Kmoy's DIY $5 E46 Aux Cable REVISITED (Improved and Lots of Pics)

2004 E46 330i/6 ZHP $5 Auxiliary Input DIY

This was done on Buisiness CD CD53, software number SW/NO. 41, hardware number HW/NO. 40

If you have Navigation, check the wiring diagram out and use those pins:
http://www.ge39.com/files/EBADoc11512-auxin.pdf
Pins 1, 2 and 3

This was also tested on my 2003 540i/6 M-Tech and works flawlessly as well. Buisiness CD CD53, software number SW/NO. 41, hardware number HW/NO. 40
540i tutorial
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1236285

DISCLAIMER
This was tested on my car spec'ed above. I am unsure if this tutorial is compatible with other headunits, hardware numbers, software numbers. I take no responsibility for any damage done to your car from you following the following tutorial.



Parts

• 1/8" Stereo Panel-Mount Audio Jack (2-Pack) $2.99 Make sure to get the stero audio jack and not the mono audio jack. You will receive monaural sound if you do...ask me how I know http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...52&tab=summary
  
  
  
• IDE or Floppy Cable - to connect to the pins on the back of the headunit (I had a spare junk one at home...don't go out and buy one. Instead tear apart a junk computer and pull one of those cables)
  
  
  
• 3 different colored wires - length varies depending on where you wish to mount the jack
• Soldering iron
• Solder
• Flux
• Hex wrenches - to disassemble the radio
• Phillips/flathead Screwdriver
• Torx bits
• Drill
• Needle nose pliers
• Drill bit - for the 1/8in;3.5mm jack
• Knife/razor/boxcutter - use your preferred cutting utensil to cut to size the IDE connector

Okay, so this may not be a $5 aux cable for you. Luckily I had most of these parts at home minus some supplies.

Begin by pulling the passenger and center trim. Slide a flathead screwdriver wrapped in a towel and pry the trim out. Two screws retaining the radio should be visible. They are on the left and right side of the headunit. Remove those.

Unplug the connectors from the CD unit. The pins should look something like this.

Taken from the "Let's DIY aux input cable." thread. Hope you don't mind




You want to focus in on the lower right set of pins. Specifically pins 4, 8 and 9. Pin 4 is ground, pin 8 is right audio and pin 9 is left audio

Now that you know where the pins are located, disassemble the ide cable making sure not to destroy the connector. Every cable is different, mine was held together using clips. I simply destroyed the clips and salvaged the female pin receptors. With the good parts, cut and size them up using your favorite cutting utensil.



Pull the unnecessary pins out using a pair of needle nose pliers.

Gather your sized wires, connector, and audio jack. The wiring diagram for the audio jack is displayed on the back of the packaging. The ground is the pin on the side with a black wire wired to it. To figure out which is left and right, I plugged the naked jack into my computer sound system and touched each prong. Your body carries natural electrical signals to it. Put your ears next to the left or right speaker, whichever is convenient. Touch each prong, a sound should emit from only one side either left or right depending on which prong you're touching. Label them; I used a whiteout pen and labeled the left with an L.



Using the soldering iron, solder and flux, Solder the other ends of wire to the ide connector. The job's tedious but if you have steady hands and are patient, it'll turn out nicely.

Plug the pin into the back of the radio making sure they're sitting in the right spot. Plug everything else back in and do a test.



Looks like a great success

So the next step is to mount it wherever brings you the most zen. I chose to mount it on the DSC seat warmer control module. To do this, remove the shift knob as well as the boot. Pull on the knob, don't get a black eye like many have warned. Remove two screws near the bottom edge of the trim. Pull the trim out and remove the two connectors.

Open the sunglass tray and remove that. Push up and pull. Sounds easy on paper but its a pain if you've never removed it.

There are 4 screws retaining the assembly. Two on top where the sunglass tray was and two on the bottom visible once you removed the shifter trim.

The unit slides out and disconnect the cigarette leads, ashtray light, dsc/seat warmer connectors.

Pull the unit out and remove the dsc/seat warmer unit by removing the two torx bolts. The unit slides out and you open the front cover by sliding a flathead in where the two slip together. Fish your wires in and mount the jack.

Drill a correctly sized hole and insert the jack in and screw it in.

Reassemble everything else and you're set.



I hope you found this tutorial useful. If you have any questions, please ask away.

