My iPod is now running in the secret compartment of my R56. I have the (US) standard sound system, and the comfort access/bluetooth/iPod package, which gives you the USB and Aux audio inputs in the centre console, and a short iPod cable.

I ran extension USB and audio cables to the secret compartment. I can now run USB memory sticks, or the iPod from there.

To do this, I disassembled probably too much of the interior to get the USB/Aux module out of the center section. I modified the existing connector module to add new connectors for both USB and audio. I ran essentially jumper cables from the modified connector to the secret compartment, and through a hole punched in the back of the compartment.

Here's the Aux/USB connector removed from the car and partially disassembled:

The green thing with the white cap is the USB portion of the connector. It has a sturdy metal body and a weird connector that could be a Lemo special. The four points of interest are the four contacts in the square array in the center. The shield connects to a ground point. I connected one end of a USB extender to this.

The middle elements are the audio portion of the connector with its pins, and the connector housing. I used 30 gauge teflon insulated wire (leftover wire-wrap wire) to connect left, right, and ground to a small stereo jack.

The black plastic piece above the audio jack is the housing. I drilled a hole in the housing to clear the needed wires.

On the right is the housing which holds the USB and Aux connectors, and clip into the center console of your Mini

Here's the modified connector:


Oh, the part number on the connector is BMW 6131 9 129 651-02

Here it is with the USB jumper and the aux audio connector, ready to be installed back in the car. I ran a standard USB extension cable, similar to what you get with a lot of USB memory sticks, and a stereo headphone extender cable from the connectors on the back of this thing up to the secret compartment. A combination of hotmelt glue and quickset epoxy holds things together.

I punched a hole 3/4 inch hole in the back of the secret compartment, after removing it from the car.

To pull the secret compartment, you start by removing the rightmost heating/cooling duct, which requires that you remove the right side A-pillar cover. Then you remove the trim piece between the secret compartment and the glove compartment, and the cover off the speedo. What fun!

I tested things along the way, both with a USB memory stick, and the iPod. Here's the iPod running in the secret compartment:


After that, it's just a simple matter of putting things back as I found them!

I also cleaned up some other cabling as I went along, and got ready for my next projects, which will include replacing the rear 6x9 speakers, and completing the ham radio install.

(All pictures also in my gallery)

If I was going to do this again:

The way I did it works fairly well and should be fairly easy to replicate, if you have good soldering skills. Note that the existing connectors are all ROHS (lead free) which requires slightly different techniques.

If I was really nuts:

Rather than using standard extension cables, I'd pigtail on a single connector (such as a Lemo miniature multi-pin) to the existing connector assembly, then run a custom cable to another connector, or pair of connectors on the rear of the secret compartment.

But for this car, it works -- job done!

 

Great write up! Thanks!

Question though...I was just planning on running extension cables to the compartment from the existing connector, and not deconstructing anything. Is there a reason you went to such great lengths to do this? Does this preserve the usability of USB/Aux input at the bottom of the stack (in essence, you piggybacked a 2nd USB and Aux off the BACK of the harness?) Or did you try it the way I was going to do it (with just extension cords) and it did not work?

 

I wanted to hide the cables, that was my main motivation. Yes, it also preserves the functionality of the existing connectors (as long as you don't have 2 USB things connected at the same time.

And I wanted to do it in a way that didn't involve hacking into the wiring harnesses. When I popped the connector block out, the answer was pretty obvious.

I checked out the extension cables I was going to use before running them through the guts of the car, and yes, extension cables work fine.

It wasn't that much work; part of the exercise was the puzzle aspect of it figuring out what had to be removed to get access to that one %$#! screw I can see back in there holding the piece I really want to get off!

The next time I dig into things (probably in a few weeks) the disassembly process will go much quicker, as I have more of a clue as to what I'm doing!

 

can you post a link to an extension cable that I can buy. Thanks for sharing your work!

 

Yes, thank you for sharing the info! Great to know that there's an extension cable out there that would work. I hate the idea of drilling thru the side of the secret compartment, but if I can keep the iPod in there, it'll be worth it. I too am a wire-hider and cannot stand the current setup with the exposed cable and iPod in the net. Besides, the only other use for the secret compartment that I can figure out is to hold CD's, and with the iPod in the car....who needs CD's?

