BreakMyWindow 1870 Report post Posted February 6, 2007 Hi all, i have a nz-new 97' e39 528ise with the business RDS system. The rear-shelf speakers are not working, and the E39's seem to be put togeather like a brick sh*t-house, making it a c**t to work on. I've been doing a bit of research and have seen that some E39 bmw audio systems come with a seperate amplifier for the speakers, would my one have a seperate amp? if so, where would it be loacted? (checked in the trunk, behind the side panels, and couldnt see anything resembling an amplifier) Does anyone know what things i should be checking to try and suss out why the back speakers are not working? So far i've inspected the rear speakers, which seem in good shape, and played with the fader/balance, but to no avail. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jazzbass 1 Report post Posted February 6, 2007 dum de dum! Jochen to the rescue.... ?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jochen 4 Report post Posted February 10, 2007 Hi all, i have a nz-new 97' e39 528ise with the business RDS system. The rear-shelf speakers are not working, and the E39's seem to be put togeather like a brick sh*t-house, making it a c**t to work on. I've been doing a bit of research and have seen that some E39 bmw audio systems come with a seperate amplifier for the speakers, would my one have a seperate amp? if so, where would it be loacted? (checked in the trunk, behind the side panels, and couldnt see anything resembling an amplifier) Does anyone know what things i should be checking to try and suss out why the back speakers are not working? So far i've inspected the rear speakers, which seem in good shape, and played with the fader/balance, but to no avail. I know these E39s inside out. In the boot, left hand side, is the trim cover that folds open for the CD-changer Directly behind the CD changer is the amplifier (if fitted) Have a look - some cars are delivered with no amplifier (standard stereo), some with amplifier (hifi system), and some with a DSP amplifier (top-hifi) The amp is a metal box, either black or unpainted aluminium in colour, with a big heatsink on it. If you cannot see the amp, you have the standard system, and the speakers are driven direct from the head unit. Easiest diagnosis then is to remove the headunit and check the output, and measure the speakers with an ohmmeter to look for open or short circuits If you can see the amp, the headunit drives the amp directly, and the amp drives the speakers. Even easier to diagnose, as all the connectors are easily accessible and again, measure the speakers. Some E39s have 6 speaker systems, some 10 (mine has 10). How many speakers do you have? you may have 2 or 3 in each front door, maybe a tweeter in the rear door, and woofers in the rear parcel tray. Check and see, it will help me understand what system you have. Also, if you are in Akld, come to my house, I can diagnose the problem rapidly and easily. I have the full wiring digram and diagnosis info for these vehicles. Jochen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jochen 4 Report post Posted February 13, 2007 Martin came to my house tonight and together we fixed his stereo problems in his car. Diagnosed the problem to a speaker wire short to ground on the rear left speaker. We were amazed that we actually found the problem so quickly - the speaker wire had been chaffing against a bolt just under and in front of the LH rear speaker. Cut and soldered the wires back together, and insulated with heat-shrink, and now the stereo works on all speakers, front and rear. This shows what a robust design the Business RDS stereo is - even with a speaker wire short which has probably been there for a long long time - maybe even years - the stereo didn't get damaged. The power amp chips shut down into protected mode, and when the short went away, everything worked again normally. Cheers, Jochen Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jazzbass 1 Report post Posted February 13, 2007 Cool info - and thanks for posting the fix, mate! Rog Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BreakMyWindow 1870 Report post Posted February 13, 2007 Martin came to my house tonight and together we fixed his stereo problems in his car. Diagnosed the problem to a speaker wire short to ground on the rear left speaker. We were amazed that we actually found the problem so quickly - the speaker wire had been chaffing against a bolt just under and in front of the LH rear speaker. Cut and soldered the wires back together, and insulated with heat-shrink, and now the stereo works on all speakers, front and rear. This shows what a robust design the Business RDS stereo is - even with a speaker wire short which has probably been there for a long long time - maybe even years - the stereo didn't get damaged. The power amp chips shut down into protected mode, and when the short went away, everything worked again normally. Cheers, Jochen Many thanks to Jochen for resolving my speaker problem :-) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiwi535 538 Report post Posted February 17, 2007 youre a champ Jochen...actually inviting people around to your house to work on their cars! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jochen 4 Report post Posted February 18, 2007 youre a champ Jochen...actually inviting people around to your house to work on their cars! I enjoy it, it's fun :-) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
asbkiran 0 Report post Posted October 11, 2010 Martin came to my house tonight and together we fixed his stereo problems in his car. Diagnosed the problem to a speaker wire short to ground on the rear left speaker. We were amazed that we actually found the problem so quickly - the speaker wire had been chaffing against a bolt just under and in front of the LH rear speaker. Cut and soldered the wires back together, and insulated with heat-shrink, and now the stereo works on all speakers, front and rear. This shows what a robust design the Business RDS stereo is - even with a speaker wire short which has probably been there for a long long time - maybe even years - the stereo didn't get damaged. The power amp chips shut down into protected mode, and when the short went away, everything worked again normally. Cheers, Jochen Hi i wonder if you can help me also Radio dealer had my stereo for check, he changed the outline fo one channel, it did not work, I measured the rear shelf speakers (ok), no speakers in doors aft. Even bought a stereo from UK , changed it , same result. No sound from aft speakers.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
asbkiran 0 Report post Posted October 11, 2010 Martin came to my house tonight and together we fixed his stereo problems in his car. Diagnosed the problem to a speaker wire short to ground on the rear left speaker. We were amazed that we actually found the problem so quickly - the speaker wire had been chaffing against a bolt just under and in front of the LH rear speaker. Cut and soldered the wires back together, and insulated with heat-shrink, and now the stereo works on all speakers, front and rear. This shows what a robust design the Business RDS stereo is - even with a speaker wire short which has probably been there for a long long time - maybe even years - the stereo didn't get damaged. The power amp chips shut down into protected mode, and when the short went away, everything worked again normally. Cheers, Jochen Hi i wonder if you can help me also Radio dealer had my stereo for check, he changed the outline fo one channel, it did not work, I measured the rear shelf speakers (ok), no speakers in doors aft. Even bought a stereo from UK , changed it , same result. No sound from aft speakers.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jochen 4 Report post Posted October 13, 2010 Hi i wonder if you can help me also Radio dealer had my stereo for check, he changed the outline fo one channel, it did not work, I measured the rear shelf speakers (ok), no speakers in doors aft. Even bought a stereo from UK , changed it , same result. No sound from aft speakers.. check for short between speaker wire and ground. I've seen chaffed speaker wires on the E39 rear parcel tray, just where the speaker wire goes to the speaker. Remove rear seat reas and remove speaker to inspect. A chaffed wire shorts to ground, and shuts down the amplifier stage of the Business RDS radio (luckily with no damage to the radio) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
