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wikiHow to Make Your Own Aux Cable

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.


  1. 1
    Get a set of headphones and remove the earbuds/speakers and strip the wires exposing the multi-colored leads.
  2. 2
    Secondly get another set of headphones and do the same to those leads as well.
  3. 3
    Connect the same color wires (positive to positive and negative to negative).
  4. 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. 5
    By twisting or soldering make sure your connections are secure.
  6. 6
    Seal your connections with either electrician tape or shrink tubing.
  7. 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

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  • Can I use any tape?
    wikiHow Contributor
    Yes, as long as the copper inside the leads doesn't touch (i.e. red to red can't touch blue to blue).
  • How can I turn speaker wires into aux cables?
    wikiHow Contributor
    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.
  • Do I need the red and white pin for the speakers or do they always have two?
    wikiHow Contributor
    Speakers like that should come with cables that you connect from the speakers to an amp, home theater, etc. Then you connect the aux cord into the system and into whatever you're playing the music from.
  • How do I make an aux cable to connect my phone to my car?
    wikiHow Contributor
    This guide explained creating an aux cable you can use it for your car -- just make it wider!
  • Is twisting the cable helpful if I don't have access to a soldering iron?
    wikiHow Contributor
    Not really. The copper inside of the leads has to be touching (red to red, blue to blue, plain to plain) without touching each other. For example, red cannot touch blue.
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    • Get help from somebody if you're using a soldering iron because you can get burned if you have never used one before.

    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)

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    Article Info

    Categories: Cabling and Wiring Connection

    In other languages:

    Español: hacer tu propio cable auxiliar, Português: Fazer Seu Próprio Cabo Auxiliar, Italiano: Creare il Tuo Cavo Aux, Русский: сделать AUX кабель, Deutsch: Dein eigenes AUX Kabel machen, Français: réaliser un câble audio auxiliaire, 中文: 自制音频线, Bahasa Indonesia: Membuat Sendiri Kabel Aux, العربية: صناعة كابل Aux خاص بك

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