Did you have to remove pieces on the center stack (climate control panel, lower toggles, etc) in order to run the extension cord? Did you have to drill thru the side of the secret compartment to fish the cord thru?

 

Not going to be much help here...

I have a box in my office full of random cables. (My wife calls me a pack rat -- after almost 30 years of marriage, I just say, "Yes, dear.") When I need a cable, my first stop is the box.

The USB extender I think came with a USB memory stick. It's about 1 meter long, type A male to type A female. The way I ran my cable, through the guts of the car, 1 meter is long enough and 2 meters would have been too long.

The headphone extender is also about 1 meter long, with miniature stereo connectors (one male, the other female) on the other end.

You should be able to find suitable cables at Radio Shack, Circuit City, places like that. Don't spend a lot of money on them! Newegg.com has 3 foot USB extenders for around $3 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812816023). Amazon has headphone extension cables from around $3 as well (with URLs that are about as long as the cables, so I didn't paste one in here!).

Chat up your local IT (information technology) folks, and/or inquire around with people that use USB memory sticks or other USB gadgets. One of them is bound to have a USB extension cable laying around unused!

 

Ok will do! Thanks

 

I unbolted the center stack but didn't have to pull it completely from the car. I removed the secret compartment. I used a drill and a 3/4 inch chassis punch to put a hole in the back of the secret compartment (it's plastic, see third pic in my post above, showing the iPod running -- you can see the hole at the back of the secret compartment). I also used words I don't normally use in polite conversation, while trying to figure out how to get things out of the car!

I also pulled and modified the USB - Aux Audio connector block! And for me, that was the easy part!

If you aren't into that kind of pain... There is a trim panel in the lower part of center compartment. It pops out with fingernails (and a few nasty words, optional). From there you can feel openings in the center stack, and while you can loosen the USB-Aux connector block and pull it out, you'd have to be a real masochist to try and run cables without pulling the center console! Might be possible, but I wasn't willing to try!

If you aren't up to modifying the connector block, you could instead drill a hole in the top left portion of the removable trim panel (I went out the parking lot and pulled the one out of my car -- the label on the back says it's "ASSY LOWER HEATER COVER" 00551 09503 RG/24069/205). and run the cables out through that and plug into the existing connectors. I thought about doing that, but since I already had the connector block out, I decided to mod that and hide everything.

Similarly, pulling the secret compartment, while somewhat of a pain, is the best way to see what you're doing, and for fishing cables through. When I pulled out the secret compartment, it was obvious to me where I should put the hole to make running cables easy. And I ran the cables (and tested them with the secret compartment (and everything else) still loose. I wanted to be sure things worked before I replaced n+1 screws and trim pieces! I've done this kind of thing before!

Aside: A while back, I watched/supervised as my son replaced the hard disk drive in a friend's computer. Watched him disassemble things, pull out the old drive, put in the new drive, hook up the data cable but not reconnect power to the drive. Watched him reassemble things (an iMac), tighten all the screws, plug it back in, turn it on ... nothing.

I told him he'd forgotten the power cable on the drive. He gave me a very nasty look, and I laughed. I told him (1) that's why you smoke test things before you button them up, (2) this way he'd be more likely to remember that, and (3) besides, how do you think I learned?

Cheers--

 

k6rtm again thanks for sharing. Loved the son story! Good for you.
I could never do what you did but it's nice hearing about your success. Are you in the Texas area by chance I would love to have that done to my car but I have no idea and am to scared to take apart anything in the car.

 

I'm on the Left Coast, in Silicon Valley, a ways from the sovereign nation of Texas.

And you'll be surprised what you're willing and able to do with your car once you start. Most of the interior can be dismantled with a few different sized Torx bits. Certainly the pictures and descriptions posted herein help a great deal!

 

So what exactly holds the secret compartment in place? Is it just the 2 clips on the sides?

 

I'll quote myself...(posted earlier in this thread)

 

I pulled the whole thing -- compartment, door, the works. "The works" is held in place by two screws along the bottom of the assembly.

First you open the secret compartment and pop off the plastic trim to the right and left of the secret compartment. The right one is mostly rectangular and pretty easy. The left one has a leg that goes up and around part of the secret compartment.

To get to the two screws along the bottom, you need to remove the trim piece between the secret compartment and the glove compartment, the piece with the glove compartment button.

