OEM Sirius Problem plus Whine / Noise

[Rev Z-Man]

Ok, I give ... I'm having issues with getting my OEM Sirius unit to work. I have a 2001 X5 with a production date of 12/00 and yes, I've read all of the docs on the front page, which is why I'm posting here now. I bought the unit with the PN 65 12 0 398 140 and it seems to have power as I can hear my CD Changer power-up. However, besides not having SIRIUS come up as a selectable MODE, I have the dreaded Tach Hum Whine Noise. Seems like I've isolated it to the 3-wires in the 6-pin harness (I have tried 2, one from the auction I won and a brand new one from BMW.)

Any ideas for the hum? Maybe I can loop in a power lead magnet coil or ground the whole Sirius unit ... maybe better shielding on the cables?

I'd rather not lose CD Changer functionality and I'd like the whole scrolly thing to work as it does in the FM band.

Here is the info from my radio:
SN Y464039_
SV 46-00 50
RI 00
GAL 1 (MIN)
95.9 13 15
DSP 0 V 05
TP-V 0
AREA US (Even tried resetting this to CANADA and back to USA to no avail)
AF OFF


What would happen is I installed a newer MID that was DSP-compatible? Would my whole system balk and not work if I didn't have the rest of the components?

[Tom G.]

Is your X5 Navigation or Business CD? If NAV - you will need a 2003 radio tuner and MKIV computer to be compatible.

If Business CD, your software looks to be of a newer model and should work, but we'll need to know if you've updated the radio or not.

[Rev Z-Man]

Yes, sir, I have the Business CD, no NAV.

Now what's the deal with "updating the radio"? How do I verify this? How do I update?

I figured I was good to go because my FM stations scrolled the name of the band and song during air-play. Dang you BMW!

[Tom G.]

Originally Posted by Rev Z-Man

Yes, sir, I have the Business CD, no NAV.

Now what's the deal with "updating the radio"? How do I verify this? How do I update?

I figured I was good to go because my FM stations scrolled the name of the band and song during air-play. Dang you BMW!

That's our reason - the radio needs to be exchanged for a newer model. Your software version seems to be correct but the manfacture date is too old.

Here's the radio you will need:

e39/e53 BMW Business CD Upgrade - iPod/AUX/Sirius compatible
http://www.europeanautosource.com/pr...roducts_id=289

The MID display is only a display unit, this will not affect anything.

[Rev Z-Man]

I see ... so essentially, I need the Business CD from a new vehicle. 2003 or greater is what I seem to be hearing.

:eek: Wow, that's a lot of cash for this simple job. I'd have been better off mounting the Blaupunkt America, but then I'd have to listen to static in the background via FM or tape adapter.

Now, how do you think I can go about getting rid of the whine? Should I run a ground wire from the Sirius Unit or bracket somewhere?

[Tom G.]

Try removing the Sirius receiver and plugging in the changer directly to see if the whine is still present.

[Rev Z-Man]

Thatwas my original setup and I don't have the whine with just the CD Changer. I also tried it without the changer and I still have the noise.

[Brian-bmw]

Check out this post to solve the whine. It may be that the ground pin on the Sirius-to-CD adapter is incorrect.

http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/110947/

[Rev Z-Man]

VERY interesting!

"The cable that came with my kit (ie from BMW) has the common ground (the tan and white wire) assigned to pin 2 - which is a null pin for the receiver. The common ground is pin 3."

I was checking voltage and grounds and I kept seeing a negative resistance on that pin instead of normal resistance. I'll have to check that out. I'm sure this won't fix my overall Sirius problem, but if it gets rid of the whine, I won't have to disconnect it until I get a new CD unit.

[Rev Z-Man]

Well ... that didn't do anything. All of the white/tan wires match up with one another, coming from the main harness

I tried hooking up the CD Changer to the Sirius CD Extension cable and there is no whine and longer. So it would appear that my Sirius receiver is the source of the noise.

Bad ground inside the unit? It seems like it was made in May of 2005, would it still be in warranty? How could I have this taken care of?