Hey good afternoon folks...

My sound system is messed up...

I turn the engine over, and if the head-unit is on, there is an extremely loud hissing/buzzing sound. So I turn off the head-unit and the hissing sound becomes much lower but remains. It'll remain like this for at least 3-5 minutes as I drive around. Once it goes away, I can turn on the head-unit and 80% of the time the hissing sound won't come on with it. But if it does while the head-unit is on, I just blast my music like usual and I know it will go away within 1-2 minutes.

If I listen to my music at the loudest levels for at least 20-30 minutes, then the hissing sound will start creeping in along with the music and it won't go away unless I turn off the engine and all electrical power (turn key all the way).

If I turn off the engine and power for about 1 minute and come back in, the hissing sound will return and I will have to wait 3-5 minutes like usual for the hissing to go away before I can use the head-unit.

The colder the weather is, the longer it will take for the hissing sound to go away.

Sometimes the right rear speaker or front right or front left speaker will do a spooky static sound regardless of whether the head unit is on or not.

So is the black HK amp in the rear messed up? Is it possible that it's just a bad ground? It looks like I have to remove the rear seats and the entire passenger-side rear cover to access the amp, which is totally lame, right?

If the amp is messed up, I can't replace it with any other amp, right?

Thanks for the help!

 

Wow! I would see mini about that! Let's Motor!

 

Is there anyway this thread can be moved to the 1st generation mini forum? lol It's confusing browsing the forums and seeing one user say the 2007 and later HiFi System is Alpine made, and then another user, with a 2003 mini r53 creating a thread with Harman Kardon in the title... in the 2nd generation mini forum.

 

Yes, you report it. (I already have)....

That being said, there still is HK in 2007 MINI's. However, it is only in the cabrios. So, if the OP had a 2007 cabrio, he would have been posting in the correct forum.

As for the HK issue, it sounds like you have a bad amp (fairly common). Time to replace it.

 

Harman gets funky about these things... but they tend to stick to warranty, assuming yours is still in limit

 

Actually, no, he wouldn't. 2007 and 2008 Cabrios are still 1st Generation MINIs, so the correct place for this was always the 1st Generation Nav & Audio forum.

It's right where it needs to be now.... even if it was for a 2007 Cabrio.

 

However, you guys want to run it....

 

It's not "us guys", it's a basic fact.

The Cabrio is still a first generation MINI, and will remain so until 2009 when it the redesign (along the same lines as the R56) is released.

The 2007 & 2008 Cabrio models are 1st Generation MINIs! Plain and simple! Any questions about troubleshooting, mods, installs, etc for those years of Cabrio will be completely related to the other 1st Gen MINIs and not at all related to the 2nd Gen MINIs such as the R56.

In other words, the 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 MINI Cabrios are effectively the exact same car (with minor tweaks, if they make adjustments to fix problems, etc.).

We didn't make this stuff up, this is how BMW/MINI released the products! The coupe models and the cabrio models have staggered release dates.

 

Like I said, however you guys want to run it, you are the mods. and... It is "you guys" because other sites might do it differently. BMW is not forcing you to run your site this way.

Sheesh, no need get crazy about it, I apologize and recant my original statement.

Bottom line is to help the OP.

 

We are (primarily) a technical discussion site for the MINI Cooper. As such, it makes sense to separate technical discussions by model. So... yes, it really is BMW who is setting the "technical rules" by which we set up the site.

Take a look at the other major MINI discussion forums (such as MINI2), and you'll find the same thing. R50, R52 & R53 in one section... R56 and other new generation models in another.I'm not getting crazy about it, daflake. I'm simply pointing out that the way it is set up seems to be the only way that it makes sense to do so. If you seem to feel there is another way that makes more sense, then I (and we) are all ears. Seriously! We are always open to constructive criticism. If you have a neat idea about what could be different here, post it in the Site Feedback forum! Agreed.

 

My point was that your explanation was more like a essay rather than just saying...

"It is still an R52 and belongs in 1st gen."

I wasn't arguing the fact that it should be moved.

As for MINI2, I mod there and typically we don't move them unless the user wants it moved. If you scourer the ICE and other areas in 2nd gen, you will find it with a few 2007 model R52 questions. Why? Because many people don't have a clue what an R52 is. They just know that they bought a 2007 cabrio or they know the plate number and it is easy to be confused as to what it is. If we are asked to move it we do hence my comment.

I now know how you guys want it run here and I will help by reporting them so that you can move them to keep your site organized in the fashion that you want.

 

Well, my original explanation seemed to be necessary, since you said:And you were very much incorrect.

I imagine it will be interesting to see what happens after the 2nd Gen Cabrio is released, because the existence of two different generations of convertibles will only serve to confuse further. Better to *** it in the bud now, IMO... and educate the newcomers about the different models (including their R codes).Thanks - the confusion is temporary, people only need to be oriented once as to what they have. I think it's worth the effort.

 

11 replies, not a single positive remark regarding this issue... nothing but a bunch of bull posts. Does anyone actually have any insight regarding the HK amp issue? Any fixes other than donating a grand to BMW fo a new one? I have had this thing crap out on me too and wouldn't you know it... three months after the warranty expired on my '05. The radio just started making popping noises, first intermittently with music, then all the time and no music at all! I'n not a happy camper

 

Yeah, Edge decided to go high and right on me for some reason.

As for the amp, you will need to probably replace it. You might try a junkyard to see if you can find one or even ebay.