C33 AUX input and Installation Megathread

[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.

[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

[kronus]

aaaah i know sorry they'll be up as soon as I find them... got time tonight and working on my install again

[bostonbmw]

opps I missed the part about the photos...

[bostonbmw]

2) AUX Input Modification, Reassembly
(some images here are clickable for larger versions)

Allright. Now, we have our radio nice and disassembled. Look at the back-left corner of the tape receptacle:



The vertical row of pins on the right is what interests us. Going up from the bottom, we have Ground, Left channel +, and Right channel +. In diagramatical form:



Get three wires, each about 4 inches long. Make sure they're different colors. The standard colors for Left, Right, and Ground are white, red, and black. Since I'm special, I decided to use green, orange, and black. (they're the only solid copper wire colors that I have. Color doesn't matter, as long as the three are different). You do not want to use stranded wire, because it's more difficult to solder and more annoying to deal with.

This is the hardest part of this modification - soldering three wires onto the pins I pointed out above. I can't really advise you much about it, except that you should be doing this with a fine-point soldering iron (not a solder gun, for fuck's sake) and extremely thin solder (.015" is perfect). A Radio Shack iron is allright if you get the pointy tip for it, the 45-degree tip that comes with it is mostly useless. Photos are, as usual, worth 1000 words, so here are some.

Start with this:



(you'll note that the wire colors here are different from what I mentioned above. This is the stranded wire that I screwed with for half an hour before giving up and going to solid wire)

Finish with this:




Make sure that the solder isn't bridging from pole to pole. You can do this with a multimeter, or even a regular test light. Also, make sure that the joint is solid, and that you can't twist the wire out of the solder by as little as bending it gently.

Now that that's done, our attention turns to the backing plate and the jacks. Remove the backing plate from the head unit by taking out the four screws on the back. Then, pull the plate away. There are two power transistors that have a thermal paste coating on them, and this paste is likely all over the back of the plate. It's safe to wipe it off the plate, but make sure that the transistors make sufficient contact with it and have enough paste on them when you put it back. Here is the plate, removed, with thermal paste:



The jacks I got from Radio Shack:



These are exactly what we need, and they're great because they have threads and nuts on the back. Typically, the ones you can steal out of old TV's and amps don't have that luxury and you have to affix them with a less solid method, like hot glue or hooker spit. The threaded part's width is 1/4", and the plug base diameter is a little smaller than 3/8".

You also need to figure out where you want the plugs to be. The best and most obvious place is on the left of the plate, above the big hole for the antenna plug.

We run into a problem, however. The threads on these plugs are exactly as long as the backing plate is thick, which means that the nut can't even get onto the threads. This means we have to countersink our mounting holes. First, drill with a 3/8" bit until you have between 1/16" and 1/32" of vertical wall inside your holes. Then, finish them off with a 1/4" bit in the center of the countersink hole. My drill press wasn't the greatest, so it didn't come out very neat. Nothing that can't be fixed with a file, though. Here's the result:



And here are the plugs, mounted in the holes:



You'll want to bend the tabs up so that it is easier to solder to them. Then, take a small piece of wire and bend it into a [, which you can then suspend in the tabs and solder to the jacks easily:



Now, you should mount the backing place back onto the radio before you connect everything back up, because it's easier that way. Trust me. Here's the plate mounted back onto the radio:



And here it is, with the wires soldered to their respective jacks. It's convenient to put the Right plug on the right of the Left plug, for obvious reasons.



Finally, put the cover back on, and button it up:



Now, all that remains is hoping that it still works.

Is it just me or are the photos missing ???

[StereoInstaller1]

Allright, I'll get rid of mine, then. I don't think anyone needs a single hood hinge.

Audio question: C33 HU, 240W 4 channel amp, premium speakers. Do I need a capacitor?

Trunk mount batter means no cap will ever be needed....yet I have one! I like the voltage display, the cap basically does nothing.

[fischstxs]

i know this thread is extensive, but is there anyway you could post the pics again ?

[brokenbimmer533]

anyone figure out how to fix the tape error message?

[kronus]

No, actually Levent sent them to me. They are installed and work great...after a lube session.

Allright, I'll get rid of mine, then. I don't think anyone needs a single hood hinge.

Audio question: C33 HU, 240W 4 channel amp, premium speakers. Do I need a capacitor?

[StereoInstaller1]

Will do. I'm actually poking at it once again now that I have enough speaker wire to get everything connected, so I will take a few more photos including HVAC panel mods to get it to fit and stay in.

Also, I don't think I ever updated you about the e28 hinges... I managed to get one of them off, not both, and it's been kicking around in my trunk for a few months. Still need it?

No, actually Levent sent them to me. They are installed and work great...after a lube session.

[kronus]

Send them to James, get him to re-host.

Or, you can upload to R3V. He has like 12 different backups, he is the worst redundancy freak I have ever known.

Let me know when you do, I will get him to jump on it.

Will do. I'm actually poking at it once again now that I have enough speaker wire to get everything connected, so I will take a few more photos including HVAC panel mods to get it to fit and stay in.

Also, I don't think I ever updated you about the e28 hinges... I managed to get one of them off, not both, and it's been kicking around in my trunk for a few months. Still need it?

[StereoInstaller1]

Yeah, my host apparently decided to not be a host anymore. I'll get them up over the next few days.

Send them to James, get him to re-host.

Or, you can upload to R3V. He has like 12 different backups, he is the worst redundancy freak I have ever known.

Let me know when you do, I will get him to jump on it.

[kronus]

Any chance of getting these pics back up? or is it just me and firefox/safari?

Yeah, my host apparently decided to not be a host anymore. I'll get them up over the next few days.

[stumble_t]

Any chance of getting these pics back up? or is it just me and firefox/safari?

[digital_cowboy]

Well, I got the c33 wired into the stock amp/premium speakers and it sounds pretty good. I tested it with my ADS amp and found the amp was bad.

I did not connect any of the speaker grounds from the headunit to the stock harness, does this pose any sort of real problem (safety wise, it sounds fine)?