I've never ordered a connector part, but if you can find a part number, you can probably get it. However, it might not include the matching pins.

All of the MINI connectors I've dealt with had easily removable pins. You just have to examine and figure out what to press to release the pin from the holder.

 

I had this connector apart this evening and yes it would be much easier to get the pins out with a special tool.

There looks to be three tabs that stick out and hold the pin in place. There are no holes to put something it to get the pins to release. There needs to be a sleeve that goes around the outside of the pin to squeeze the tabs is to release them. I have worked with these type connectors before and a tool makes it 1000 time easier. I ma not saying it can not be done, its just not easy.

Here are some pics out of my 08 clubman that show the connector

This picture shows the connector coming form the radio, Pin one is upper right corner, pin 6 upper left corner, pin seven lower right corner, pin 12 lower left corner.




This picture shows where the connector is located in my 08 Clubman. It is the white one underneath the black one on the hooked on the side wall of the car behind some cables. There was enough slack to get the cables out of the way.



Color coding is as follows for my Clubman. I do not see any reason that it would be different for a hatch or convert. but you never know.

B = Black
BL = Blue
BR = Brown
R = Red
OR = Orange
Y = Yellow
v+ Violet/Purple

Wire/Stripe

RF+ = front right positive
LF- = Left Front Negative
RR+ = Right Rear positive
etc

Pin 3 RF+ Y/BR
Pin 4 RF- Y/B
pin 5 LF+ B/R
Pin 6 LF- B/V
Pin 7 RR+ BR/OR
Pin 8 RR- Y/R
Pin 2 LR+ BL/B
Pin 10 LR- BL/R

I hope this helps

 

It looks like a two piece connector, with the inner piece holding the pins and a outer piece like a sleeve. Can the two pieces release from each other? (probably the inner piece goes forward, pulling the wires with it through outer piece). Many of the connectors have pieces that can be taken apart.

 

Anyway someone can retest the frequency responses from this connector? -Just in case there is an inline highpass filter elsewhere in the car...

 

The connector is a two part connector but the second (inner) part is just a spacer to ensure that the wires where crimped to not touch. I pulled this par of the connector out and it does nothing for helping get the connectors out. I think what you are seeing in the picture as an outer layer is not an outer layer it is the clips that hold it to the other side of the connector.

I have some parts to pick up from my dealer this weekend so i will see if the connectors are available for purchase. I will also see if there it a tool to get the pins out of the connector.

I seriously doubt that there is any inline filter. From experience with two other BMW's and their wiring diagrams. if there was a filter of any sort in the wiring harness it would be shown in the wiring diagrams. It would actually be easy for the filter to be built in the head unit in a low level signal path before the final amplifier.

 

Thanks for the pics! How hard was it to expose the connector?

I have some tools for pulling pins from Molex connectors -- possibly one of those will work.

And it's good to see the colour coding matches what the other diagrams say they should be!

I doubt there would be any inline filters not shown in the diagrams -- don't think even American car companies would do that! And a 12dB/octave filter with a 100Hz corner would be pretty large and expensive. Much easier to do it with a jellybean op amp and a handful of passive components -- under a dollar per channel and a few square mm of pc board space.

I'm looking forward to the weekend when I can play with wires and move some around! This is going to be fun!

 

How about the mating connector (the other side, with male pins)? Any chance that it's easier to disassemble?

 

In my car there was not enough cable on it to pull it down far enough to do any work with it. I would have had to take the bottom half of the dash off to get to it.

A molex connector pin remover may do the trick. I did not measure the pin size but i would suspect that these are .093" molex connectors, Larger than standard computer size moles which are .062" if my memory serves me correctly.

In my clubman i did the following to get to the connector.

Pull straight out on kick panel then found that door gasket needed to be removed so i could get my fingers in behind panel as it runs all the way along the door sill back to behind the front door. Then I could still not get it out as the panel behind it was to tight to let it move. So when I do it again I would follow these steps

Note: Be careful putting fingers behind panel to remove i came across 4 or 5 points of screws sticking out behind the panel. Also be careful not to pull on the ground blocks that are spaced along door sill if using any type of tool to remove the panel. I think there were three grounding blocks mounted along the door sill.

1. Remove Seatbelt retaining bolt at floor behind drivers seat.

2. Pull door gasket off from about dash level all the way across the bottom of door and up about 6 inches of back edge of door frame.

3. Pull straight out on kick panel near fire wall.

4. Continue to pull straight out panel all along bottom edge of door.

5. Then to remove it from behind the panel behind the front seat pull forward toward front of car.

6. Most of the clips will probably remain in their holes but using a needle nose they will come out easy.

7. If there is another short panel just below the dash remove it by pulling it straight back toward back of car.

8. The connector is mounted to the side wall by a slide connector. Mine needed to be pushed up to release it.

Then the connector should be fairly accessible.

 

I was looking in the BMW TIS service manual (from eBay on DVD) last night. I couldn't find any part numbers, but it looks like the pins are 2.5 mm.

