XSeries-forum

I hope its OK to ask those cleverer than me for some help, i don't contribute much any-more and don't even own an X either (shouldn't have sold it) but we are all BMW brethren, i think 

My 2007 6er is very well equipped but age related is bereft of a USB input facility, though it does have an AUX in for i-pods etc, the later LCI 6er has both of these sockets.

Now, i can buy a genuine AUX/USB double socket from BMW that's a direct physical swap for the current single AUX though which is somewhat buried inside the console armrest/box, so access isn't the easiest thing. Of course i only really need the added USB to provide power to the i-pod (fancier full on retro upgrades interfacing with the monitor and controls are circa £500  ) and my thoughts are two-fold. There is obviously already a power supply into the armrest for the phone system which will have a live supply to charge it and which i don't use, so i could piggy back that or worst case cannibalise it. Optionally although more tricky/harder i suspect, the cigarette lighter is just forward of the gear stick and may be accessible with some fiddling and trickery

My questions to those who may know are, what wiring is supplied to the phone cradle and which ones would i need to tap into for a live supply with earth?

I am of course open to other suggestions like 'just forget it'  )

USB uses 5V not 12V so what do you want to connect to the 12V feed?

Interesting, i didn't know that. So showing my utter ignorance i use the same USB lead i have to charge the i-pod from 240v mains and the cars 12v cigarette lighter but it 'needs' only 5v?

My desire is to have a powered USB with the AUX socket to keep an i-pod fully functional while on the move. The AUX is provided on earlier 6ers, only the later LCI models have both an AUX/USB-power socket.

The voltage is controlled by the power supply feeding the USB socket, not the lead.  You probably use a mains/USB charger that the lead plugs into?  The while Apple block has the 230V/5V circuitry in it.

In the X6 I have a 3.5mm audio jack plus a USB socket.  That is fed from the USB hub in the armrest somewhere and links back to the audio system in the boot.  There are two separate feeds, one to each connector.  If you can connect a 12V USB charger into the cigar lighter and feed that to the USB socket on the two power pins and use the 3.5mm jack for the audio then that will work.  You won't be able to control the iPod as that needs the rest of the hardware in the car system to talk to the iPod over USB and as you say that bit is 

Not sure what the feeds into the phone cradle are but a meter will tell you.  Black lead to body and then check the others until you get a switched 12V reading but I don't know the colour code  .  You may find that those feeds are less than 12V too as few if any phones are 12V.  Many use much lower voltages hence the cigar lighter feed perhaps being the simplest of the choices available to you.

I appreciate your help and as its not vehicle specific it may benefit others too 

OK i have a revised solution...i think. Whilst it would be nice to have OE plugs and sockets even inside the centre console out of sight, it dawned on me last night there is a much simpler solution.

Having watched a few ham fisted guys doing various things on You-tube clips, if i make one simple compromise i could have this sorted. Given i use a cigarette lighter USB adaptor to charge the i-pod currently i could tap into that and extend some wiring into the console box and fit another generic USB port/socket but all hidden out of sight. This assumes those adaptors may have some voltage adjustments going on inside them which it seems they do generally having 5v noted on the front?

Or, possible voltage issues accepted I simply take a surplus i-pod lead, feed it from inside the armrest forward to the cigarette lighter, chop off the USB plug and tap the appropriate wires directly into the cigarette lighter connections but this would obviously be 12v not 5v?

Not as neat perhaps when peering into the cubby box but good enough when all i seek and actually need is a power source adjacent to the existing AUX port.

The in car USB is fed from a specific USB hub so the voltage is already set in the hub.

What is this USB lead?  Does it have an Apple connector on one end and a USB connector on the other?  If it does and you cut the plug off and wire it into the 12V supply you will have a very dead iPod, and very likely a Lithium battery fire - and you really do not want that to happen.

You need a converter to go from 12V to 5V as you suggest in your second para.  You could run a lead from that to a new OEM connector in the armrest.

An alternative would be to cut the USB connector off and put a resistor to drop 12V to 5V into the +ve leg.  But this will have a variable voltage due to the charging voltage changing with the engine running.  Much better to put a regulated 12V-5V converter with a 1A current rating (that will allow an iPad to charge too) into the circuit.

Simplest option is a cigarette lighter to USB converter.

The plan is made and confirmed now.

Simply take power and earth from the cigarette lighter socket wire it back into the cubby box and fit a generic two port USB socket for a phone and i-pod charging facility. Parts are on order and i will post details if anyone wants them  but i know this is far from techie work really 

Simple works for me too 

Mainly because I'll get told off for breaking 'her' car if anything goes awry... )

So I wrote recently about wanting a USB port for iPod /phone charging inside the armrest/cubby box on my E63, here’s how I achieved that. I thought about where to pick up a power source, I was focussed on the cigarette lighter initially but accessing the rear of that means a fair bit of fiddling and removing the gearstick trims, eventually though i concluded that (where fitted) there would be a positive and negative supply to the phone charging cradle inside the armrest and tapping into this would be nice and easy, in theory.

So, to start, i prised out the AUX socket and disconnect the plug. This is a simple push pull plug but was REALLY tight. Next pull up on the cubby box tray floor via the now empty AUX port hole which has a snap fitting each side at the rear and a wedge fit at the front, its on slide/guides with the vertical rear flap too, it will then lift out. Locate the multi-plug fixed in the lower regions which supplies power etc to the phones cradle situated above. Separate this for easier access. Power is the red wire with tracers and earth is brown as normal. Tap into these two wires which are permanently live according to my meter.

I sourced two  types of USB sockets and really wanted a double but with the power reduction gizmos inside them a double was going to be tricky to locate being just too long to fit where I wanted it, bearing in mind a cable will be coming from it and you still have to get a device inside the cubby box when closed, so I opted for a shorter single version, this one http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/automotiv ... 63126  I located this as shown adding a split connection should I ever want to get it all apart again.

Was it worth it? Well I can now at least use an iPod without worrying about battery life and alternately I can charge my phone as well as play music from it too. It can all be kept out of sight and not sliding off the passenger seat under occasional harsh braking.

Total cost for this was about £25 (the USB socket above plus some connectors) and imo it was well worth the effort, I wish it was a double port but to be fair the internal space is so restricted I don’t think even my phone, a slim A3 Samsung and a mini iPod would easily fit in there simultaneously anyway, not with cables tucked inside a small space. This, for me anyway, is so much better than cigarette lighter adaptors and cables trailing all over the place. I know the iPod playback doesn’t interface with the monitor display (nor would music played via the phone) but such systems are circa £500 fitted and this gives me my prime requirement of a power/charging source and its hidden away and all for peanut money.

This is all specific to a pre-facelift E63/64 of course but the principals may well apply on other older BMW’s too.

My objective was achieved

The starting point, floor of cubby box removed.



What lurks beneath?



Identify the 12v supply, red/blue with yellow, and earth, brown.



Connect the crimp-locks. I dislike these but space is so limited it seemed the best option. I added a split connection to the socket for future easy access if required.



A 28mm hole drilled and USB port fitted. The space underneath is very limited so i opted to fit just off centre where there was visibly more clearance underneath.



Job done and looks like it was meant to be there.

Result 

Nice job.