Hi. Kind of turned around regarding location of photos three, four and five? Is that a relay of some kind, and where’s it located exactly? That 12v patch panel - if your plan was to get straight, uncomprimised 12v power to the two 12v power leads used by most modern stereo headunits (switched and unswitched) would this be a good way to go?Decided to finish up the wiring with a BWM. Looked at all the posts and grabbed an idea or two from each, so this was a kind of "best of" mashup. Ran an aux. 10ga. to the fuse block and a relay to unload the blue/white and pink wire on the ignition switch. The main 8ga. feed wire took 8ft. to the inch. It takes quite a bit to run it in the tunnel, but it keeps it out of the way and doesn't interfere with taking out the heater box. Ran out of steam today, so later in the week I'll add another relay for the starter solenoid to unload the red wire on the switch.
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The relay is for "unloading" the ignition switch and not related to your stereo question.Hi. Kind of turned around regarding location of photos three, four and five? Is that a relay of some kind, and where’s it located exactly? That 12v patch panel - if your plan was to get straight, uncomprimed 12v power to the two 12v power leads used by most modern stereo headunits (switched and unswitched) would this be a good way to go?
hmmm...The relay is for "unloading" the ignition switch and not related to your stereo question.
This set-up gives you pure unswitched 12V. Hooking anything up to the buss bar is the same as connecting directly to the positive battery post. On a head unit, the unswitched circuit is a low draw, "keep alive" for the memory, so this would be way overkill for that purpose. Switched 12V will have to come off the fuse block, but you can always use a relay powered off the buss bar if you have the need.
That depends on the head unit. Many head units use the unswitched circuit for power, and the switched circuit just as an ignition sense. Convenient if you want to listen to the stereo with the ignition off.On a head unit, the unswitched circuit is a low draw, "keep alive" for the memory, so this would be way overkill for that purpose. Switched 12V will have to come off the fuse block, but you can always use a relay powered off the buss bar if you have the need.
I'm not a radio person (at least not in an X). Seems counterproductive to have to turn the radio off separately every time you shut the car down, but who knows. If my wife's car was setup like that there would be a dead battery in my future on a daily basis.That depends on the head unit. Many head units use the unswitched circuit for power, and the switched circuit just as an ignition sense. Convenient if you want to listen to the stereo with the ignition off.
The stereo turns on / off with ignition either way. A stereo that takes power from the switched circuit will, of course, power down when ignition is turned off. Stereos that take power from from an unswitched circuit, will use the ignition sense input to decide when to turn on and off, but with the benefit that you can override this and turn the stereo on even if the ignition is off.I'm not a radio person (at least not in an X). Seems counterproductive to have to turn the radio off separately every time you shut the car down, but who knows. If my wife's car was setup like that there would be a dead battery in my future on a daily basis.
Now that makes sense.The stereo turns on / off with ignition either way. A stereo that takes power from the switched circuit will, of course, power down when ignition is turned off. Stereos that take power from from an unswitched circuit, will use the ignition sense input to decide when to turn on and off, but with the benefit that you can override this and turn the stereo on even if the ignition is off.
Indeed. On my 500e the stereo stays on when I turn off the ignition and remove the key, and turns off when I open the doorOn my VW Golf the radio is on even with the ignition off, but turns off when I remove the key. Nice feature I think.
Have you checked the console at night since doing this? Good?Finally sorted the last of the console wiring and added some festive lighting so I could ditch the wonderful fiber optics.
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Excellent now.Have you checked the console at night since doing this? Good?
Damn. What exactly did you do? For the first time since last year we drove the car at night, and I’d forgot how practically near to useless the center console illumination is. The level of brightness is so murky, the words on the heater display are barely readable. Care to post anymore info or photos?Excellent now.
Don't have any photos beyond what I've posted, but this thread has most of the info you need:Damn. What exactly did you do? For the first time since last year we drove the car at night, and I’d forgot how practically near to useless the center console illumination is. The level of brightness is so murky, the words on the heater display are barely readable. Care to post anymore info or photos?
I did the same thing - bypassed and tried both LED bulbs, and a brighter incandescent. My problem could be dirt in the one thread that feeds the heating control light. Inspection to follow.One of my cars has the stock fiber optic system, with the dimmer bypassed and an LED replacing the stock light bulb. It works very well. I don't need any additional illumination to see the switches etc. YMMV?
If you are talking about the slider controls, they use a tiny bulb, not a fiber.I did the same thing - bypassed and tried both LED bulbs, and a brighter incandescent. My problem could be dirt in the one thread that feeds the heating control light. Inspection to follow.
The one bulb feeds ALL the center console lights, correct? Including the large, center display that notes the heating/defrost/air words. That's the display that's partially unreadable. The four other buttons/switches have enough light to be clear, as does the the "Close For Max Def" display. Just the lower 'AIR <> HEAT" display is mucky.If you are talking about the slider controls, they use a tiny bulb, not a fiber.