XSeries-forum

hi all
i have a e53 X5 with no sounds or radio selection.
after poking around and some internet it is clear that previous owner has removed
the radio module and the amp
so all i have is the sat nav and obc really.

is it possible to buy any aftermarket amp to get some sound ?? was thinking if i could then also buy something like a dice unit for my iphone.

is any of the above possible ??


backup plan is to sell the stock bmw headunit and satnav and buy the pioneer app da02 and a fascia plate (£100  )

any help would be great

you can get the BM54 unit and refit.

Quite a few on Ebay at present.
As long as there is no underlying problem then it should be a simple plug n play job

It goes in the boot adjacent the battery i believe?

Buy this one on e-bay  251228921294 send it away for repair £99 sorted.

How many speakers do you have?  Not all x5 have the booster amp. Many just use the amp built into the bm54 radio module.

If your bm54 is missing and not just faulty. The suggestion to buy a dead on and get it repaired is quite sensible.

You can get some nice upgrades when fixing bm54. For example integrated Bluetooth audio streaming. 40watt upgraded amps. Bigger heatsinks etc. even firmware updates to better support mp3.

An upgraded bm54 will work very well with the stock speakers and isn't a bad place to start for an oem appearance uprated system.

If you have the 10 speaker system there should be an apline amp buried under the nav drive, or a dsp amp which also adds a small low quality sub woofer.

Just seen the other thread referencing this. If you're sure the RCM has been removed (trust you know where it is) then check what else has been removed first. Is the Nav in place, changer, tv module, any bluetooth module?

All the advice given is good - if a friendly forum ember is near you, you might want to ask if you can test with their unit for a few beer tokens/money in return.

That way you know before buying one off eBay. Faulty one's are easily repairable thanks to some guys on other forums. They can fix and improve these units now!

you can fix a pioneer as long as you know what needs doing  (need to draw wires from teh head unit to the quad lock in the boot into which  the oem bm54 connects. that's how teh power, speakers etc get connected.

downside is that you lose the obc functionality as the pioneer wouldn't support that.

If you only have 6 speakers, there never was an amp, only the BM54 radio module (which has an integrated 4 channel amp), If you pickup a used BM54, you'll have everything, and its just plug and play.

The 10 channel amps are similar between models, but may well have different crossover frequencies between models. For example the E39 and E53 both have an alpine type amp for the 10 speaker non dsp system, but the E39 "hifi" system included a basic sub, 4 woofers, and 4 tweeters, but the E53 has 4 woofers, 4 mids, and 2 tweeters, so its crossovers are completely different.

Not sure what the E46 has.

Then you have the DSP system, which on the E53 has 10 speakers + a sub box in the boot. That's a different amp and wiring again.

All versions use the same BM54 radio module though.

So really, it all depends how many speakers in your stock system.

I cn't speak for the DSP versions but standard 6 speaker setup OR 10 speakers (look for tweeters in the raer door cards - then you have 10) te RCM is required by both.

Buy a faulty one that is losing sound in one/two corners and then get the guy that's been mention on this forum to repair and upgrade it. Sorry I can't find that thread for the contact.

All versions, including (Base, Hifi and DSP) need the BM54.. from there onwards there are wiring differences

Should be able to help you work out what you have, and whats missing easy enough, a second hand BM54 is a good place to start

If you only have the 6 speaker base system, buying a broken BM54, and getting it upgraded wouldn't hurt. There are guys that replace the 25 amps with a set of 40watt amps with bigger heatsinks, and even add stuff like RCA/Lineout puts so you can add aftermarket amps later

I think they are actually a fair bit cheaper broken, even when you consider the cost to have them repaired.

The guy on the M3Cutters web page says he's yet to find one he cant repair, so its not really a big gamble , and it will reactivate all your systems, so as you already have the CD changer and stuff.

I think the BM24 is one that sits in the dashboard, you'll want the BM54 to pair up with the Nav monitor unless I am much mistaken.

You'll probably also want to make sure you get the one that matches your wiring harness. Older ones have round pins, newer radio modules have flat/square pins.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/bmw-professio ... 2ec67e98b8

Are we allowed to link Ebay posts here, Didn't check the forum rules, Some places are picky... No buy now, so really depends how much other people want it.. Nice low starting point though.

I think there is a guy on the forums here who's got (or had) a whole bunch of electronics for sale, you could just put a post in the buy section that your looking for a BM54.. dead or alive, and offer accordingly.

If you do buy a dead one, after the amp upgrade it probably wont fail again.. The heat sinks are too small on the original amps, and the upgrades are far superior, both in sound quality, and reliability

Mine's still working well, and am thinking about getting the "repair/upgrade" done as its supposed to improve the sound quality a fair bit

eBay links are not an issue.

BM24 is the 17 pin round version! BM54 is the god-knows-how-many-flat-pin-version (tonight)!

Get one that needs repairing and be done with it.

Drop me a PM if you need any help