Happy motoring,
Kmoy2002

Excellent mate! Any idea if this will work with the factory satnav???

Originally Posted by Kmoy2002

...ask me how I know

No need to ask.

It's been long overdue for me to do this, I'm hoping that you've inspired me to do it today after work

I thought the software number had to be 43 or above to be aux capable?

does anyone know how to wire the load resistor so that it will recognize the AUX cable all the time, because when i have my iPod plugged in it works great. but when you hook up the car charger at the same time the radio does not recognize it anymore.

Originally Posted by Kmoy2002

This was done on Buisiness CD CD53, software number SW/NO. 41, hardware number HW/NO. 40

This was also tested on my 2003 540i/6 M-Tech and works flawlessly as well. Buisiness CD CD53, software number SW/NO. 41, hardware number HW/NO. 40

Ok, so I did this over the weekend, I got it working, but not perfectly. Here's what I found out and a few questions:
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For systems with navigation:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
If your car has a newer version BM53 radio, remove the NAV screen and behind it you'll find out the OEM AUX input wrapped with black fabric-tape. Just splice your 3.5MM plug in and you're fine:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

PLEASE READ THROUGH BEFORE DOING THIS, I'M SHOWING WHAT DOESN'T WORK. LOL.

If your car has an older BM53 radio like my 2002 M3 Vert, you won't have that plug, not only that, but the radio software doesn't have the option to have AUX:

Now... I found a DIY showing how to Make an AUX in by sacrificing your tape deck, so considering how I've never had a tape in the car, I jumped on that.
You can find the DIY here:
http://jcrowell.info/bmw-aux-in.html
The problem there was when I opened up my Nav Screen:


I did not have that Board on the side of the tape deck itself:


BUT... on the other board:


The ribbon cable has a FR, FL, RR, RL and Ground labels:


I spliced into those and plugged it in to test, there was sound, but it was HORRIBLE!!! High pitched sounds worked fine, but it'd mute every time the bass hits. Obviously the sounds there were unprocessed, so I looked for another place to splice, but couldn't find one without a diagram of the circuit board..
If anyone knows how to splice in, please give some input. I imagine this would be somewhere on the circuit board where it can't be done by a n00b like me...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
So... I put it all back together, closed the screen and spliced in outside the nav unit. There are two plugs, a White and a Blue. The white seems to carry video, the blue power and sound. Among all the wires there are two twisted pairs, they are:
blue with black stripe - Left +
blue with brown stripe - Left -
yellow with black stripe- Right +
yellow with brown stripe - Right -

Make sure you CUT, not t-tap or splice to eliminate any noise or sound that's coming from from the tape deck.
I just used the cord off an old set of broken headphones and pulled the other end on the inner side of the emergency brake boot where it stays pretty much hidden when not in use, no drilling, no buying parts:


I play music off my phone and I like having it in the cupholder within reach:

Sound Quality is 100%,BUT the problem with this setup is without the AUX menu, you can't set up your GAIN from the tape menu, so it's quiet. You have to turn it up when you go to TAPE and when you accidentally switch to FM or CD without turning it down it'll blast insanely loud. I'm really happy with how it turned out regardless, but I'd like to know of other possibilities...

You can solve this problem by using a gain controller, but I'm sure that'd be expensive and not worth it.

My other question is on the BM 53 plug itself:

The white jack has three wires, white with brown, white with red and white with blue. These just happen to be the same colors as the wires on the BMW OEM AUX adapter. I did not see them up front, so what are they for?
Navigation sound?
Either way, would it be possible to tap into the navigation sound the same way as the tape wires?
I really hate hearing the navigation voice and on mine voice guidance can't be turned off.
I imagine if you splice into these you'd still have to cut off the tape wires, then go to tape mode, so there's no noise, but there is a navigation sound controller, so this might solve the gain problem by turning up the navigation sound up.
Any input?

One thing you may want to check (no idea if its anything), but the tape deck you have in comparison to the one in the jcrowell link has a circuit board visible underneath, at the bottom of the deck that does not appear to be present on the one in the link.

Originally Posted by gspogies

does anyone know how to wire the load resistor so that it will recognize the AUX cable all the time, because when i have my iPod plugged in it works great. but when you hook up the car charger at the same time the radio does not recognize it anymore.

I just did that on mine. Here's the link.
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...422239&page=14

ha i see an E71

im going to have to try this. thanks for making this writeup

I just finished soldering the wiring using these instructions right now, gonna see if it works!

