How to Make Your Own Aux Cable

Last Updated: May 6, 2021

With an aux cable you can connect any portable mp3 or CD player to a stereo that supports aux. You can buy one in Radioshack for around 20 USD or you can make your own for around 2 USD.

Steps

1
Get a set of headphones and remove the earbuds/speakers and strip the wires exposing the multi-colored leads.
2
Secondly get another set of headphones and do the same to those leads as well.

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3
Connect the same color wires (positive to positive and negative to negative).
4
Next take the plain or uncolored copper leads to the same leads that are in. the same circuit as the colored ones (plain to plain that are next to the same colored leads).
5
By twisting or soldering make sure your connections are secure.
6
Seal your connections with either electrician tape or shrink tubing.
7
Your auxiliary jack is ready to connect your mp3 player, cassette player, or CD player to a sound system with an input jack, such as a car stereo or home theater system.

Community Q&A

Question

How can I turn speaker wires into aux cables?

Community Answer

Just buy the 3.5 male (aux) ends and grab some wire. Speaker wire usually has 2 insulated wires bonded together, so you'll need a third for the ground. Just grab a spare wire from somewhere to use as the third. Connect all the wire to the aux ends, solder, shrink tube it, braid it, then do the same to the other end. I used 18-gauge wire and get excellent signal.
Question

Can I use any tape?

Community Answer

Yes, as long as the copper inside the leads doesn't touch (i.e. red to red can't touch blue to blue).
Question

In which order should I connect the wires?

Community Answer

It doesn't matter, as long as all the wires are connected to the same color and are not touching other pairs (i.e., red cant be connected to blue and the red-red pair cant touch the blue-blue pair).

Warnings

Get help from somebody if you're using a soldering iron because you can get burned if you have never used one before.

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Things You'll Need

Headphones cable
Microphone cable (there's a possibility that another headphone cable can work too)
Electric tape
Soldering iron (optional)
Something to cut wire with (wire stripper preferable)