Amplifier Dead - Use amplifier from E39/X5?

J

jesseicp

Member
I've had the dreaded all too common water in the trunk issue occur with my E85 and the amplifier drowned. To begin, I should mention that my vehicle is a 2003 Z4 E85 2.5i and the stereo is the 10 speaker premium, non-DSP version.

I've done a ton of reading through threads and found that replacing the stock amplifier with an aftermarket amplifier isn't as difficult as it is with the DSP amplifier, but is still no walk in the park. I've also found that there have been a few people out there that have thrown amplifiers that appear identical to theirs from E39's/X5's and have gotten them to work, but had pinout mismatch issues (front right plays out of the left rear speaker, etc...).

Therefore, it seems extremely possible that if the wiring in the harness were to be moved around to match the harness in the vehicle that it came from, one of these amplifiers may work. It also seems very possible that if I bought a business CD player and amplifier together from one of these vehicles that it could work without modifications to the harness.

I would really like to use one of these two options to repair my stereo since it seems very difficult to locate Z4 amplifiers used and when you do find them, they are much more expensive than other common BMW models. I'm hoping that someone else has had some experience with this and could tell me if either of the two theories that I mentioned will work.

Thanks in advance!!
 
Put the part number off the back of your amp into realoem in the PART NR APPLICATION SEARCH?
The site will spit back the vehicles that used that same amp and possibly other part #'s that will match up.
You will need to have the "new" amp coded to your car once installed.
I had to replace the amp and head unit in my car and went this route.

Dave
 
dbarton62 said:
Put the part number off the back of your amp into realoem in the PART NR APPLICATION SEARCH?
The site will spit back the vehicles that used that same amp and possibly other part #'s that will match up.
You will need to have the "new" amp coded to your car once installed.
I had to replace the amp and head unit in my car and went this route.

Dave
Click to expand...

Actually, I've done this already as well. Realoem lists two part numbers for my car. One is the original and is no longer in production and the other is it's replacement. However, the connector on some of the E39 and X5's are identical and the amps look the same. From what I can see, they are even built the same, beside which wires in the harness go to which pin. This is why I'm wondering if my idea will work even though Realoem doesn't list those amps as interchangeable because the pinouts are different.
 
Amplifier
BMW Z4 E85 Lear Audio Top HIFI Amplifier Carver Brand Amp Sound System OEM
Part #: 6932417, 65106929689, 65129143127, 65126930046
Brand: Carver

Found this from doing a search inputting the original part # of my car amp.
http://www.alpinela.com/parts/3290/BMW-Z4-E85-Audio-Lear-Top-HIFI-Amplifier-CARVER-Amp-Sound-System-OEM.html

This is the website I was directed to which gave me multiple part # options

Hope it helps, I was pulling my hair out when I was looking, I finally broke down and bought a new amp from ECS Tuning.

Dave
 
I have one of those for sale if you're interested! I'm in central London and happy to give you a hand trying it (or fitting it) if need be! The only concern I'd have is that the carver is the DSP amp and I think the subs were different resistance (8 ohm vs 2 ohm). Might need some advice as to whether it'll work or not.

P.

P s give me a call rather than PM me- I very rarely check my messages on here. O771 7000 275
 
My car had E53 AMP then I bought it- only front 6 speakers worked, but it was also realtively enough. Actual system is Top-Hifi. I have US specs 3.0i '04
 
r.a said:
Jollyjoiner said:
My Amp is not working, anyone had any more solutions to this issue ?
Click to expand...
Same here, would also like to know if there is a solution available?
Click to expand...
I only picked my Z4 up from the dealer on saturday and found the radio wouldn't work :(
the dealer gave it a looking over and came up with the amp being goosed, he said he would sorce me one and would post it me to put on.
Now i'm getting worried that he won't be able to find one :(
 
tom7con said:
Did the dealer get you one?
Click to expand...

No he didn't
I ended up searching week after week until one turned up on ebay, I bought it and eventually got the money for it from the dealer.
 
I'm posting this so any of you guys who are left with a broken amplifier in Z4 E85 can exchange it for much less money than original amp. As said by many of you my amp has also been ruined by water. I've been searching for a used one for quite a long time and the ones I did find were almost as expensive as the new one. So I made a little research about audio wiring from E85 and compared it to E39 and E46. I found out that E46 Cabriolet has similar audio wiring as E85 and that Hifi version in E46/C has also 10-channel amp. So in theory the amp should be interchangeable. Well, it is! I found a used one for just 55€ (with shipping) and changed it with mine and it worked. All speakers and subs are working as before.

The part number of my original amp in E85 is: 65126929689
The part number of the replacement amp from E46/C is: 65128376305

Here is the exact amp I used:

1.JPG
2.JPG
 
I have same issue are they not repairable?

E46 unit looks promising!! This car is 10 speaker I don’t think it’s a dsp?
 

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Don't bother with the repair! I did that, payed 140€ and it worked one whole day than died again... :D Actually it was working sometimes but almost never again that day after switching engine off. Sometimes it didn't work a few days in a row altogether and then maybe a few days did work on every start and then at random it stopped again. So if you ask me, the repair is not worth the money and time.
So my advice is just buy a used amp from E46/C like I did and you'll be pimpin bass again. :thumbsup:

DSP amps have written "DSP" on the amp's sticker. If the picture on your post is from your actual amp, then you don't have DSP.
 
To conclude this for google searchers e46 convertible amp worked , plugged in worked instantly non Dsp 10 speaker z4
 
You should search for DSP amp of e46 c, the hifi version will not work in a DSP system. I can't tell for sure if the DSP amp in e46c and Z4 are interchangeable or not because I have a hifi version. But I guess it is. I don't think they were developing different DSP amp just for Z4. Good luck. :thumbsup:
 
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