Installing an USB/SD/MP3/Aux-in adapter on the Suzuki Jimny OEM Radio

Thu, 03/31/2011 - Updated 8 years ago

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How to install and USB/Aux port adapter in the Suzuki Jimny.

The OEM Clarion Radio that comes with the Suzuki Jimny doesn't allow modern media inputs as most of the car radios. It comes only with a CD player and a AM/FM receiver. Replacing this unit with a convencional 1 or 2-din stereo is not that simple since the dash has an unusual round edges hole. Fortunately the manufacturer of the radio, Clarion, included a CD changer port called Cenet (anyone uses a CD changer nowadays?)

The Cenet port is proprietary that means it's different from any other standard and most of the companies will not supply accessories for this interface. Anyways, a Chinese company called Yatour decided to invest in the cenet protocol and developed a series of products compatible with this system. One of them will be described in this article.

If you decide to install an MP3 adapter on the Suzuki Jimny I would also recommend to replace the standard undersized speakers. To replace the front speakers see this article, for the rear speakers this should be your choice.

The Yatour YT-M06 MP3 interface

The standard Yatour kit for Clarion radios consist of a kit with the following items:

Interface for SD card, USB and Aux-in audio (P2 stereo)
Cenet standard data cable.
English instruction manual.

I got my Yatour from the site AliExpress.com. It allows payment using Paypal our Credit Card. The freight took a while (about 1 month), anyways, the shop provides a useful tracking number. The price of the adapter in feb/2011 was USD 97.00 with air freight to Brazil.

The Yatour module can be used as a Aux-In input or as an USB/SD reader. If you use the USB or SD card, the quantity of music files is limited to 6 folders with 99 files on each. This restriction is not from the adapter itself but from the Clarion receiver that manages only 6 CDs.

Since the total amount of MP3 files supported is 594, a 4GB card is enough to fit all musics you can play (6MB per file x 594 = 3.56 GB) although the interface can read cards with much higher capacity.

What I liked on the Yatour Interface

Materials quality at the interface (metal) and the cables (reinforced).
Discrete appearance from the final assembly.
Instructions manual detail level.
Size of the interface module.
Input port variety.
Sound quality.
Communication with the Radio. You can choose the CD, the song and use the built in repeat and random functions from the radio console.

What could be improved on the interface

Imposed folder naming system: CD01, CD02, CD03 up to CD06. Doesn't read sub-folder and gets confused with other names in root of the drive.
Although the interface box is small, the cable connector is huge requiring a 50% bigger length for the installation.
A few (very few) musics had decoding problems that lead to noises during.
To use the Aux-In port it's necessary to remove the USB or SD card.

Step-by-step installation

Unplug the 12V power plug cable and remove the ash tray. Start removing the dashboard cover from the bottom part (as seen on the picture). Don't use tools, just pull. Be carefull. At the end, unplug the emergency light connector. — Unplug the 12V power plug cable and remove the ash tray. Start removing the dashboard cover from the bottom part (as seen on the picture). Don't use tools, just pull. Be careful. At the end, unplug the emergency light connector.

Details of the dashboard and the clip positioning.

Remove all clips from the dashboard. The best way to do that is pulling them to the rear of the panel. To reassemble the dash cover the clips must be placed in the cover, not in the dashboard holes.

There is a little trick to remove the two clips from the top. The ventillation pipe doesn't allow you to remove them from the rear. Push the clips inside the panel and then use a paper clip or any thin piece of metal to remove it in the reverse way. — There is a little trick to remove the two clips from the top. The ventilation pipe doesn't allow you to remove them from the rear. Push the clips inside the panel and then use a paper clip or any thin piece of metal to remove it in the reverse way.

Unscrew the radio and disconnect ALL cables.

Detail of the radio model compatible with the MP3 module described.

Rear view of the radio. When connection the cables, first attach the data cable from the MP3 module (with the module already connected in other end) and then connect the power supply cords.

When the radio is turned on the word SYS should apper on the display. Wait a few seconds and then press the On-Off button to test the module.

The MP3 interface can be left on the glove box.

I suggest to to fix it under the top of the glovebox with a velcro hook.

Comments

Saudações Caros. Muito grato…

Saudações Caros.

Muito grato pela partilha deste arquivo, mais entretanto eu gostaria de aderir este equipamento pois eu sou Angolano e vivo em Luanda e aqui não temos este tipo de equipamento, gostaria de saber se tenho como encomendar o equipamento ai no Brasil e receber ca em Luanda?

Alguém VENDENDO o módulo Yatour?

Amigo, tudo bem? Estou à procura de um dispositivo desses para evitar interesse de ladrões. Na internet, o Yatour não sai por menos de R$ 200,00 nos sites onde encontrei (Aliexpress, Ebay, Autodvdgps...), o que fica mais caro que qualquer media receiver Pioneer... Por acaso sabe onde encontrar, novo ou usado?