C33 AUX input and Installation Megathread

[bmw325csi]

can I splice female rca's to the speaker wires to run my aftermarket amp or do I need something in between? Been searching for hours, i may just be a retard

[macrylinda]

TDE30 - this one's for you :P

PiercedE30 - Do you use an existing IBus adapter? I'm going to try out a little thing I thought of, mainly putting AUX through the IBus connector. It most likely won't work, as the HU probably expects some sort of handshake before going to the IBus. Also, is it noticeably quiet without an amp? Luke mentioned that it can only drive like 7W, which is sort of lame...

Anyway, going to go look for a radio shack now.

Well, there is definitely a difference in volume output when I switch between a radio station and my iPod. There is definitely a hand shake needed to activate the IBus system. I remember reading something on here about somebody building a PCB that would trick the IBus system into activating and was actually able to play music off of his computer through the radio using the adapter he made. I think he had to program a microcontroller after he figured out what signals the radio was sending and figuring out what it expected to receive. I don't know if he ever finished it. It was either on here or on E30Tech.