I own an 05 s w/ Harman/Kardon sound system. I just had a company install a kenwood system with blue tooth/hands free along w/ xm radio. When they installed it they left the orignial h/k in the car but mounted it in the back trunk area on the right side behind a panal, they said it was the only way to keep the original h/k sound. The problem is everytime the car is turned off the stereo goes back to a pre set sound valume. So the only way to get the system to work well is to go to the back of the car remove the panal unscrew a bracket and turn the volume up on the original stereo while the car is running. This is nuts can anyone help?

 

Also the air conditioning fan is making an unusual amount of noise since the stereo install , could there be a relationship to install or just couincidence?

 

Interesting 78 read my post and no response ! No one has ever come across something like this nor has any idea's on how I may go about resolving this. I have taken it to a BMW dealership to no avail. I am new to this sight maybe I've posted it to the wrong area, or no one can help! I find this very interesting ...

 

I don't think I have EVER seen that done... BUT have them check the "always on" power lead. it sounds like the unit is loosing ALL power when you turn the car off. If that feed isn't always HOT it will not have any memory to keep the audio level.

 

2nd that, main unit is probably just hooked to a switched power source.

My suggestion, ditch the HK and put in your own speakers.

 

Doesn't an HKenabler solve this problem?

 

Not sure but if it does where can I get one?

 

HK enabler can his this and allow you to remove the old radio. It basically tricks the amp into thinking that the stock radio is there and sets the amp to high.

http://www.newministuff.com/new/shop...uctshow&id=116

Mikey is a standup guy and can get you what you need to get your radio working right.

 

I'd be going back to that *company* and have them deal with it. You paid them for the install... color me crazy, but it shouldn't work like that.

 

They won't be able to fix it. The only thing out there that can trick the HK amp is the enabler or to remove all of the HK system and start from scratch. It is a digital system that requires a signal to be sent to the amp and the speakers are 2 Ohm (dual coil over in the rear) not 4 which is more the standard.

Mikey started selling the HK enabler (I think that GBMINI designed it) to combat this issue.

 

I get it. Still, a company that installs after market stereo equipment should be able to deal with issues like this. Unless they're doing it pro bono...

 

How are they going to deal with it? They made it work with the parts the best they could. Ian is an electronics professional and it took him to develop a circuit to do this.

Most of the installers I know in the USA are teens. This is easily fixed but it won't be by them.

http://www.gbmini.net/wp/2004/06/min...roductionized/

FYI, the enabler tricks the amp into playing on high, so you might hear some background hiss with it. If you don't want that, you will have to replace all of your wiring, speakers and amp.

 

This is partly my point. Sadly, one can spend thousands on a stereo upgrade and it gets installed by door ***** and you're left with a mess. I've heard this story before. Running to the boot to make an adjustment to the volume qualifies as a mess to me.

Now, if the OP was told in advance that this would be the result - fine. And he'll be fortunate to have benefited from GBMINI's genious!

 

If the OP would have come here sooner, I would have directed him right to Mikey at Newministuff from the beginning. Mikey knows everything there is to know about the MINI and their systems. Luckily he is here now to get it all fixed.

 

As someone who runs a custom audio shop i will tell you that they skirted the issue..... the fact of the matter is you PAID them to put in a stereo to work properly..... no matter what parts it requires.... the fact of the matter is you didnt get what you thought you were paying for and it doesnt work properly.... fact of the matter is they should procure the proper piece to do it the right way, you might have to pay for the part but the labor should be all inclusive.....

That being said if you can afford it i would recommend a alpine PDX 4 channel to replace your H&K, it will work great with your factory speakers being that the amp is digital it wont matter that the ohm load on the speakers is 2 ohms.....

TL;DR
O.P. paid for a stereo that works properly, it obviously isnt, buyers rights are in your favor.....

 

Can it handle the dual coil-overs in the back?

I'm sure that you can find components that will work with the system but most that mess with it simply find it cheaper and easier to replace the entire system.

As for the rest, you are making the assumption that the OP didn't walk in telling them what he wanted. He may have been warned and disregarded it. Not saying this is the case, but we don't know the whole story.

 

The alpine pdx series is a digital amp and can handle dual vvoice coils just fine. U can run 2,4, or even 6 ohms to it and it will switch internaly to compansate. U r right i do assume that, just sayin atat my shop we wouldnt have let a customer leave with there car like that if we are putting our name on it than it ahould work properly. For 199$ (279$ installed) we could add a parrot mki9200 and given them bluetooth,auxiliary,USB, and ipod suppory that would work seemlessly with the hk system and it wwouldnt be neer the labor of relocating the radio to the bback

 

I was looking at the PDX series and it does look pretty nice. I do agree and you are right, but there are a lot of installers that don't know how to handle the HK system. When mine goes, I will be looking to replace the whole thing rather than part it out into a new system.

 

and thats a great idea, i recomend to people in a situation where the system has some kind of OEM amp and they need to bypass it, than why not start with a 4 channel amp.... you will need one anyway, they will improve the sound quality instantly and when you DO buy nice speakers, you already have a great amp to push them..... and the best reason is IF you decided to trade the car you simply pull it out and plug the HK back in