I have read on this forum that the cable is below the carpet in the vicinity of the cut for the seat wires. Do all R56 have the cable present? Does the seat need to be removed completely to gain access to the cable-end? And lastly, does the cable route from the center of the vehicle, or is the cable routed from the side of the car? In my initial inspection of the area, I can get my finger into the slit in the carpet, but I cannot feel any other cables present. If removal of the seat is necessary, I want to be sure that the cable is present. Any help is much appreciated.

 

It's There, just take the screws out that hold the seat down and prop the front end up with something, do not disconnect the large yellow fastner, the cables will be their.

 

The early build R56's don't have a trap door. I just made a 4" slit in the carpet. It's easier to remove the seat completely by disconnecting the yellow connector. Do NOT, I repeat do NOT start the car when this is disconnected, it will throw an airbag light that must be reset by your dealer.

 

Thanks for the replies! Another question before I get started, for those that have done this. The slit in my carpet where the seat wiring comes out is toward the front of the seat. If I move the seat all the way back I can gain access to this spot pretty easily. Is the wire in this spot, or further back on the floorboard? I am wondering if I will have to cut my carpet back further from the existing access. My car is an early build, not exactly sure of the date. I picked her up in April.

 

I'm a March build, I had the plastic cover. the wires are at the front of the seat area. You can remove the electrical connection but is not necessary. I was able to acces everything with just removing the bolts and propping up the front of the seat. Have Fun!!

 

I get two fingers thru the opening in the carpet and I can't find that darn antenna cable! If and when I do find it, where can I find an antenna cable extension? and, what routing do you use to get it to your XM reciever?

 

You can search NAM (there are a couple of sources that members have used for the smb cable extension), you can goggle smb, or ebay did have a vendor that was selling them. I routed mine under the carpet and then under the console to to the unit (XM Sportster) that I mounted under the ax in jack. It was a bit of a pain to thread the cable under the carpet (even for the 12" or so from the seat to the console) as the cables are not very rigid and I was careful to not tear the padding under the carpet, but it is a doable project.

 

I removed the seat and also could not get to the cable under the seat with my fingers. So, I removed the plastic piece along the door (kind of tricky) and also the bolt that holds the bottom of the seat belt. Then, I lifted up the carpet a bit until I found the wire. The stupid wire was in there. Again, NOTE: DO NOT START THE CAR WHILE THE SEAT IS DISCONNECTED. I MADE THIS MISTAKE, EVEN THOUGH I READ NOT TO. Yes, I am an idiot. :impatient It might actually be a better idea to cut the carpet some where the slit is. My cable was located about 6 inches towards the center console from the slit. I guess you guys could get your wifes or girlfriends to try and reach their little fingers in there to find it. Or, maybe some kind of hooking tool to grab it. Good luck. The airbag light is still on - it's been a month now - need to take it by Mini to reset it.

 

Can anybody post a pic of the bolts you remove to remove the front passenger seat? I tried once and could not get the bolts out (star type bolts) and I was exerting alot of force on them. I stopped thinking it was the wrong bolts.

 

don't have a picture, but there are 4 bolts that secure the frame of the seat to the floorboard. The frame has 2 straight parallel tracks and the bolts are at the ends of each of these tracks. Hope that helps. I used a 1/2" rachet.

 

Yes, thanks. 1/2" rachet? Mine are star type bolts? (They look like a phillips head, but it's a star instead of a phillips. kinda like a allen key. Not sure what you call them?). Or, was I looking at the wrong bolts?

 

These are Torx heads, although I don't remember the size/number. There's one on each end of each seat track. They bolt through the floor to capture nuts in the floorboard.

FWIW, I had to pop the rocker trim off to get under the carpet. There's a well in the floorboard for the OE satellite receiver and all the connections are probably there; my antenna connector was taped down to a styrofoam filler in the well and theres no way I could have gotten to it through the slit in the carpet.

Just take your time and read the posts and avoid the pitfalls like the seat connector/air bag light.

 

Torx!! That's it!! Thanks. So I had the right ones, man were they tight, I couldn't budge em.

 

Time to eat some Wheaties!!

 

Here is a pix of the Sirius Antenna connection. I had to lenghten the slit in my carpet, under the passenger seat about an inch on either side. The cable was taped to the floor about 5" towards the rear of the car. Does anyone know what the other two connections are for?

 

The other wires are for the same thing, the Sirrus sat radio unit that mounts there under the seat. Those are the power and control wires to it, as well as the fiber-optic music signal wires that go to the head unit.

 

hiyoooo
thanks guys, got the cable from the peeps u recomended came in a day!

just cut a 1" slit in my carpet, pulled it up (without removing the seats or anything)
reached back with my fingers and grabbed the cable with the purple tip...
cable fits, sirius works
booya!
tytyty

 

Sorry for the dumb question, but are you guys talking about the Sirius Satellite antenna, or the GPS Satellite antenna?

I am thinking you are talking about the Sirius antenna. If so, is there a place to hook in to the GPS antenna????

 

It's in behind the right side access cover behind the back seat.

 

From what I've gathered in this thread, I should be able to buy a sirius unit that I can bolt under the seat, which should communicate to my head unit?

Does anyone know what unit these wires are are capable of connecting to, without modifications? Plus is there any other wires that would need to be ran ??

Thanks for any help .....

 

The only tuner that works with the factory head unit is the one you get at the dealership. The inputs to the head unit are fiber optic, and there aren't any aftermarket tuners out there that use the correct interface.

All the wiring you need is already there, you just need to get the part, install it, and get the dealership to program your stereo to be able to use it.

 

Thank you so much for the response. Do you happen to know EXACTLY what kind of connection it has on the end of it?

I want to hook up a Garmin 360 GPS under my dash and it has an "MCX connector". I will need to find a cable that will connect the two.

Anyone know where to find a cable that will connect the OEM Mini Cooper GPS cable to a Garmin 360 MCX connector???

 

I got my arm into the carpet slit and felt towards the rear of the car and did not feel any wires. Does the 06 Cooper S have the wires?

 

Is there an antenna wire in an 08 R52 (MCSC)?

Mounting the standard Siriur car antenna somewhere on the body looks difficult and inefficient.

Thanks

 

Are all 2007 Mini Pre-Wired for Siriur Radio