[TunerzineE92]

Hey all -

I originally had a Business CD player in my E92, swapped it all out for an aftermarket stereo system and now I'm putting it back to stock. I couldn't find my factory head unit so I went ahead on eBay and purchased a Professional one. Now I was under the impression it would be an easy plug-n-play swap but apparently it's not. Has anyone had experience with this before? Is the only option to pay the dealership to reprogram the radio?

Does anyone know if I bought any Business CD player from an E90/E92 it would work? Or would I have to get a head unit that had the exact same audio options as my car for it to work?

Thanks in advance for any help!

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by TunerzineE92

Hey all -

I originally had a Business CD player in my E92, swapped it all out for an aftermarket stereo system and now I'm putting it back to stock. I couldn't find my factory head unit so I went ahead on eBay and purchased a Professional one. Now I was under the impression it would be an easy plug-n-play swap but apparently it's not. Has anyone had experience with this before? Is the only option to pay the dealership to reprogram the radio?

Does anyone know if I bought any Business CD player from an E90/E92 it would work? Or would I have to get a head unit that had the exact same audio options as my car for it to work?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Radio will need to be coded after installation to function properly.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by TunerzineE92

Hey all -

I originally had a Business CD player in my E92, swapped it all out for an aftermarket stereo system and now I'm putting it back to stock. I couldn't find my factory head unit so I went ahead on eBay and purchased a Professional one. Now I was under the impression it would be an easy plug-n-play swap but apparently it's not. Has anyone had experience with this before? Is the only option to pay the dealership to reprogram the radio?

Does anyone know if I bought any Business CD player from an E90/E92 it would work? Or would I have to get a head unit that had the exact same audio options as my car for it to work?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Are you from Europe? All USA E9x have Professional CD HU/Nav since MY2006-on. There is no Business CD offered in the USA.

Any used OEM HU requires to have the same OEM amp option in the original car where it came from as you car has right now for you to listen to the audio without going to the dealer. In other words, if your car has Logic7 the used OEM HU has to be from a car with Logic7, the same applies to you car having a HiFi system, it has to come from a HiFi car. Otherwise there will be no audio.

The dealer can code it, though.

[TunerzineE92]

Originally Posted by Technic

Are you from Europe? All USA E9x have Professional CD HU/Nav since MY2006-on. There is no Business CD offered in the USA.

Any used OEM HU requires to have the same OEM amp option in the original car where it came from as you car has right now for you to listen to the audio without going to the dealer. In other words, if your car has Logic7 the used OEM HU has to be from a car with Logic7, the same applies to you car having a HiFi system, it has to come from a HiFi car. Otherwise there will be no audio.

The dealer can code it, though.

Hmmm I guess I was wrong, so you're saying my 2007 BMW 335i from America came with a Professional radio? No way it was a Business radio?

I guess I just need it coded then? Because this one has been programmed not for my vehicle's audio options?

[Technic]

Originally Posted by TunerzineE92

Hmmm I guess I was wrong, so you're saying my 2007 BMW 335i from America came with a Professional radio? No way it was a Business radio?

I guess I just need it coded then? Because this one has been programmed not for my vehicle's audio options?

Yes, all of them. No E9x in the USA ever have had a Business HU or Nav.

What happens when you conect that radio to your car? Do at least it turns on?

[TunerzineE92]

Originally Posted by Technic

Yes, all of them. No E9x in the USA ever have had a Business HU or Nav.

What happens when you conect that radio to your car? Do at least it turns on?

Yeah it turns on. The display itself is a little weird (see photos) - it's not fully lit all the way across. There's just no audio, everything seems to function fine otherwise.

And here I thought I was retarded for trying to upgrade from a Business to a Professional. Guess it's been that long since I've had my stock head unit that I don't even remember what it was!

edit: This is my second radio from the same guy on eBay, so I have no reason to believe it's faulty. The first one I thought it was because of the display... but it seems like there's just something funky going on? The display on the second radio is identical to the first one in terms of where it's not well lit.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by TunerzineE92

Yeah it turns on. The display itself is a little weird (see photos) - it's not fully lit all the way across. There's just no audio, everything seems to function fine otherwise.

And here I thought I was retarded for trying to upgrade from a Business to a Professional. Guess it's been that long since I've had my stock head unit that I don't even remember what it was!

edit: This is my second radio from the same guy on eBay, so I have no reason to believe it's faulty. The first one I thought it was because of the display... but it seems like there's just something funky going on? The display on the second radio is identical to the first one in terms of where it's not well lit.

That display is defective...

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by Technic

That display is defective...

+1. I would look into getting the radio exchanged with your vendor.

[ceb]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

+1. I would look into getting the radio exchanged with your vendor.

...and both units had the same issue. It is unlikely that two (allegedly OK) units would have the identical fault.

I suspect that you have a power issue somewhere and that the radio needs to be coded - aren't these anti-theft radios?

[TunerzineE92]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

+1. I would look into getting the radio exchanged with your vendor.

Yeah I originally thought the first head unit was defective, but this one is the exact same effect on the exact same pixels. So it's not the unit. It could be a wiring issue somewhere, I am going to comb through it all today.

It was a perfectly fine display the first time I plugged it in. After a minute or so is when what you see pictured happened. I think the possibilities of two units to have the exact same issue to be really slim, I'm thinking it's something with the car.

Thanks for all the help so far.

[raphael0874]

This is a very common occurrence, and is quite simple to remedy.

On the back of your new head unit you will most likely have a blue wire and a blue/white stripe wire in the radio harness. You likely connected the blue wire to the blue wire in the aftermarket BMW harness. This blue wire only provides 12 volts when the radio is on, as it actually a power antenna wire. The blue/white stripe wire is an amplifier turn-on wire, and it provides 12 volts whenever the radio is turned on.

So, the simple resolve is to swap the blue wire from the back of your radio with the blue/white stripe wire as it connects to the blue wire in the aftermarket BMW harness.