 

What is the plan here, are you just trying to swap the feeds from front to back to put the hi-pass on the fronts? Is it possible this is how it was supposed to be in the first place and they just miss wired it?

I have the hi-fi, but have only had the car (clubman) a couple of weeks. I don't think the hi-fi has the same hi-pass filter to the rear as you have seen with the standard setup. While I was initially disappointed, especially after reading all the bad comments here, and my first listening experiences, after much fiddling I have it set now where it is quite acceptable. I have to roll the bass mostly to the rear as the fronts simply cannot handle any bass hardly at all.

 

Another participant (Robin Casady) who has a HiFi system reports the same bass rolloff in the rear speakers.

From looking at the wiring diagrams, I'd say that the HiFi and standard Mini sound systems use the same head units (Nav or non-Nav) with the HiFi adding the amplifier. The wiring details I gleaned from the diagrams that support this conclusion are posted earlier in this thread.

As you suggest, my first whack at fixing things is to swap front and back -- the smaller front channel speakers shouldn't notice the 100 Hz high pass, and the larger (6x9) rears should do much better with the full fidelity signal, particularly with low bass.

While I can crank up the bass and get some low end out of the 6.5 inch speakers (Polk db651s, not the OEM), when I looked at the waveform on my scope, yes I was getting bass, but I was also clipping the snot out of the little 15wpc amp.

Hopefully I'll have a much better feeling for this in 24 hours!

 

You are correct in the statement that the HiFi also has a roll off on the rear. I picked up a test tone CD today and there is definitely a roll of below 100 HZ.

This thought has crossed my mind but i am not taking the whole dash apart to get tot he head unit to see if the wiring color codes match the wiring diagrams or if the wires are just placed in the connector in the wrong places.

I stopped at my local DIY electronics store today and purchased a Molex .093 pin remover and tested it. The pin remover is not the correct size and will not work> The pins are slightly larger than the removal tool. The store did not have an Amp connector remover large enough either.

I called my SA and asked him what they use to take the connectors apart. The buy a kit form MAC Tools that has a few different size removal tools in it. He was going to try to get the part number from one of the techs and call me back with the part number.

I will try to make my own remover this weekend but unsure how that will go.

 

schatzy -- thanks for the homework!

I'm betting I can make an adequate removal tool from my favourite source of shim stock -- empty soft drink cans... For the price of the canned beverage of your choice, and a few minute's work with a pair of scissors, it's worth a try...

And the advantage of the X9331 connector is we don't have to take the whole dash apart to try these thing!

 

The document I was looking at last night had the BMW tool part number. I'll look it up again and post it tonight. The beer/soda can solution will hopefully work. It's annoying to buy a tool that you might use only once.

 

Some info on tool here: http://www.unofficialbmw.com/all/ele...tact_pins.html

 

Nice! It has the part numbers for the contact pins. The tool shown there is 61 1 132. On my BMW service manual, it says tool 61 1 132 was replaced by 61 0 303 starting 9/2005. The replacement sleeve for 2.5mm contacts is 61 0 304. Just the sleeve is probably all you'll need.

 

I actually have that tool that I purchased several years ago when I swapped the pins on my MAF in my BMW.

 

l've been following this thread and l just put my order in yesturday for a clubman and am wondering now if it's worth the extra $500! l can still change it as the MA is off today. In my 03 MC l changed out speakers and added an amp and it sounds great, so l was hoping the upgrade, which is a Harman/Becker, who also makes Harman/Kardon and Lexicon wold have a sound system worth $500...thanks, Ghryll

 

My guess--

The extra power the amp provides is a good thing. I'd guess that the amp response is pretty flat; the "dirty work" is done in the head unit. If that's the case, then swapping drive signals (what we're doing by messing about with the X9331 connector) should do the trick.

Having said that, I'd bet you're going to replace the stock speakers anyway. I believe that's what Robin did.

We may have an answer this weekend, unless someone with a HiFi system has already done the swap and had good results? Any reports?

For $500, I think the amp may be worth it. When I ordered my MCS, I think the premium was a lot higher.

 

A hardy thank you for finding X9331!! I am about to undertake the installation of a processor ( Audiocontrol DQL-8 ), multiple amps, and Dynaudio speaker replacements.. I really didn't want to pull the dash..

Bill in P.G.

 

Bill--

Keep us informed on how things go, and how things sound!

 

i am simultaniously anxious and excited..

if this even works.. how the hell am I going to get some "pro" audio shop to rewire my 08mcs standard stereo if I cant even understand it myself? I might have to print the thread.. who knows how that will go--

 

Hey, if we can get another volunteer in or close to Silicon Valley (rkw? done it yet?) with a standard sound system, we can videotape the whole thing -- takes longer to pop the panels loose than it does to swap the wires!

And thanks to D Unit, I now have the real tool! (Words to live by: never get rid of tools).

 

Wish I could! I currently have a Cooper cabrio. I'm planning to get a Clubman but it keeps getting delayed because of other priorities. I participate in this topic because I love this nerdy stuff .

 

Are we anywhere close to a documented solution to this problem?

--btw. your efforts are greatly appreciated