[Nickco43]

Originally Posted by Thorin

I considered this, but the likelihood I would revert the power connector (the only unique connector) to buy a CD changer down the road is slim. The CD Changers are $500, and I don't even think I own 6 CDs!

That said, the power connector is the only modified part; the MOST connector can be re-inserted into the composite connector if one were to revert back.

On the positive side (pun intended), the power connector is live, with 12V supplied at the connector (red = +12V, brown = GND). I assume it is leveraging the BMW IBS strategy for the power control given its intent to control the CD Changer. So a simple cut & solder job is all that is needed. I may try reverting everything back to redo it all and take pictures, but no guarantees.

You can make a pin in harness if you want to not modify any wires. I did this for my NBT Evo amp fan.

[ctuna]

Fired mine up today . I got it working as a usb player(cdc) but my
phone can't seem to find it. I saw car kit come up for a brief
second on my phone but it won't stay steady.
All switches in off position.
I would assume it should see the phone regardless of what the
settings are on the rest of the car.
Sammsung Galaxy G5.
works in my other car with pioneer head unit . And worked
in the BMW before the TCU blew.


Used an eyelet connector on the big screw next to the Fuse box
for ground and used add a fuse circuit for the positive pretty much
like the DIY first listed. Didn't unplug the Heater control it has a lot
of wire harness length to put it to the side.

Had to really work with the Heater control to get it to pop out.
Some tips from the DIY's are not to get to near the edges when
prying it. For the Radio connector put it through the heater control
slot to get enough length on it to easily pop out the most connector.

[Nickco43]

Originally Posted by ctuna

Fired mine up today . I got it working as a usb player(cdc) but my
phone can't seem to find it. I saw car kit come up for a brief
second on my phone but it won't stay steady.
All switches in off position.
I would assume it should see the phone regardless of what the
settings are on the rest of the car.
Sammsung Galaxy G5.
works in my other car with pioneer head unit . And worked
in the BMW before the TCU blew.


Used an eyelet connector on the big screw next to the Fuse box
for ground and used add a fuse circuit for the positive pretty much
like the DIY first listed. Didn't unplug the Heater control it has a lot
of wire harness length to put it to the side.

Had to really work with the Heater control to get it to pop out.
Some tips from the DIY's are not to get to near the edges when
prying it. For the Radio connector put it through the heater control
slot to get enough length on it to easily pop out the most connector.

Maybe you got a bad box?

[ctuna]

I got it all going . i was already burned out after the install
and expected it to be easier. The sub menu's tend to be
at the end of disk 1.(or beginning)
I had my to tell my phone to play as bluetooth as well as
scan for devices . Once I got it paired I was able to turn on
the phone portion to.
I can say that bluetooth does not sound good as usb by
any stretch of the imagination. Big difference in volume between
streaming and usb to . Maybe some adjustments can be made.

[ctuna]

Every thing is working but I am having trouble stumbling
around and trying to select the source . I can see the sub menus
at the top of cd 1 but when I try to select them there doesn't
seem to be a button that does that. (says + button in the display
but that is assigned to volume) I am pretty sure this is operator
error , but the Instructions seem pretty brief.
Bluetooth streaming sounded a lot better when I turned up the volume on the
phone.

I have the device paired as Car Kit for both phone and media and that
works . I don't see this thing called DJ-BT they talked about in the instructions
but it's working both for the phone and bluetooth streaming. I have had
to resort to pulling out the USB drive to get it to switch to streaming or in
one instance when I had the phone playing bluetooth before I started the
car it went right to playing from the phone.

Update

On and Off button on pro radio cycles between sources.
(double tap to go to next source without turning off the radio.)
CD SD Bluetooth. This is not in the instructions.
This should have been obvious from the display but I didn't think
this would be used for that purpose.
Full list of songs is available with the usb and I assume the sd as
in the cd player.
Bluetooth does not have list only next and previous , you will have to use
your phone for skipping and selecting.

Looks like I should clean up the coding or do Vo coding .
Assist and Bluetooth selection menus still show up on the Radio
for the SOS and Bluetooth.

I only coded out tcum in the Kombi and enabled CDC in the Radio
on first pass.

[drawz]

Originally Posted by Nickco43

You can make a pin in harness if you want to not modify any wires. I did this for my NBT Evo amp fan.

What do you mean by a "pin in harness?"

[Thorin]

Success!

For the power wiring, I ended up buying a new power connector and connector pins (connector: DigiKey part A107759-ND; sockets on order, I used some sockets from another project so I can't vouch for those PNs). A crimp tool was used to tie the wires to the sockets, and inserting the sockets to the connector was a snap (literal). I did add a small bead of epoxy to assert the connections stayed in the socket.

Brown = ground, connected in the housing closest to the connector latch
Red = 12V, connected farthest away from the connector latch.

For the optical, the combination socket was disassembled using a small screwdriver, revealing the wire connector and optical connector. The optical connector has an additional layer of socketry, so that has to be removed too. Once it is all done, the optical connector plugs directly to the Bluetooth unit.

