2008 Z4 Coupe 3.0 Amp location

The stereo on my daughter's Z4 is having intermittent cutoff on the right channels, it would play fine, then statics, cut-out, and after a bit, a pop, then the right channel resumes.

I am thinking it may be the amp and looked for it in the battery compartment. Well, the battery compartment is bone dry but there is no amp. Is it located on the side of the trunk? Perhaps the passenger side?

Thanks for the help. Not looking forward to a $1k replacement for the DSP unit.....

I know the e85 amp is in the location you checked. But the newer z4's I THINK are behind the passenger seat? And for 1k I think I'd just roll the windows down. Good luck

sclui56, I am not sure on a non-///M, but on my MC, the amp and Bluetooth box's are attached to the rear bulkhead. You have to remove the carpet covering them up in the trunk.

Hi guys,

Thanks for the info, looks like it would be behind the seats in the trunk compartment as indicated. Will tackle this later. I seriously doubt it is a simple loose connection and I am not sure I want to drop $1k+ on her vehicle at the moment. After all, I didn't think the upgraded system in the E85/86 was anything to write home about.

Instead of removing the trunk liners to check the connections to the amp, I decided to do the easier part first. I removed the dash air vents and pulled out the head unit to check wiring connections, the minute I touched the head unit ever so slightly after removing the two philips screws, I would get a static and immediate cut-off of the right channel, a slight move again would cure the cut-off, it feels like there is a grounding issue.

Once I resecured everything, the sound seems fine. While it appears it is "fixed" for now, I am not entirely convinced since I can;t really explained the cause.

Loose connection on the rear multi-pin connector. See here: http://www.shipkiller.com/Radio_Head_Unit_Data.html

I personally would pull the head unit out, and remove the connector, do a visual inspection and re-seat. There is a knive lock/unlocking lever to remove and reinsert the connector.
The grounds are part of the connector and not chassis ground.



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Hi shipkiller,

Appreciate the link to diagrams. I did pull the wiring harness off the radio to do a visual, will probably do so again to specifically look for the ground wire. At any rate, I wasn't sure how the antenna plug is secured and didn't remove that to free up more space to examine the harness. Would you mind explaining how to best to release the antenna plug?

Releasing the antenna connection..


I don't specifically recall, but what I do recall is that it was pretty easy and took about 2 seconds.

Sorry>>

Originally Posted by shipkiller

Releasing the antenna connection..


I don't specifically recall, but what I do recall is that it was pretty easy and took about 2 seconds.

Sorry>>

Yes, it was a two second once I figured out what to press My eyes are giving me trouble. In any case, I looked at the wiring harness and there is no loose/unsecured pins, the wreird part is that if I moved the CID or touch it, I get the cut-off & static, but it is only on the right channel.

If there is a short, I would have expected a complete cut-off and not just one of the channels. Really not sure at the moment since it is not like I can easily get to a different CID and test it out.....

Thanks for the help!

shipkiller,

Just want to get back and update the situation. I was going to get a replacement from an online dealer but the cost was somewhere around $600 for a refurb unit + my core, there is no new units. At any rate, I was able to get a used CID from a Z4M parts car for ~$300, CID is older than my daughter's with P/N that has since been superseded. My initial worry was that I needed to have the CID coded but decided to give it a shot.

Once the CID was replaced, the symptoms disappeared and I have been using her Z for the last 2 weeks without problem with the right channels. Meanwhile, I took the original unit to a technician and he asked that I leave the vehicle on top of the CID because he needs to have access to the harness, he also told me that the way the output board on this type of CID is very fragile and cannot be repaired in the traditional sense, and replacement boards are unavailable through his channels. He did confirm with my suspicion that the daughter-board may have been fractured, thus explaining intermittent cut-off's.

During my use of the Z, I discovered many minor things broken and/or missing, and this is an '08 with 24k on the clock. e.g., broken hood plungers/spring lifters, rubber bumper on both sides of the hood, windshield glazing beginning to show cracks, etc. Albeit all minor and inexpensive stuff, but still.

Thanks again for the help.

As the car is made in the USA I think a lot of the trim etc is not of the best quality. Sad really, one would hope we could make parts as well as anyone else in the world considering our technology here...

Just because the car was made here in the US does not mean the parts were not of the best quality. The trim issues also crop up on the German made BMW's.

Back on thread: The broken hood plungers seem to be a BMW problem also... To alleviate this from occurring again, don't slam the hood closed. Bring it down until it latches the push it shut. This minor change in how you interact with the car keeps the broken hood plungers/stops from breaking.


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Originally Posted by shipkiller

Just because the car was made here in the US does not mean the parts were not of the best quality. The trim issues also crop up on the German made BMW's.
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IMHO the E89 Z4 has nicer materials/build than the E85. Just so happens one was made here and the other in the motherland. Just an opinion, but I am sticking to it.

hello! guys

this is my new toy! a nice white z4 coupe !!