Step by step instructions to attach USB cable to T1814
Here is an illustrated step by step to attach a USB extension cable to the T1814 Scion head unit that will provide complete USB and iPod functionality. You could choose a different variation or length of cable but I chose a 6 foot standard USB extension cable that I already had. Fortunately the USB connection points that you will solder to on the board are labeled or it would have been much more difficult.
1. Remove the rear heat sink from the back of the head unit (six screws that are marked with arrows)
2. Remove the front panel (display) of the head unit (2 screws and carefully pry up the plastic retainers all the way around - try not to break them). I also disconnected the ribbon cable from the display so I could set the display to the side (just pull the ribbon cable straight out from the connector on the display circuit board)
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb21/falcon115/4Runner-Scion/display.jpg
3. Remove the screw from the antenna connector, the one from the Sub-Out RCA connector and the screws on the sides of the exterior shell (don't have pics and can't remember how many but should be obvious) only from the lower section that houses the circuit board with the brown USB and RCA connectors.
4. Carefully lift off the exterior housing and disconnect the two ribbon cables (same procedure as for the display)
5. Remove the screw and carefully bend the 2 tabs straight so the board can be removed from the housing
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb21/falcon115/4Runner-Scion/usb-cb.jpg
6. Cut the male end off the cable (the one you would normally plug into a computer USB port - not the end you would plug a USB flash drive into) and strip about an inch of outer cable and shielding, then bare the ends of the 4 wires and tin them with your soldering iron.
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb21/falcon115/4Runner-Scion/Scion-02.jpg
7. Identify the spots on the circuit board where you will solder the wires to.
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb21/falcon115/4Runner-Scion/scion-01.jpg
8. Solder the wires as shown to the circuit board (Red to USB5, Green to USBDP, White to USBDM and Black to USBG)
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb21/falcon115/4Runner-Scion/Scion-03.jpg
9. I opted to add some strain relief by using 5 minute epoxy to help keep the wires in place (verify the epoxy you use is non-conductive by mixing some first, letting it set and checking with an ohm meter - should be infinite ohms when touching the probes to the hardened epoxy.
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb21/falcon115/4Runner-Scion/Scion-04.jpg
10. You may need to flatten the USB cable a bit with a pair of pliers (be careful not to damage it) where it will lie between the circuit board and the housing.
11. Attach the circuit board back to the housing, replacing the screw and bending the tabs again to hold it in place.
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb21/falcon115/4Runner-Scion/Scion-05.jpg
12. Re-attach the ribbon cables to the circuit board by pushing them straight into the connectors (this can be a bit tricky but take your time and be careful not to damage them), then replace all the screws that you removed in the previous steps, re-attach the ribbon cable to the front display and snap it back into place.
13. Route the cable through the rear heat sink utilizing the gap between the USB and wiring connectors as shown and replace the screws that attach the heat sink to the rear of the unit.
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb21/falcon115/4Runner-Scion/Scion-06.jpg
14. Plug the head unit back into the factory wiring and test with USB flash drive and iPod before mounting and replacing all the covers.
I used a standard iPod USB sync cable to plug into the female end of the USB extension but have ordered a Scosche retractable cable which will eliminate the excess cable in the center console (the iPod resides safely out of sight in the upper section of the armrest which I had to remove and disassemble to get the USB cable to where I wanted it - will try to post some pics of that later)
Hope this method helps some of you that would like to utilize the iPod and USB connectivity until such time as someone comes out with an aftermarket cable that that can be attached directly to the back of the head unit in the brown connector. FYI - I originally thought I might file down the male end of a USB extension cable to make it fit into the plug but after removing the circuit board and metering out the connector with an ohm meter - it is non-standard, even if you did get one to fit in the slot it probably would not work and even worse might damage the head unit or your usb device.