AUX Port Problem

[Silverstar]

Some time ago I purchased one those 10 quid usb / aux bluetooth things from Amazon so I can stream from my iPhone. Today I removed it from the car to clean the area but when I tried to reinstall it the small jack plug for the aux port seemed to be loose and when playing the radio I am only getting sound from the right side. So I removed the plug and found that the tip of this plug (as can be seen in the red circle in the photo below) has come off and is stuck inside the aux port! :headbang:

Does anyone know how to remove the aux port from the car and if it can be dismantled so I can remove the piece of the jack plug that is stuck in there? or will I need to buy another aux port? Let this be a lesson for others to be weary about this kind of cheap tat on Amazon and eBay!

 

[Silverstar]

Anyone? any ideas how to remove the aux port?

 

[Chris_D]

Tip/ring/sleeve config of your jack plug indicates why you are only getting sound through the right channel as the 'tip' conducts the left/+ channel audio.



I've never seen a tip break off before and I've been making my own audio cables for years
Definitely cheap tat!

I don't know how it's configured but I'd suggest dismounting the panel and getting to the connector from behind. The tip part of the plug is held in place usually by a sprung mechanism inside the connector which keeps the tip under compression and locks it 'fingertight' in place.
It wouldn't take much force to remove it but going in from the front may cause other damage. You probably wouldn't be able to reach it anyhow.

If you manage to fix it, get back in touch with me if you want an audiophile quality 3.5mm<>3.5mm jack cable for about 35 quid plus postage.
I don't do apple connectors however so you would need an adapter plug.

 

[Silverstar]

Thanks for the tip Chris_D. As you suggested I will try and dislodge the broken tip from behind but first I need to figure out how to remove the Aux / USB port from the car so I can do that.

 

[Timmyboybunter]

Can't help with a 'proper' method, but if you have another aux port handy (and they're only cheap on Ebay) just use long nose pliers in the usb and aux holes - firm yank and out it comes.

 

[Chris_D]

Can't help with a 'proper' method, but if you have another aux port handy (and they're only cheap on Ebay) just use long nose pliers in the usb and aux holes - firm yank and out it comes.

If you have a link to where I can get hold of those longnose pliers you mention that woould fit inside a 3.5mm hole I would LOVE to know....

 

[Timmyboybunter]

If you have a link to where I can get hold of those longnose pliers you mention that woould fit inside a 3.5mm hole I would LOVE to know....

Difficult to tell if you're serious or not Chris but I had 3 old sets of long nose pliers sitting in my toolbox, they all taper into a point on either side so all 3 would have been suitable for the job: 1 half of the pliers in the USB slot, the other half of the pliers in the 3.5mm hole, squeeze, pull. Possibly you're wondering how a set of long nose pliers would fully fit into a 3.5mm hole - and I agree they wouldn't :rofl: but sticking them in the hole wouldn't achieve anything!

See page one of my E89 thread in my sig - the aux port has 2 metal tabes either side which click into place when it is pushed into the plastic housing from the front - yanking hard with pliers just reverses this process but you need to squeeze with enough force to get suitable grip to be able to remove that it will damage the part. The alternative is to go from the back of the port, squeeze those 2 tabs and simply push it forward.

 

[Silverstar]

If you have a link to where I can get hold of those longnose pliers you mention that woould fit inside a 3.5mm hole I would LOVE to know....

Difficult to tell if you're serious or not Chris but I had 3 old sets of long nose pliers sitting in my toolbox, they all taper into a point on either side so all 3 would have been suitable for the job: 1 half of the pliers in the USB slot, the other half of the pliers in the 3.5mm hole, squeeze, pull. Possibly you're wondering how a set of long nose pliers would fully fit into a 3.5mm hole - and I agree they wouldn't :rofl: but sticking them in the hole wouldn't achieve anything!

See page one of my E89 thread in my sig - the aux port has 2 metal tabes either side which click into place when it is pushed into the plastic housing from the front - yanking hard with pliers just reverses this process but you need to squeeze with enough force to get suitable grip to be able to remove that it will damage the part. The alternative is to go from the back of the port, squeeze those 2 tabs and simply push it forward.

