I was able to retrofit the HD Radio tuner to my 1/08 Cooper with just a bit of reconfiguring the MOST bus fiber optic lines that terminate just above the fuse box. My car had the the loop back from the head unit active, since I don't have the bluetooth yet (that's next weekend), sat tuner, or a changer. So I had to figure out which of the three fiber lines going up to the front using flashlights in the back and under the pass seat were the ones for the HD tuner. I had to swap the lines in the connectors in the front by sending out the signal from the deck to HD unit directly and back to create a "ring" to the HD tuner. There was an unconnected fiber line that terminated in the rear and in the front that I had to swap into the connectors to bypass the lack of a sat tuner.

Once I had that finalized, I used NCS Expert to enable the IBOC tuner in the radio head unit and voila! I had HD radio. So if anyone finds a cheap used tuner like I did, or really want to pay full price it is possible to add an existing car if you have the connector in the rear right side compartment.

 

Can this be done on a 2007?

 

Look in the boot on the right hand side, inside the carpeted door you can remove. There maybe a spare white plug in there taped to the main wire bundle. It has three little wires and two larger diameter fiber optic lines (one is green and the other was wrapped in corrugated black tubing. In my car there was a spare yellow colored fiber optic line taped down underneath that wiring bundle. There should also be an antenna connector a few inches away. If you have both of those connectors you should be able to add the HD tuner. The price of the IBOC tuner has come down, new they are $286 from parts.com. There is a bracket and a couple of nuts and bolts needed to mount it. And an antenna splitter is needed if you have the Navigation.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...69&hg=65&fg=05

 

I think I have the wires. I will check and see if I have all of them.

How did you program it?

As noted on my other posts I just bought the airbag multi tool.
But you can't program with it.

 

NCS Expert to enable the IBOC in the radio module. I have a couple of other recent posts describing how to get the NCS up and running. I am not sure (I will find out hopefully this weekend as I will be connecting up the J2534 tool to ISTA/P) if the dealer can even do this retrofit.

 

I have an IBOC unit and bracket for sale. PM me if you're interested. For some reason, I can't post a marketplace ad. I'll sell it on the cheap to NAM members before going to eBay with it.

 

PM me with $. I may be interested.

 

Necro-bump


I came across this and am interested in doing the upgrade. ECS Tuning has the module for about $300 and I can source the rest of the parts.

I have a 2007 car. I went out and checked and found the white plug and what looks to be an antenna taped up. The antenna has a green cap on it and the white plug is just there was a few wires running into it. Both bundled securely to the larger wiring harness.

What do I need to do to get this up and running. I have factory navigation.

Thanks for the help!

 

Technica,
Did you get this setup and running?

Mike

 

not quite yet - but I'm close.

The full interior tear down will happen soon and all the new audio will go in. I plan on doing the HD module then. I'll post up what I find.

Lucky for me, Strobeyprobey just happens to live 10 minutes from me. Hopefully he'll help me out if I need it

 

I found the white connector and the blue antenna connector in the right rear boot. The blue antenna connector was already connected to a black connector. When I disconnect them the FM radio signal goes out.

Should there be another antenna connector for the HD Radio or is the splitter needed? How is it connected?

I have a 2008 R56 with Sirius, base radio and no navigation

Thanks for the assist

 

did you happen to figure out what the white connection went to.

 

Yes, the white connector plugs directly into the HD (IBOC) Digital Tuner and the black/pink connector plugs into the antenna interface on the tuner. If you have Navigation then you need a splitter to also connect the blue/pink plug back to the head unit for the RTTI function.




In addition to adding the IBOC Digital Tuner to the vehicle order ($653), you must also make sure the MOST-Bus is properly routed/connected between the components in your vehicle. A small flashlight is best for checking that the ring is complete and going in the right direction (properly in and out of each component)




The Most-bus Connector is located on the firewall behind the passenger side kick plate next to the left of the fuse/junction box. In some cases there are additional fiber optic cables there that you may have to connect to the system depending on the component you are adding to the MOST ring.

 

So the BMW IBOC HD tuners you see o nebay would work with this? They look identical. I also have an '08 with Sirius (Lifetime) but with the "HIFI", no Nav. Worth it?

 

Yes. The BMW ones on eBay worked for me. If you are in an area that has several HD radio stations and you can program/add the HD tuner to the VO yourself then it is worth it. Like me, you will probably have to reconfigure the MOST ring. In the Sat radio compartment (under the passenger seat) there should be an extra fiber cable with a green cap that will have to be switched out with one of the fiber cables already attached to the Sat radio to add the HD tuner to the "ring".