E30 Antenna Base Coax Connector

[84driver]

These are the keywords I searched and have come up with nothing.

My 318's PO hacked off the OEM coax connector to put on his subpar aftermarket power antenna. I did the popular mod of replacing the power antenna with the power-amped shorter z3 antenna. The connector looks like it would fit a standard female RG-6/RG-59 75 Ohm connector but the male end on the z3 base is just slightly too big (I already tried). The radio end of the antenna cable is a Motorola connector as expected.

Is it a proprietary BMW connector? I am not well versed on 75 Ohm coax connectors outside of TV applications. I can't find a part number on RealOEM for either my 318 or the Z3, they both only have a part description for the cable.

TIA!!

[bmwstephen]

Best bet is to go to the junkyard and grab one. Ull need to remove the kick panel, driver side door sill, rear seats to properly loop a new one. Pain in the ass

-Blame my typos on my fat fingers & Droid Charge

[84driver]

Is it a crimp-type connector? 75-Ohm crimp connectors are near-impossible to reuse after crimping, and I don't want to splice 75-ohm cable. I'd rather run a new cable than splice.

[AndrewBird]

Here is the Z3 one. Not sure what the radio side plug looks like, but it might be what you need. Just a matter of weather it is long enough or not. Says it is 4500mm, which is about 15ft.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=CK73&mospid=48087&btnr=65_0450&hg=65&fg=30

[bmwman91]

Hey, any links to DIYs for the Z3 antenna? I suspect that an amplified one would solve my CD43 reception problems.

OP, could you take some pics of the connectors in question? We might be able to provide more solid advice then.

[84driver]

Here's one of the writeups on the Z3/318ti antenna. Plenty of pics in that thread although they are blurry.

Here's a better photo of the base (mine is identical):


Unfortunately I don't have an example to work from! Perhaps someone who still has the OEM connector can take a photo for us.

Dale and I tried to find an OEM antenna connector in his parts & cars as example and could not. He has an aftermarket antenna that has a connector that looks like this knurled-nut one from the Z3:


The 318ti connector is slightly different, but it fits the same part:


Although the antenna side looks like a standard TV 75-Ohm male connector, it is reversed -- hollow on the inside and a pin in the middle, as a standard female 75-Ohm RG-59/RG-6 connector is. I'll try to get a macro photo of it in good lighting.

The bottom spade connector is for the switched power (white wire), IDK why the DIY tells you to use the always-hot (red wire). If you insert a needle into the E30 antenna power connector, you can depress the tab on the quick connector for each red and white wire and slide them out. That quick connector fits perfectly onto that spade.

[bmwman91]

It's definitely not an RG6 coax cable. As mentioned above, you may need to pull an entire stock antenna cable at a wrecker. You could chop off the end with the connector & splice it all together, using some heat shrink tubing & aluminum foil to deal with the shielding you have to chop. The stock antenna connector is the one you need though, and I doubt that it is an easy-to-find piece part.

[84driver]

The antenna cable is cheap, I know it could be spliced -- but splicing also reduces the reception quality. It's driving me crazy not to know the name of the cable and connector, this should just be a simple new connector and crimp! Somebody out there knows, I just have to find the info...

[bmwman91]

I think that as long as you cleanly connect the signal line / waveguide, and make sure that there are no gaps in the shielding, you should not have any reception problems. I would probably solder the signal line end-to-end, with a little more just to keep the joint strong, cover that in 2-3 layers of HST, fold over the shield braid & wrap it in aluminum foil, and then put HST over that. If you zip tie that joint to something so it doesn't shake around, it should last a long long time.

OR

Chop off the end of the cable at a wrecker (or maybe 2-3 of them) and see if you can cleanly pry it apart & reuse it. I am quite certain that the connector part is not something that you can buy. I have looked for stuff like this in the past & it has been a dead end.

[bmwman91]

Actually, you should try contacting these folks.

http://www.antennaworld.com/coaxial_cable_connectors.php

Maybe if you shoot them a picture of the connection on the antenna amp they can provide the mating connector. Good luck! If they do happen to have it, make sure to let us know what type of connector & cable it is & the PN!

[Gooch]

You could always swap in an e36 radio and then run the factory e36 vert/ti antenna cable, depends on how far you want to go, really.

[84driver]

Actually, you should try contacting these folks.

http://www.antennaworld.com/coaxial_cable_connectors.php

Maybe if you shoot them a picture of the connection on the antenna amp they can provide the mating connector. Good luck! If they do happen to have it, make sure to let us know what type of connector & cable it is & the PN!

I will do this. I found a photo of the other side of the connector in this R3v build thread:


Looking at that antennaworld page and googling some of the connectors, the closest I've found so far is male RP-SMA:


Here it is with a knurled nut like the BMW connector (rather than the hex above) being used on a Wifi antenna:


Pretty similar, no?

Haven't found a single reference yet though connecting RP-SMA and BMW antennas... so I'll post back when I hear a response from antennaworld.

[bmwman91]

You could always go to an electronics store & buy a cheapo WiFi antenna to check. (and return it, although that's mean)

[StereoInstaller1]

Center pin on wifi antenna is like .5mm, while the E30 connector is roughly 2mm

[CMG]

I came across this thread in a search for a solution to the same problem. I think I figured it out that it's an RF type Motorola connector, so I found a female connector online. Normally the OEM antenna cable ends at a female in the trunk right?