Alpine issue
 

I have an Alpine TDM-7543. When I took out the ashtray of my car, I was surprised to find a red and white RCA cable hidden back there under the stereo. :eek: Anyway, I just recently bought a red/white RCA to headphone jack cable so I can plug my mp3 player into the car through that instead of a FM transmitter or cassette adapter.

The problem is that when I plug my mp3 player to the radio via the RCA cables, the music only comes through the rear right speaker. :confused:

I've looked up the wiring diagram for my radio, and if I am reading it correctly, the RCA cables are only for the rear speakers...?

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Can anyone shed some light on this? What can I do?

If that wire is for the rear speakers, it should come through both left and right, not just the right side. There must be either a break in the wire somewhere or the jack isn't making the full connection.

Well, I can only notice it from the rear right. Maybe it's coming from both. I'm pretty sure I connected the cables correctly, unless the jack in the back of the radio isn't connected fully.

So am I reading the second page correctly - the RCA cables are only for the rear speakers?

What would be the point of having the sound only go to the rear?

Alpine MBUS is best for mp3 player hookup
 

The rca outputs are for a connection to a amp for the rear speakers and still use the internal fader.

If you get the MBUS adapter you can hook up your mp3 player to play directly through the head unit. I did this on a different alpine head unit and it works great once I figured out how to activate it. I had to contact Alpine to get the complete user manual to figure out how to do it. The one you link to is not the full manual. Mine required a switch to be added and the right button combination pushed for it to work. They emailed me the manual so now I know what all the buttons do. The Alpine reps were very friendly and helpful. I had to call them twice to get it work. The first time for the manual so I knew how to hook up the switch and the second time to figure out the buttons. The second time I called they stayed on the phone till I got it to work.

If you are connecting your mp3 player to rca's that go directly to speakers maybe only the right speaker is still hooked up. I assume that the head unit does play through all speakers.

Sound through the adapter is much better the either the FM transmitter or cassette adapter. I had too much static from the FM transmitter and the cassette adapter got overdriven by music with a lot of bass. I am using the wire straight from the head unit for my front speakers and the rear line out too 2 separate amps for the rear speakers and sub woofer.

You can search on my user name for the speaker set up in my 86 SL.

Surprisingly enough, I have the manual (it was hiding along with the manuals for the car), but that was the only one I could find online to link to.

So with the MBUS adapter, a mp3 player can go through all the speakers? Is it plug and play? All the speakers work fine with just radio, the FM transmitter, or cassette adapter.

I'm almost certain that whats happened is one of the RCA cables came unplugged from the back of the head unit. The previous owner probably had some sort of amp or sub setup. If you have a cd changer plug on the back of your head unit you can buy this and then connect the cable you already bought to that and voila! This is the exact setup I have for my JVC unit and I found out the exact same way you are :). The only thing you will have to do is most likely change the head unit settings to recognize the AUX input instead of a CD changer which your owners manual should tell you how to do. Good luck!

MBUS or AI-NET
 

You will really have to call Alpine to see if the AI-NET adapter will work with your MBUS head unit. Mine had the pink/black wire mention in the reviews on the link land-sea-air provided. I would hate for you to spend $20 and it not work.

Alpine TDM-7543
 

By chance, do you still have the owner's manual for your TDM-7543? I have been unable to locate one and would be happy to reimburse you for a copy. Thanks! JB

msega - I had the same, or a similar, Alpine headunit in my 300E. The RCA jacks on the headunit are RCA preouts for hooking up to an amp. They SEND a low-level signal OUT to an amplifier. They don't RECEIVE.

I don't think there is an easy way to hook up an MP3 player to this headunit other than a cassette adapter. This headunit connects to a CD player via Ai-Net, and I'm not sure if there is an Ai-Net to 1/4 audio adapter available.

If you are interested, I think I still have my old Ai-Net 6-disc changer and cable...lemme know, I'd sell it cheap.

C.

The only way to connect an aux source (IPOD) to this unit is this way. Get an M-Bus aux connector on the web from somewhere and your problem is solved. Other RCA's are for the amp installed somewhere in the car.

Sorry for bringing up an old topic, but I finally bought a M-BUS adapter. The thing is, after I connect it, I followed the directions in the manual for resetting the head unit, and then I connected an mp3 player, but the only thing that the display shows is "EEEE". The manual says that it means the connector is not plugged in correctly. I triple checked and it seemed connected properly. Anyone else with an Alpine run into this? (The radio still works fine.)