thanks again Brian - I have rang BMW again, and they are still saying the part is non existant in the UK, and cant find it even in America. They are not very helpful over here.

I was thinking, as the 54 pin i have is a) dead, b) redundant.

Could I not chop the thing off, and solder a 25w D plug on the end of the appropriate cables in the order given in that link? If I did need to put it back, I could just re-crimp?

If so, I could have a go at this tonight as a last ditch attempt!!

Sam