Now with power and optical connected, I could not see "Car Kit" in the list of available Bluetooth devices. This was a hunch that the device relied on an active optical connection to enable the feature. Thus I followed the steps to install a CD Changer, specifically the steps to set the MOST lines in the double-decker optical block in the rear seat bolster (driver's side). Fold down the seat pull the bolster straight out, unbolt the antenna amplifier (2 12mm nuts and a 12mm bolthead screw), and follow the instructions. Cliff notes: Upper block, disconnect line 2 in and line 2 out. Lower block, top lines shift by 1 (1 goes to 2, 2 goes to 3, etc) and the freed line from the upper block goes in socket 1. Lower block, the freed line goes into the next available slot (so there are no gaps).

I turned the car on, and CDC showed up in my audio list, no programming required! The "Car Kit" showed up in my Bluetooth list, so a quick pairing to the phone and it was playing music from Pandora, displaying the song title, and responding to the "next" command on the steering controls and from the right dial on the head unit.

[ctuna]

Sounds as good as the disk player on sd and usb.
Always seem to default to the usb on power up
between the usb and sd . It seems to always remember
where it was on either of those or on the music I have
stored on my phone.
The operating instructions leave a lot to be desired.
Is it worth it Yes.

[Nickco43]

Originally Posted by ctuna

Sounds as good as the disk player on sd and usb.
Always seem to default to the usb on power up
between the usb and sd . It seems to always remember
where it was on either of those or on the music I have
stored on my phone.
The operating instructions leave a lot to be desired.
Is it worth it Yes.

The CD changer emulator box is confirmed working with the pro rad, CCC and CIC. I just tested it tonight.

[Gibbster]

Reading through all of these posts trying to decide my best course of action.

Just bought a 2011 335xi.
Has the Bluetooth for phone option. No CDC, non iDrive. Professional radio.

I was going to purchase this: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Bluetooth-A2...Bc7Oyk&vxp=mtr

However, none of the listings for this product, say it will work for my year.

Experts weigh in? Will this work for my setup?

Many thanks.

[ctuna]

Ask the original poster of this thread.
He has developed a lot of experience with these things.

[Nickco43]

Originally Posted by Gibbster

Reading through all of these posts trying to decide my best course of action.

Just bought a 2011 335xi.
Has the Bluetooth for phone option. No CDC, non iDrive. Professional radio.

I was going to purchase this: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Bluetooth-A2...Bc7Oyk&vxp=mtr

However, none of the listings for this product, say it will work for my year.

Experts weigh in? Will this work for my setup?

Many thanks.

It will work with basic coding.

[Thorin]

I think in 2011 they stopped a lot of the pre-wiring options. If the CD changer wiring is existent in the trunk, this is the easiest way to go.

[ctuna]

I just plugged the Most cable provided in the kit right into the
radio since the only thing I had on the Most Loop
was a bad TCU. However this is kind of a dirty install if
for any reason someone trys to use the most port under
the steering wheel for diags at some future date.
Mounted the unit on the under fitting for the glovebox
so as to have access to the sd and usb drives.

Also I thought you must be able to enable the CDC option
and at a certain point in the build dates you could not.
I would suggest checking to see if you have the cdc option
in your pro radio or idrive . I think the sales site says no to cic.

[vibroluxious]

Nickco43, ctuna I don't have a need for the SD card slot and will continue to use the USB in center console on my car (2009 328i with professional hifi), Is the lack of an SD card slot the only difference in these two units?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bluetooth-H...TB2S:rk:1:pf:0

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bluetooth-U....c100005.m1851

It would be nice to save the $25.00 if so.

[stamonkey]

I've had mine now for three months, and starting to get some issues. Once every 10 or so starts, I loose my fiber optic loop. Meaning no streaming bluetooth, no fm, no factory Bluetooth for calling, no sound whatsoever. After fully cycling the power, everything comes back and works without issue. I have double checked all of my wiring behind the dash, and have inspected the factory amplifier. I have found no smoking guns yet.

Any others having this issue?

[Gibbster]

I may just go with the Android Deck designed to fit in these cars. It seems like the least hassle.

[ctuna]

No issues for me. Had it in a little over a month now.
How did you hook up the power?
Mine is on its own circuit I used and add a fuse in the cdc slot.

[ctuna]

If you have Logic 7 you will need a Most adapter.
(for and aftermarket Head Unit)

[stamonkey]

Originally Posted by ctuna

No issues for me. Had it in a little over a month now.
How did you hook up the power?
Mine is on its own circuit I used and add a fuse in the cdc slot.

Yeah, I added a circuit as well. The quality of the eBay box may be suspect... If I continue to have issues, I'll look further into Dynavin and the Android offerings.

[Nickco43]

Originally Posted by stamonkey

Yeah, I added a circuit as well. The quality of the eBay box may be suspect... If I continue to have issues, I'll look further into Dynavin and the Android offerings.

You may have gotten a dud.

[stamonkey]

Originally Posted by Nickco43

You may have gotten a dud.

Possibly, I did go ahead and pull the stereo to do a hard reset on the eBay box. Since the reset, I've had no issues, but only two days of run time.