Not all HU's are the same!

[Zero Cool]

I have been trying to add a 6 disc changer option to my 06 M3 5 door. but i have now had 2 unsuccesful attempts!

It seams, that while whole stereo units are interchangable. internal parts are not...

The first unit i purchased was for the wrong unit completly.

Here is a photo of an 05 M3 HU.


Notice how the unit is made of two sections. the CD changer i bought the first time i bet would have fit this unit just fine.



I ended up selling that changer at a massive loss. and bought this unit which i really thought was the same as the HU i have in my car.


This is a Clarion unit.


Notice the very large heatsink on the back.


Here are some photos of my HU from my 06 M3 5 door. single disc 6 speaker non bose.


Notice how the chassis is all one section. but the heatsink is smaller on the rear.



All of the brackets from my Hu fit the 6 disc HU. even the face plate fit the HU just fine. i thought it would be ok. I plugged it in and none of the controls work correctly. the tuning knob operates the volume. the volume knob operates the tuning. pressing various buttons operate other things. not good. SO, back to the drawing board. they must have changed everything for 06

So back to the stock HU and single disc. i think i am going to scrap the whole idea and go with an alpine aftermarket changer.

So, the moral of the story is....make sure the model number your buying off of ebay will work for your radio.....

Anybody want a 6-disc clarion changer???? going once,....going twice!



Zc

 

[TheMAN]

I thought this would be "obvious" to people... if mazda says the MP3 changer will ONLY work for 06 models, there's a very good reason for that! they redesigned all that s***! not to mention they added the climate control s*** for the 06 models

EACH year of the 3 there has been minor changes to the radio s***... while the 04 and 05 s*** are mostly the same, they're NOT exactly the same... the 06 s*** is completely different

so next time, don't guess and FIND OUT the part number of the used s*** you're buying and then figure out if it's the right one or not!

 

[Zero Cool]

"s*** content = 6"

I thought this would be "obvious" to people... if mazda says the MP3 changer will ONLY work for 06 models, there's a very good reason for that! they redesigned all that s***! not to mention they added the climate control s*** for the 06 models

EACH year of the 3 there has been minor changes to the radio s***... while the 04 and 05 s*** are mostly the same, they're NOT exactly the same... the 06 s*** is completely different

so next time, don't guess and FIND OUT the part number of the used s*** you're buying and then figure out if it's the right one or not!

Well remember im a new M3 owner. i didnt know any of this. didnt know the MP3 player only worked on 06 models. I just want to upgrade from a single disc to the plain ol 6 disc changer....and from what i read here and other places. lead me to believe these units were moduler and were all the same. NOPE! So, As a tech. it has been fun and interesting. i have no real regrets and maybe someone else will be helped by my information. I did learn exactly where on the Clarion radios they could be modified with pre-amp outputs/Inputs! as well a whole slew of other information.

And to put it as eloquintly as you....I enjoy this s***!


Zc

 

[TheMAN]

the non-bose, non-mp3 6 disc changer from the 06 will be kind of rare as it ONLY came in "S" models with a sunroof... there'll probably be more bose non-mp3 6 disc changers than the non-bose because there are more buyers on the cheap models than anything, plus the ones that want to splurge on the toys, go all the way

pretty much the only way you'll get your 6 disc is to just buy the MP3 changer from mazda