Small update, removing the trim was a pain in the ass for some reason, finally got it off this morning and will remove stereo during lunch, will post pics and updates on how it goes. (Along with stereo model number etc.)

Alright so I just rigged a test setup and it works.

I just have one question, did any of you notice that you have to raise the volume on the aux channel considerably more than on the CD channel?
Or are my solders just weak/noobish?

I had to re-do the ground connection because somehow my solder was off, I ended up just tapping the wires together with a plastic tap (like the ones you use for LED corner light resistors) and the connection was 100x better...should I do this as well for the L and R connections?

*It seems that I have the same stereo H/U as in the first post:

Remember if you guys don't put in the resistor and capacitors as done in the "let's DIY aux" thread, then you wontbe able to charge and play at the same time probably.

I like the DSC panel mount jack though.

Is the D-Sub connector used to plug into the back of the radio?

My sv reads 44-01-40. On an '02...would this work still?
TIA

From: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=522682


Production Date of a BMW Business CD53 Radio unit is the worst indicator to go by when looking for a unit that has integrated AUX IN or MP3 CD playback capabilities.

DO NOT buy a radio for Aux In or MP3 CD playback based on the car's production date or radio's production date alone.

You will NEED to acquire the Part Number of that CD53 Radio to properly assess what that unit is capable of.

Based on the fact that BMW started production of CD53 Aux In Radio in the late summer of 2003, the general consensus is that E46 cars made after mid year 2003 should have Aux In capable CD53 Radios but this is proven time and time again to not be the case. Some folks with late 2003 and even early 2004 production year cars usually discover that their car's CD53 Radios DO NOT have a working Aux Input capability.


Many of us own these cars as second and third hand cars so there is no telling what the previous owners removed and installed from the cars.

Also CD53 Radios that failed would have been replaced under warranty and that car could have received other CD53 Radio units with later or earlier production dates and P/Ns. This is the case with many 2004 and 2005 CD53 radios that had MP3 CD playback.

So if you have a Production Year 2003 BMW E46 or are buying a radio or car from the 2003 and 2004 Production Year stock there is absolutely NO guarantee that that car currently has a CD53 radio with the Aux In feature.


Below I have compiled a list that will help you in deciding what to buy based on your needs.


BMW Business CD53 Units manufactured and dispatched for the USA E46 cars from 1998 to 2007 with their respective Part Number, Production Period, and what each unit is capable of :

1998 to 2001 E46 3 Series vehicles

Blaupunkt, Part Number 6512-6 909 883 iPod Data Capable
Blaupunkt, Part Number 6512-6 909 882 iPod Data Capable
Blaupunkt, Part Number 6512-6 902 661 iPod Data Capable

NOTE: iPod Data Capable is ONLY if the car is Prewired in the trunk for the CD Changer - You can also add Aux Input ONLY thru an iPod Data Kit like the USA Spec PA12 or the DICE iPod kits


2001 to 2007 E46 3 Series vehicles including the E46 M3

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 916 241 (July 2001) iPod Data Capable
Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 915 711 (Sep 2001) Ipod Data Capable

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 919 072 (Dec 2001-Jun 2002)iPod Data, Sirius Capable
Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 921 963 (July 2002-Jan 2003)iPod Data, Sirius Capable

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 927 902 (Feb 2003-Aug 2003)iPod Data, Aux and Sirius Capable
Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 10-6 927 903 (RMFD thru Dec 2006) iPod Data, Aux and Sirius Capable
Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 941 505 (Jan 2004 - Sept 2004) iPod Data, Aux and Sirius Capable
Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 941 506 (RMFD thru Dec 2007) iPod Data, Aux and Sirius Capable

Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 943 429 (Oct 2004 -Sept 2005) iPod Data, Aux, Sirius and MP3 Capable
Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 943 430 (RMFD thru 2008) iPod Data, Aux, Sirius and MP3 Capable
Alpine, Model CD53, Part Number 65. 12-6 961 215 (Dec 2005-May 2006) iPod Data, Aux, Sirius and MP3 Capable

NOTE: RMFD = Re-manufactured/Refurbished.
If you find any BMW Business CD53 Radio Unit with a production year date sticker on it that is later than these production dates corresponding to each part number unit (IE. a year date that is 05, 06, 07, 08) it is most certain that those units are re-manufactured/refurbished (RFMD) under warranty and re-labeled to reflect the date of re-manufacture. This is especially true for the factory recalled MP3-capable BMW Part Number 65. 12-6 943 429 unit which is always re-labeled to become BMW Part Number 65. 12-6 943 430 after refurbishment.