Well I managed to remove the port today, I followed instructions I round on newtis: https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e89-z4-sdrive30i-roa/repair-manuals/61-general-vehicle-electrical-system/61-31-switch-sensor/8Ir3cKLI

Decided not to do it how you said as I thought I might be able to take the port apart and get the broken pin out but no such luck! Looks like I am going to need a new port! :x I guess I should have followed what you said and saved myself some time :wink:

Apparently this problem is more common then I thought, loads of videos on YouTube showing how to remove the tip using a Bic type pen, but it didn't work in my case.

 

[Timmyboybunter]

What a pain. Is the 3.5mm port interchangeable independently of the USB port? Just wondering if it's worth trying my port in your housing before forking out for another whole part - it was definitely working prior to removal but I wasn't gentle with it.

 

[Silverstar]

What a pain. Is the 3.5mm port interchangeable independently of the USB port? Just wondering if it's worth trying my port in your housing before forking out for another whole part - it was definitely working prior to removal but I wasn't gentle with it.

The AUX and USB sit side by side in the same housing as such and I managed to separate the AUX, so yes if you had the same type as mine I could just swap out the AUX socket. The only problem is I am in Spain so I don't know how it's going to be possible to try yours. Here's some pics of mine is yours the same?:

 

[enuff_zed]

So a simple dab of superglue on the end of the bit you pulled out wouldn't be enough to extract the tip?

Or a very small drill bit gently twisted in until it grips?

 

[Timmyboybunter]

The AUX and USB sit side by side in the same housing as such and I managed to separate the AUX, so yes if you had the same type as mine I could just swap out the AUX socket. The only problem is I am in Spain so I don't know how it's going to be possible to try yours. Here's some pics of mine is yours the same?

Ah, sorry - not sure why but I assumed you were in the UK (in which case I would have happily put my USB/aux mine in the post for you to mess around with, I have zero use for it) but I think by the time I've posted it to Spain it would be halfway to the cost of picking up a 2nd hand one off Ebay; plenty around, as all the Mini versions are basically the same too.

As above though, I wonder if there are some other things you could try - the piece that has snapped off, is it quite tightly lodge in there? I've been using the mastic I ripped off my door membranes (the really black sticky stuff) for all sorts off things - a blob of that on the end of a pokey thing like a drill bit perhaps? Do you have any phillips screwdrives thin enough to poke into the port?

 

[Timmyboybunter]

Here's mine, it is the same - you can see where I've marked it with the pliers.

 

[Timmyboybunter]

It's only £3 to post I think, so in the spirit of international forum friendship I'll happily send it your way for free - I owe the forum a favour or two

PM me your address details if you want it.

 

[Silverstar]

It's only £3 to post I think, so in the spirit of international forum friendship I'll happily send it your way for free - I owe the forum a favour or two

PM me your address details if you want it.

I've tried to use the super glue trick last night like enuff_zed said but it didn't work. I checked Royal Mail too, seem standard delivery is around 2 to 3 GBP so yeah I'll send you a PM. If you let me have your PayPal I can send you some drink money. By the way I am not sure if you mentioned it in another post but why have you taken it out? replaced with something better? just curious. Thanks

 

[Silverstar]

PM sent

 

[Timmyboybunter]

If you let me have your PayPal I can send you some drink money. By the way I am not sure if you mentioned it in another post but why have you taken it out? replaced with something better? just curious. Thanks

Thanks for the offer, this one's on me though

If you don't mind I'll just send you over the aux port and keep hold of the enclosure, just in case I need on in the future - you can then just snap it into your existing enclosure to give it a try.

No fancy upgrades unfortunately - when I bought the car the little plastic pin which holds the 4 or 5 metal pins in place in the USB port had been snapped off (the previous owner said the port "would not charge her mobile" ) so just needed a like for like OEM replacement to get the USB working again - which it now does!

Got your PM thanks, reply incoming.

 

[Timmyboybunter]

If you don't mind I'll just send you over the aux port and keep hold of the enclosure

The first 2 bits in my last photo I mean - the little circuit board and the blue plastic bit which will keep it safe - I'll keep the bigger dark plastic bit.

 

[Silverstar]

If you don't mind I'll just send you over the aux port and keep hold of the enclosure

The first 2 bits in my last photo I mean - the little circuit board and the blue plastic bit which will keep it safe - I'll keep the bigger dark plastic bit.

That will be perfectly fine, many thanks!

 

[Timmyboybunter]

It's in the post!