To remove that trim piece, you need to remove the rightmost vent.

And to remove the rightmost vent, you need to pull the "A" pillar cover!

(But it stops here -- you don't need to pull the wheels!)

 

What I'm wondering (and humor me here) is since there is a separate compartment insert part available for iPods could the old insert (just the insert) in theory be cut out? I know it sounds weird but could a cut be made right down the middle on the top, bottom and back and just pull the pieces out? Then the new one just pushed in? That way taking the dash apart could be avoided.
Sounds weird, I know.

 

I just popped the secret compartment out by first prying a butter knife in the bottom then putting something there to pry it open more which was actually my power plug in for my phone. The two clips are located left and right but putting this object in the bottom center angles the clips so now I put in my butter knife and can pop the clips on either side and it came out.

I placed the access hole on the right side near the rear so the angle of the cable would act as a strain relief. I found and purchased my extension cables from the http://www.cablewholesale.com/.

 

Boosted Norm, I'm wanting to do exactly what you did, but have a question. Were you able to run the cables down to the original connectors at the base of the console without dismantling anything?

Thanks,

sd

08 MCSa as well...

 

I think MINI has gotten too cute on all these options. Nonsense like these two options seems to exist for no reason other than so they can tout how many possible configurations there are when you go to miniusa.com. I'm sure most people (myself included) thought that the iPod integration mean it went in the secret compartment, particularly since there's a picture of an iPod hooked up that way in the MINI brochure.

To want $500 or more to put the iPod in the secret compartment (which really isn't big enough for much more than an iPod anyway) is absurd. Why couldn't they have just had one location for the iPod (the secret compartment) and be done with it? Who in the world did they think would actually WANT their iPod out in the open?

Rather than pay for an expensive upgrade or attempt to run the iPod to the secret compartment myself (which I very likely would have messed up in some way), I took a decidedly low-tech, low-cost path to solving the problem. I made a cover for the area beneath the stereo to hide the iPod and the cable. I used one of those plastic binders that you can get at any office/school supply place for $2...the kind that you could roll up like a newspaper if you wanted to. I bought a black one and cut a 5x5 section out of it and then sat in the car and trimmed it to fit. I put two small holes in the top of it and used a couple of extra-small cable ties to secure the cutout to the little rails in between the toggle buttons.

The black folder blends in great with the console color and the iPod and cable are totally hidden. The folder easily flips out for easy removal/connection of the iPod. You don't even notice the newly installed flap through casual observation. Somebody would have to stand there and examine what it is they're looking at to even notice that there's a flap there that may or may not be hiding something. I don't think the opportunistic "smash and grabbers" bother doing any such examination. They ****** what's easily observable rather than hoping that something might be there.

Somebody with some sewing skills could easily fashion a little curtain to do the same thing. I think that would be a much more elegant way to do what I did, but I don't have those kind of skills.

 

That's a silly reason- there's much easier ways to accomplish stats like that.

There's three-ish reasons: The secret compartment version is an iPod only connection that uses an emulator to connect the iPod as a CD changer. Part of that cost is the box between them.

This is the same as the version that's been around for years, and I'm sure a large part of it being available this way is because it's been that way in the past. The newer iPod connection runs through new electronics as a more direct connection to the car.

Lastly- why assume that everybody uses an iPod? Or that they want to leave it in the car? If I'm using a USB key and want to take it inside with me each night to sync up, the accessibility is perfect. The same for if you're running another MP3 player that doesn't connect by USB- you'd have to run custom connections for everything.

Or, maybe you've got the secret compartment stuffed with what it's actually meant for: the CD Changer. Or maybe it's stuffed with Starbucks napkins.

 

Nick, you're not going to convince me that having two iPod integration options and not making it clear that there are two options is a good idea. If you show a picture of an iPod connected in that secret box with the caption "iPod integration", it's reasonable for people to expect it to be that way in their car.

Continuing to do something a certain way just because that's the way you've always done it is never a good justification.

Lots of folks make a number of stops throughout the day: grocery store, dry cleaners, the mall, a restaurant, extra-curricular activities for their kids. Each time you walk away from the car and leave that iPod (or any other MP3 player) visible, you risk getting your window smashed. At home at night in my own driveway is probably the lowest-risk place to leave my iPod. I don't know where you are, but in the D.C.-metro area, break-ins for visible, small electronics have become epidemic. Disconnecting the iPod each time you get out of the car just isn't convenient.

