Need a nice CD changer for your ti? I have what you need!

[PENVermillion]

Just this week, I bought the following things, with the intention of installing them in my ti:

1. An Alpine CHA-S634 6-disc mp3-capable CD changer, as seen here:
http://logjamelectronics.com/alpinechas634.html

2. An Alpine KCA-130B Ai-Net to M-Bus connector:
http://logjamelectronics.com/alpinekca130b.html

3. A bracket with cover from Bavauto. I can't link directly to the part on the bavauto site, but it is part #82 11 1 469 910. You can see an image of it here:
http://www.bavauto.com/lview.asp?img...2111469910.jpg
It comes with all the hardware neccesary to mount the bracket and changer.

All of this stuff is brand new, never used, in original packaging. I found out the hard way that this stuff will NOT work in a '95. If you have a '97 or above, though, this has got your name all over it. You would still need one more part, the Soundgate BMW-to-Alpine interface:
http://logjamelectronics.com/souncdchanin4.html

Anyway, I suspect I'll end up sending the bracket back to bavauto and ebaying the CD changer, but I figured since I'm only one part shy of plug-and-play for a ti, I'd check here first and see if anyone was interested.

[myblueTI]

How much?

[bmwracerchick]

what does work for out 95 ti? I have been meaning to find out but I have no clue and I dont want to go thru BMW if I can find a cheaper cd changer

[PENVermillion]

Originally Posted by myblueTI

How much?

Well, I'm trying to not lose TOO much money out of this whole fiasco, but I understand that if I try to charge the same amount people would pay at the online stores, then people will just buy from the online stores. Let's say $330 shipped to anyone in the USA - I'm willing to ship overseas as well, but I'd better find out how much that costs before I make any offers. That would be for the bracket, the CD changer, and the converter cable, all brand new, and all shipped together.

Originally Posted by myblueTI

what does work for out 95 ti?

Not much, it appears. Apparently there can be one of several different types of stereos in your '95. Go out and hold down the (-) and (PROG) buttons on your stereo, and it will show you a code that tells you what you have. In my case, I saw PIO2. After some research, it appears that PIO2 head units will not function with anything other than the stock BMW CD changer - and it has to be the CD changer for the '95, so be careful. The stock CD changer for the 96+ (the one that ends in part number 404) will not work. The CD changer can be found, but the bracket that holds it is no longer produced, and is apparently is about as common as hen's teeth.

My intention is to give up and replace the head unit. Right now I'm most interested in the Clarion ProAudio DXZ745MP, which you can see here:

http://www.cardomain.com/shop/view_l...ku=CLADXZ745MP

The color of both the buttons and the display can be changed easily to any of 728 colors, so I should be able to get a pretty good match to the dash. I think it's a pretty tame-looking unit, and that's what I'm after. I need to make sure it'll fit before I buy one, though, so I don't end up back in here selling a head unit in a couple weeks.

[myblueTI]

So I would still have to buy the interface http://logjamelectronics.com/souncdchanin4.html to get it to work?

[PENVermillion]

Originally Posted by myblueTI

So I would still have to buy the interface http://logjamelectronics.com/souncdchanin4.html to get it to work?

Yes, that's exactly right. My information is based on what I learned in this thread:

http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7748

as well as research I did on my own after I discovered the imcompatibility of the '95 M-bus. If you google around a bit, you'll find that this combination of parts is by far the most popular way to upgrade the CD changer in the I-bus BMWs. I think I could even find some how-to sites if that would help.

[myblueTI]

What exactly is the M bus? Does it come in every BMW?

[PENVermillion]

Originally Posted by myblueTI

What exactly is the M bus? Does it come in every BMW?

The "bus" refers to the communication protocol between the head unit and CD changer. If you happen to be a computer geek like me, it's like the way computers have a PCI bus, an AGP bus, etc.

'95 and older BMWs use a protocol called "M-bus". In '96, they upgraded the stereo - I think the newer stereo is generally referred to as the "business radio", because it comes with weather-band. The newer stereo uses a different protocol to communicate with the CD changer, called the "I-bus". So, you can't mix and match between years - a '95 stereo can't use the CD changer from a '97, because not only would the plugs not fit, but the commication protocol is different - it's like they're speaking different languages.

The Alpine KCA-130B adaptor cable that I bought is commonly referred to as "Ai-net to M-bus". The Alpine CD changer operates on the Ai-net protocol, and so I thought all I needed to do was to plug the Ai-net end into the CD changer, the M-bus end into the M-bus wire in my car, and I'd be done. It turns out it doesn't really work that way - I'm not sure why people call the KCA-130B "Ai-net to M-bus", because it doesn't fit. The packaging refers to it as "Ai-net to 8-pin DIN conversion cable".

The bottom line is that I'm out of luck, but people who have the newer stereos that use I-bus are not. That is thanks to the Soundgate adaptor, the one peice I don't have. The way it would work is you'd plug your I-bus cable into the Soundgate adaptor, then plug the KCA-130B cable from the Soundgate adaptor to the Alpine cable, which then plugs into the changer.

[Tyler]

Wow i'm kind of shocked,my adapter for my alpine cd changer costed me $100 bucks. I'm wondering why the price dropped on them $85 iunless my plug was just way better in quality.

[PENVermillion]

Are you sure the adaptor you're talking about isn't the Soundgate converter? That's generally around $100.