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My 2004 BMW 530i has static in the Audio reception ...

18K views 12 replies 10 participants last post by  borderchris 
#1 · (Edited)
Does any one know how to get rid of this? the static noise happens randomly whenever using the AM, FM or CD. The static noise goes from normal to loud and goes back to normal. Don***8217;t know what to do. I have been driving this car for almost 2 months and its getting very annoying. :mad:

Your help will be really appreciate it
 
#3 ·
I think you'll have to take this in for servicing unless you can isolate the cause yourself. Is it in all speakers or just one? Does this happen when you go over bumps, etc? You say it is random but does it happen when the ignition is on but the engine off?

This sounds like an intermittent connection that could be anywhere from connections to the amplifiers to a bad solder joint inside the audio units.

This could be a tough (and expensive) problem to fix. Typically, the service tech will try replacing things until it is fixed or stops, but they may not always fix it the first time since you say it is a random event. In engineering terms you want to find the root cause of the static. A thorough debugging and problem solving process would be to try different things until the problem goes away. Then, undo the last "fix" and see if the problem reappears. This is time consuming and is not your typical repair process. If you can access the audio components (audio front end, amplifiers, etc.) and "jiggle" the connections to see if that's the problem you may be able to fix it yourself.

Good luck!
 
#4 ·
Actually the problem happens every time the engine is on and static noice comes from all speakers simultaneously, no matter if I'm using the AM FM or CD most of the time it seems to follow a cycle of about 1.5 minutes. Does this problem may be related to the Idrive center? I found people with similar problem over the web here is what I found but I'm unable to find the TCU connector or the optical flash jumper.

If the noise is static in all audio modes and is emitted from all speakers perform the following checks when the noise is occurring.

1. Disconnect the optical flash jumper located near the glove box. what does this look like?


2. Disconnect the TCU connector. I cannot locate it


3. Replace TCU if after either of the above steps is performed the noise is gone.

thanks for your help.
 
#5 ·
you will find the tcu tucked in the trunk ,remove the left side tail light cover then the cover just fwd of it has 2 or 3 quick release fastners you will see a silver metal box with 4 each connectors on top and one large connector at the botton of it .all you need to disconnect is only the large single white connector at the bottom of the tcu and just leave it hanging .PROBLEM SOLVED .now every time you start your car you will see a notice that says SOS MALFUNCTION on your center screen and a red or orange sign on your speedo with the same message but will go away in a fwe seconds ..GOOD LUCK..
 
#6 ·
Do you have a Blackberry or similar device on all the time when in the car? They "call home" for e-mail frequently and this often causes "static" when the RF signal transmitted is rectified by the audio system. I've not had this problem in my '08 528i with my Blackberry, though.
 
#9 ·
I have the same audio problem and tried this fix. I had to remove the TCU to get access to the white plug. There are only 4 nuts holding the TCU in place. With the TCU disconnected the static / skipping noise went away on the radio, but I wasn't able to use my iPod.

Samuelswa, do you have the OEM iPod adapter and did yours work with the TCU disconnected?

Thanks.
 
#10 ·
if the static occurs when the volume is high, then you probably have a blown speaker. You need to find out which speaker has static. If all your speakers have statics with high or low volume, your audio signal is being interrupted by your phone's signal or another signal. Don't place your phone near the stereo system.

If you have a blown speaker, just go to advance auto parts or o'reilly or autozone and buy a sealant or super glue. That's what i did to my blown speaker. The speaker works perfect now. cheers!!!
 
#11 ·
Tcu

Sorry guys i was out for a while,(Websage) you asked do you have the OEM iPod adapter and did yours work with the TCU disconnected? The answer is no i don't have an Ipod adapter;but a friend has the same model car with the same problem after disconnecting the tcu he marked each wire from the disconnected connector pulled all the wires out and connected only a certain wires back on it, was a triel and error job until the ipod adapter was able to work again still with no static present the rest of the wires are for the bmw phone wireless sytem which were the problem in the first place.My friend has moved to up north i will try to get in touch maybe we can get a pic of which wires he used. At least be assured it can be done.

Good Luck.
 
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