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Audio and Bluetooth Build Thread

10K views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  Blackhawks 
#1 ·
Hi,

I wanted to start a thread that will become a timeline and build documentation for my audio installation in my JCW.

My car is a 2008 JCW with Navigation, but no Bluetooth or USB. I'll be installing the OEM MINI Bluetooth and USB retrofit kit as I go as I will already have the car stripped out. I also have the grey headlining and A, B and C pillars which I will be trimming in black Alcantara to match my Recaros.

So, here goes...

This is the interior "before":

You can just about see the nasty grey A pillars!



So let's get started!
Dash out... :aargh:

Rear stripped - I had actually run my power cable and speaker wires when I took this picture, but more on that later

Headlining, A, B and C pillars out

Once stripped, I installed the MINI Bluetooth and USB retrofit kit. I bought a used 'Hands-Free Charging Electronics - High' module from fabdirect.com that came from an E60 5 Series - Part number: 84109229740 which is the same as MINI use:

I also bought the MINI Bluetooth retrofit kit - Part number: 65412152530. In the retrofit kit you get the control module mount which is basically a big plastic box that goes under the passenger seat (RHD), Bluetooth aerial, Microphone, USB/audio socket, a cable loom set and various small parts. THIS PDF gives the full details of the retrofit kit. The charging electronics module shown in the PDF has a different part number to the one I bought, but it is the same part.

The kit didn't come with instructions, but I managed to find them online. A copy is now on my website HERE

With the interior already stripped, the install took about 3 hours - I did it in an evening. It's fairly straightforward, but I just took my time. The most worrying bit was taking a Stanley knife to the carpet to get the plastic box in under the floor. :eek: Under the carpet where the seat is, there is a polystyrene mould which is taken out. The plastic box for the charging electronics module is moulded to the shape of the floor, and once the polystyrene is removed, the box goes straight in. The retrofit kit even comes with the clips that you push into the factory made holes in the floor to then screw the box down. The carpet is then cut, and a plastic lid gets screwed on top of the box. The seat then gets bolted back down.

That's as far as I've got with the Bluetooth / USB installation at the moment. I think the only thing left to do on this is to have it programmed in, but that can wait for now - I've got other things to be getting on with while the interior is stripped.
 
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#2 ·
Sound Deadening

Inherent problems due to road noise and car panel vibration, which can be caused by the mechanical movement and displacement of air by speakers, has a negative effect on the SPL and sound quality of car audio systems.

Sound damping products such as Dynamat or Skinz give greater damping with increased wave diffusion which ultimately means better sound quality.

I have used Dynamat Extreme in previous installations, but my local dealer was able to provide me with a Skinz bulk pack (27 sheets) at a good price, so having done some research, I decided to use Skinz in this build.

This picture shows the boot floor covered

You can see here that more of the floor and side panels have been covered

In this picture, you can see how much of the side panels are covered. I wanted to keep it as vibration free as possible. I even managed to put two sheets through the gap and onto the outer wing panel

Here's the bootlid covered. Sorry for the poor picture quality on this one

So that's now 27 sheets of Skinz in the car, and I've only done the boot area! :aargh: While I wait for another bulk pack to come into stock, I did some wiring.

I am intending to use 4 amplifiers in my build as I am going to run the speakers active. 4 amplifiers require a lot of power, so I ran a 0 gauge power cable from the battery down the side of the car. You can see this red cable in the pictures above. This will go into an Audison Connections 4-way fuse block and smaller gauge power cables will go to each amp.

My car came from the factory with the HiFi speaker system. This comes with an amp which is located in the boot here

This amp is connected to the cars MOST data bus system, so it needs to remain connected. If I remove it, and I need any software updates done to other modules on the car, they will fail as the amp wouldn't be found. It's not a problem as it's fairly small and I can hide it away.

I tapped into the wire that connects to pin #10 as that can be used as an amplifier turn-on signal.
 
#3 ·
Speaker Level Inputs

The MINI head unit does not have low level (RCA) pre-out on it, so I am going to use an Audison Bit One with a DRC controller to convert from high level to low level. Rather than me explain what it does, here is a Ctrl+C and a Ctrl+V from the Audison website:
"Bit One is a multi-function digital processor capable of interfacing with any analog and/or digital source, turning any ordinary system into one with very high-level performance.
Despite its compact size, the bit One is equipped with a powerful, latest generation 266 MHz / 32 bit floating point DSP microprocessor, working in real time on all the functions of the most complete systems.
Managed and configured by a simple and intuitive computer software, it is possible to make adjustments to improve the signal through each phase of its path; from input to output. "

The high level inputs that the Bit One takes are available within the loom that goes into the HiFi amp, BUT the quality of the speaker wire that goes from the head unit to the amp is rubbish, so rather than taking them from there, I decided to take them right out the back of the head unit.

I had some spare pins lying around from a previous install so I pulled the black plug out of the bigger plug at the back of the radio and pulled the pins out having made a note of what went where:
Front Left:
Black/Red (+)
Black/Purple (-)

Front Right:
Yellow/Brown (+)
Yellow/Black (-)

Rear Left
Blue/Brown (+)
Blue/Black (-)

Rear Right
Brown/Orange (+)
Yellow/Red (-)


Here are all the wires removed from the plug. I taped these up as I don't need them now. I didn't cut them as I want to have the option of being able to put the original HiFi speaker setup back when I eventually sell the car.

At the bottom left of the picture above, you can see some blue speaker wires. These are the new wires that run down the CENTRE of the car. I ran these down the centre of the car rather than down the passenger side to keep them away from the 0 gauge power cable - I didn't want to pick up any noise.

At the head unit end, I crimped and soldered the pins onto the new speaker wires

I then pushed the pins into the black block that was removed from the bigger block, but they didn't clip in properly. I then realised that the pins I had were the wrong ones, so I cut them off!

I went to Maplin to get the correct pins, but they didn't have anything like it in stock and they were reluctant to get them in without being 100% they were the correct ones.

I re-mortgaged my house, then went to the parts counter at my local BMW dealer. To my surprise, they not only had them in stock, but they were only 60p +VAT each! I needed 8, but bought 20 so I had plenty spare.

I crimped the correct pins to the new speaker wires

...then soldered them...

...then put some heat-shrink over them

Here you can see all 4 cables completed

These pins were then pushed into the black connector block that goes into the bigger block which then in turn goes into the back of the head unit

...and from behind...

I'm really pleased with how this turned out.
 
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