e39 ICE headache

[downonallfour]

I'm posting this question on behalf of a relative. Its a not an ideal situation because we are at different parts of the country right now,so he's been giving me info on t phone only.. Its a 2003 e39 japan spec msport 525. Abt a year back he added on an amp and a pair of subwoofers to the existing stock system. Everything's been fine until last week when the whole system would cut on and off intermittently. There's power at the player but no sound comes through. He sent the car in to the same guy who added in the extra amp last year and after messing around for a quite some time,his conclusion was.... The player, the factory amp,the add-on amp and everything else is working fine.but there's not enough 'power' to play both amps.. (so how the heck was it playing the past year or so?? ) He just needs to add on an audio contol line output converter to settle the prob.. 'only' rm 1325 i'm no expert in this but i know enough to say that the prob and solution doesnt gel. I'm not a beemer user myself,soi would like to know from other e39 users if there's an additional rca fr the stock player for use with an extra amp?just to get an idea on how the extra amp for the subs would have been installed. because this relative of mine is not a tech guy so he doesnt know if t shop had installed another line output converter previously that's acting up now and needs to be replaced.. or the installer has found the source for the power cut prob but just trying to make extra bucks selling more stuffs.like i said its difficult to understand how the existing set up has been installed without personally looking at it... moreover this relative of mine is clueless when i ask him certain things and the shop guy is not keen to talk to me over the phone to verify how he had them installed currently. He's in klang and im in JB.So,I'd appreciate inputs from e39ers or those who know the stock setup of its ICE.cheers..

 

[ALBundy]

It would be hard to advise unless more information is given.

Nevertheless since a line output converter wasn't install in the first place, the installer probably had installed the amp using the output after the factory amp which is the easiest way.

A proper way would be to trace the source from the head unit going into the factory amp and have it directly into the aftermarket amp. In the e39 and e46 there are control modules for the sound system and hence if alteration has been made it will go into limp mode. One way is to remove the fuse and get it reset. It should work well after that.

 

[affan66]

the E39 HU doesn't come with an RCA output. The amp probably requires a minimum of 2V.
The installer probably boosted the gain to the max to compensate. As a result, the amp clips most of the time.

You need a line output converter. These things are not cheap and not the ideal solution because with increased "artificial" gain, you get background noise.

I know some folks here who went this route because they wanted to maintain the HU integration with the rest of the dash. I did not because I would have less tuning capabilities with the standard HU

 

[ALBundy]

Affan, what I did in my car was to isolate the pre-output from the head unit and then plugged it into a line converter (for the front speakers and sub), and then to aftermarket amps. The output from the Head Unit is surprisingly high and clean.

As for line converters, if you get an Audio Control it will be expensive, there are cheaper options and the sound quality is not that much different, in my opinion.

Cheers

 

[affan66]

Albundy, good to know.

Does it match with any amp?
sometimes, using the wrong amp causes this. Eg, some amps operate well at 2ohms, 4 ohms, etc. and need a pre-out output of 4V min. Like mine, it works best with 4V or better. I'm using 6.5V outputs from the HU. the sound is effortless

 

[erica34]

In Al's case the pre-out from factory HU was plugged into a LOC so the output can be used with any regular aftermarket amp. e46 factory HU has balanced output so the signal is really high and should be nice and clean. But you'd need an amp with balanced input to accept signal direct from factory HU. Alpine PDX works. Nice, cutesy and high powered but a little expensive.

Back to problem posted by OTL (keke), since "whole system" would cut off, I think Al is on the money that problem has affected control module and that caused the entire system to go silent. Problem is finding the cause of the problem (ahkaka). If the e39 comes with factory amp, I'm quite sure the HU doesn't have rca outputs cos bmw HU/amps known to run on balanced signals. Got to find out how additional amp was installed/how signal was tapped. But susah since shop guy not keen to talk over phone.

Perhaps take to another shop for second opinion before spending rm1325 on an audio control LOC... that's an expensive way to use the audio control and also without knowing for sure the cause of the problem.

 

[ALBundy]

Albundy, good to know.

