What is this coax cable?

[djKibblez]

So I was taking my glovebox apart and found this fairly long, coiled, and unplugged coax cable that leads from the glove box area to what looks like up through the pillar.

All I can think of is that this is part of the antenna.

Any ideas?

Thanks
Chris

[Dinanify]

Yep,I believe that's the main antennae cable

[bmwf106]

Antenna, no doubt about it.

[ASCH MAN]

Actually, I think you are all wrong. Back in the day I used to install cell phones in cars before they were small enough to fit in your pocket. BMW's have some panels that are easy to break clips and a bit tighter than american cars, so it was sometimes easier to install the antenna on the windshield on the passenger side.

If your car is a vert, they were almost always installed on the windshield.

When the cell phone was un-installed from a car, the cables were pretty much useless as there were box's of them. So sometimes the cables were cut at one end, tucked at the other and we took the main box, which may have been installed behind the glovebox.

My vote is a for an old cell phone that was removed from the car. Are there some very small holes in your carpet on the passenger side of the car where their left knee would be just below and to the right of shifter knob? This is where the phone was mounted. If yes, then you pull the cable out or leave it, it is not hurting anything.

[bmwf106]

With a name like audioman I wont argue if you say its not an antenna. I thought my antenna went towards the gague cluster side not the glove box side now that I think about it.

[djKibblez]

Actually, I think you are all wrong. Back in the day I used to install cell phones in cars before they were small enough to fit in your pocket. BMW's have some panels that are easy to break clips and a bit tighter than american cars, so it was sometimes easier to install the antenna on the windshield on the passenger side.

If your car is a vert, they were almost always installed on the windshield.

When the cell phone was un-installed from a car, the cables were pretty much useless as there were box's of them. So sometimes the cables were cut at one end, tucked at the other and we took the main box, which may have been installed behind the glovebox.

My vote is a for an old cell phone that was removed from the car. Are there some very small holes in your carpet on the passenger side of the car where their left knee would be just below and to the right of shifter knob? This is where the phone was mounted. If yes, then you pull the cable out or leave it, it is not hurting anything.

Now that's a something I hadn't even thought of.

I had installed an aftermarket HU with an antenna adapter - i never checked the other end of the antenna cable to see if it were connected.

But...I am starting to lean toward your theory audioman - there is a 2x3 cutout in the knee bolster area on the passenger side where someone could get access to this cable. Also the cable just doesn't look OEM to me. It's too clean and its way too long to be stock. I would think that if it were the antenn cable it would be almost an exact length to reach the HU. There's approx 2-3 feet of slack in the cable.

Since nothing is broken I'll leave it as is for now :)

thanks

[Dinanify]

actually, now that you mention it, when I gutted my car, in my 97 m3 coupe, the antennae was routed around the driver's side, so audio Dude is right :)

[ASCH MAN]

actually, now that you mention it, when I gutted my car, in my 97 m3 coupe, the antennae was routed around the driver's side, so audio Dude is right :)

Also, you can look for a faint outline in the upper right corner of the windshield where the adhesive for the cell phone antenna may have been. But, it may be very difficult or impossible to find (you may see it when using Windex on the glass). The Coax cable was used to connect to the cell phone antenna, so it really was an antenna wire, just for a cell phone and not the radio. :buttrock

[BoBoUDM//34]

+1 for the old cell antenna coax. I used to intall these in the 90's. It was sometimes alot easier to grab a hotwire and stash the "brick" behind the glovebox. Then we would run the "coax" up the passanger a pillar and vol'ia.

BoB

[undrh2o]

Mini UHF connector used primarily on Motorola phones, the "stock" phone manufacturer for BMW. The stock connector would have been located in the trunk, this may/may not have run to the glass mount antenna as previously mentioned. :D