Business Radio & CD Not Working - Try This

[ttr]

Eh up all

Well took the X5 out the other day to put some fuel in the tank, decided to put the radio on, something I do not do often as like to listen to the car - see if I can hear anything going wrong

Anyway no radio at all ?

Got home and checked again, nothing when pressing the button, but I could get time, distance et .

So read the forum and tried a few options on a possible fix, easiest first:-

Checked in boot fuses 73 and 75 ( think that’s what they were but it’s listed anyway) took out even though they were ok and put back in, still no radio.

Went into glovebox and did same with fuse 7, that was still ok, put back in and still no radio.

Then removed the battery for a couple of minutes, negative lead only, and reconnected- still no radio

Finally took the radio out and disconnected, and the actual CD as I understand this is the main unit that controls the radio. On removing the CD unit block connector and also the 10amp fuse ( which was ok so just reseated it) then reconnecting after a few minutes the CD unit powered up.

I reconnected the radio unit below and switched the ignition on -success :

No idea why this worked - it’s electronic so is therefore beyond all reasoning!

Anyway thought I would post in case this “fix” worked for anyone else.

HNY folks -

Cheers all

[wpoll]

If you are talking about the Business/Professional CD Player and radio that is all dash mounted (nothing in the boot, except maybe a 6-CD changer) then the "radio" isn't a radio - it's just a multi-funcntional information display - known as a MID, oddly enough.

The MID has no audio in it, only a bunch of data wires. All audio functions are in the "cd player" above the MID.

The MID has been known to rarely "lock up" and fail to boot, transmit/receive data etc. Removing the power "resets" it and restores normal operation.

All the information displayed on the MID is stored in either the instrument cluster, aka the IKE, (in the case of time, distance, mileage etc.) or the the CD player/radio system (in the case of stored radio stations etc.) so unplugging the MID does not reset anything other than the MID operation.

[Shottaroddz]

Hi.

Jumping on this old post, as the poster WPOLL seems to know lots about the MID in the e53 which is where my query lies. The forum doesn’t allow my to search the term ‘MID’ so I’m jumping into anything is with MID In it
I’ve removed the MID as part of my head unit upgrade on my 2003 x5 (no DSP) and am wondering what to do with the cable connector that used to connect to the MID? Do I need to do anything with it? Is the MID just a data display unit or is it performing a function with output signals?

Everything seems to work without the MID and no apparent loss of functionality but I’m a bit anxious about a loose, unconnected cable connector - my OCD is getting upset lol

I’ve checked the wiring schematics at the .info site but cannot locate the connector in question so cannot confirm what it does.

Any advice much appreciated.

Cheers

C

[wpoll]

You can leave the MID connection alone - no need to connect it to anything.

The MID doesn't provide data (as such) to any other system so the car will function normally without it. However.... in MID-equipped cars, the MID provides the buttons and display for functions such as setting the time/date for the clock (which is in the IKE - the cluster) and resetting other items like MPG displays etc. By removing the MID, you can no longer change the clock or reset these BC (Board Computer) functions.

If you have replaced the MID and CD Player/Radio unit with an Android system (and that's the BEST option) you can buy an iBus USB adapter and software that will give you access to these lost functions - and much more.

https://www.ibus-app.de/index_en.html

If you have replaced the MID and CD Player/Radio unit with a single or double DIN stereo (heaven forbid!) then you will need occasional access to the MID plug, so you can plug the MID in again to set the clock etc.

[sleepyfolk]

I’ve got round that problem, the stereo has the time on it and who cares about mpg!

[wpoll]

My car uses the date for the brake fluid service interval (or more correctly, the passing of 720 days since the last brake fluid service) and I think it also tags fault codes with date and time (along with mileage)... So my OCD requires I have the car's internal date/time correct.

[Shottaroddz]

Gents

Thank you for this valuable info. I was really worrying about it. I’ve used the BC button on the indicator stalk to check time and date on the IKE - all good. I guess the service interval lights shouldn’t be affected either so all ok. I’ll hold onto the MID unit should I ever need to plug back in.

You’re right, MPG is not worth worrying about when you’ve bought a 4.6l V8 petrol The time for being sensible has long passed.

[X5Sport]

You could always put the MID in the glovebox to keep the functions available. A few on here have done that.