Factory 1999 529iT radio options?

**AccordULEV** · 03-25-2019, 11:52 PM

Hey,

I've made a few posts here and gotten extremely helpful responses. I purchased this used Wagon about a month ago. The further I get into it, the more I suspect this car has led a rough life.

I've read a lot on the forum about audio upgrade options, the OEM aux upgrade etc. Whoever had this car before installed a Kenwood headunit. Only the speakers in the front door and above the rear hatch play sound. The rear doors...nothing.

I've not removed the headunit yet. The right front speaker sort of quits playing unless you turn the volume way up for a second. The FM radio is junk (yes it's tinted).

I'd love to return it to the factory headunit, but I'm honestly pretty afraid of what I'm going to find.

If you supply a BMW dealer with the VIN, are they generally inclined to tell you what the original audio options on the car were? I.e., are the parts Dept helpful with this kind of thing?

I'm probably going to a junkyard to get an OEM radio...likely from a 2003 model so I can install the BMW aux kit. And I'm going to pray that someone hasn't cut every single factory wiring harness back there.

Any advice on figuring out what options it came with? No GPS because it has the little flip-down door (I guess for CD or tape player).

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

**RosieE39** · 03-26-2019, 01:55 AM

Here’s an online decoder

https://decoder.bvzine.com

Just put in the last 7 digits of your vin.

**effduration** · 03-26-2019, 07:30 AM

You can return to OEM if you want to. But they weren't all that great. The pixels usually burn out, but actually, I think the pixels in the pre-'01 cars are often better than the later cars.

I have a two OEM CD players for sale, one is late enough to take an aux in cable adapter and the other takes aux-in and plays Mp3 CD's. I also have the original "cage" and the wood door that hides the CD player. Pm if interested. I don't have the MID (radio) display.

I have both CD units because I recently installed aftermarket units from Xtrons in my e39 and e53- both units were model-specific.. I may get flamed, but I have had good luck with them. The recent one for the e39 is latest android model and has been great and adds bluetooth (incl phone mic that works) , GPS, MP3, USB, etc. etc.

**amancuso** · 03-26-2019, 08:19 AM

You might want to check and see if the amp is still in the rear. Also take out the aftermarket unit and be sure if the connector is intact otherwise you'll be doing lots of splicing and soldering.

**JimLev** · 03-26-2019, 09:11 AM

When you check the amp see if it's a non-DSP or DSP amp. That will determine which head unit you will need.
If you don't know the difference post a pic of what you have.

**Qsilver7** · 03-26-2019, 10:52 AM

If you use the VIN decoder posted above...it will reveal if the car originally came with DSP.

Not to say that it wasn't replaced or removed etc...but it will reveal what was originally there.

**Dave Sal** · 03-26-2019, 11:20 AM

Originally Posted by AccordULEV

. Only the speakers in the front door and above the rear hatch play sound. The rear doors...nothing.

Within a month of purchasing my car new I had an aftermarket stereo installed professionally. The rear door speakers were disconnected so they didn't screw up the soundstage. It sounds much better without them. Not sure if this is the case in a wagon though.

**AccordULEV** · 03-26-2019, 05:24 PM

Ok - a couple things here. At mdecoder.com - I entered last 7 of VIN and under multimedia, I see this under multimedia:

S640A	Preparation F Telinstallation Universal
S694A	Provisions For BMW 6 CD Changer
S645A	BMW US Radio
S676A	HiFi Speaker System

and in this post ( https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=411001 ) I found this:

Option code 676 was the standard AM/FM stereo/CD audio system which contained:
10 speakers
RDS (radio data system)
4 channel FM diversity antenna

Option code 677 was the "optional" AM/FM stereo radio/CD audio system and contained:
12 speakers
12 channel amplification
DSP (digital sound processing)

My car does have 10 speakers - 3 speakers each front door, 1 rear door and 1 speaker in ceiling in cargo area.

Thank goodness, whoever installed the stereo did not cut the wiring harness and instead used adapters.

I'm thinking I have a non-DSP system that used to have an AM/FM radio and CD player.

Photos of what's there are attached. Any idea what I've got my hands on here??

**RosieE39** · 03-26-2019, 05:40 PM

You have HiFi (non DSP)
1st pic - round pin (17) radio connector.
2nd & 3rd - pic connector for MID.
5th pic - amp

**DennisCooper** · 03-26-2019, 05:44 PM

Hi,

You'll need to check, cross reference, double check the check, check the cross referencing again then triple check everything to make sure you can get what you want in your car!