 

Got any pics? I've thought of something similar myself, I'd love to see how you made it work!

 

Sorry if you thought that's where I was going, but that wasn't my point. I wasn't trying to convince you, I just though it was important to point out they're not just charging $500.00 for cables- there's reasons it's different (even if they're not very convincing to everyone )

If somebody had shown me a brochure for the in-compartment connection, but talked about the USB connection, I might feel the same way you do. As for me, I was aware of the two different options, perhaps because I really wanted the USB port. I held out on ordering for a few months to try and wait for them to announce it in the US market, but decided to cut my losses in June. I still love the car, even though I re-burn a CDR or transfer another few gigs of music to my Blackberry every couple days.

I must be having a bad communication day My point here wasn't to say that it should be kept because it's always been, but that they were genuinely different options. To discontinue one just because it was older doesn't make sense because the old one offers something the other doesn't. That price point doesn't help them, but there's bits involved in that option that force their cost up, and with their markup policy the list price ends up a killer. Maybe it won't make sense financially for BMW when it comes time to make another production run, but for now, there's people out there that might want them, even at that extra $500.00.

For now, it's the only option available to me, since my R56 was manufactured before they made the switch to the USB port.

I understood what you were getting at the first time around- I may live in an area that sees less crime like this, but I'm worried about my stuff getting stolen too. That's why I'd take it with me every time. Getting into the secret compartment would be a hassle I wouldn't want. Not everyone is going to want the same thing, and our preferences don't match up. It sucks that it wasn't worked out in a way that would work for everyone, but hey, it's how it goes.

 

Ok I am really confused. I ordered my Mini with the Ipod/ Bluetooth $500 option and I have no idea what I am getting. Can somebody help me with this list so we can easier once and for all spell out what each option includes? This definitely needs updating, but this is what I have so far. Please feel free to change or update:
________________________
1. Standard with all Minis: AUX INPUT at the bottom of the center stack

2. Ipod / Bluetooth $500 option: USB next to the AUX INPUT at the bottom of the center stack

3. Comfort Access (which is part of the convenience package): USB next to the AUX INPUT at the bottom of the center stack, Ipod in the secret compartment & Armrest phone hookup. Comes with Y cable.

 

Comfort access does NOT put the iPod in the secret compartment. It does give you the Y-cable and the USB/AUX input mounted under the toggles in the center stack. Armrest phone hookup requires a cradle to match your particular phone, and they're hard to find & pricey.

The iPod can be placed in the netting compartment in the passenger footwell. Crappy place to put it, as it can be seen from outside or kicked by a passenger.

 

ok so updated so far. Please keep updating for changes if any....

1. Standard with all Minis: AUX INPUT at the bottom of the center stack

2. Ipod / Bluetooth $500 option: USB next to the AUX INPUT at the bottom of the center stack

3. Comfort Access (which is also part of the convenience package): USB next to the AUX INPUT at the bottom of the center stack, Armrest phone hookup. Comes with Y cable.

4. Ipod in the secret compartment: Dealer option only?

 

1. Standard with all Minis: 3.5mm stereo AUX input at the bottom of the center stack

2. USB / Bluetooth Preparation: USB next to the AUX INPUT at the bottom of the center stack. Bluetooth preparation includes the capability to connect a compatible cell phone through an armrest snap-in that is sold separately. Factory installed option only.

Earlier in the year, this option did not include the USB/AUX Y cable as part of the package, but some dealers were including it at their cost. Lately, I've been seeing a lot less complaints on it. It's possible this is a situation similar to the tire jack/tool kit that now comes with the car, but didn't when initially released.

The configurator says "with USB/iPod adapter" in the convenience package description, but specifically lists that the cable is included in the individual option description. (Interesting side note: the picture here does show the iPod in the secret compartment, which is incorrect . Sorry Jeru99... looks like someones got things mixed up)

3. iPod Integration: A dealer (or perhaps on new orders, VDC?) installed iPod connector in the secrect compartment.

The conveniece package for 2008 includes the USB/Bluetooth Prep, auto wipers, headlights and dimming mirror, two keyless entry keyfobs, and the HomeLink universal remote buttons on the mirror.