Factory Aux USB input discovered (2014-2017)
Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2017 8:37 pm
As many know, most if not all GM vehicles with the Mylink radio have a USB input. The Caprice sales brochure from 2014 says this feature is deleted. I always assumed this was due to the fact that the Caprice starting in 2014 had no center console (no 9C3) option and the center console is usually where the USB port is located on most cars that have one. I always wondered if the USB was just coiled under the dash to keep the wiring consistent between the Caprice PPV, Chevy SS and other market versions of these cars. Well, I was right.
When I took the radio out of my car for the rear camera upgrade, I noticed there was a USB cable plugged into the back of the silver box. The cable goes into a wiring harness that I could not follow very easily. I took the front trim out molding off the front of the dash where the single factory power port is. I saw this:
Note the red arrow. I cut the piece of tape that taped it to the harness it was coming from and unwrapped the anti-rattle foam. There was the USB port.
To rule out my Bluetooth connection I already have, I plugged in my friends IPhone and it worked. The USB icon went from grayed out to color. Music played, the song titled displayed on the screen and factory audio controls controlled the music such as advancing songs and so on. The sound quality is better than Bluetooth and works more reliably. The hands free phone functions also work like they do with Bluetooth but again more clearly and reliably. You also don't get the audio delay when watching a movie file on a phone, Ipad, laptop etc.
If you don't want to tear the dash down as far as I did, no problem. Now that I knew it was there and where it was, I enabled this on many of the cars at work. They all had them. Just remove the trim panel on the passenger side of the center stack, lower dash that faces the passenger front door. With this piece removed you can see the same large bundle of foam and pull it down enough to get a USB extension cable connected and routed to your preference. Note that the plug may be tapped to its harness which was probably done to keep it out of the way during assembly.
When I took the radio out of my car for the rear camera upgrade, I noticed there was a USB cable plugged into the back of the silver box. The cable goes into a wiring harness that I could not follow very easily. I took the front trim out molding off the front of the dash where the single factory power port is. I saw this:
Note the red arrow. I cut the piece of tape that taped it to the harness it was coming from and unwrapped the anti-rattle foam. There was the USB port.
To rule out my Bluetooth connection I already have, I plugged in my friends IPhone and it worked. The USB icon went from grayed out to color. Music played, the song titled displayed on the screen and factory audio controls controlled the music such as advancing songs and so on. The sound quality is better than Bluetooth and works more reliably. The hands free phone functions also work like they do with Bluetooth but again more clearly and reliably. You also don't get the audio delay when watching a movie file on a phone, Ipad, laptop etc.
If you don't want to tear the dash down as far as I did, no problem. Now that I knew it was there and where it was, I enabled this on many of the cars at work. They all had them. Just remove the trim panel on the passenger side of the center stack, lower dash that faces the passenger front door. With this piece removed you can see the same large bundle of foam and pull it down enough to get a USB extension cable connected and routed to your preference. Note that the plug may be tapped to its harness which was probably done to keep it out of the way during assembly.