You've got a pre-facelift car, so you'll have the 'round' pin harness connector and modules from the facelift E39's have the 'Flat Pin' versions. This will mean the above, check and double check if and how the newer modules will work with what's in your car. Looking at your response above, there's actually TWO full range speakers in the rear end of the roof area and they're not very good and to me, totally useless as they project sound to the load floor.

If you check all that and know what you need etc, then you'll also need to hope whichever modules you need, that they're working ones and continue to work longer term. As the E39 is very old now, the audio electronics are failing more often, so keeping them working will mean longer term spending to do so.

Finally, even when new, these OEM audio systems in the E39 didn't sound very good. Now, many years later the speaker cones aren't as good and they fail, fall apart etc, Aux in isn't a very good audio quality source, it's just meant for convenience, so my question is why would you want to 'return' to a mediocre setup ? I think you'll say it 'looks' period correct in the dash ? which is fair enough of course!

Depending on what you like music wise and how much you like good/excellent music reproduction in your car, then you do have some choices, returning to stock along with the all the potential pitfalls Vs the money and time spent to get there, fitting a newer modern high quality head unit with features like GPS, Bluetooth mobile phone calling and audio streaming ( so no wire hanging in the car) and then some entry level good quality front component speakers right up to dedicated installs with head unit, amplifier, upgraded speakers and a subwoofer solution at a mid level of spend which might not be as much as you'd initially think and then onto much higher quality products for a high level install.

I'd say the best 'value' would be to get a new high quality brand head unit and some entry level 5.25 inch component speakers from one of the respected car audio speaker brands and connect those up. Over time you can teak with more solid front baffles and add a compact 5 channel amplifier along with a compact 8/10 inch subwoofer.

In the Touring section, there is my full writeup of how and why I did the install in my Touring

Cheers, Dennis!

**JimLev** · 03-26-2019, 06:43 PM

If your looking to get a CD that has Aux input capability I'm 99% sure the CD connector has a flat pin style. You can buy a round pin to flat pin adapter. That's what I did when I installed the CD in my car.

**AccordULEV** · 03-26-2019, 08:45 PM

Originally Posted by RosieE39

You have HiFi (non DSP)
1st pic - round pin (17) radio connector.
2nd & 3rd - pic connector for MID.
5th pic - amp

You rock!! Thanks for confirming!

Originally Posted by DennisCooper

Hi,

You'll need to check, cross reference, double check the check, check the cross referencing again then triple check everything to make sure you can get what you want in your car!

You've got a pre-facelift car, so you'll have the 'round' pin harness connector and modules from the facelift E39's have the 'Flat Pin' versions. This will mean the above, check and double check if and how the newer modules will work with what's in your car. Looking at your response above, there's actually TWO full range speakers in the rear end of the roof area and they're not very good and to me, totally useless as they project sound to the load floor.

If you check all that and know what you need etc, then you'll also need to hope whichever modules you need, that they're working ones and continue to work longer term. As the E39 is very old now, the audio electronics are failing more often, so keeping them working will mean longer term spending to do so.

Finally, even when new, these OEM audio systems in the E39 didn't sound very good. Now, many years later the speaker cones aren't as good and they fail, fall apart etc, Aux in isn't a very good audio quality source, it's just meant for convenience, so my question is why would you want to 'return' to a mediocre setup ? I think you'll say it 'looks' period correct in the dash ? which is fair enough of course!

Depending on what you like music wise and how much you like good/excellent music reproduction in your car, then you do have some choices, returning to stock along with the all the potential pitfalls Vs the money and time spent to get there, fitting a newer modern high quality head unit with features like GPS, Bluetooth mobile phone calling and audio streaming ( so no wire hanging in the car) and then some entry level good quality front component speakers right up to dedicated installs with head unit, amplifier, upgraded speakers and a subwoofer solution at a mid level of spend which might not be as much as you'd initially think and then onto much higher quality products for a high level install.

I'd say the best 'value' would be to get a new high quality brand head unit and some entry level 5.25 inch component speakers from one of the respected car audio speaker brands and connect those up. Over time you can teak with more solid front baffles and add a compact 5 channel amplifier along with a compact 8/10 inch subwoofer.

In the Touring section, there is my full writeup of how and why I did the install in my Touring

Cheers, Dennis!