Does it match with any amp?
sometimes, using the wrong amp causes this. Eg, some amps operate well at 2ohms, 4 ohms, etc. and need a pre-out output of 4V min. Like mine, it works best with 4V or better. I'm using 6.5V outputs from the HU. the sound is effortless

Am using Genesis Profile and Alpine monoblock. So far seems okie and quite happy with the result. On hindsight, should have just used Alpine PDX!!!! :rock:

 

[davidykhor]

get a sound processor

i.e audison bitone, rockford 360.1 / .2

 

[erica34]

how would a sound processor help OTL ?

 

[Bukit Mertajam]

Hi Guys,
I have a problem with my E39 ICE too.

2 years ago, I upgraded my 4 speakers, added a sub-woofer, a 4-channel AMP and an equalizer. Everything was fine till a few weeks ago. Whenever I turn on my HU, it will take sometime before I can have the audio. When the audio comes in, it will start with a loud spark first and then everything is normal. Initially it takes a few seconds, but eventually, it takes a few minutes before the audio kicks in.
I went back to the shop where I installed but they could not detect what the problem is.

Does anyone experienced this before?

Thanks

 

[Bukit Mertajam]

Hi Guys,
I have a problem with my E39 ICE too.

2 years ago, I upgraded my 4 speakers, added a sub-woofer, a 4-channel AMP and an equalizer. Everything was fine till a few weeks ago. Whenever I turn on my HU, it will take sometime before I can have the audio. When the audio comes in, it will start with a loud spark first and then everything is normal. Initially it takes a few seconds, but eventually, it takes a few minutes before the audio kicks in.
I went back to the shop where I installed but they could not detect what the problem is.

Does anyone experienced this before?

Thanks

Forgot to mention another thing. This problem occur only after I leave the car unused for a few hours. Once I get the audion, the audio comes in naturally even if I on/off it a few times.

 

[johnj]

When I upgraded my ICe, I had to Install a sound processor cos the output from the HU was low and flat.

 

[ALBundy]

When I upgraded my ICe, I had to Install a sound processor cos the output from the HU was low and flat.

That is a hi-lo signal converter Yours is the branded item, Audio Control!!!

 

[initialM]

Haiya why need to headache?? BMW sound system sucks. Change everything & headbanging in the car instead.

[video=youtube;iujsIihe44s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iujsIihe44s[/video]

 

[MalzE36]

Nice man.. Been looking for shops who have done a double din conversion for e36. So far no luck. Something tells me that its gonna have to be a DIY job. Which i'm not too keen on doing seeing as how theres not much info on it.

 

[shiva73]

Hi Guys,
I have a problem with my E39 ICE too.

2 years ago, I upgraded my 4 speakers, added a sub-woofer, a 4-channel AMP and an equalizer. Everything was fine till a few weeks ago. Whenever I turn on my HU, it will take sometime before I can have the audio. When the audio comes in, it will start with a loud spark first and then everything is normal. Initially it takes a few seconds, but eventually, it takes a few minutes before the audio kicks in.
I went back to the shop where I installed but they could not detect what the problem is.

Does anyone experienced this before?

Thanks

Bro .. Typical problem i faced when i had all the boom bang settings in my car - it was a wira car. i changed my equalizer and problem solved. for my case, i kept the equalizer un-installed for sometime and it went kaput. best of luck .

 

[johnj]

The problem with E39 is that the remote power responsible for turning the Amps on and off from the headunit is inconsistent for example, when you turn on the key and even when the player is off, the amps turn on and there is cracking sound when I start the car whereas for aftermarket players, the supply will only turn on when you switch on the player and vice versa. Another thing is that when you turn off the car, the power is still there and it takes like ages to turn off completely. I tried checking if there is anyway to get an alternate power source from the player but to no avail. It's like the power is controlled from elsewhere..no I'm thinking of adding a switch...haizzz!!

 

[affan66]

i believe e39 and similar power down after 15 mins upon turning off ignition

 

[johnj]

yup..I think you're right, atleast 15 mins..

 

[sewell]

ask herbert how he did him last time. if you only add amp for your woofer and others are still stock. For E39 one of the speaker give away then the entire system will not work. herbert experience this before. solotion is on of his mid speaker connector lose only.