If you’ve been looking around for a way to fix your car’s aux that won’t work, we have the perfect solution!
If you’re anything like us, we know how frustrating it is when this happens. It’s not always easy to figure out what’s wrong and how to fix it.
Thankfully, there are some quick fixes that will help solve your problem in no time! In this blog post, we’ll be going over different ways to help with those pesky aux cords and jacks.
Let’s take a look at the reasons behind aux not working in the car along with the specific solutions-
Why is Car AUX Not Working?
There are many reasons why your aux cord or the jack might not work. A few of the most common ones include:
- Damaged or broken aux jack, wire, or plug
- Loose wires inside the car’s radio system
- Water-damaged auxiliary port
Damaged or Broken AUX
AUX can go bad or simply break apart from inside or outside. It can be due to the usage of poor-quality material or just regular wear and tear, which is bound to happen at some point.
In such cases, the solution is pretty simple, replace the aux port with a new one. We have added a detailed guide on how to replace the aux jack in the car in the latter part of this article.
Loose or Disconnected Wires
Loose or disconnected wires are pretty standard when it comes to car audio. Most of the time, they don’t pose any risk to your system unless one gets entirely loose, which is rare but can cause some severe damage in some instances.
In cases where you find out that the AUX port is OK and there is nothing wrong with the external cables or the devices, a loose or disconnected wire inside the stereo system can be the reason behind the issue.
Solving this is pretty simple. Remove the car stereo from the car and find loose or disconnected wires. And reconnect the wires to complete the process. We have multiple articles covering this, including brands like Pioneer. You can check those out.
Water Got inside the AUX Port
This is one of the most common reasons your AUX isn’t working. It’s essential to check the aux port and ensure no water or moisture is present, which can cause damage later on. If you discover that the car stereo has been exposed to spills, just take a little time and dry everything before starting it up.
If you don’t see any water or moisture, it’s still a good idea to take a look inside the aux port and clear out any debris that might be present. You can use a toothpick or just your fingers to do this.
In some cases, if too much gunk is in there, it can prevent the jack from making contact with the device. This can be a quick fix by simply cleaning out everything from the inside.
If none of these work, you might have to check for any internal damage, which is very rare but can happen in some cases.
How to Replace AUX Jack in Car?
If you’ve looked at all the reasons mentioned above and nothing seems to work, it’s time to replace the AUX jack.
Replacing an aux port is actually pretty simple, so there isn’t much need for professional assistance unless you feel like buying one or your car stereo uses some weird connectors that can be tricky to deal with.
In most cases, you’ll need a replacement auxiliary port that looks exactly the same as your current one. You can buy them from any local or online store. We have added some links to our top picks at the end of this article for quick reference-
Top Picks: Auxiliary Port
Once you’ve bought it, you must remove the stereo and find the existing aux port. There should be a knob or button-like thing that you can press to remove the old aux from the car audio system.
After that, slide in the new one and ensure it fits perfectly without any loose connection.
There are not many technicalities involved in swapping the aux ports. Aftermarket head units use more or less universal connection types of AUX. So, there shouldn’t be much issue there.
However, if you have a stock stereo installed in the car, you might need to find a compatible aux port.
Tips to Extend AUX Lifespan
There are two types of AUX issues that you may face, problems with the port, or with the AUX cable. AUX cable problems are pretty straightforward to fix. Just replace the broken cable with a fresh one.
However, here are some tips to extend the lifespan and give you a comfortable experience in the car.
How to Maintain AUX Port
If you are planning to replace the aux port on your own, then here are a few things that can help extend its lifespan-
Make sure the aux port is dry and clean before fitting it in. If there’s water or moisture inside, just dry everything out for some time so that nothing gets damaged later on.
Ensure that there are no loose connections when you fit the aux jack in. Just give it a gentle push without any force so that all connections go back together again properly.
Avoid mangling around with it while driving so that all components stay safe inside.
How to Maintain AUX Cable
Car aux cables are generally quite rugged and can handle a lot of wear and tear. However, if you want to increase its lifespan, then here are some things that you should do-
Avoid tugging at the wire as much as possible. This is one thing that most people do, which puts more pressure on the cable end, making it brittle over time. So just be gentle with your AUX cable, or it won’t last very long under constant abuse.
Don’t wind up too much length around your device, so there’s no excess strain on the connections inside. If you need extra reach, use an extension cord instead of winding around the coil unnecessarily, putting stress on both ends all throughout the usage cycle.
Keep it in a safe place when you’re not using it. This probably falls in the common sense category, but people often forget about it and lose their cables over time.
Conclusion
The car aux port is the part of your stereo system where you plug in an AUX cable to connect it to another device.
If any of these three things don’t work, your ride won’t be the same. So, we recommend following the best practices explained above to avoid such problems.
If you have already faced the issue, follow the troubleshooting process as well from the first part of this guide. There is nothing to do with a faulty or broken aux port except to replace it. And the process is also relatively simple.