From that information we see that only three possible BMW Business CD53 Radio Parts Number for the E46 cars has MP3 playback (along with Sirius Integration and Aux-In Data function)

Part Number: 65.12-6 943 429 and it's Re-manufactured/Refurbished counterpart CD53 units with Part Number 65.12-6 943 430. The BMW Part Number: 65.12-6 943 429 CD53s were plagued with problems and there was a factory recall of these units at one point of their hectic production lifespan hence why you come across many BMW Part Number: 65.12-6 943 430 CD53s on eBay today. These 430 units are Re-manufactured/Refurbished versions of the original Part Number: 65.12-6 943 429 Business CD53 Radios even though the sellers of these units either don't know this or won't mention that to you if they do.

AND


Part Number: 65.12-6 961 215 will also give your car MP3 playback ability. These were superior post stock original production units that were made on the last production E46 coupes, convertibles and M3 cars from late 2005 until late 2006/ 2007. If you come across one of these on eBay for under $300 then immediately buy it! These will give you the full capacity and digital function of all the previous CD53 Radios including MP3 playback and it lacks the refurbished and buggy history that the Part Number: 65.12-6 943 429 units come with.


The way the parts number work is that when a said unit gets re-manufactured or refurbished BMW changed the parts number by one up from the original number so say if my parts number unit 65-12-6-943-429 got sent back to the dealership and got refurbished. BMW would restock the same said unit after refurbishment with a parts number of 65-12-6-943-430.

The parts number last three digits increases by 1. So 429 becomes 430 or a P/N 65. 12-6 941 505 radio would now become P/N 65. 12-6 941 506 after refurbishment.

Which is why when you browse REALOEM you will see a lot of strange new P/N come up and some common P/N are not there for the Alpine Business CD53 Radios.

It is possible to find a refurbished P/N with a really late production date like say Dec 2007 or May 2008. Because of this the Production Date of the later years CD53 will tell you little information on what that CD53 unit is capable of. You will need the Parts Number to find out the true identity of that CD53 unit.

NOTE:
They are lots of sellers that try to bump up the price of their Re-manufactured/Re-furbished Part Number: 65.12-6 943 430 units because they will tell you it has a late production date like NOV 05 or something like JAN 07 and the quality or newness is better.

This is to rope you into buying a refurbished unit for more money than those units are actually worth relative to the original Part Number: 65.12-6 943 429 units (which can come with bugs and can be pretty much something you may want to avoid).

I would try to seek out a Part Number: 65.12-6 961 215 unit where ever you decide to buy your unit from.

Even if it a BMW Dealership make sure you ask for the Part Number: 65.12-6 961 215 unit since they may charge you the same price as a 65.12-6 943 430 unit of over $1,000 for it.

Just took everything apart just to find that my radio has no pins...

Is there any other way around this?

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/album.p...ictureid=23260

DIY Ipod adapter for business CD and charges Ipod. If the link doesnt work, let me know. Haven't uploaded pics before...

Originally Posted by Burninmedia

From: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=522682


Production Date of a BMW Business CD53 Radio unit is the worst indicator to go by when looking for a unit that has integrated AUX IN or MP3 CD playback capabilities.

...

BMW Business CD53 Units manufactured and dispatched for the USA E46 cars from 1998 to 2007 with their respective Part Number, Production Period, and what each unit is capable of :

1998 to 2001 E46 3 Series vehicles

Blaupunkt, Part Number 6512-6 909 883 iPod Data Capable
Blaupunkt, Part Number 6512-6 909 882 iPod Data Capable
Blaupunkt, Part Number 6512-6 902 661 iPod Data Capable

NOTE: iPod Data Capable is ONLY if the car is Prewired in the trunk for the CD Changer - You can also add Aux Input ONLY thru an iPod Data Kit like the USA Spec PA12 or the DICE iPod kits

Hi !

I am the happy new owner of a 320Ci Cabrio 170ch.

Unfortunately, my radio is a 6512-6 909 882 and I dont have the CD Changer in my car (unless its hidden under that hard to remove cover at the left of the trunk ?)

How can I listen to my mp3s ?

Many thanks guys!