[matty088]

All audio in car stopped working. The radio lights up fine but no sound is coming out. The seatbelt and etc chimes are not working either. Dealer says amp is shot and it will cost 1950 for parts and labor. wtf kinda bs is this. But what are my options. Drive with no sound then one day try to sell it this way? Or fix and take it up the rear? Can anyone think of a third alternative?

[Wongway]

Well, dealer told you the amp is bad.

So go here
Hopefully, you know which audio system you have.


If for example you have HiFi (which is the cheapest and easiest thing to upgrade/change), go here and get in contact with Technic for an amp harness...

Some appropriate amp and even your stock speakers to get you running for now would probably be suffice.

[ctuna]

You need to find out which system you have and why it went bad.
If it got wet you need to find out how and fix that first .
That is a pretty typical failure.

If its the amp you can usually find one on ebay for 300 to 500
or sometimes here.
there are also a few places that fix the L7 amp . If you have one of the
other two systems you might as well upgrade.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1017610

Repair
http://www.bmwradiorepair.com/?gclid...FccbQgodIEn0Cg
http://www.beckerautosound.com/BMW/index.html
http://www.bmwgm5.com/Logic7_6941681.htm

The second link is suppose to be good at this.

[matty088]

How do I know which amp i got? Tks

[Wongway]

That link that said "So go here" has an explanation on how to figure out what you have

[e90bmw328i]

I would just install a JBL MS-8 in the car. Piece of cake to do it. Contact Technic for the amp harness and get a jbl ms-8 from ebay (around $250-$300) and with harness + center channel speaker, you audio system will be golden. Much better quality than the OEM Amp. Good thing with MS-8 is that no additional battery wiring is required unlike other amps. The only problem is that bluetooth could have some echo depending on how you calibrate the system. All combined you will not spend more than $450.

[kaigoss69]

Originally Posted by Metblack328i

I would just install a JBL MS-8 in the car. Piece of cake to do it. Contact Technic for the amp harness and get a jbl ms-8 from ebay (around $250-$300) and with harness + center channel speaker, you audio system will be golden. Much better quality than the OEM Amp. Good thing with MS-8 is that no additional battery wiring is required unlike other amps. The only problem is that bluetooth could have some echo depending on how you calibrate the system. All combined you will not spend more than $450.

I bet OP has L7 system (due to cost of replacement), so he wold also need a Mobridge DA2 to convert the optical MOST signal to analog. Then the total price will be over $1000.

If he has the HiFi system, then the upgrade path would be easy and cheap, as you suggested, and a no-brainer as far as I am concerned.

[matty088]

great feedback guys. i hate to drop the 2k.

I will take a look at which amp i have tonight or soon and report back. please check back in this thread.

I am guessing i have the better system as the sound quality is amazing to me i think.

[matty088]

wanna know the kicker - so i decided to pass to have bmw replace and look to the forum for some alternatives. As i wa sspekaing to bmw they said they are going to charge me 159 diagnosis fee. This stinks as its money wasted on my part but i get it. after goign bakc and forth with guy he tells me the mechanic actually spent 4.5 hours on the car as it was hard to find what was going on. i said to him come on its not like you are speaking to a 65 yr old women. it could be two things most likely the amp or the radio. he said no he had to take car apart. i said whats odd is car was out in rain and next day it wasnt working. he said no signs of water. so liekly a coiincidence. I said hmm thats counter intuitive. i get car home i open the trunk to take a simple visible look and boom the thing is laying in water and there is corrosion on the bolts. WTF. is this guy scamming me?

So i call to speak to service manager this morn but he isnt there. I say to customer service guy i want a refund and i want an apology from the SA for straight lieing to me - stay tuned.

[Wongway]

I myself have lost my OE Bluetooth unit in my X3 to water in the trunk (same area where the factory amp is located in the E90), I have heard of X5's with similar issues in the same area, and I've seen a couple people on this board lose their amps due to leaking water in the exact same area.

Given that, I find it hard to believe that they really spent that much time on the car and never looked in the trunk... >.>

[matty088]

update - i called back but service manager is in meeting with corporate.

Anyways looking at this link i believe i have the premium setup but will confirm when i get home.

http://musicarnw.com/bmw-factory-audio-explained/

[Wongway]

Biggest giveaway with the Premium system is the center channel speaker.

If that were to be the case, and you have water damage there, I'm sorry, but I do believe that is a rather difficult fix ><

[kaigoss69]

If it took them 4.5 hrs to figure out it was the amp then they are morons. Would have taken me 10 seconds. I would generally not have been opposed to pay say for 1 hr diagnostics, but since they tried to BS you and charge you for their inefficiencies, I would definitely refuse to pay a single dime.

[matty088]

yeah has the center speaker.

is it still worth trying the nj guys?

[kaigoss69]

Originally Posted by kaigoss69

I bet OP has L7 system (due to cost of replacement), so he wold also need a Mobridge DA2 to convert the optical MOST signal to analog. Then the total price will be over $1000.

If he has the HiFi system, then the upgrade path would be easy and cheap, as you suggested, and a no-brainer as far as I am concerned.

I forgot to mention that it is possible to re-code the head unit from Harman Kardon (optical out) to HiFi (balanced line-level analog out), and then you can install an MS-8 or other all-in-one units such as the Helix Match.

[taibanl]

Originally Posted by kaigoss69

I forgot to mention that it is possible to re-code the head unit from Harman Kardon (optical out) to HiFi (balanced line-level analog out), and then you can install an MS-8 or other all-in-one units such as the Helix Match.

Except there is a 2 year prod run of oem hu with background issues in hifi.

[ctuna]

Upgrading the L7 is kind or hard and convoluted.
You can have much better results than the L7 system
but you shouldn't do it unless you take the time to understand
what you have and look at all the possibility's for and upgrade.
There are several popular approaches that will give you great results
but you may end up spending more than 2 k to get there.
You sure as hell want to get that leak fixed first.
Also I would take pictures of the amp laying in water.
Most of the time when people report a dead amp this is what it
is.
If the amp is just wet and not corroded you might be a able
to clean it up and dry it out . One or two on here have had success
with that . Also I think its usually the sunroof drain clogging that
causes this.

[matty088]

Tks again for all the help. I appreciate you guy taking time out of your busy days to help me save some bucks.

So it seems I have two options given I really don't feel like learning about ipgradig and spending more. I have to tell you i think the audio was great in stock form.

Option 1) taking up butt and buy new amp = easiest and guaranteed success but such a rip off it's not nearly fair.

Option 2) send to guys in nj and hope they can fix. I did speak to them and it's unlikely they can fix once shorted out due to water. = Probably not going to work but worth a shot to save some money. But in te end a head ache of removing and shipping.

[matty088]

Please tell me more about this sunroof drain so I can solve that as well

[e90bmw328i]

Originally Posted by matty088

Tks again for all the help. I appreciate you guy taking time out of your busy days to help me save some bucks.

So it seems I have two options given I really don't feel like learning about ipgradig and spending more. I have to tell you i think the audio was great in stock form.

Option 1) taking up butt and buy new amp = easiest and guaranteed success but such a rip off it's not nearly fair.

Option 2) send to guys in nj and hope they can fix. I did speak to them and it's unlikely they can fix once shorted out due to water. = Probably not going to work but worth a shot to save some money. But in te end a head ache of removing and shipping.

I would just pick up a amp used one from eBay and replace yours. Logic 7 systems are hard to upgrade indeed.

And make sure the BMW stealer refunds your full money. If they don't, then file a complaint with BBB for that area along with all the evidence about the water leak and how this idiot was claiming no water leak. They are required to respond within 2 weeks after your complaint.