E39 stereo - it's rubbish, where do I start with upgrade?
Discussion
Hi guys,
Found this thread and have managed to get myself the equipment required to do this upgrade. I am having real problems getting hold of the harness and wiring though - Please Help!
Basically, I have the MID, and a tape player to go with it (I prefer to have the tape option for work related stuff) and a CD changer in the boot. I have removed my old unit which was exactly the same as the one in the original picture - the BMW Business one-piece thing.
The BMW dealer can't puzzle out what on earth I am talking about in terms of the £16 wiring harness. Fox - do you have a part number or anything that I could go to the dealer with? Is the harness a replacement for the one that's currently in the car or an addition? I need to go from flat pin to round pin in terms of the tape player, but am I right in thinking this is a seperate part of the job than wiring in the MID?
Any extra info you can give me would be really helpful as the dealer is just being a pain. I think if I know exactly what it is I'm after I can just walk in and order it without having to explain what I'm trying to do - that just confuses them more!
Cheers guys,
G.
Found this thread and have managed to get myself the equipment required to do this upgrade. I am having real problems getting hold of the harness and wiring though - Please Help!
Basically, I have the MID, and a tape player to go with it (I prefer to have the tape option for work related stuff) and a CD changer in the boot. I have removed my old unit which was exactly the same as the one in the original picture - the BMW Business one-piece thing.
The BMW dealer can't puzzle out what on earth I am talking about in terms of the £16 wiring harness. Fox - do you have a part number or anything that I could go to the dealer with? Is the harness a replacement for the one that's currently in the car or an addition? I need to go from flat pin to round pin in terms of the tape player, but am I right in thinking this is a seperate part of the job than wiring in the MID?
Any extra info you can give me would be really helpful as the dealer is just being a pain. I think if I know exactly what it is I'm after I can just walk in and order it without having to explain what I'm trying to do - that just confuses them more!
Cheers guys,
G.
OK - so I managed to eventually get the right cables and have installed them all to the correct places.
The problem I have is that my MID will only display the clock and won't turn on. I am able to access the clock adjustment, there is power to the tape player and CD changer, and when I turn the ignition on I get a brief burst of radio static through the speakers. The backlighting is working fine on the MID.
I have tried leaving the unit for a long length of time to see if it's a coding delay but it never goes beyond displaying the clock. No matter how much I press or hold the volume/power on button on the MID it won't turn on.
Does anyone have an idea what I could check, or what I may have done wrong with the installation that would cause the MID to behave this way? Any help at all would be most appreciated - I'm frustrated to be so close yet still not have the thing working!
Gareth.x
The problem I have is that my MID will only display the clock and won't turn on. I am able to access the clock adjustment, there is power to the tape player and CD changer, and when I turn the ignition on I get a brief burst of radio static through the speakers. The backlighting is working fine on the MID.
I have tried leaving the unit for a long length of time to see if it's a coding delay but it never goes beyond displaying the clock. No matter how much I press or hold the volume/power on button on the MID it won't turn on.
Does anyone have an idea what I could check, or what I may have done wrong with the installation that would cause the MID to behave this way? Any help at all would be most appreciated - I'm frustrated to be so close yet still not have the thing working!
Gareth.x
The cable you need is part number 65 12 9 405 409.
These are the instructions. I cannot take credit for these as I didnt write them but I dont know where I got them from as it was over a year ago I did this mod
But here we go:
These are the instructions. I cannot take credit for these as I didnt write them but I dont know where I got them from as it was over a year ago I did this mod
But here we go:
An American BMW forum said:
(3) Since the Radio cassette is one piece and the new BMW unit is in two pieces,
You will be needing a BMW cable- p/n. 65129405409
This proved a gruesome task but I will definitely explain it in detail and you will do not have to do anything extra.
(a) take off the radio knob,
(b) Insert a screw driver in the area below the knob spindle and while holding the unit from the cassette aperture and turning the spring loaded screw, pull the unit and hey it is out in a jiffy.
(c) Next take the cable and check that it fits in the mid unit of the radio you bought. If not you need either an adaptor or else do exactly what I did. The socket is different because it has two guide slides. One at the bottom is identical, while that on the top has two notches on the sides instead of on top. You can just scrape them off with a sharp knife. Without them, the socket will be functional just the same.
(d) Next, you have to remove the glove compartment. Underneath it, there is a cover which you have to pull out towards you. Underneath it there are two nuts over a black large washer. Unscrew nuts, Open the compartment and on the right, you will find a pump dumper which holds the lid to fall slowly. This is secured by a sort of e-clip (not an e-clip really) which with patience has to be slided, the damper removed. On the other side, there is a stopper fitted in the same way. When you manage to remove these clips, the compartment can be removed entirely (remove clip containing torch socket).
(e) Here starts the hair raising bit. Guide the cable from the Radio location to the rear of the glove compartment. Using a flourecent light, there underneath, behind the glove compartment but further up, you should see a sort of plastic whitish structure full of boxes and sockets. Amongst which there is on the right, a rectangular black box with many plugged in cables, which is held by two tabs. Press the two tabs to release the box and gently pull it up and possibly work it to the outside as far as possible. Take the cable lugs which are half way in the BMW Loom you bought and watch the colour codes carefully. In the different sections of this box, there are cables with colour codes corresponding to the cables in the harness you have. BE ABSOLUTELY SURE that the colour matches and the code is identical and push the three clips in place in the contacts inside this black box. BE VERY CAREFUL SINCE IF YOU PUSH THE SLIDERS INSIDE IT IS NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE TO REMOVE. I did just that and I had to dismantle the whole box with cables. Do not even think about it!
