at the other end. Only 9 pins are actually used, and I have not been able to find 'pin-out' info about that cable. For the record the 13-pin plug attaches to HU and the 20-pin plug attaches to CD stacker, leaving a "spare" 13-pin socket on the back of the cd-stacker. Under-seat or in-boot stackers (10-disc) attached to the HU the same way, as best I know.

In the Verada-spec cars (8-spkr) or models like Sports (6-spkr), there are still only FL/FR RL/RR speaker connections at the HU - the extra dash spkrs (Verada) and door tweets (Verada and Sports etc) simply split of the loom under the dash. There are wiring diagrams in the Workshop Manuals (search forums for a Thread about these, which contains links for downloading Mitsi Workshop Manual as PDF files)..... which confirm the way spkrs are wired, but have no info at all about the wiring of the interface between HU and CD-stackers.

Just so you know, that short interface cable between HU and CD-stacker cannot be bought as a spare part - it took me about 6 months to get a couple of spare cables from members in here (I bought 6-cd stackers as upgrade from 4-disc in my Verada, and to add-in to my TJ (II) Sports...... then used my 4-disc unit added-in to a TR we have rego'd for my niece).

Accessing the rear of the HU and CD-stacker is really no LESS "invasive" of the dash, as it would be to replace HU - but I have kept OEM HU's as I prefer the plain/integrated/stock look of the HU...... lots of aftermarket ones, esp in my price-range, look "tacked-on".

Thanks for the help. Yes my car is a US model (Diamante). So I think the head unit just attaches to the cd changer via the 13/20 pin connector. I think I just need to connect into the changer-HU cable with some type of aux input.

Has anyone done this? I've read that the cd changer provides some type of clock signal to the HU to show it is there.....but since I want to remove the cd changer I don't know how to add the aux input.

from my experience, 04 VRX, if your cd stacker/head unit are similiar, then they are pretty much attached to each other (appears they can be seperated tho once you take it out), and to wire into the back of the head unit ur pretty much going to pull the car apart just as much as you would if you were to install a new head unit....

I toyed with the idea of patching-in the CD-changer socket with an iPod cable, trying to get the audio from iPod fed into HU as "CD" mode - never found any info anywhere to explain the pin-outs of those 13 or 20 pin sockets. Gave up idea. Upgraded 4-cd in-dash to a 6-cd in-dash from the late Mitsi Clearance centre.