XSeries-forum

Forgive me for being dumb but I'm totally confused over my E53 hi-fi which is absolutely terrible and in need of desperate upgrading!

I appear to have a bog standard BMW hi-fi comprising MID with single CD above it, two tweeters in the dash and four speakers - one in each door.

From all the articles I've read I should have a BM53 or BM54 radio module in the battery compartment - I don't, I only have a PDC module with three plugs plus an unused multi-plug (see pictures below) and that is it.  No radio module!

Battery Compartment with PDC Module only!


Unused Multi-plug in Battery Compartment


Neither do I have any kind of amplifier, DSP amp, CD multiplayer, Sat Nav or TV module in a any of the rear quarter bins.  In the near side rear quarter bin I do have two small unused multi-plugs as can be seen in the image below.

Nearside Rear Quarter Empty Bin and small multi-plugs:



So my questions are:

1). Do I have a radio module/amplifier which is hidden somewhere else or is my radio incorporated into my MID?

2). If my radio is incorporated into my MID, are my speakers connected directly to my MID?

3). I want to add three amps, a 4-channel powering front left/right and rear left/right tweeters, another the same for the mids, and a bridged 2-channel powering a 10" sub in the boot.  As I don't appear to have a BM54 who's high level outputs I can feed to the amps - where can I tap in?

All the radio and cd  business is built into the single slot cd module in the dash. Easy to remove  just remove the volume knob and there's a torq bit underneath. 1/4 turn to release the catch and the MID comes out. Then a further two screws hold the CD on place. I extended the five small wires going to the MID and had that in the glovebox, alternatively you could extend to the rear cubby in the boot.
This keeps the info for MPG time and date etc in the speedo binnacle.
You could fit an Andrive unit, after cutting a bit of the radio cradle away. This would give you satnav, DVD IPod integration  etc comes with all the Audio out plugs to run to an external amp.
If you don't need the satnav or DVD maybe an intravee could be used, Sanj is your man for that info.
I fitted a Dynavin in mine, but  the radio reception was pants and the cd packed up after 6 months, got it done on warranty though.
Where in Lancs are you from?

I'm from Chorley.

Found that my drivers door and nearside rear speakers are dead so no wonder the sound is pants with just the dash and passenger/offside speakers working.

Thanks for mid removal info, going to check back of cd to see if its sending anything to the faulty speakers.

Did you leave any sand on Blackpool beach, or did you manage to fit it all in your boot?! 

[quote="3MSW"]
I'm from Chorley.

Found that my drivers door and nearside rear speakers are dead so no wonder the sound is pants with just the dash and passenger/offside speakers working.

Thanks for mid removal info, going to check back of cd to see if its sending anything to the faulty speakers.
[/quote]

It could be the radio/ cd module.
I have the original out of mine here, it worked perfectly in mine, I removed it to fit an aftermarket Dynavin head-unit. Which stayed in when I PX'd it.
There are two different ones though, I'm not sure at what date they changed them, could be a pre/ facelift  thing.
Mine has a part number: 65.12-6 961 218 came out of a 55 plate 3.0 d sport,
I'm sure X5Sport or Sanj should know if it is the same.
When I got my headunit it came with 2 alternative wiring harnesses, one to suit whichever was fitted at the factory, sure mine was the later one, as yours is a facelift maybe the same.
Also got a cargo restraint net.
Cost you a bottle of wine for the two
Also I still have the 55w HIDS, 6000k and LED front markers if your interested. There £30 fitted. Better than factory Xenons if you have halogen fit projector headlights fitted

I've not managed to get out and remove the cd53 to check wether its the speaker outputs, the wiring or the speakers themselved that are faulty, but hoping to check tomorrow.

Can you connect any mp3 player to the Intravee thing or just an Apple device? I've got a Galaxy S4 full of mp3's I'd like to connect up to the cd53?

On a side note, I got through the remainder of my first tank of diesel today. I managed 668 miles on 92 litres averaging 33mpg. Not bad for a 10 year old 70k miles car!