I pulled out my rear seat and all the trim as I prepare for my RSD (rear seat delete) and sound deadening project. Found this curious connector behind the passenger side rear hatch trim. At first I thought CD changer, but that's in the front, and satellite radio is under the seat. Anyone know what it is?



I'll post another thread about the RSD project. I'm not doing it for weight savings (total of parts NOT going back in weigh 51 lbs) because I'll probably break even on weight. I'm using Second Skin Alpha Damp and Luxury Liner pro, plus fabricating my own RSD cover. I want the extra space, but without all the noise.

Here's a shot from further back for perspective...

 

I believe that is indeed the cd changer harness.

 

I though CD changer goes in that upper glove box, not in the rear? Tx for the pick - was wondering what the interior of my car looked naked..

 

No, it's an R56 (CD changer is in the dash secret compartment).

It looks like it's for the HD Radio tuner (which btw became standard in 2011). Component N48 in the wiring diagrams:

 

Yep, thanks! That's it. I found this photo of the HD (IBOC) receiver and see they can be had for anywhere from $200 - $325 now. Guess now that I have NCS Expert running, I'll be doing yet another retrofit (assuming it's worth it).

Here's a photo of the IBOC receiver (with connector showing):



and the plug that mates with it...

 

That explains why I still have the right rear cubby spot for my compressor pump, tire slime and jumper cables... that option is not standard in Canada. :-(

 

d@g: do you plan on dampening the entire vehicle? Or just the section where you removed all of the stuff? I would love to know how difficult this is, how much time it takes and how much of a difference you have noticed compared to before. I would love some tomb-like silence that second skin promises.

 

I'm going to do the whole car. I used up the 20 sq. ft of the Second Skin Alpha Damp on the hatch, rear sides and floor (from the B-pillars to the back). I'll need some more for the doors and footwells. The Alpha Damp is followed by the closed cell foam (in this case Luxury Liner Pro). I got the hatch done completely. Huge difference. If you knock on the hatch from outside, it sounds like you're tapping a redwood -- not a hint of hollowness. I got most of the rear floor done with the second layer, but none of the sides this weekend. I'll do the sides next weekend and when I get some more Alpha Damp/Dynomat etc., I'll do the doors, firewall and front floors.

The rear of the car is tomblike and it's not completely done. One drawback is that without road noise (at least from the rear), I hear more wind noise from the sunroof and the engine tap. Stereo sounds much better. I'm hoping that with most of the sheet metal dampened, the roof won't vibrate so much, but I'll tackle those plasticky creaks one by one. Not a whole lot you can do with the wind-noise, though, the car is 90% glass from the beltline up.

 

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.

 

How simple is the IBOC unit to install? Does the car then have to be coded by the stealership to recognize it? Standard FM sounds like poop through our cheesy head units, I'm thinking HD would be a nice upgrade.

 

It's not a plug and play upgrade, even if you have the connector in the trunk. You'll need to find the other ends of the fiber cables that pass from the rear passenger side to the front passenger side footwell and connect those to the fiber loop, then activate the unit on the MOST-bus using NCS expert.