Aux-in kit installation

Installing the aux-in kit in the Saab 9-5 is quite easy. First, switch off the ignition and remove the key. As a precaution, it is always recommended to disconnect the battery, when working on your car electronics.

NB If you have a Saab factory cd-changer, you have to disconnect it first as it cannot be used any more when the aux-in kit is connected and it will interfere with the kit.


Remove the head unit. The special tools can be found e.g. in car audio shops, but some pieces of suitable diameter wire will also get the job done.

To get access to the plug, the radio security cage needs to be removed. It is held by 4 indentations on the sides of the cage.

Bend the sides of the cage inward carefully and pull the cage loose, first from one side, then the other.

Push out the ACC unit from behind. No need to disconnect it, just set it aside.

Pull the radio cage out about half way and disconnect the plug at the back. The plug is held by three clips on the right side.

Pull the cage out and set it aside. The antenna cable at the back of the cage should be long enough, if not, this also needs to be disconnected.

Now connect the sockets of the aux-in kit cable harness to the Saab plug. It will be a tight fit, make sure the plug is all the way in the sockets. 

Connect the 26-pin plug on the cable harness in the back of the radio cage, where the factory cable used to be. Make sure the plug is fully in place and securely locked on both sides, or the radio will push it out later!

Connect the aux-in interface to the cable harness and a 3,5mm stereo cable to the box.

Now figure out where you want the connection to be in your car. The cable could be routed in the glovebox, in the handrest or next to the ashtray, etc. 

An easy way is to push out one of the blind buttons next to the SID screen or above the ashtray and route the cable through the opening.

Now put back the radio cage. First check if the sides of the cage are nice and straight or carefully straighten them as needed. Connect the antenna cable if you had to disconnect it. Then push the cage in carefully, making sure the aux-in box will end up on the left of the cage and not at the back or below. You can guide the box and cable harness with one hand from the ACC unit's hole. Also check if the positioning tab on the back of the cage goes back in it's place.

Now push the cage all the way in until the locks on the sides properly secure the cage again, then put the ACC unit back in it's place.

Put back the radio. Reconnect the car battery, if you disconnected it. Switch on the radio, then push the CD button twice. The SID will display "Aux in" and the aux input is activated. Connect a phone of mp3 player to the cable and play some music. For best results adjust the volume setting on the phone or mp3 player such that the car audio volume when listening via aux-in is the same as from a radio station.

Now you could put back the blind button, leaving the cable between two buttons for example:

The text that is displayed on the SID when aux input is selected, can be customised using the buttons on the radio. To enter the setup mode, long press the CD/RDM button until you hear a beep and the first character on the SID starts flashing. Use radio buttons 2 and 5 to select the character to display in the current position. Use buttons 1 and 3 to move the current position to the right or left. When the position is changed, the previous character is automatically saved in EEPROM. The text can be up to 15 characters long.

Pressing Clear on the SID will clear the current position (i.e. set it to space) and pressing Set + Clear on the SID will reset the text back to default.

To get out of setup mode, just long press the CD/RDM button again until you hear a beep and the flashing stops.