Great info and I appreciate it a ton! Yes, I think I'm pretty clear on what actually came in the vehicle originally and what I need. And the answer for reinstalling the OE MID and cassette isn't really nostalgia and returning it to OEM, so much as it's the budget. I have spent SO much more money on this car in the first month of ownership than I ever imagined. All with repairs - doing the work myself, mind you. It has been one thing after another and I honestly am just spent with it. I just want to drive it and enjoy it. PLUS - this car actually has a factory subwoofer (above the battery opposite side of the cargo area from the amp). The current Kenwood HU may be wonderful and I'm sure it probably is better than OEM HU, but it's got terrible FM reception, doesn't play anything in the rear door speakers or the subwoofer. So the OEM HU would actually be an upgrade by taking advantage of all the stock speakers. And the local junkyard has one from a 98 and one from a 99 model that I think will work with mind just fine. Gonna go look at it tomorrow. For $75 part from the junkyard, I can at least listen to the local FM channels. I'm not going for high fidelity audio or anything with a lot of bass.

Now...once I settle down from the initial shock of having to put so much time and money into this car to get everything repaired and in good operational order, this would be a PHENOMENAL platform to do some audio upgrades.

It's in it's future, just not right now. I have to get these pitiful subframe bushings and leaky OFH gasket repaired still and maybe have a month to drive it and not feel like I"m driving a leaky rattle trap before I can think about anything else.

Originally Posted by JimLev

If your looking to get a CD that has Aux input capability I'm 99% sure the CD connector has a flat pin style. You can buy a round pin to flat pin adapter. That's what I did when I installed the CD in my car.

I saw some with the flat connector when cruising around online. Thanks for alerting me to this. I'll probably just settle for the OEM cassette deck with OEM MID and use a bluetooth to FM transmitter for now. IF the junkyard radio I'm going to look at tomorrow works....

**Qsilver7** · 03-27-2019, 09:46 AM

Just an FYI...I'm not sure how plentiful they are...but there were CD43 units out there for the e39 that had round pins. I had one in my 99 540iT...which I upgraded to from the original in-dash cassette unit. Just thought I'd throw it out there...so that you can keep an eye out if your perusing junk yards or the internet...you may run across one of these unicorns out there which will allow easy hook up without having to use an adapter:

**amancuso** · 03-27-2019, 12:57 PM

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

Just an FYI...I'm not sure how plentiful they are...but there were CD43 units out there for the e39 that had round pins. I had one in my 99 540iT...which I upgraded to from the original in-dash cassette unit. Just thought I'd throw it out there...so that you can keep an eye out if your perusing junk yards or the internet...you may run across one of these unicorns out there which will allow easy hook up without having to use an adapter:

That'd
be good if he does not want aux in capability.

**AccordULEV** · 03-27-2019, 10:54 PM

I actually went and got OEM parts from the local junkyard today. It was a perfect match. Its of the cassette variety. However, the FM radio now works and for a cool $4.97 from Wal-Mart, I got one of the cassette to aux adapters...just in case I wanna jam down to tunes from my phone.

However, new issues have arisen, which I probably won't be doing a darn thing about anytime soon.

The MID LCD display is broken. I can read a number or a letter here and there, but nothing meaningful. All buttons work (or seem to) - they make different stuff happen on the radio, we'll say.

That little weenie of an OEM sub in the back that I was so excited about...doesn't make one single noise.

AND - the aftermarket Kenwood HU that was in there kept having issues with speakers randomly fading in and out (front pass was most common), which I thought returning to stock would fix. It did not. Wiggling wires around the amp causes random speakers to become muffled - sounds like they are shorting out.

Yeah - it's a real peach of a situation. I just need time to trace wiring down and see what the prior owners have done and screwed around with.

I've found some stuff on this car that make me REALLY question what kind of life this car has led.

BUT...I can listen to the radio at least...and other than the sub, all the speakers work...most of the time. LOL.

Oh well...I'll figure something out with it later when I have time.

**RosieE39** · 03-28-2019, 03:02 AM

Originally Posted by AccordULEV

I
The MID LCD display is broken. I can read a number or a letter here and there, but nothing meaningful. All buttons work (or seem to) - they make different stuff happen on the radio, we'll say.

Here’s a $7 fix for your MID display:-
https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Cluste...C1NMQAY5NX1STP

Your sound issues are most likely the amp itself - they get dry solder joints inside.
The wagon HiFi Amps are different to a sedan’s as the sedan doesn’t have a sub.