(f) Next, you should find two tabs under the dash, turning them will reveal the fuse block. Release it via two clips and release it from its place to work better. Take the two wires at the end of the harness and these should be fitted into position 5 (Violet/Brown) and position 6 (red/Blue/Yellow) if any of these positions is occupied, the clip is cut and it is connected to the cable going inside that particular slot, with the suitable accessories accompanied by this harness. (When you are about to power everything up only, put the fuses in the positions you connected the cable harness.
Good luck!You will be needing a BMW cable- p/n. 65129405409
This proved a gruesome task but I will definitely explain it in detail and you will do not have to do anything extra.
(a) take off the radio knob,
(b) Insert a screw driver in the area below the knob spindle and while holding the unit from the cassette aperture and turning the spring loaded screw, pull the unit and hey it is out in a jiffy.
(c) Next take the cable and check that it fits in the mid unit of the radio you bought. If not you need either an adaptor or else do exactly what I did. The socket is different because it has two guide slides. One at the bottom is identical, while that on the top has two notches on the sides instead of on top. You can just scrape them off with a sharp knife. Without them, the socket will be functional just the same.
(d) Next, you have to remove the glove compartment. Underneath it, there is a cover which you have to pull out towards you. Underneath it there are two nuts over a black large washer. Unscrew nuts, Open the compartment and on the right, you will find a pump dumper which holds the lid to fall slowly. This is secured by a sort of e-clip (not an e-clip really) which with patience has to be slided, the damper removed. On the other side, there is a stopper fitted in the same way. When you manage to remove these clips, the compartment can be removed entirely (remove clip containing torch socket).
(e) Here starts the hair raising bit. Guide the cable from the Radio location to the rear of the glove compartment. Using a flourecent light, there underneath, behind the glove compartment but further up, you should see a sort of plastic whitish structure full of boxes and sockets. Amongst which there is on the right, a rectangular black box with many plugged in cables, which is held by two tabs. Press the two tabs to release the box and gently pull it up and possibly work it to the outside as far as possible. Take the cable lugs which are half way in the BMW Loom you bought and watch the colour codes carefully. In the different sections of this box, there are cables with colour codes corresponding to the cables in the harness you have. BE ABSOLUTELY SURE that the colour matches and the code is identical and push the three clips in place in the contacts inside this black box. BE VERY CAREFUL SINCE IF YOU PUSH THE SLIDERS INSIDE IT IS NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE TO REMOVE. I did just that and I had to dismantle the whole box with cables. Do not even think about it!
(f) Next, you should find two tabs under the dash, turning them will reveal the fuse block. Release it via two clips and release it from its place to work better. Take the two wires at the end of the harness and these should be fitted into position 5 (Violet/Brown) and position 6 (red/Blue/Yellow) if any of these positions is occupied, the clip is cut and it is connected to the cable going inside that particular slot, with the suitable accessories accompanied by this harness. (When you are about to power everything up only, put the fuses in the positions you connected the cable harness.
Nice one Fox.... really helpful!!
Do you think it would be hard to get one of the adaptors from a dealer now??
Any where else you could get it?
Did you notice an improvement in sound with this upgrade?
I'll be looking to upgrade the speakers as well but want to know if this is worth it?
S.
Do you think it would be hard to get one of the adaptors from a dealer now??
Any where else you could get it?
Did you notice an improvement in sound with this upgrade?
I'll be looking to upgrade the speakers as well but want to know if this is worth it?
S.
Yes, the part can be ordered by any dealer. They wont keep stock but they can get it for you within a few days.
There is no improvement in sound at all with this upgrade. I did it add the CD player and also the MID so I could use the MID with an intravee for Ipod control, not for sound quality reasons.
I improved sound quality by using a Sony Sound on Top amplifier plugged into the back of the head unit.
There is no improvement in sound at all with this upgrade. I did it add the CD player and also the MID so I could use the MID with an intravee for Ipod control, not for sound quality reasons.
I improved sound quality by using a Sony Sound on Top amplifier plugged into the back of the head unit.
As Fox has mentioned it's fairly straight forward as long as you have the correct harnesses. When buying 2nd hand (which you will have to) some folk don't seem to have or supply the SOT harness which you need. You will also need to buy an aditional T harness and from there it's just a case of connecting the wires up.
Here's a pic I took of my one before I sold it. You will have a lot of wires in behind the stereo but it does all fit...just!
Price wise I think they are going for £70 upwards these days due to rarity. Make sure you upgrade the paper coned speakers too!!
Here's a pic I took of my one before I sold it. You will have a lot of wires in behind the stereo but it does all fit...just!
Price wise I think they are going for £70 upwards these days due to rarity. Make sure you upgrade the paper coned speakers too!!
These speakers are Rainbow Speakers aren't they?
http://www.bavariansoundwerks.com/product/380/174/...
Does anyone know the exact ones they use and where to get them from? They seem very over priced from there?
If I can't find that Sony amp, what other type of amps do the same job?
I think a decent amp and upgrading the speakers will do wonders... maybe even a small sub too?
S.
http://www.bavariansoundwerks.com/product/380/174/...
Does anyone know the exact ones they use and where to get them from? They seem very over priced from there?
If I can't find that Sony amp, what other type of amps do the same job?
I think a decent amp and upgrading the speakers will do wonders... maybe even a small sub too?
S.
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