Thank you very much. I take it that that section comes out of the outside plastic housing?

Jim

 

Hey Jim,

Yes it does. Nice deep breaths also helps

 

I understand. Breath8ng is required.

Thanks,

Jim

 

This did the trick and the swap is complete. Here is something I learned about removing the plastic insert:

I took two fat, round toothpicks and cut them in half. I inserted one at each of the four clips pictured above and it held the sides out enough to simply pull the insert out.

Regarding the color picture of the swaped X9331:

Working with both the picture and the original list at the start of this thread I noticed that on the color picture Yellow/Orange is actually Yellow/Red and Black/Brown is actually Black/Red. It is nothinbg more then how you see the colors, but I throw this out just for clairity.

I know it has been siad many times over, but the sound is way better after the swap. I had to make a run into town just to listen to the music. Thanks to all.

Jim

 

There may have been some color changes over the years.

 

This is very possible Robin as I don't know if the colors given in the first post and the updated color picture were taken from a wireing diagram or not. Colors are a funny thing, as what looks red to one person could look orange to another even if both have perfect color vision. I could make them look both ways, but I was glad it was my last pair as that left no other possiblities.

Jim

 

I read this entire thread and I also found one that showed pin to pin swaps and found that to be much easier. The female connector has numbers on all four corners (on the long flat side at each end. They are 1 ---- 6 on one side and 7 ---- 12 on the other side.

I followed the directions above for pulling the pin locking piece back from the plug and then I pulled the pins (in pairs) out of the connector by using a pair of needle nose pliers. Hold the plug firmly in one hand and, grabbing the metal pin with the pliers, pull firmly. Back the wire/pin through the locking piece, back it through the other wires and repeat the process for the pin to be swapped. When you put them back in, reverse the process and push them straight into their new home until you hear/feel a little "click".

The hardest part for me was getting the lower body panel back on and the needle nose pliers came in handy again.

I should mention the fact that I did this with a light rain and I had to hang a towel over the door/roof so the job would stay dry.

Afterward, I threw in my favorite AC/DC to check and it sounded better. Then, I queued up some Black Eyed Peas and then Duffy (yeah, a rather eclectic mix) and the audio was far better than in the past.

Many thanks to everyone who did the research on this mod. For the price (free) and time (20 minutes), this is easily one of the best mods I've done when you consider return on the investment.

 

I had been thinking about doing this mod for a few weeks and finally got around to it today. It was incredibly easy to do thanks to the info in the original post and developments and hints through the rest of the thread. I worked on the female side and pushed the pins from the front using a hex driver instead of a torx. After pulling each pin, I used a knife to reshape the flaps that keep the pin from coming out the back.

I have a 2009 and some color shades are off, but easily matched up using the diagrams and pictures in the thread. Just go by the pin numbers if there are any that look confusing.

 

I tried to do this the other day, and I ran into trouble trying to get the big black connector disconnected from the body of the car.

It there a trick to popping it loose? I didn't want to break anything trying to get at the 9331.

 

Turn it about 1/4 turn counterclockwise (I think, hmm, maybe it is clockwise). The black connector and white X9331 connector under it should then easily pull out towards the center of the car. The steel on the car has a square hole. The connector has a square headed arrow kind of thing on it. When the squares are lined up, you can pull it out of the hole.

 

Thanks for the fast response Robin...I will give it a try

 

Robin is correct, it's counter-clockwise, or at least that worked best when I did it last weekend. Thinking about the design, I don't think it'll matter though. Just put a little pressure on the connector (pulling away from the sheetmetal) while you turn it and it'll come right out. The cable tension holds the connector about a 1/4 turn off so the corners of the "plug" on the connector hold it to the sheetmetal.

I threw in some Van Halen and AC/DC last night and I was really glad to hear the difference so I hope you see the same difference.

 

Now that we have made the swap how is everyone adjusting the Base/Trebble (+/-) adjustments?

Jim

 

One of the fundamental rules of cooking -- season to taste!

i futzed around with settings after I did the channel and speaker swap, and then again after adding the bass box. IIRC, overall front/rear balance (which is now backwards) is a click or two off center, and I think bass and treble are set pretty flat.

The controls I use most are LOUD (on the steering wheel) and THUMPA (the remote for the bass box). And when I'm cranking those, I'm not concerned in the least about accuracy of reproduction!

 

SWEEEEEET!

Thanks for the helps folks! I did the switch this afternoon, and although it was a PITA working with the 9331 connector, it was SO worth it. If you have not done this mod, it is an absolute MUST. I actually enjoy listening to the stereo now!

 

I also agree that the sound is better, due to better frequency reproduction compared to the un-modded sound. Also, in my '09 there was no panel under the hood release that could be removed. I did have the triangle piece above that I was able to remove and squeeze my fingers into to remove the connector.
Took longer than most, but I also definitely took my time and took a couple breaks (dogs can be out of control).
I haven't told my wife I did it and it's primarily her car. We'll see if she notices a difference.

Also, the phone and car tones coming form the back didn't bother me...we'll see what passengers think of them coming from the back or if they notice.

 

The phone would be the most likely thing to notice. However, the more I read about this issue, the more I think phone calls in the car are a really bad idea--even hands free. She's more likely to stay alive if she doesn't use that feature.

 

Just finished this on an 09 model also. The panel under the hood release does not fully come out (it's large) though pulling it to the right unlatches it from the frame allowing to sneak your hand in easier.

Overall not too bad as long as you take a few tension release breaks . If it seems too difficult then your probably not doing it right .

Also, I found twisting/turning the torx bit allowed me to pop the wires out easier than pushing alone.

 

Yeah, that puzzled me at first because it didn't match the original description. I ended up prying it open just enough to fit my hand in there.

 

Took the car out today and the sound seems much better. An overall fuller sound. I have not tried the phone yet. Now that the mod is done I found the sound better by adjusting the fader slightly to the rear of the car. Now I want new speakers (base stereo option).

 

I had Infinity speakers and a sub in my car, but removed them because I noticed that I was losing sound on the left speakers. It cut out and then came back in. There was also too much distortion when listening at high levels. I sold the speakers and gave the sub to my sister, and decided on doing the wire swap instead (keep it simple!).

What a difference from the stock system! Sure, it still lacks highs, but it's a huge change. I didn't notice far more bass, but increased clarity. Excellent!!!

 

Is this worth it for a hifi stereo??

 

No. Doesn't work. Bass cutoff happens after the X9331 connector in the HIFI.

 

Just did the channel swap on my 2010 with big improvements. But the point of this post is to say it's obvious Mini hasn't changed anything for 2010, same ole issue.

I thought it sounded good before the swap, it sounded better to me than some 2009s I've been in. Now with the swap being done, it sounds even better, very happy and satisfied.